Voices of Enlightenment have long counseled modern men and women to flee authority, including authority claimed by the church. Aspiring to substitute rock-ribbed law for human, or even divine, authority, today's legal minds pursue a "rule of law, not of men." Any possibility of authority is almost everywhere assimilated to the threat of authoritarian abuse. Civilizing Authority counters the flight from authority with the claim that it is precisely authority itself that offers a barrier against authoritarianism. The book's authors share the insight that humans cannot increase, or even long survive, without authority, and they observe, from along a broad spectrum of perspectives, that all phases of our human living depend on authority. Families, churches, clubs, monasteries, unions, cities, and states - human living would be unrecognizable without them, and they all depend upon authority and authorities. Still, what is "the authority experience?" What are we obeying when when we give willing assent to authority? The ten authors of Civilizing Authority, Chrisitians of diverse belief and professional discipline, unite here to explore the ways in which authority, though elusive, remains possible - indeed, exigent - in a post-Christian world. Refusing to conflate genuine authority with positions of power or prestige, they probe the deep, and perhaps transendental, sources of authority. Friendship, solidarity, liberty, and perhaps even belief - these, the authors suggest, may be the true springs of the authority that is the principle of increase in human living.

Having represented Beuys, Richter and Polke. René Block (born 1942) ranks among the central figures of the 1960s avant-garde. This publication collects writings by and interviews with Block, organized chronologically.

Mountains cover a quarter of the Earth's land surface and a quarter of the global population lives in or adjacent to these areas. The global importance of mountains is recognized particularly because they provide critical resources, such as water, food and wood; contain high levels of biological and cultural diversity; and are often places for tourism and recreation and/or of sacred significance. This major revision of Larry Price's book Mountains and Man (1981) is both timely and highly appropriate. The past three decades have been a period of remarkable progress in our understanding of mountains from an academic point of view. Of even greater importance is that society at large now realizes that mountains and the people who reside in them are not isolated from the mainstream of world affairs, but are vital if we are to achieve an environmentally sustainable future. Mountain Geography is a comprehensive resource that gives readers an in-depth understanding of the geographical processes occurring in the world's mountains and the overall impact of these regions on culture and society as a whole. The volume begins with an introduction to how mountains are defined, followed by a comprehensive treatment of their physical geography: origins, climatology, snow and ice, landforms and geomorphic processes, soils, vegetation, and wildlife. The concluding chapters provide an introduction to the human geography of mountains: attitudes toward mountains, people living in mountain regions and their livelihoods and interactions within dynamic environments, the diverse types of mountain agriculture, and the challenges of sustainable mountain development.

Travel has been a major theme in photography for over 100 years. In the late 19th century, an age of colonial expansion and nascent tourism, photographers roamed the globe with a simple spirit of discovery to report back from distant places. Traveling has also prompted artistic explorations of cultural, political, and social conditions in countries around the world. Some works are spontaneous responses to the unfamiliar, while others are rooted in conceptual notions. Featuring over 130 images by 15 famous and lesser-known photographers, this book illustrates key eras and styles in photography from modernism until the present (1880-2015).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, indigenous peoples in Russia started to organize and a movement emerged that has achieved many developments. The indigenous umbrella organization in Russia, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2000, an occasion for looking back at its work during its 10-year history and at the same time looking forward to the new millennium. Many leaders of indigenous peoples of the North gathered in Moscow for the anniversary celebration and met with people from all over the world, who were invited to join this special event. For this occasion, RAIPON produced a book with articles by indigenous leaders and politicians from all parts of Russia, who outlined the history, events, and conditions of the recent decade.
This book is the translation of the original Russian version and an attempt to strengthen the awareness outside the country of the struggle of indigenous peoples in Russia. Even though this English version is published two years after the important event of RAIPON's tenth anniversary, many statements and articles have not lost their topicality. The book contains articles by representatives of different ages, gender and background, from various regions.
Many of the problems described will be familiar to indigenous peoples in other parts of the world. Discrimination of indigenous peoples is part of everyday life in Russia. The fight for land rights and environmental protection is common to all indigenous peoples of the Arctic and not a specific Russian phenomenon. The conflict between "the greens" (the so-called environmnetal parties) and the indigenous peoples that has dominated the debates in the Western part of the Arctic has, however not occurred in Russia; rather, the conflict between industry and indigenous peoples has a long history. So have all the social problems.
"Thomas G. Khler" has a graduate degree in Russian and political science. He works as a project consultant (TGK Consult) with indigenous peoples in Russia since 1999.
"Kathrin Wessendorf" is an anthropologist working for the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) as coordinator for the Arctic region.