Essays on Contemporaries

Divide Waters: The Naval History of the Civil War

Historical accounts often define important milestones for the human society. It is a creed that Ivan Musicant’s book Divided Waters: The Naval History of the Civil War lives up to as it defines a watershed moment not only in the history of America’s naval operations but also in all other aspects of its human development. The book gives a detailed overview of America’s naval operations during the period of the civil war. Ivan Musicant’s ability to paint such a vivid picture of the events at the time is aided by the use of both primary ...

There is no doubt that there have been several women writers who have not been awarded a justified position in the so-called “canon” of English literature. There are names such as Margery Kempe, Marie de France, Lady Jane Grey, Mary (Sidney) Herbert, Mary Queen of Scotts, Aemilia Lanyer, Elizabeth Cary, Mary Wroth, Katherine Philips, Margaret Cavendish, and many more who challenge an equivalent share of fame, with the labors of their classical male contemporaries because of their prestigious works. The prime focus of the paper is to discuss Margaret Cavendish, a writer from the 17th century and presents a ...

The first crusade was an event launched by Pope Urban II and it started a series of crusades that were meant to recapture what was known as the Holy lands. Marcus Bull presents the first crusade as a pilgrimage even though the Crusaders carried weapons. The crusade later turned into a military expedition perpetrated by Roman Catholic. In the study of the writings of the first crusade, Bull brings out the different authors’ perspectives about the actions of the crusaders and their motivation. For example, Susanna Throop refers to the crusades as a means to commit vengeance on the ...

Science and art have always been considered to be two different worlds that were inhabited with two different types of people. Everyone seems to know what kind of people artists are: they are usually in love with their solitude, unsociable, but often friendly to those who are interested in their art. They love to be distinguished from the crowd and usually wear extraordinary clothes or jewelries. But what kind of people the scientists are? No one seems to discuss their personalities, and everyone knows about their achievements. The two books that I have familiarized myself with during this semester ...

In 1764, Cesare Beccaria published the book, On Crime and Punishment. His work provided the foundations of classical criminology. In classical criminology, benefits and consequences are argued to be behind all human behavior. Most people compare the future benefits and costs of particular actions before they commit a crime. The argument put forward is that individuals would not participate in any criminal action if the cost is relatively higher than the benefit (Marcello 3). This paper seeks to analyze the Beccaria’s classical school of criminology and how it changed the justice system in the western world. It also ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It is common knowledge that every well-educated person should know, understand and appreciate music. However, no matter how well aware of various composers and genres people might be, many of us find it difficult to feel it. There are numerous examples of musicians who can technically perform a piece, but when you listen to them playing, you realize that you might as well listen to a robot. Only the emotion behind the melody gives music a truly human feel and makes it a universal human language that will be understood all over the world. Thus, it is extremely important ...

Urban planning is a technical and political process that takes into consideration man’s environs and surroundings. This field of study is focused on the use of land, public welfare, urban environment which includes air, water, and all kinds of infrastructure passing in and out of urban areas such as transportation networks, communication and distribution networks. Urban planning started way back in the 20thcentury. Urban cities that are admired today during the world war two can be traced to be great ideas of visionaries who lived and wrote long ago though in most cases they have been substantially ignored ...