Quantum Books

How do seemingly disparate arenas of Enlightenment philosophy, economic theories, boudoir etiquette, literary styles, and artistic modes coincide in the late eighteenth century? In this poetic essay on the evolution of the idea of luxury and art, Rémy G. Saisselin uses precise, witty examples to describe the development of our modern taste, the successor of the more spiritual and grand baroque goût. His analysis both illuminates and distinguishes between eighteenth-century and modern varieties of conspicuous consumption.

This persuasive discourse depicts the rise of luxe as an escape from ennui and shows how, for the first time in European history, a large class of wealthy, leisured people emerged to make art, luxury, and the avoidance of boredom its preoccupation. Saisselin provides an original and lucid picture of the first phases in the emergence of a specifically bourgeois taste.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1992.

American Indian affairs are much in the public mind today—hotly contested debates over such issues as Indian fishing rights, land claims, and reservation gambling hold our attention. While the unique legal status of American Indians rests on the historical treaty relationship between Indian tribes and the federal government, until now there has been no comprehensive history of these treaties and their role in American life.

Francis Paul Prucha, a leading authority on the history of American Indian affairs, argues that the treaties were a political anomaly from the very beginning. The term "treaty" implies a contract between sovereign independent nations, yet Indians were always in a position of inequality and dependence as negotiators, a fact that complicates their current attempts to regain their rights and tribal sovereignty.

Prucha's impeccably researched book, based on a close analysis of every treaty, makes possible a thorough understanding of a legal dilemma whose legacy is so palpably felt today.

This simulating book gathers five lectures that ask questions of the broadest general intellectual interest: What is religion? Do other peoples have the same emotional states as we do? Why do humans make use of body imagery? In Circumstantial Deliveries, Rodney Needham shows that the comparative study of societies may furnish the answers.

Circumstantial Deliveries challenges the methodology and substance of many conventional ideas about human nature and calls for more radical and comparative analyses. For instance, the author discredits the notion that to primitive peoples the colors red, white, and black symbolize blood, semen, and feces, respectively, arguing that an extensive comparative study of primitive societies discovered no such relationship.

These essays sound a common theme: "If a deeper appreciation of the value of life can be had from reading Crime and Punishment, or if a more acute assessment of the springs of action can be acquired from Hamlet, then in principle it should be conceded that like benefits may be derived from a sympathetic observation of other men engaged in their daily affairs."
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.

For few verses in the Bible is the relationship between scripture and the artistic imagination more intriguing than for the conclusion of Genesis 4:15: "And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him." What was the mark of Cain? The answers set before us in this sensitive study by art historian Ruth Mellinkoff are sometimes poignant, frequently surprising. An early summary of rabbinic answers, for examples runs as follows: R. Judah said: "He caused the orb of the sun to shine on his account." Said R. Nehemiah to him: "For that wretch He would cause the orb of the sun to shine! Rather, he caused leprosy to break out on him...." Rab said: "He gave him a dog." Abba Jose said: "He made a horn grow out of him." Rab said: "He made him an example to murderers." R. Hanin said: "He made him an example to penitents." R. Levi said in the name of R. Simeon b. Lakish: "He suspended judgment until the flood came and swept him away." After a review of such early Jewish and Christian exegesis, Mellinkoff divides physical interpretations on the mark into three groups: "A Mark on Cain's Body," "A Movement of Cain's Body," and "A Blemish Associated with Cain's Body." Her discussion of these groups is the heart of her study and offers its richest examples of interplay among medieval art and imaginative literature, on the one hand, and biblical exegesis, on the other. Thus in one remarkable tour de force, she shows us how a poetic misprision of Genesis 4:24 - "Sevenfold vengeance will be taken for Cain: but for Lamech seventy times sevenfold" - made Lamech the murderer of Cain; how there then grew up the legend that Lamech, a hunter, had killed Cain when he mistook him for an animal; how from that, the notion that the mark of Cain was a horn or horns on Cain's head arose (in the poignant formulation of the Tanhuma Midrash: "Oh father, you have killed something that resembles a man except it has a horn on its forehead!"); and how from that, in the maturity of the legend, there flowered Cornish drama, Irish saga, and stunning reliefs of a dying, antlered Cain in the cathedrals of Vezelay and Autun. Like Genesis 4:15 itself, 'The Mark of Cain' is suggestive rather than comprehensive. Concluding chapters on "Intentionally Distorted Interpretations of Cain's Mark" and "Cain's Mark and the Jews" bring the history down to our own day, but Mellinkoff does not claim to have said the last word on the subject. Her achievement is neither documentary nor exegetical but rather demonstrative: she shows us with brilliant economy how the artistic imagination functioned in a world whose intellectual definition was a closed canonical text.


For few verses in the Bible is the relationship between scripture and the artistic imagination more intriguing than for the conclusion of Genesis 4:15: "And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him." What was the mark of

In this essay on "what the imagination has made of the phenomenon of echo,” John Hollander examines aspects of the figure of echo in light of their significance for poetry. Looking at echo in its literal, acoustic sense, echo in myth, and echo as literary allusion, Hollander concludes with a study of the rhetorical status of the figure of echo and an examination of the ancient and newly interesting trope of metalepsis, or transumption, which it appears to embody.

Centered on ways in which Milton's poetry echoes, and is echoed by, other texts, The Figure of Echo also explores Spenser and other Renaissance writers; romantic poets such as Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth; and modern poets including Hardy, Eliot, Stevens, Frost, Williams, and Hart Crane.

This book has implications for literary theory and holds great practical interest for students and teachers of American and English literature of all periods.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.

In Revolution and Repetition, Jeffrey Mehlman surveys the question of the relation between Karl Marx's writings and the institution of literature. He presents not an application of Marxian categories to literary texts, but a delineation of how the phenomenon of revolution in France is refracted through two divergent series of writings. The first comprises three works by Marx: The Class Struggles in France 1848-1850, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, and The Civil War in France. The second consists of two exemplary nineteenth-century novels on revolution: Victor Hugo's Quatrevingt-treize and Honoré de Balzac's Les Chouans.

Mehlman also explores the limits and opportunities of reading itself. Within a series of precise textual analyses, the reader will encounter Jean Laplanche's lectures on "anxiety" in Freud, Jacques Derrida's Glas, Georg Lukács’s study of Balzac’s “realism," and Michel Foucault's genealogy of prisons, Surveiller et punir. This volume is a working introduction to what may be termed French "post-structuralism."

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

Cooper's Landscapes: An Essay on the Picturesque Vision delves into the vivid and enduring landscapes of James Fenimore Cooper's works, exploring how his descriptive artistry shaped the American literary imagination. This essay examines Cooper's unique ability to translate the grandeur of early 19th-century America into powerful visual panoramas that resonate with readers long after the characters and plots fade. Drawing on insights from European aesthetic traditions and the picturesque conventions, the book highlights how Cooper's narrative settings were inspired by both his American roots and his transformative years abroad. This perspective not only contextualizes his work within the broader scope of art and landscape painting but also underscores Cooper's innovative approach to crafting scenes that intertwine with the thematic elements of his storytelling.

The book also offers a fresh critique of Cooper’s aesthetic education, focusing on his mastery of landscape organization, the influence of his European experiences, and his application of landscape gardening principles in fiction. From early romances like The Last of the Mohicans to the nuanced complexities of later works such as Wyandotte, the essay reveals how Cooper’s visual imagination evolved to serve his narrative ambitions. By connecting Cooper’s artistry to the broader Romantic movement and theories of visual perception, this study illuminates the profound interplay between literature and the sister arts, offering a rich framework for appreciating Cooper’s enduring contributions to American cultural and literary history.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1976.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

This is a book about the theater phenomenon. It is an extension of notes on the theater and theatergoing that have been accumulating for some time. It does not have an argument, or set out to prove a thesis, and it will not be one of those useful books one reads for the fruits of its research. Rather, it is a form of critical description that is phenomenological in the sense that it focuses on the activity of theater making itself out of its essential materials: speech, sound, movement, scenery, text, etc. Like most phenomenological description, it will succeed to the extent that it awakens the reader's memory of his own perceptual encounters with theater. If the book fails in this it will be about as interesting to read as an anthology of someone else's dreams. In any case, this book is less concerned with the scientific purity of my perspective and method than with retrieving something from the theater experience that seems to me worthy of our critical admiration.


This is a book about the theater phenomenon. It is an extension of notes on the theater and theatergoing that have been accumulating for some time. It does not have an argument, or set out to prove a thesis, and it will not be one of those useful books on

In Conversations with Paul Gsell, Rodin’s thoughts were captured in a conversational form that lent immediacy to his ideas, grounding them in reflections on his own work and that of others. Gsell’s role as collaborator shaped the dialogues, which were based on a series of articles published before the 1911 book, providing a written record of Rodin’s philosophical musings on the purpose and nature of art, artistic expression, and movement. While Rodin’s celebrity amplified the book’s reach, the collaborative nature of its creation complicates attributing its thoughts solely to Rodin, as Gsell’s influence in the selection and framing of topics is significant. Yet, the authenticity of Rodin’s voice shines through, and the work has become a touchstone for understanding his views on art and his aesthetic principles.

This dialogue remains essential to studies of Rodin’s philosophy and artistic legacy, though scholars sometimes overlook it in broader explorations of early 20th-century intellectual themes. Its historical context connects it to Symbolism, Bergsonian philosophy, and the emerging modernist aesthetics that questioned classical ideals. However, the nuances of the Rodin-Gsell partnership, Gsell’s mediating role, and Rodin’s own contributions warrant further study to fully appreciate how these elements interact to shape a foundational text in art theory. The Conversations invite readers to a deeper examination of how artistic reflection and creation converge and exemplify the enduring complexities of translating visual creativity into words.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1984.

Bad Mouth: Fugitive Papers on the Dark Side examines the pervasive and complex ways in which language is used to harm, distort, and alienate. Through a series of essays, the book explores the concept of "counter-language"—words deployed as weapons to insult, deceive, and subvert standards of truth and decency. The collection broadens to examine how these linguistic tendencies mirror and contribute to modern cultural shifts, where the once exceptional use of provocative or offensive language has become increasingly normalized. Beyond language, the book delves into the aesthetics of ugliness and its metaphors—rags, garbage, and excrement—as symbols of a broader cultural fixation on the grotesque.

The author reflects on a significant transformation in art, literature, and everyday discourse over the last fifty years. What was once a minority mode of offense and alienation in art is now dominant, driven by a society increasingly desensitized to shock and degradation. The book resists offering definitive explanations for this shift but presents it as a symptom of cultural upheaval. Whether this trend represents a genuine expansion of expressive possibilities or a descent into sensationalism is left open to interpretation. Ultimately, Bad Mouth challenges readers to confront the evolving vocabulary of modern life and its implications for self-definition, truth, and the human experience.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

This title delves into the interplay between Charles Baudelaire's poetic vision and Freudian psychoanalytic theory, offering a nuanced exploration of fragmented identity and the dynamic tension between traditional ideals and modern psychological complexity. Baudelaire's work is framed as a pivotal cultural drama, encapsulating the struggle between spiritual aspirations and self-degradation—a dualism rooted in his concept of "two postulations" of human nature, toward God and Satan. This framework aligns with a broader structure of oppositions—high and low, spirit and matter, reality and appearance—that has traditionally defined idealistic visions in literature.

However, the book challenges reductive readings of Baudelaire's dualism, arguing instead for a recognition of his deeper engagement with psychic mobility and the destabilization of identity. Baudelaire's poetry, like Freud's theories, emerges at a cultural crossroads where traditional views of the self are simultaneously upheld and dismantled. This study emphasizes Baudelaire's resistance to the indeterminacy of self, contrasting it with more radical contemporary experiments in fragmented subjectivity. Using Freudian theory, particularly the notions of fantasy and psychic deconstruction, the book highlights Baudelaire's complex interplay between rigid dichotomies and the liberating yet disruptive forces of self-scattering desire, offering a profound examination of the tensions that define both his work and the evolution of modern thought.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.

Suffering from wanderlust like many of his countrymen, Mark Twain had the good fortune to be paid to offer his observations in a series of travel letters and books. Curious and indefatigable, he used his incomparable skills to produce the vivid descriptions and humorous commentaries that made his books immensely popular. At the same time, travel writing afforded him the opportunity to engage in more personal explorations.

The looseness of the travel narrative enabled Twain to put down virtually whatever came to mind, with little concern about connections. At a time when established values were faltering, this tolerance suited him. His travel books are strings of incidents, anecdotes, descriptions, and the occasional odd detail, all arranged along a geographical line. At any given moment, Twain's anarchistic independence was free to assert itself.

The travel books are more than entertaining compilations. They represent serious, if offhand, explorations of Mark Twain's outer and inner worlds and help define him as part of the whole van of modernists moving into the twentieth century.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.