{"product_id":"9781780239323","title":"The Waterless Sea: A Curious History of Mirages","description":"\u003cbr\u003eMirages have long astonished travelers of the sea and beguiled thirsty desert voyagers. Traditional Chinese and Japanese poetry and art depict the above-horizon, superior mirage, or \u003ci\u003efata morgana\u003c\/i\u003e, as exhalations of clam-monsters. Indian sources relate mirages to the “thirst of gazelles,” a metaphor for the futility of desire. Starting in the late eighteenth century, mirages became a symbol in the West of Oriental despotism—a negative, but also enchanted, emblem. But the mirage motif is rarely simply condemnatory. More often, our obsession with mirages conveys a sense of escape, of fascination, of a desire to be deceived. \u003ci\u003eThe Waterless Sea\u003c\/i\u003e is the first book devoted to the theories and history of mirages. Christopher Pinney navigates a sinuous pathway through a mysterious and evanescent terrain, showing how mirages have impacted politics, culture, science, and religion—and how we can continue to learn from their sublimity.","brand":"Reaktion Books, Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47061633270000,"sku":"9781780239323","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781780239323_p0.jpg?v=1763711483","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781780239323","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}