Book reviews

Frontiers

Poststructualist geographies: the diabolical art of spatial science. Marcus Doel. Pp. ix + 229. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1999. Price: £45.00 (hbk), £14.95 (pbk). ISBN 0 226 48720 2 (hbk), ISBN 0 226 48721 0 (pbk).

Sleight‐of‐hand

New works in geography

Geography and enlightenment. Edited by David N. Livingstone & Charles W.J. Withers. Pp.viii + 455. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 1999. Price £17.50 (pbk), £36.50 (hbk). ISBN 0 226 48721 0 (pbk), ISBN 0 226 48721 2 (hbk).

Secure from rash assault. Sustaining the Victorian environment. James Winter. Pp. xi + 342. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. Price: £ 24.95 (hbk). ISBN 0 520 21609 1.

Perspectives on British rural planning policy, 1994–97. Andrew W. Gilg. Pp. viii + 154. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999. Price £35.00 (hbk). ISBN 1 85972 641 0 (hbk).

Exploring contemporary migration. Paul Boyle, Keith Halfacree & Vaughan Robinson. Pp. 272. London: Longman, 1998. Price £18.99 (pbk). ISBN 0 58225 161 3.

Focus on Scotland

Urban highlanders: Highland‐lowland migration and urban Gaelic culture, 1700–1900. Charles W.J. Withers. Pp. 271. East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1998. Price £20.00 (pbk). ISBN 1 86232 040 5.

Girls in trouble: sexuality and social control in rural Scotland, 1660–1780. Rosalind Mitchison & Leah Leneman. Pp. viii + 144. Edinburgh: Scottish Cultural Press, 1998. £10.95 (pbk). ISBN 1 898218 89 7 (pbk).

Girls in trouble: sexuality and social control in urban Scotland, 1660–1780. Rosalind Mitchison & Leah Leneman. Pp. viii + 164. Edinburgh: Scottish Cultural Press, 1998. £12.95 (pbk). ISBN 1 898218 90 0 (pbk).     

16th-Century Ship Graffiti on the Town Walls of Eivissa, Balearic Islands, Spain

Among the historical ship depictions in Eivissa (Balearic Islands, Spain), the graffiti of galleys on the Renaissance city walls are of particular interest. From archival documents the building sequences of this monument can be confirmed. Thus the galley graffiti on the eastern side of the bastion of Sant Bernat can be narrowed down chronologically to slightly after 1568. These graffiti are also interpreted from the social history point of view, in the light of ongoing corsair incursions during the 16th century.
© 2009 The Author     

Unstable Bodies: Science,Society, and Visual Work

In recent years increased attention has been paid to both modes and processes of seeing in anthropology. At the same time, the body as the locus of visual practice is increasingly problematized. The works reviewed here are all concerned with making people — and bodies — visible, but are aware of the methodological, moral, and political implications of this. Other common threads include the tension between reproduction and representation, the self-awareness of the seen and seeing body, and the roles of digital and other technologies in rendering bodies visible or, at least, present.     

Maps,Painting and Lies Portraying Napoleon's Battlefields in Northern Italy

A comparison of Giuseppe Bagetti's landscape sketches, watercolours, oil paintings and engravings with contemporary maps and the existing landscape reveals that in the creation of Bagetti's landscapes, narrative played a role that differed in cartographic and artistic representations. The comparison also demonstrates that his images were powerful constructions that were more successful in reflecting a narrative of glorious conquest than was possible through cartography. This paper offers a critical examination of Bagetti's representations of Napoleon's northern Italian campaign, which he sketched and painted between 1802 and 1809. Bagetti's paintings were neither pacifist nor an expression of Piedmontese patriotism but instead were inspired by, and constructed according to, a narrative about the conquest that reflected the views of the French authorities. The narrative found expression in formal written instructions from the central cartographical office in the Dépôt de la guerre, Paris, in verbal and written instructions from Bagetti's immediate superior, Jean François Martinel, and in letters personally addressed to Bagetti from the officer commanding the Dépôt. It is clear from a careful reading of the correspondence and from a comparison of Bagetti's paintings with both the present landscape and maps made at the time that Bagetti's disputes with his supervisors revolved around protecting his artistic integrity and reputation rather than resisting the authority of a foreign regime.     

Salmon and fruit salad: Australia's response to world trade organisation quarantine disputes

The introduction of new quarantine disciplines under World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements has given rise to tensions within the Australian federation over quarantine measures. This paper examines WTO disciplines and rules as they affect trade in agriculture and food products. It highlights the significance of risk assessment in the policy process relating to quarantine, identifies key issues arising from the WTO Australia—Salmon case and outlines the cases currently tabled at the WTO for settlement with Australia named as respondent. The paper concludes by identifying the lessons from the salmon case in terms of intergovernmental interaction and policy learning within the Australian federation.     

Synchrotron radiation-based x-ray analysis of bronze artifacts from an Iron Age site in the Judean Hills

Seven bronze bangles from Tell en-Nasbeh, northern Judah, were investigated to understand the phase composition and manufacturing process of the artifacts, and possibly suggest a provenance for their origin. Synchrotron x-ray radiation diffraction (XRD) and fluorescence (XRF) were used in the analysis to avoid any destructive sampling and at the same time penetrate through the surface into the core metal. These techniques enabled us to determine that the bangles were not just tin bronze, but leaded tin bronze. Based on excavation reports, it is unlikely that the metal objects were manufactured locally at Tell en-Nasbeh; rather, preliminary XRD and XRF data point towards the neighboring region of Edom as their origin. Despite their political enmity during the Iron Age II, the data suggest that Judahite social demands for bronze may have fostered a strong economic relationship between these two polities.