Social Science : Customs & Traditions

Fifteen years ago while researching Jewish imagery, award-winning book designer Scott-Martin Kosofsky happened upon a 1645 edition of the Minhogimbukh -- the ''Customs Book'' -- a beautifully designed and illustrated guide to the Jewish year written in Yiddish, the people's vernacular. Captivated, he investigated further and learned that from 1590 to 1890, this cross between a prayer book and a farmer's almanac was immensely popular in households all across Europe. Published in dozens of editions and revised over the centuries in Venice, Prague, Amsterdam, and throughout Germany before moving eastward in the nineteenth century to Poland and Russia, these books detail the evolution of Jewish custom over three hundred years. But by the 1890s, as Jewish practice became polarized between the secularist and traditionalist views, the Minhogimbukh disappeared. There are no works quite like the historical customs books available today and none so thorough and concise, intuitive in organization, and beautiful. Inspired by the originals, Kosofsky set out to make his own, adapting the books for modern use, adding historical perspective and contemporary application. The result is the reappearance of the Minhogimbukh after more than a hundred-year absence, and the first complete showing of all the original woodcuts -- a visual vocabulary of Jewish life -- since the 1760s. Faithfully based on the earlier editions, The Book of Customs is an updated guide to the rituals, liturgies, and texts of the entire Jewish year -- from the days of the week and the Sabbath to all the months with their festivals, as well as the major life-cycle events of wedding, birth, bar and bat mitzvah, and death. With the revival of this lost cultural legacy, The Book of Customs can once again become every family's guide to Jewish tradition and practice. more...

Price: $19.95

A 'landmark in Australian anthropology' when it first appeared in 1880, this is the first major analysis of Aboriginal social structure, adopting a model today termed 'social Darwinist'. While this theory is now rejected, it exerted tremendous influence on European attitudes for decades. Kamilaroi and Kurnai is of particular relevance to Koories of Kurnai descent and to all students of Aboriginal anthropology and history. more...

Price: $26.50

Think of England, and anger hardly springs to mind as its primary national characteristic. Yet in The Angry Island, A. A. Gill argues that, in fact, it is plain old fury that is the wellspring for England's accomplishments. The default setting of England is anger. The English are naturally, congenitally, collectively and singularly livid much of the time. They're incensed, incandescent, splenetic, prickly, touchy, and fractious. They can be mildly annoyed, really annoyed and, most scarily, not remotely annoyed. They sit apart on their half of a damply disappointing little island, nursing and picking at their irritations. The English itch inside their own skins. They feel foreign in their own country and run naked through their own heads. more...

Price: $17.99

A practical guide, with checklists and exercises, offering step-by-step guidance for those embarking on an international career. Advice is also given to organisations on how to develop and manage international career experiences. more...

Price: $16.45

Explores the history and traditions associated with the Christmas season. Teaches that Christmas is a multicultural celebration with traditions borrowed from many parts of the globe. Contains excellent background information and wealth of practical activities. For students aged 8-11. more...

Price: $7.95