ANDREW DALBY

Sensual yet pre-eminently functional, food is of intrinsic interest to us all. It was a necessity and pleasure in ancient times as well, although the ingredients used often varied from what would appeal to modern tastes. In this informative and entertaining reference work, Andrew Dalby, explores an encyclopaedic range of foods (and drinks) known from the Greek and Roman worlds. Entries range from a few lines to a couple of pages. They encompass individual foodstuffs such as catfish, gazelle, peaches and parsley, as well as utensils, ancient writers on food, and a vast array of other topics, drawn from classical literature, history and archaeology, along with examinations of modern scholarship. Approachable, reliable and fun, this A-Z explains and clarifies a subject that crops up in numerous classical sources, from plays to histories and beyond. It also gives references to useful primary and secondary reading. It will be an invaluable companion for students, academics andgastronomes alike.

Every two weeks a language dies. Of the estimated 5,000 languages spoken worldwide, from Cherokee to Cornish, only half are likely to survive to the end of this century. What does this mean for the human race? Will we eventually become a one-language planet? And does it even matter? Andrew Dalby's powerful study shows why language loss affects us all. He explores how languages become extinct: through political power, in the case of Latin engulfing the Ancient Mediterranean; through brute force, such as that used against Native Americans and Australians; and through economics - as the phenomenal rise of English as the language of business and mass communications shows. This linguistic globalization means not just a loss of cultural identity and diversity, but also of the unique world-view and acquired local knowledge enshrined in the way we speak. The consequences, Dalby argues, will be devastating - not just for language, but for the future of humankind itself. 'Magnificent … passionate and lucid' Spectator 'A wide-ranging and lucid study of how languages die' Sunday Telegraph 'Ardent, dignified and convincing … argues superbly for the importance of maintaining linguistic diversity' Spectator

Cheese, wine, honey and olive oilfour of Greece's best known contributions to culinary culture- -were already well known four thousand years ago. Remains of honeycombs and of cheeses have been found under the volcanic ash of the Santorini eruption of 1627 BC. Over the millennia, Greek food diversified and absorbed neighboring traditions, yet retained its own distinctive character. In Siren Feasts, Andrew Dalby provides the first serious social history of Greek food. He begins with the tunny fishers of the neolithic age, and traces the story through the repertoire of classical Greece, the reputations of Lydia for luxury and of Sicily and South Italy for sybaritism, to the Imperial synthesis of varying traditions, with a look forward to the Byzantine cuisine and the development of the modern Greek menu. The apples of the Hesperides turn out to be lemons, and great favour attaches to Byzantine biscuits. Fully documented and comprehensively illustrated, scholarly yetimmensely readable, Siren Feasts demonstrates the social construction placed upon different types of food at different periods (was fish a luxury item in classical Athens, though disdained by Homeric heroes?). It places diet in an economic and agricultural context; and it provides a history of mentalities in relation to a subject which no human being can ignore.

Covering the political, social and historical background of each language, Dictionary of Languages offers a unique insight into human culture and communication. Every language with official status is included, as well as all those that have a written literature and 175 ''minor'' languages with special historical or anthropological interest.We see how, with the rapidly increasing uniformity of our culture as media''s influence spreads, more languages have become extinct or are under threat of extinction. The text is highlighted by maps and charts of scripts, while proverbs, anecdotes and quotations reveal the features that make a language unique.

La Ilíada y la Odisea, imperecederos clásicos de la antigua tradición épica griega, son las primeras y más grandes obras del canon occidental. Durante generaciones, público, especialistas y escolares han explorado sus paginas, y sus relatos han acabado formando parte intrinseca de nuestro conocimiento cultural colectivo. Y sin embargo, los origenes de los poemas epicos mas celebres de toda la poesia occidental estan envueltos en un velo de misterio: ¿Cual era su proposito y quienes eran sus posibles lectores? ¿Cuando se escribieron? Y lo que es mas importante: ¿Quien fue su autor? El autor de la Iliada y la Odisea no puede ser Homero, aunque a dia de hoy todavia sentimos la tentacion de usar su nombre. En La reinvencion de Homero, Andrew Dalby rebate este persistente error. La reinvencion de Homero es un libro para todos los publicos: para los potenciales lectores de la Iliada y la Odisea, para todos los interesados en los inicios de la literatura occidental y para quienes se ocupan de cuestiones relativas al genero en el origen de la creatividad literaria. La obra libera al lector de sus presupuestos sobre estos grandes poemas epicos y los lleva de nuevo hasta ellos con la mirada renovada y sin las anteojeras que han lastrado tantas interpretaciones.