Books about Decadence from Amazon.com

Highly regarded here and abroad for some thirty works of cultural history and criticism, master historian Jacques Barzun has now set down in one continuous narrative the sum of his discoveries and conclusions about the whole of Western culture since 1500.

In this account, Barzun describes what Western Man wrought from the Renaissance and Reformation down to the present in the double light of its own time and our pressing concerns. He introduces characters and incidents with his unusual literary style and grace, bringing to the fore those that have "Puritans as Democrats," "The Monarch's Revolution," "The Artist Prophet and Jester" – show the recurrent role of great themes throughout the eras.

The triumphs and defeats of five hundred years form an inspiring saga that modifies the current impression of one long tale of oppression by white European males. Women and their deeds are prominent, and freedom (even in sexual matters) is not an invention of the last decades. And when Barzun rates the present not as a culmination but a decline, he is in no way a prophet of doom. Instead, he shows decadence as the creative novelty that will burst forth – tomorrow or the next day.

Only after a lifetime of separate studies covering a broad territory could a writer create with such ease the synthesis displayed in this magnificent volume.

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From ancient Egypt through the nineteenth century, Sexual Personae explores the provocative connections between art and pagan ritual; between Emily Dickinson and the Marquis de Sade; between Lord Byron and Elvis Presley. It ultimately challenges the cultural assumptions of both conservatives and traditional liberals. 47 photographs..
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The libertine: The wild, brief life of a surfing legend and international playboy The tale of Bunker Spreckels (1949-1977) reads like a pitch for a movie to rival Boogie Nights: The stepson of Clark Gable is a privileged Los Angeles party boy who is heir to a multimillion dollar fortune; passionate about surfing, martial arts, guns, and women, he lives the life of a debauched international jet-setter before succumbing to his excesses at the tender age of 27. Born Adolph B. Spreckels III, heir to the Spreckels sugar fortune, Bunker became a famous surfer as a teenager, but after his inheritance came along, he began to slip into a life of pomp and excess where surfing took a back seat to drugs, sex, and wild road trips. So remarkable was his lifestyle that he created an alter-ego who invited photographers and documentarians to trail him, piecing together a tell-all epic of his own rise to fame and fortune. Before the project, known as ?The Player?, could be completed, Spreckels suddenly died..
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The Gospel of Filth is the boldest, most comprehensive guide to the realms of darkness and devilry ever published Taking in every significant milestone and major landmark, this lavishly illustrated volume is the definitive study of the dark side. No tombstone remains unturned in this wide-ranging and witty dissection of the uncanny and unholy, of the esoteric and erotic. Music forms The Gospel’s entry point, but every medium, from movies and literature, to comics and computer games is considered, while the authorities consulted range from Oxford academics to metal musicians as well known for their criminal records as musical ones. The principal consultant is Dani Filth, who rides shotgun with author Gavin Baddeley, providing insight and impish irreverence at every turn. Dani’s band Cradle of Filth are one of England’s most successful and controversial musical exports of the past decade, loved and loathed in equal measure, the singer bringing that same provocative edge to this, his first literary effort. Emerging from the violent cauldron of chaos that propelled the black metal scene to the forefront of the extreme music scene in the early-90s, Cradle of Filth have since transcended such subcultural boundaries, embracing the likes of Decadent art and Gothic literature to create an inimitable, sensuously sinister style all of their own. Experts consulted range from ex-FBI Agent Robert Ressler (who first coined the term ‘serial killer’), to world expert on psychoactive drugs Richard Rudgley, via Satanic High Priest Peter Gilmore. Legendary horror film director Dario Argento gives insight into his art, as do War of the Worlds composer Jeff Wayne, controversial art director Nigel Wingrove, Lovecraftian artist John Coulthart, and ghost photographer Simon Marsden. A galaxy of dark stars from the modern musical world are also represented, with original words from the likes of Tom Araya (Slayer), Pete Steele (Type O Negative), Sharon del Adel (Within Temptation), Glen Benton (Deicide), Ville Valo (HIM), James Hetfield (Metallica), Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski (Behemoth), Bard ‘Faust’ Eithun (ex-Emperor), Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Jason Mendonca (Akercocke), Andi Sex Gang (Sex Gang Children), King of Hell (Gorgoroth), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), Chad Gray (Mudvayne), Le’rue Delashay (Christian Death), Montalo (Witchfynde), Jinx Dawson (Coven), Metatron (The Meads of Asphodel), John Bush (Armored Saint), Andrea Haugen (Nebelhexe), and many more..
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The author discusses with remarkable insight and subtlety the complex relationships among concepts which are commonly used but rarely precisely defined...in doing so, he makes a significant contribution to contemporary scholarship and criticism..
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In 1866, tragedy strikes at the  exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns  in a mysterious accident involving a small circle  of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a  spiraling circle of treachery that will span three  decades and entwine many loves... From the  exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to every  dark desire of London's upper classes to the dazzling  ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the  manipulators of the world's wealth, Ken Follett  conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This  breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust,  bound by a shared legacy... men and women swept  toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the  shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped, or  not just one man's dreams, but those of a nation,  will die...


From the Paperback edition..
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Bruce Ellis Benson puts forward the surprising idea that Nietzsche was never a godless nihilist, but was instead deeply religious. But how does Nietzsche affirm life and faith in the midst of decadence and decay? Benson looks carefully at Nietzsche's life history and views of three decadents, Socrates, Wagner, and Paul, to come to grips with his pietistic turn. Key to this understanding is Benson's interpretation of the powerful effect that Nietzsche thinks music has on the human spirit. Benson claims that Nietzsche's improvisations at the piano were emblematic of the Dionysian or frenzied, ecstatic state he sought, but was ultimately unable to achieve, before he descended into madness. For its insights into questions of faith, decadence, and transcendence, this book is an important contribution to Nietzsche studies, philosophy, and religion..
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