Richard Osborne Books

Herbert von Karajan was one of the twentieth century's most prodigiously gifted performing artists. Richard Osborne knew him and had many conversations with him. These, however, were only the starting point for a biography which draws on interviews with those who worked with Karajan during his sixty year career, and on a vast array of primary archive material which has never been previously examined. This biography explores Karajan's life and music-making against the background of European music and politics in the years 1908 - 1989. The Austrian theatre producer Otto Schenk once said of Karajan: 'He is not only a musician. He is a whole period. When I was a boy he was already a period in our history'. This epic biography explores that period, and the enigma of the man who made it.

Owning the Masters provides the first in-depth history of sound recording copyright. It is this form of intellectual property that underpins the workings of the recording industry. Rather than being focused on the manufacture of goods, this industry is centred on the creation, exploitation and protection of rights. The development and control of these rights has not been straightforward. This book explores the lobbying activities of record the principal creators, owners and defenders of sound recording copyright. It addresses the counter-activity of recording artists, in particular those who have fought against the legislative and contractual practices of record companies to claim these master rights for themselves. In addition, this book looks at the activities of the listening public, large numbers of whom have been labelled 'pirates' for trespassing on these rights. The public has played its own part in shaping copyright legislation. This is an essential subject for an understanding of the economic, artistic and political value of recorded sound.

With innovative graphics, "Introducing Sociology" traces the discipline's history, and explains the intricacies of its major thinkers from Comte and Marx to Baudrillard and beyond.

From Paleolithic cave-painting to postmodernism, Art Theory For Beginners/i> is a concise and entertaining survey of the major historical and current debates on art. Painters, theorists and philosophers are all included to show how the idea of art has developed over the last 5,000 years. Art is a visual representation of a range of concepts, stories and emotions, including curiosity, humanity, political statements, and the Self. Art Theory for Beginners examines and explains the development of the different ways in which people study, interpret and appreciate art in its rich variety of forms. Art Theory For Beginners is a clear and entertaining introduction to the complex questions that stem from the simple idea of 'art'.

This book describes in detail a culture and way of thinking which predates Western philosophy by several centuries. It is an ideal guide for the Western reader to the historical and philosophical basis of Eastern cultures.

A detective, a female crime writer accused of murder and a woman police psychiatrist, the ex-lover of the detective, all feature in this sexual psychothriller. The male detective is caught between the two women who have a strange, uncanny connection. The film stars Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone.

Why does philosophy give some people a headache, others a real buzz, and yet others a feeling that it is subversive and dangerous? Why do a lot of people think philosophy is totally irrelevant? What is philosophy anyway? The ABCs of philosophy - easy to understand but never simplistic. Beginning with basic questions posed by the ancient Greeks - What is the world made of? What is a man? What is knowledge? What is good and evil? - Philosophy For Beginners traces the development of these questions as the key to understanding how Western philosophy developed over the last 2,500 years.

"Disenchantment with the underlying materialism of much of present-day society is driving many Westerners towards the integrated approach of Eastern philosophy, but often in a vague and generalized form." "In this introduction to the world's oldest philosophies, Richard Osborne and Borin Van Loon brilliantly elucidate the complex strands of Eastern thought from Confucius to Buddha and Islam to Tao. They explain the emphasis on the "nature of being", and on ethical and communal principles." "They also illuminate the search for Enlightenment, showing how these ideas are set within a cosmic whole rather than a framework of practical, scientific, and individual thought."--Jacket

Von der Höhlenmalerei bis zur Postmoderne – die Kunsttheorie für Einsteiger hält, was sie ver- spricht: einen kurzgefassten und unterhaltsa- men Überblick über die wichtigsten historischen und aktuellen Kunstdebatten. Was ist Kunst? Wieso ist sie nicht immer schön? Wie unter scheidet man gute von schlechten Kunstwerken? Wie konnte es eigentlich passieren, dass ein Urinal der Sanitärfirma J. L. Mott Iron Works zu einem berühmten Kunstwerk wurde? Und weshalb konnte im vergangenen Jahr eine Dortmunder Putzfrau im Falle einer Kippenberger-Skulptur Kunst nicht von Dreck unterscheiden? Wer nicht länger ratlos durch Museen und Galerien stolpern, sondern mitreden will, hat es jetzt ganz leicht: Die Kunsttheorie für Einsteiger führt in geistreichen Cartoons durch die Geschichte der Kunst und ihrer Theorien. Was bisher kompliziert war, machen Richard Osborne, Dan Sturgis und Natalie Turner zu einem großen Vergnügen. Sie erklären, warum es Kunst ist, wenn Jackson Pollock Leinwände mit Farbe bekleckert oder Joseph Beuys fünf Kilo Butter an die Wand klebt. Auch was man genau unter Impressionismus, Realismus, Dada oder Kubismus versteht, wird anhand berühmter Kunstwerke erläutert. Ausgestattet mit diesem Hintergrundwissen macht auch der nächste Museumsbesuch garantiert Spaß. Maler, Kunsthistoriker und Philosophen, alle haben ihren Auftritt, um gemeinsam zu zeigen, wie sich die Idee der Kunst in den letzten 5000 Jahren entwickelt hat.

Set against the backdrop of a tontine, this black comedy revolves around two brothers, Joseph and Masterman Finsbury, who are the last surviving members of a life-insurance scheme. The narrative unfolds through a series of misunderstandings, fraud attempts, and absurd situations, including a train crash and a mix-up of dead bodies. As their nephews scheme to secure an inheritance, the story humorously explores themes of identity and survival. Originally conceived in 1887, it showcases the wit and unconventional storytelling of its authors.