This is the only comprehensive account of the Parthenon pediments in English and the first in any language since 1963. It serves as an up-to-date introduction to their study and includes new proposals for the restoration and interpretation of their composition. Debate on the Parthenon pediments has concentrated on the interpretation of individual figures, the restoration of the missing parts and the question of Roman repairs. The present study is based on autopsy and considers the evidence of technical details. It questions the attribution of certain familiar pieces and offers new suggestions for restoring the east pediment. All sculptures are illustrated, some with photographs taken especially for this book, and there are new drawings of the restorations proposed by the author. Chapter 1 is a general introduction to the study of the pediments. It includes an assessment of the documentation and a summary of stylistic and technical characteristics of the sculptures. Chapters 2 and 3 treat each pediment separately. The discussion of individual sculptures is incorporated in a continuous narrative which sets them within the context of the overall composition.

To mark the 50th anniversary in 2012 of the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral after its destruction by incendiary bombs in November 1940, this lavishly illustrated volume celebrates a unique church with a unique mission. The decision to rebuild the Cathedral was taken the morning after the bombing - not as an act of defiance, but one of faith, trust and hope for the future of the world. Reconciling People tells the story of every aspect the Cathedral's life: its architecture in war and in peace, its theology, worship and spirituality, music and the arts, its mission and ministry, its place in the life of the city, the Cathedral as a place of reconciliation, its people over the decades and its life today. Co-published with the Friends of Coventry Cathedral, this celebratory volume is a record of a how a 900-year old cathedral rose from the ashes of violent destruction to become a symbol of reconciliation and to develop a unique mission among Britain's churches.

At the height of the middle ages, there were hundreds of abbeys and priories throughout England. The ruins of some of those that were destroyed at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries are today seen as iconic medieval buildings - such as Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, designated a World Heritage site, or Tintern Abbey on the river Wye, immortalised by Wordsworth. These monasteries - particularly those of the Benedictine and Cistercian orders - were not simply powerhouses of prayer, but major local landowners who improved agriculture, replanned villages and founded new towns. For this reason, Glyn Coppack's far-ranging study not only looks at the churches and the immediate monastic buildings, but at the full range of ancillary buildings.