Between 1939 and 1944; as the Nazis overran Europe; they were also quietly conducting another type of pillage. The Lost Museum tells the story of the Jewish art collectors and gallery owners in France who were stripped of rare works by artists such as Vermeer; Rembrandt; Degas; Cézanne; and Picasso. Before they were through; the Nazis had taken more than 20;000 paintings; sculptures; and drawings from France.The Lost Museum explores the Nazis' systematic confiscation of these artworks; focusing on the private collections of five families: Rothschild; Rosenberg; Bernheim-Jeune; David-Weill; and Schloss. The book is filled with private family photos of this art; some of which has never before been seen by the public; and it traces the fate of these works as they passed through the hands of top German officials; unscrupulous art dealers; and unwitting auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's.
#197752 in Books Gregory Cochran 2010-10-19 2010-10-19Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.20 x .69 x 6.10l; .80 #File Name: 0465020429304 pagesThe 10 000 Year Explosion How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Culture drives biological evolutionBy Max ShpakAs the authors note in the opening chapter; the common dogma passed down by many prominent popularizers of evolutionary biology is that with the origin of anatomically modern humans; cultural evolution has completely supplanted biological evolution in our species. A corollary of the central dogma that all post-paleolithic human adaptation has been cultural rather than biological is that there are no significant biological differences between groups of people.Cochran and Harpending provide a much-needed antidote to this completely inaccurate view of human biology and history. They make a strong case that far from cultural evolution circumventing the forces of natural selection and biological evolution; cultural changes serve as a powerful impetus for genetic changes in human populations. Obvious examples include the independent origins of adult lactose tolerance among cattle herding peoples in both Africa and the Middle East. Less obvious but nonetheless compelling examples include potentially strong selective pressures leading to changes in cognitive and personality traits as a result of sociocultural circumstances. In a sense; none of these findings should come as a great surprise; since human society and culture obviously creates the environment in which people differentially survive and reproduce; implying that the forces of natural selection have been and remain as active as ever.I hope that Cochran and Harpending's book is widely read (particularly by social scientists and the general public) and helps to refute the stubbornly held view that only culture and environment matter as the driving forces of modern human history..4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. An outstanding brief look at human evolution.By Michael T KennedyI have now read this book twice on Kindle and then ordered the hardcover version; which is easier to leaf back and forth and make notes in. It is incredibly dense and detailed with information that has been compressed and given almost in outline form. I plan to work my way through the references and do more reading. I have been struggling to read Lewin's Gene XI and will spend renewed effort with this book as inspiration. I was also pleased to see that it agrees pretty much with the first chapter of my own medical history book; in which I tried to summarize human evolution in brief form. My own book is called "A Brief History of Disease; Science and Medicine;" http://www..com/Brief-History-Disease-Science-Medicine/dp/0974946656.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Interested in How Human Populations...Races...Got That Way?By J. Paige StraleyReally indispensable for anyone who would think about the uncontrolled demographic changes occurring mainly within the West. If you read it carefully it removes the politically-correct blinders. Also gives you an idea of how positive traits can rapidly spread in a population (adult lactose tolerance is the example); and hints at how the oncoming juggernaut of genetic engineering will spread like lightning! He doesn't discuss CRISPR but anyone who is interested should look it up right now.JP StraleyHickory; NC
