Exploring the intersection of French gastronomy and postmodern critique, this book delves into the rich history of French cuisine over the last two centuries. It examines the social, political, and aesthetic dimensions of culinary arts, focusing on the conditions that elevate cuisine to fine art. Allen S. Weiss investigates the conceptual frameworks and rhetorical forms that shape modern culinary imagination, while also addressing the profound psychological aspects of the sublime in relation to gastronomy.
Exploring the complex relationship between landscape and creativity, this work delves into the significance of Mont Ventoux in literature, philosophy, and art. Weiss examines why certain authors are drawn to specific landscapes and the emotional and imaginative responses they evoke. Rather than focusing on the picturesque aspects of Provence, the book investigates the interplay between desire and landscape, revealing how Mont Ventoux serves as both a source of inspiration and a mythic symbol. It transforms an aesthetic inquiry into a profound metaphysical exploration.
Focusing on the intersection of early sound recording and literature, the book delves into how this technology influenced Modernism. Through analyses of works by notable authors, it reveals how the blend of human emotion and mechanical reproduction reshaped perceptions of mourning and death. The study encompasses various disciplines, linking poetry, theology, and metaphysics, while highlighting the evolving roles of technology and literature in shaping nostalgia and eroticism.
People collect to connect with the past, personal and historic, to exercise
some small and perfect degree of control over a carefully chosen portion of
the world. The Grain of the Clay is Allen S. Weiss's engaging exploration of
the meaning and practice of collecting through his relationship with Japanese
ceramics.
2024 Global Book Awards Finalist From two of the world’s leading experts on branding, brand benefits, and positioning, this strategic guide reveals how focusing on brand benefits can transform organizations and help them win in the marketplace. Today’s customers think less about products and more about brands, no matter whether those brands are organizational, nonprofit, individuals, or service oriented. Customers also care less about the features of your product—what it has—than about its benefits—what it does for them. While this sounds like common sense, shockingly few organizations actually conduct business this way. Drs. Allen Weiss and Debbie J. MacInnis, professors and branding, brand benefits, and positioning experts, are about to change that. In The Brand Benefits Playbook, Weiss and MacInnis help readers understand, and transition to, a benefits-based model. This focus on customer benefits will teach organizations: What market they are in (or could be operating in) How customers perceive their brand (and that of their competitors) in terms of benefits The most effective way to segment a market and position a brand in terms of benefits How to deliver benefits throughout the customer journey How a focus on benefits facilitates growth Evidence-based, integrated, and simple, this innovative approach can be applied to all markets—and ensures that any brand can deliver the benefits its customers truly want.
