American School Reform: What Works, What Fails, and Why. Joseph P. McDonald

Dissecting twenty years of educational politics in our nation’s largest cities, American School Reform offers one of the clearest assessments of school reform as it has played out in our recent history. Joseph P. McDonald and his colleagues evaluate the half-billion-dollar Annenberg Challenge—launched in 1994—alongside other large-scale reform efforts that have taken place in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area. They look deeply at what school reform really is, how it works, how it fails, and what differences it can make nonetheless.

the PROSE Awards.  Winner, Education Practice

The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools. Christopher A. Lubienski and Sarah Theule Lubienski

Nearly the whole of America’s partisan politics centers on a single question: Can markets solve our social problems? And for years this question has played out ferociously in the debates about how we should educate our children. From the growth of vouchers and charter schools to the implementation of No Child Left Behind, policy makers have increasingly turned to market-based models to help improve our schools, believing that private institutions—because they are competitively driven—are better than public ones. With The Public School Advantage, Christopher A. and Sarah Theule Lubienski offer powerful evidence to undercut this belief, showing that public schools in fact outperform private ones

the PROSE Awards.  Winner, Education Theory

How Should We Live? A Practical Approach to Everyday Morality. John Kekes

Nearly the whole of America’s partisan politics centers on a single question: Can markets solve our social problems? And for years this question has played out ferociously in the debates about how we should educate our children. From the growth of vouchers and charter schools to the implementation of No Child Left Behind, policy makers have increasingly turned to market-based models to help improve our schools, believing that private institutions—because they are competitively driven—are better than public ones. With The Public School Advantage, Christopher A. and Sarah Theule Lubienski offer powerful evidence to undercut this belief, showing that public schools in fact outperform private ones

the PROSE Awards. Honorable Mention, Philosophy

В стране чудес Алисы: из истории создания

В этом году исполнилось 150 лет с первой публикации «Алисы в Стране чудес». С тех пор кто только не иллюстрировал знаменитую сказку! В книге студии «4+4» собрано более 400 иллюстраций, созданных 43 художниками из разных стран, с 1860-х по 2000-е годы: здесь и Сальвадор Дали, и Мервин Пик, Артур Рэкхем, Геннадий Калиновский, Юлия Гукова и многие другие. Иллюстрации сопровождает (в данном случае никак не наоборот) классический перевод Нины Демуровой, который тут явно играет вспомогательную роль, почему и помещен на левую страницу книжного разворота, как бы для того, чтобы только напомнить рассматривающему картинки читателю тот фрагмент текста, иллюстрации к которому (и комментарии к ним) занимают на развороте большую часть площади.

The Meaning of the Library: A Cultural History. Edited by Alice Crawford

From Greek and Roman times to the digital era, the library has remained central to knowledge, scholarship, and the imagination. Generously illustrated, The Meaning of the Library examines this key institution of Western culture. Tracing what the library has meant since its beginning, examining how its significance has shifted, and pondering its importance in the twenty-first century, significant contributors—including the librarian of the Congress and the former executive director of the HathiTrust—present a cultural history of the library.

Whether relishing an account of the Alexandrian Library or a look at the stylish railway libraries of nineteenth-century England, readers will find a sparkling survey of the library through time. Here, too, are the imagined libraries of fiction, poetry, and film, from Scheherazade’s stories to The Name of the Rose and beyond.

The Innovator’s Hypothesis: How Cheap Experiments Are Worth More Than Good Ideas. Michael Schrage

What is the best way for a company to innovate? Advice recommending “innovation vacations” and the luxury of failure may be wonderful for organizations with time to spend and money to waste. The Innovator’s Hypothesis addresses the innovation priorities of companies that live in the real world of limits. Michael Schrage advocates a cultural and strategic shift: small teams, collaboratively—and competitively—crafting business experiments that make top management sit up and take notice. He introduces the 5x5 framework: giving diverse teams of five people up to five days to come up with portfolios of five business experiments costing no more than $5,000 each and taking no longer than five weeks to run. Successful 5x5s, Schrage shows, make people more effective innovators, and more effective innovators mean more effective innovations.

Про это. Факсимильное издание. Статьи. Комментарии. В.Маяковский, илл. А.Родченко

Поэма Про это писалась в экстремальных условиях разлада Маяковского с возлюбленной, героиней поэмы: по взаимной договоренности с Лилей Брик они не виделись ровно два месяца. В это время Маяковский работал по 16–20 часов в сутки и сделал столько, сколько, по его собственному признанию, «никогда не делал за полгода».

В 1925 году на Международной выставке в Париже Родченко показал иллюстрации к поэме, за что получил серебряную медаль в номинации «Искусство книги». Настоящее издание впервые воспроизводит факсимильное издание поэмы и включает в себя фотомонтажи в цвете.

The University of Chicago. A History. John W. Boyer

With The University of Chicago: A History, John W. Boyer, Dean of the College since 1992, presents a deeply researched and comprehensive history of the university. Boyer has mined the archives, exploring the school’s complex and sometimes controversial past to set myth and hearsay apart from fact. The result is a fascinating narrative of a legendary academic community, one that brings to light the nature of its academic culture and curricula, the experience of its students, its engagement with Chicago’s civic community, and the conditions that have enabled the university to survive and sustain itself through decades of change.

The Secret Lives of Teachers. Anonymous

Welcome to “East Hudson,” an elite private school in New York where the students are attentive, the colleagues are supportive, and the tuition would make the average person choke on its string of zeroes. You might think a teacher here would have little in common with most other teachers in America, but as this veteran educator—writing anonymously—shows in this refreshingly honest account, all teachers are bound by a common thread. Stripped of most economic obstacles and freed up by anonymity, he is able to tell a deeper story about the universal conditions, anxieties, foibles, generosities, hopes, and complaints that comprise every teacher’s life. The results are sometimes funny, sometimes scandalous, but always recognizable to anyone who has ever walked into a classroom, closed the door, and started their day.

Improbable Libraries. Alex Johnson

Public libraries are a cornerstone of modern civilization, yet like the books in them, libraries face an uncertain future in an increasingly digital world. Undaunted, librarians around the globe are thinking up astonishing ways of reaching those in reading need, whether by bike in Chicago, boat in Laos, or donkey in Colombia. Improbable Libraries showcases a wide range of unforgettable, never-before-seen images and interviews with librarians who are overcoming geographic, economic, and political difficulties to bring the written word to an eager audience. Alex Johnson charts the changing face of library architecture, as temporary pop-ups rub shoulders with monumental brick-and-mortar structures, and many libraries expand their mission to function as true community centers.

The Globalization of Clean Energy Technology: Lessons from China. Kelly Sims Gallagher

The development and deployment of cleaner energy technologies have become globalized phenomena. Yet despite the fact that energy-related goods account for more than ten percent of international trade, policy makers, academics, and the business community perceive barriers to the global diffusion of these emerging technologies. Experts point to problems including intellectual property concerns, trade barriers, and developing countries’ limited access to technology and funding. In this book, Kelly Gallagher uses analysis and case studies from China’s solar photovoltaic, gas turbine, advanced battery, and coal gasification industries to examine both barriers and incentives in clean energy technology transfer.

Jerusalem

Benedict Cumberbatch (Narrator) (Actor), Daniel Ferguson (Director)

Filmed for the first time in 3D for IMAX® and giant screen theaters, JERUSALEM is an awe-inspiring and intimate portrait (The Washington Post) of one of the world s most beloved cities. Discover why this tiny piece of land is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims through the experiences of three young Jerusalemite women as they celebrate the city s vibrant holiday traditions. Join world-renowned archaeologist, Dr. Jodi Magness, as she explores underground tunnels and ancient ruins to solve some of the city s greatest mysteries. Find out why, after thousands of years, Jerusalem and the Holy Land continue to stir the imagination of billions of people. Unprecedented access to the city s holiest sites, as well as rare and breathtaking aerial footage combine to make JERUSALEM a mesmerizing vision (The Boston Globe).

Twin Sisters

The award-winning documentary tells the story of two babies found in a cardboard box in a China and adopted to different corners of the world. One to a village in Norway, surrounded by high mountains and deep fjords. The other to a big city in the US. The adoptive parents had no idea that there was a twin sister. Their sisterhood was meant to be kept a secret. However, destiny had other plans...

Göteborg Film Festival  Audience Award

BBC Four With Betjeman

Victorian Architects and Architecture
In the 1850s, English architects tried to find a style that would go with steam, glass and cast iron; they chose Gothic. This four part series looks at the men associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival and some of their famous constructions; including the House of Parliament, the Natural History Museum, the Albert Memorial, Westminster Abbey and a number of country houses

John Betjeman Passion For Churches
A wry but affectionate scrutiny to the churches, clergy and parishioners of Norfolk. Betjeman opens our eyes to the often overlooked details in some of our most familiar traditions; from the quirks of great architecture to the allure of bell-ringing and jumble sales. Includes footage from some of Britain and Betjeman's most interesting churches and his journey to modern day Jerusalem where he attends Christmas services at the Monastery of St George

Thank God It's Sunday
Sir John Betjeman narrates two classic films from the BBC archive: Thank God It's Sunday [1972] and  Summoned By Bells [1976]. Betjeman visits some of the places that played an important part in his early life; including schools, Cornwall holiday haunts and Oxford College.

BBC Joanna Lumley's Trans-Siberian Adventure

Joanna Lumley embarks on the world's greatest train journey for this new three-part documentary series. Travelling from East to West, she departs from Hong Kong across 5,777 miles of both Asia and Europe, through seven time zones, taking in an immense panorama of vistas and cultures, people and places, before her final arrival in Moscow

ZHOU, Long / CHEN, Yi: Symphony, "Humen 1839", ZHOU, Long: The Rhyme of Taigu / The Enlightened

New Zealand Symphony, Darrell Ang

Widely regarded as one of China’s leading composers, Pulitzer Prize-winning Zhou Long writes music which is consistently compelling. The Rhyme of Taigu revives the spirit of Chinese court music from the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), drawing on traditional percussion instru­ments. Symphony ‘Humen 1839’, co-composed with Chen Yi, vividly commemorates the public burning of over 1000 tonnes of opium, an event that was to lead to the First Opium War between Great Britain and China.

Grammy Nominee

Shostakovich - Under Stalin's Shadow

Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
    
'Nelsons’s masterful grasp of the architecture of the work (particularly the epic 20-minute first movement, which al­most feels like a symphony in its own right here), the slow-burn climaxes and the searing brass-playing all make their mark, but there’s something quite special going on here which transcends the technical side of things.'

Grammy Nominee
Presto Discs of the Year

JS Bach: Violin Concertos. Alina Ibragimova (violin). Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen

Alina Ibragimova recently transfixed Proms audiences with her live solo Bach performances. Back in the studio she has teamed up with the expert Arcangelo to record five Bach Violin Concertos, two undisputed masterpieces and three probable reconstructions: all to be treasured.

Presto Discs of the year
BBC Music Magazine Disc of the month

Filament. Eighth Blackbird. Bryce Dessner (guitar), Nico Muhly (organ)

Celebrated new-music sextet Eighth Blackbird, whose last three albums garnered Grammy awards, continues to soar with 'Filament', a sizzling selection of four-world premiere recordings, plus a concert performance of Philip Glass’s influential Two Pages. The title 'Filament' symbolizes the strong ties of friendship and shared music­al interests con-necting the composers and per­formers on the album. The Chicago-based “super-musi­cians” (Los Angeles Times) are “a polished, personable, routinely dazzling sextet” (New York Times). In recent con­cert seasons, eighth blackbird has performed at Carne­gie Hall (Zankel and Stern Halls), London’s Barbican Centre and Washington DC’s Library of Congress and Kennedy Center.