Blanche, Augustine, and Genevieve found themselves in the hysteria ward of the Salpetriere Hospital in 1870s Paris, where their care was directed by the prominent neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. They became medical celebrities: every week, eager crowds arrived at the hospital to observe their symptoms; they were photographed, sculpted, painted, and transformed into characters in novels. The remarkable story of their lives as patients in the clinic is a strange amalgam of intimate details and public exposure, science and religion, medicine and the occult, hypnotism, love, and theater. But who were Blanche, Augustine, and Genevieve? What role did they play in their own peculiar form of stardom? And what exactly were they suffering from? Hysteria with its dramatic seizures, hallucinations, and reenactments of past traumas may be an illness of the past, but the notions of femininity that lie behind it offer insights into disorders of the present."

This book is based on the contributions to a course, entitled Applied Magnetism, which was the 25th Course of the International School of Materials Science and Technology. The Course was held as a NATO Advanced Study Institute at the Ettore Majorana Centre in Erice, Sicily, Italy between the 1st and 12th July 1992, and attracted almost 70 participants from 15 different countries. The book deals with the theory, experiments and applications of the main topical areas of applied magnetism. These selected areas include the physics of magnetic recording, magnetic and magneto-optic recording devices, systems and media, magnetic fine particles, magnetic separation, domains and domain walls in soft magnetic materials, permanent magnets, magnetoresistance, thin film magneto-optics, and finally, microwave, optical and computational magnetics. The material is organised into I 0 self-contained chapters which together provide a comprehensive coverage of the subject of applied magnetism. The aim is to emphasise the connection between the fundamental theoretical concepts, key experiments and the important technological developments which have been achieved in this field up to the present time. Moreover, when and where possible, pointers to future trends are indicated which hopefully, together with the background material, will promote further advancement of research. The organizing committee would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of the NATO Scientific Affairs Division, the National Science Foundation of the USA, the Science and Engineering Research Council of the UK, the Italian Ministry of Education, the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research and the Sicilian Regional Government.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

A team of outstanding scientists in the field of modern magnetic nanotechnologies illustrates the state of the art in several areas of advanced magneto-electronic devices, magnetic micro-electromechanical systems and high density information storage technologies.

The physics and chemistry of nano-scale systems have made rapid advances and there are real prospects of translating exciting scientific findings into a new generation of processes and high technology products with a potential impact on several industrial sectors.

In particular the development of nano-structured magnetic materials plays a leading role in the increasing miniaturization of devices with superior performances. The application areas considered are:

i) "magneto-electronics," where the control of electron spins in magnetic hetero-structures offers new and improved functionalities in devices of integrated digital electronics. Magnetic random access memories, MRAM are among the principal applications for new non-volatile RAM with fast dynamics, toward the pico-, femto-second range.

ii) "magnetic MEMS" (micro-electro-mechanical systems), which are the integration of mechanical and electro/ferromagnetic elements (micro-actuators and sensors) with conventional electronics MEMS, promise a revolution in several product categories. In fact the proposed integration enables the development of smart products, where sensors can gather information from the environment by measuring thermal, magnetic, electric, mechanical, biological chemical, optical characteristics and the electronic section processes the information and the actuator promotes the action realizing a complete control of the environment.

iii) "Magnetic recording" is a leading technology in the information storage domain and the most relevant application in the field of magnetics, showing surprising continuous progress over several decades towards the limit of terabit per square inch of areal density.>

This book is based on the contributions to a course, entitled Applied Magnetism, which was the 25th Course of the International School of Materials Science and Technology. The Course was held as a NATO Advanced Study Institute at the Ettore Majorana Centre in Erice, Sicily, Italy between the 1st and 12th July 1992, and attracted almost 70 participants from 15 different countries. The book deals with the theory, experiments and applications of the main topical areas of applied magnetism. These selected areas include the physics of magnetic recording, magnetic and magneto-optic recording devices, systems and media, magnetic fine particles, magnetic separation, domains and domain walls in soft magnetic materials, permanent magnets, magnetoresistance, thin film magneto-optics, and finally, microwave, optical and computational magnetics. The material is organised into I 0 self-contained chapters which together provide a comprehensive coverage of the subject of applied magnetism. The aim is to emphasise the connection between the fundamental theoretical concepts, key experiments and the important technological developments which have been achieved in this field up to the present time. Moreover, when and where possible, pointers to future trends are indicated which hopefully, together with the background material, will promote further advancement of research. The organizing committee would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of the NATO Scientific Affairs Division, the National Science Foundation of the USA, the Science and Engineering Research Council of the UK, the Italian Ministry of Education, the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research and the Sicilian Regional Government.

In this book, a team of outstanding scientists in the field of modern magnetic nanotechnologies illustrates the state-of-the-art in several areas of advanced magneto-electronic devices, magnetic micro-electromechanical systems and high density information storage technologies. Providing a unique source of information for the young physicist, chemist or engineer, the book also serves as a crucial reference for the expert scientist and the teacher of advanced university courses.

A groundbreaking new book about the misogynistic nineteenth century obsession with hysteria, focusing on the renowned Salpetriere Hospital in Paris. 'Fascinating and beautifully written' Guardian 'Fascinating ... gives us a disturbing insight into the extent to which doctors, patients and diseases, both then and now, are products of their time' Sunday Times In 1862 the Salpetriere Hospital in Paris became the epicenter of the study of hysteria, the mysterious illness then thought to affect half of all women. There, prominent neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot's contentious methods caused furore within the church and divided the medical community. Treatments included hypnosis, piercing and the evocation of demons and, despite the controversy they caused, the experiments became a fascinating and fashionable public spectacle. Medical Muses tells the stories of the women institutionalised in the Salpetriere. Theirs is a tale of science and ideology, medicine and the occult, of hypnotism, sadism, love and theatre. Combining hospital records, municipal archives, memoirs and letters, Medical Muses sheds new light on a crucial moment in psychiatric history.

A fascinating account of the Na society, which functions without the institution of marriage. The Na of China, farmers in the Himalayan region, live without the institution of marriage. Na brothers and sisters live together their entire lives, sharing household responsibilities and raising the women's children. Because the Na, like all cultures, prohibit incest, they practice a system of sometimes furtive, sometimes conspicuous nighttime encounters at the woman's home. The woman's partners-she frequently has more than one-bear no economic responsibility for her or her children, and "fathers," unless they resemble their children, remain unidentifiable. This lucid ethnographic study shows how a society can function without husbands or fathers. It sheds light on marriage and kinship, as well as on the position of women, the necessary conditions for the acquisition of identity, and the impact of a communist state on a society that it considers backward.

Sydney Bennett is back And her pursuit of perfection is alive and well. Naive to the core, Sydney believed that when she finally married the man of her dreams, the hard part was over. Following a civil ceremony as a means to keep Louis from being deported, Sydney continues to plan the fairytale wedding that she had dreamed of since the age of five. Much to her chagrin, she discovers that her mother-in-law is planning what seems to be a rival wedding in France that SHE has been dreaming about for her only child since before he was born. How will poor Sydney be able to ensure two perfect weddings in the midst of Louis' fruitless job search? Especially when her mother-in-law's idea of perfection appears to be having Sydney embarrass herself in front of hundreds of French people that she has never met? As if she didn't have enough on her mind already, Sydney finds herself faced with the trials and tribulations of being a wife. Sydney had always heard that marriage was hard, but she thought that this was just a ruse that married couples portrayed in a bid to make single girls feel less desperate. But as the bills pile up and emotions run high, she realizes that there may just be some truth to this statement. And as she watches Louis' perfection fade away before her very eyes, she begins to wonder if she made a rash decision in marrying a man that she had known for a mere six months. With all of the obstacles that Sydney and Louis will encounter, will they be raising their glasses in celebration or watching their impulsive marriage crash and burn? One thing is for certain, Sydney and Louis Durand are headed for one hell of a toast...

Sydney Bennett had spent her life in pursuit of perfection. She planned, weighed her options and made careful choices based on calculated outcomes. Through all of her efforts, she had come pretty close to perfection, if she didn't say so herself. She had fled the cold winters in New York for sunny California, found a job that she loved and lived in the same town as her sister, and best friend, Kate. The one area of perfection that had always eluded her was her love life. No matter how hard she tried, she always ended up with a broken heart. After a particularly traumatic breakup, Sydney vowed that she was done with love. Just as Sydney threw herself into her new plan to forget about men, a handsome Frenchman tossed all of her intentions out the window as he swept her off of her feet. Louis Durand had lived a life filled with excitement and adventure. He was impetuous, intelligent and incredibly charming. So naturally, he scared Sydney half to death. From the moment they met, Louis and Sydney's romance progressed at warp speed. Sydney did her best not to run, but her deep rooted relationship anxiety threatened to provide an easy exit. When Louis mentioned marriage before Sydney even knew his favorite color, she was more than tempted to reach for her running shoes. Will she be able to put her fears aside to follow her heart? The one thing that Sydney will learn is that sometimes perfection comes with a twist...