HOBSBAWM"Very usefully pulls the key passages from Gramsci's writings into one volume, which allows English-language readers an overall view of his work. Particularly valuable are the connections it draws across his work and the insights which the introduction and glossary provide into the origin and development of some key Gramscian concepts."--Stuart Hall, Professor of Sociology, Open UniversityThe most complete one-volume collection of writings by one of the most fascinating thinkers in the history of Marxism, The Antonio Gramsci Reader fills the need for a broad and general introduction to this major figure.Antonio Gramsci was one of the most important theorists of class, culture, and the state since Karl Marx. In the U.S., where his writings were long unavailable, his stature has lately so increased that every serious student of Marxism, political theory, or modern Italian history must now read him.Imprisoned by the Fascists for much of his adult life, Gramsci wrote brilliantly on a broad range of subjects: from folklore to philosophy, popular culture to political strategy. Still the most comprehensive collection of Gramsci's writings available in English, it now features a new introduction by leading Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm, in addition to its biographical introduction, informative introductions to each section, and glossary of key terms.

    

    Researching another, more radical book, Cioran was spending hours in a library poring over the lives of saints. As a modern hagiographer, Cioran "dreamt" himself "the chronicler of these saints' falls between heaven and earth, the intimate knower of the ardors in their hearts, the historian of God's insomniacs." Inspired by Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, Cioran "searched for the origin of tears." He asked himself if saints could be "the sources of tears' better light.""Who can tell?" he wrote in the first paragraph of this book, first published in Romania in 1937. "To be sure, tears are their trace. Tears did not enter the world through the saints; but without them we would never have known that we cry because we long for a lost paradise." By following in their traces, "wetting the soles of one's feet in their tears," Cioran hoped to understand how a human being can renounce being human. Written in Cioran's characteristic aphoristic style, this flamboyant, bold, and provocative book is one of his most important—and revelatory—works.Cioran focuses not on martyrs or heroes but on the mystics—primarily female—famous for their keening spirituality and intimate knowledge of God. Their Christianity was anti-theological, anti-institutional, and based solely on intuition and sentiment. Many, such as Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, and Saint John of the Cross, have produced classic works of mystical literature; but Cioran celebrates many more minor and unusual figures as well. Following Nietzsche, he focuses explicitly on the political element hidden in saints' lives. In his hands, however, their charitable deeds are much less interesting than their thirst for pain and their equally powerful capacity to endure it. Behind their suffering and their uncanny ability to renounce everything through ascetic practices, Cioran detects a fanatical will to power."Like Nietzsche, Cioran is an important religious thinker. His book intertwines God and music with passion and tears. . . . [Tears and Saints] has a chillingly contemporary ring that makes this translation important here and now."—Booklist

    For that reason, the various doctrines, as well as the definite parts of these doctrines, which have been taken into account in this volume, should not be considered as arbitrarily selected fragments from some abridged description of the medieval and modern philosophy, but as a series of concrete philosophical experiments especially chosen for their dogmatic significance. Each of them represents a definite attempt to deal with philosophical knowledge according to a certain method, and all of them, taken together, make up a philosophical experience. The fact that all those experiments have yielded the same result will, as I hope, justify the common conclusion...that there is a centuries-long experience of what philosophical knowledge is—and that such an experience exhibits a remarkable unity."

    s/t: An Inquiry into the Nature of Ideals & into the Methods Employed for Their RealizationGoals, roads & contemporary starting point The nature of explanation Efficacy & limitations of large-scale social reformSocial reform & violenceThe planned society Nature of the modern stateCentralization & decentralizationDecentralization & self-governmentWar Individual work for reform InequalityEducation Religious practicesBeliefsEthics

    Garrigou-Lagrange; O.P. shows how God\'s Providence works in the Gospel; and he explains how Providence relates to prayer; to the duty of the present moment; to faithfulness in little things; to charity toward our neighbor; to the grace of a happy death; etc. Impr. 389 pgs; PB

    He demonstrates how the main features of the legend are from an older tradition analogous to the great heroic sagas and cycles of the North, and that the Grail itself is a symbol of initiation. Evola uncovers the hidden meaning in the often surreal adventures of the knights who searched for the Grail, interpreting them as inner experiences and tests for the seeker. He also explores the history of the myth in the Middle Ages, its use by the Knights Templar and the Cathars, its legacy during the decline of the Holy Roman Empire, and its links with Rosicrucianism, alchemy, and Masonry. This excursion into the realm of the Grail throws new light on an endlessly fascinating subject.

    In other words, they do not refer to an external reality but are produced as a normal part of the social milieu in which politics itself has its being. The reflection upon the ends of political action, upon the means of achieving them, upon the possibilities and necessities of political situations, and upon the obligations that political purposes impose, is an intrinsic element of the whole political process. Such thought evolves along with the institutions, the agencies of government, the moral and physical stresses to which it refers and which - one likes at least to believe - it, in some degree, controls.

    Human beings, whose self-confidence and peace of mind have been torn to shreds by invisible darts—the evil thoughts of others. Can envy, hate, and jealousy be projected through space from the mind of another? Do poisoned thoughts like mysterious rays reach through the ethereal realm to claim innocent victims? Will wishes and commands born in hate gather momentum and like an avalanche descend upon a helpless man or woman in a series of calamities? Must humanity remain at the mercy of evil influences created in the minds of the vicious? Millions each year are mentally poisoned—are you safe from this scourge? Mental Poisoning is the title of a book written by Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, which fearlessly discloses this psychological problem. It is sensational in its revelations. Read it and be prepared.

    "It's aim is to offer a bird's-eye view of chemistry's precursor, alchemy, followed by closer glimpses of certain fields of that richly coloured panorama of the ages.

    Original German title: "Traktat ueber di Klugheit".

    Short description: Brunner's thesis is that responsibility is the key to personality, and that the Biblical doctrine of man as created in the image of God, and therefore capable of responding to God's Word, is the key to the recovery of an effective sense of responsibility.

    More than a study of history, however, The Myth of the Blood is a magisterial overview of the problem of human race itself, by one of the great thinkers of the past century, the traditionalist philosopher Julius Evola.This book traces the development of the concept of race from antiquity to contemporary times, proceeding through historical, mythical, scientific, and philosophical perspectives, keenly dissecting the thought of the foremost theoreticians in the field of race studies. The result is an unmatched analysis of a notoriously difficult issue, undertaken with an admirable mixture of fearlessness, fairness, and erudition.In a day of growing questions, controversies, and doubts surrounding the nature and meaning of human race, Evola’s reflections are as timely now as they were on the day of their publication.