A Historic Sketch

A beautifully illustrated book exploring a unique take on Venice for curious travellers, lovers of history, art, architecture and the environmentally sensitive. This book also conveys a pervasive message of deep environmental and climactic concerns and the tragedy of how a Renaissance Empire has been turned into a contemporary amusement park. A Sketch of Venetian History will enchant, educate and challenge readers.Venice remains one of the jewels of Italy, of Europe, of the world. It is universally recognized as part of the artistic and architectural patrimony of humanity and in 1987 was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It receives over 22 million visitors each year!Since the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, Venezia has held an unrivalled place in the world's imagination and has inspired writers of prose and poetry, artists of all sorts, photographers, film makers, tourists and more. Yet, most people do not know the story of Venice. This book offers a unique portrait of Venice and weaves together many diverse subjects &– art, ecology, travel, history, all enriched by original line drawings of a unique style found on every page.A Sketch of Venetian History illuminates the Venetian Republic's history through six major eras &– from its early ecological formations, through its modest beginnings, to the height and potency of the Grand Republic, to its collapse and to its modern day challenges posed by environmentalism and massive tourism.

When James Mooney lived with and studied the Cherokee between 1887 and 1900, they were the largest and most important Indian tribe in the United States. His dispassionate account of their history from the time of their fi rst contact with whites until the end of the nineteenth century is more than a sequence of battles won and lost, treaties signed and broken, towns destroyed and people massacred. There is humanity along with inhumanity in the relations between the Cherokee and other groups, Indian and non-Indian; there is fortitude and persistence balanced with disillusionment and frustration. In these respects, the history of the Cherokee epitomizes the experience of most Native Americans. The Cherokee Nation ceased to exist as a political entity seven years after the initial study was done, when Oklahoma became a state.

"The following work is the substance of various speculations, that occasionally amused the author, and enlivened his leisure-hours. It is not intended for the learned; they are above it: nor for the vulgar; they are below it. It is intended for men, who, equally removed from the corruption of opulence, and from the depression of bodily labour, are bent on useful knowledge; who, even in the delirium of youth, feel the dawn of patriotism, and who in riper years enjoy its meridian warmth. To such men this work is dedicated; and that they may profit by it, is the author's ardent wish, and probably will be while any spirit remains in him to form a wish"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).