Most Popular Books by John Bell

The papers in this book include letters from Confederate and Union officers, unpublished battle reports, detailed medical reports relating to Hood's two major wounds, and dozens of letters exchanged with his wife Anna.

How are we to endure this global leadership drought? There’s a reason we often use the word ‘Shakespearean’ to describe dramatic times: William Shakespeare is our best analyst of human behaviour and motivation. A man well acquainted with turmoil, he produced works bristling with wit, profound empathy and a deep understanding of the best and worst of our nature. His words still ring with relevance today; they might just contain some of the answers we’re looking for. Australians are weary of the farcical spectacle of mid-term prime ministers being shoved through the revolving door, scandalous failures of governance in financial institutions and the moral abyss in Church stewardship. Throughout the mess of Brexit, chaotic unpredictability of the Trump administration and Covid-19 – the gravest leadership challenge since World War II – stable, reliable, sensible leadership has been in short supply. Having spent a great deal of the last seventy-something years studying, performing and directing Shakespeare’s plays, John Bell has absorbed timeless lessons in life, character and leadership from the Bard – and put these to good use running two successful theatre companies. Some Achieve Greatness presents invaluable lessons to help us navigate this unpredictable time. ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.’ 'Should be mandatory reading for all our leaders and aspiring leaders.' David Williamson ‘John Bell on Shakespeare is always riveting, but John Bell on Shakespeare through the lens of leadership is a revelation. Packed with insights, this is inspirational reading for anyone who aspires to be an effective leader – and anyone who wants to understand why so many leaders fail while others prevail.’ Hugh Mackay “Poetical, profound and practical leadership advice from the Bard and the Bell. It just doesn’t get better than this.” Jane Caro

John Bell Hood was one of the most notorious Confederate generals of the Civil War, arguably the best division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia and also arguably the worst overall army commander of the Confederacy. The big Texan and his brigade were crucial at Antietam, and he fought hard and was injured at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, but when he took over the Army of Tennessee in 1864, he made disastrous decisions that wrecked the army at Franklin and Nashville. Hood died in 1879, fairly shortly after the war, but his generalship was so controversial that he felt compelled to defend it in a hastily written memoirs. In addition to talking about his own experiences, it rebuts General Joseph E. Johnston's writings, as the two men traded blame over the Atlanta campaign against Union general William Tecumseh Sherman.

In 1863–1864, Confederate naval operations were launched from Canada against America, with an unexpected impact on North America’s future. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a myth has persisted that the hijackers entered the United States from Canada. This is completely untrue. Nevertheless, there was a time during the U.S. Civil War when attacks on America were launched from Canada, but the aggressors were mostly fellow Americans engaged in a secessionist struggle. Among the attacks were three daring naval commando expeditions against a prisoner-of-war camp on Johnsons Island in Lake Erie. These Confederate operations on the Great Lakes remain largely unknown. However, some of the people involved did make more indelible marks in history, including a future Canadian prime minister, a renowned Victorian war correspondent, a beloved Catholic poet, a notorious presidential assassin, and a son of the abolitionist John Brown. The improbable events linking these figures constitute a story worth telling and remembering. Rebels on the Great Lakes offers the first full account of the Confederate naval operations launched from Canada in 186364, describing forgotten military actions that ultimately had an unexpected impact on North Americas future.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1790 Edition.

A history of comics and comic art in Canada includes two thirty-page discussions of the lives and works of Johnny Canuck and Chester Brown.

Franz Liszt was one of the most awe-inspiring figures in all of music history. As a composer, he was experimental and inventive, pushing the boundaries of form and harmony. As a pianist, he possessed breathtaking virtuosity: his masterful technique was almost acrobatic. Liszt left behind an enormous body of piano music - by turns poetic, glittering, prophetic, profound, and haunting - that failed to command the acclaim it deserved in his lifetime. Today, however, Franz Liszt is widely known as both a brilliant composer and one of the greatest pianists ever.

Ludwig Van Beethoven's nine symphonies stand as towering masterworks at the core of the classical canon. In Beethoven's hands, the symphony expanded dramatically in scope and power in a way that would revolutionise both the form itself and music in general. The impact of Beethoven's nine was such that composers long after him would write their own symphonies in his shadow. In this book, acclaimed Pianist and critic John Bell Young explores each of the nine symphonies, always looking beneath the surface for what makes the music so compelling. He places them in their historical and cultural context, and he describes how the Russian concept of intonatsiia, a way of perceiving relationships "between the notes," can help deepen our appreciation of these pieces. The accompanying CD contains selections from all of the symphonies, each performance conducted by the legendary Wilhelm Furtwangler.

Puppetry is arguably the most widespread form of performance. The artistry of puppetry includes aspects of the visual arts, theatre, music, and dance. Puppets can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and are found today in cultures worldwide, across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. John Bell shows how puppets have been used to relay myths, poke fun at political figures, comment on cultural events of the period, express moral stories, and entertain adults and children alike. This richly illustrated book gives a historical overview and looks at the wide variety of this traditional art form. From European and Asian puppets in modern and ancient times to the Puppet Modernism movements, the book explores the important innovators and innovations of puppetry. Brief biographies of key figures such as Tony Sarg (credited with creating the first over-life-size puppets used for parades), Paul McPharlin (creator of Punch’s Circus), and Jim Henson (world-reknowned creator of many puppets, including the Muppets) help describe the evolution of puppetry. Definitions and descriptions of a variety of puppet styles, including shadow puppets, marionettes, hand puppets, rod puppets, and many others, add to the understanding of this fascinating form of art. With over one hundred color illustrations, this book highlights the "lives" of such characters as Kermit the Frog, Punch and Judy, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the traditional Chinese puppet Te-Yung to reveal the ways that puppets have become an integral part of many cultures. Captivating and fun, this book offers valuable insight into the wonderful world of puppetry.

Despite the growing scholarly interest in comparative public law, there remain relatively few works on the subject. Contemporary French Administrative Law aims to redress that imbalance, offering English-language readers an authoritative introduction to the key features of French administrative law and its institutions. The French legal system is among the most well-developed and influential in the world, and, as procedures continually adapt to European and international influences, it has never been more worthy of research, study and interrogation. This book employs a wide range of recent, illustrative cases to demonstrate how French administrative law works both in theory and in practice. Using a systematic approach and covering everything from judicial review to public contracts, this is a highly valuable text for any student or researcher with an interest in French law. The book is also available as Open Access.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1880.

Music Theory for Musical Theatre is a textbook designed to demystify music theory and analysis to make it more accessible to the musical theatre student. It aims to equip the student with a basic skill set that he or she can directly apply to the art form. John Bell and Steven R. Chicurel explore how musical theatre composers use basic principles of music theory to help illuminate characters and tell stories, while helping the student understand the form, structure, and dramatic power of musical theatre repertoire. The material is presented in three parts. Part I breaks down key concepts in the rudiments of music theory, including melody, rhythm, harmony, and form, while using excerpts from musical theatre literature to illustrate these ideas. Part II offers full analyses of musical theatre songs, presenting a model for singing actors on how to use musical analysis as an aid in performance. The workbook in Part III provides hands-on drills and exercises that the reader can use to facilitate skill development of the ideas presented in part one. Published with a lay-flat binding for easy use in the classroom and concluding with a glossary that reinforces important terminology, this textbook fills a long-neglected need in musical theatre study that will be beneficial to beginning and advanced students alike.

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title