The Writing of Orpheus: Greek Myth in
Cultural Context
by Marcel Detienne

The mythical Orpheus possessed a gift for music unmatched among humans; with his lyre he could turn the course of rivers, drown the fatal song of the Sirens and charm the denizens of the underworld.

Marcel Detienne, the Basil L. Gildersleeve Professor of Classics at Johns Hopkins, finds in the myth of Orpheus a key to the thinking of the ancient Greeks. In The Writing of Orpheus (translated from the French by Janet Lloyd), he brings his deep understanding of Greek mythology in its cultural context to bear on the figure of Orpheus, tracing the full richness of the mythological repertoire flowing from writings about Orpheus. His investigation moves from the Orphic writings to broader mysteries--how the Greek gods became myths and how these myths informed later religious beliefs--and ultimately offers a major rethinking of Greek mythology. (January, 216 pages, $55)

Never Leave Well Enough Alone
by Raymond Loewy

Between the 1930s and the 1960s, Raymond Loewy's streamlined designs for thousands of consumer goods--everything from toasters to ocean liners--radically changed the look of American life. Loewy (1893-1986) is regarded as the father of modern industrial design, and whether they realized it or not, Americans at midcentury lived in a Loewy-designed world. Written and designed by Loewy, Never Leave Well Enough Alone -- part autobiography and part design manifesto -- was first published in 1951 at the height of Loewy's career.

The Johns Hopkins University Press is now making this landmark work on the importance of smart industrial design in daily life--acclaimed for its wit and its insight into the Loewy aesthetic--available again in a handsome cloth edition, augmented with a new introduction by business historian Glenn Porter, who assesses Loewy's impact on 20th-century American life and industry. (December, 464 pages, $29.95)