The limitless sea
A human history of the oceans
David Abulafia
The English researcher David Abulafia had enchanted us with his exceptional work The great sea (awarded by the prestigious British Academy), in which he retraced the thousand-year-old history of the civilizations bordering the Mediterranean. He offers us another universal adventure in the same vein, just as ambitious as his previous work, which this time deals with the five oceans of our blue planet. Illustrated with numerous maps and colored figures, the book tells the story of the evolution of relations between peoples along the sea routes, from the first crossings by the Vikings in the far north of Europe and the Polynesians in the Pacific to the international trade routes crisscrossed by container ships. The author, an admirable storyteller with fine writing, presents an anthology of merchants, explorers, pirates and scholars in search of spices and gold, ivory and fortune. A work without terrestrial borders, with waves as its one and only horizon.
The beautiful letters, October 16
Is the United States on the brink of civil war?
Mathieu Gallard
With less than 50 days to go until the US presidential election, the United States has never been so divided. Voters will soon have to choose between the continuity proposed by Democrat Kamala Harris — after the withdrawal of the outgoing president, Joe Biden — and the radical proposals of Republican candidate Donald Trump. Mathieu Gallarda French expert in the analysis of opinion and electoral trends, attempts in his new essay to put into historical context the political and social tensions that have fractured the country for several years. While recalling the absence of division and the apoliticism of the American population in the 1950s, he describes the slow process that, according to him, has led an entire nation to the brink of civil war today, where the prospect of secession of certain states is no longer a fictitious scenario. The director of research at Ipsos also proposes several scenarios (both positive and negative) regarding the future of the United States. Quite a program.
Dawn, November 12
Where is the hope?
Jean Ziegler
Even today, famine and malnutrition are gaining ground in many parts of the world. Every five seconds, a child under the age of 10 dies of hunger. But for the first time in the history of humanity, the question of food is no longer posed in terms of insufficient production, but of the inability of billions of human beings to satisfy their basic needs due to lack of financial means. Jean Zieglera major Swiss political figure and sociologist, who was the first UN rapporteur for the right to food (from 2000 to 2008), takes a serious but lucid look at the world by listing the disasters that are ravaging the Earth today. But always guided by hope, the author of Mass Destruction. Geopolitics of Hunger (Seuil, 2011) also sets out a certain number of strategies to adopt.
Threshold, November 18
How does Banksy revisit the history of art?
Kelly Grovier
The famous anonymous graffiti artist Banksy remains a mystery. But to hell with rumors! While the wildest conjectures about his true identity continue to regularly make headlines, the British art critic Kelly Grovier In his new work, he focuses on the paintings of the great masters who inspired the urban artist. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer, The Raft of the Medusa by Géricault or the spot paintingsDamien Hirst’s famous grids of colored dots, are masterpieces that have allowed Banksy to create a myriad of iconic images. We only have to think of his graffiti of Napoleon Bonaparte on a horse wrapped in a red cape, taken from the famous painting Bonaparte crossing the Great Saint Bernard (1801) by the painter Jacques-Louis David. Classicism and modernity, the critic’s dual approach allows for an in-depth analysis of the major works in the history of art while focusing on the career of an exceptional contemporary artist.
Alternatives, November 20
My name is Revolution
Lucy Parsons
Little known to the general public, Lucy Parsons (1853-1942) nevertheless left a mark on the working class history of his country during the major social movements that shook the industrial cities of the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.e century. Born in Texas, of African-American, Mexican and indigenous origins, this leading figure in the fight against inequality never stopped fighting against the exploitation of the working classes. She was considered in her time to be the most dangerous woman in America. It was she who organized the impressive hunger strikes in Chicago in January 1915. At 88 years old, the police still considered her a threat “more dangerous than 1000 insurgents”. This anthology entirely devoted to the activist brings together some forty of her texts, speeches and conferences which shed light on the deep reasons for her relentless fight to protect the most vulnerable.
Lux, November 5