Book picks similar to
George Herbert Mead: The Making of a Social Pragmatist by Gary A. Cook
biography
mead
philo-4-c18-c19-sec
philosophy
Optimistic Nihilism: A Psychologist's Personal Story & (Biased) Professional Appraisal of Shedding Religion
David Landers - 2016
But much more than autobiography, his story is woven with provocative psychological and philosophical commentary, including input from the likes of Lucretius, Freud, and the metal band Napalm Death. A rare style of intellectual but conversational and poignant but humorous makes for a highly accessible and enjoyable read. As the spiritual account winds down, the book transitions into a more rational exploration of the problems associated with religion—and even with spirituality in general. Everyone from outspoken atheists to moderate believers will be engaged, as David is able to critically evaluate spirituality without the hostility so common among modern atheist writers. At the book’s climax, David develops the popular atheist conversation a little deeper by courageously exploring the implications of nihilism: If our deepest fears about the nature of reality were to be true, could we go on? By the end of Optimistic Nihilism, we begin to suspect that we could—and even wonder if a relatively nihilistic perspective paradoxically makes life more precious than any other scheme. A critical must-read for all students of spirituality, psychology, and humanity.
365 Days with RUMI
Ergin Ergül - 2013
With his messages going beyond the centuries, Mawlana is a guide and a leader who, ages ago, told the unchanging rules of all times. Rumi is primarily an intellectual, scientist and lawyer speaking Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Greek and Hebrew languages, secondly the greatest poet of all times with his poems on love, justice and freedom accompanied by mystical passion and pain, and above all a universal wise man and a philosopher. He interprets people, humanity, life and permanent values in a holistic approach and brings forward recipes for the problems and dilemmas of all people.In this book, readers will find a pearl of inspiration from the source of eternal wisdom for each day of year.
To Live Outside the Law: Caught by Operation Julie, Britain's Biggest Drugs Bust
Leaf Fielding - 2011
The book opens with Leaf Fielding's arrest in a pre-dawn police raid and ends five years later with his release from jail.The narrative moves back and forth between the harsh world of prison and his previous life - from a childhood at a brutal boarding school onto undergraduate days and his LSD epiphany in the summer of love, 1967.Acid transformed him in an instant from nerdy scholar to footloose freak. His ten years of adventures in the hippie underground gave the title to this book - a quote from a Bob Dylan song - they also took him across Europe, to the Andes, to Indochina and on to the edge of the known universe. They also led inexorably to his downfall.
Ice Cream Man
Dax Flame - 2019
Having run out of options, former YouTube star Dax Flame must get a job at an ice cream shop in order to make ends meet.
Summary - Hillbilly Elegy: By James David Vance - A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
e-Summary - 2016
The book is written by JD (James David by author's full name) Vance and in it the author tries to describe the overall life and struggles of people in post-industrial time in the United States. This book deals with the problems of white working-class and the book is not just some book where the author tries to describe lives of ordinary white people. The book is actually a memento and a message to the readers; in it Vance describes his life and his starts, especially growing up while being poor in Ohio. We can find out about this when we find out that Vance's family is of Scottish-Irish descent and that his ancestors have longer history of poverty and hard work that they need to endure in order to survive the hard times that were at hand. We also find out that since the 18th century many Scottish-Irish people were working as plantation workers, as miners and/or as millworkers. Because these people worked only the hardest jobs that hardly anyone else would take many people belittled them. Words like 'white trash, redneck' and/or 'hillbilly' were unfortunately a common everyday word for those people. Hillbilly Elegy is a fascinating work, not because it was written based on a true story but because it was written from a man who lived 'through' his story. The fact that the entire book contains a message is, of course, welcoming plus and something we want from literature of this genre. Here Is A Preview Of What You Will Get: In Hillbilly Elegy, you will get a summarized version of the book.In Hillbilly Elegy, you will find the book analyzed to further strengthen your knowledge.In Hillbilly Elegy, you will get some fun multiple choice quizzes, along with answers to help you learn about the book.Get a copy, and learn everything about Hillbilly Elegy.
Where the Devil Don't Stay: Traveling the South with the Drive-By Truckers
Stephen Deusner - 2021
The Drive-By Truckers, as they named themselves, grew into one of the best and most consequential rock bands of the twenty-first century, a great live act whose songs deliver the truth and nuance rarely bestowed on Southerners, so often reduced to stereotypes.Where the Devil Don’t Stay tells the band’s unlikely story not chronologically but geographically. Seeing the Truckers’ albums as roadmaps through a landscape that is half-real, half-imagined, their fellow Southerner Stephen Deusner travels to the places the band’s members have lived in and written about. Tracking the band from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, to the author’s hometown in McNairy County, Tennessee, Deusner explores the Truckers’ complex relationship to the South and the issues of class, race, history, and religion that run through their music. Drawing on new interviews with past and present band members, including Jason Isbell, Where the Devil Don’t Stay is more than the story of a great American band; it’s a reflection on the power of music and how it can frame and shape a larger culture.
Bill W.: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson
Francis Hartigan - 2000
Bob Smith, founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, his hope was that AA would become a safe haven for those who suffered from this disease. Thirty years after his death, AA continues to help millions of alcoholics recover from what had been commonly regarded as a hopeless addiction. Still, while Wilson was a visionary for millions, he was no saint. After cofounding Alcoholics Anonymous, he stayed sober for over thirty-five years, helping countless thousands rebuild their lives. But at the same time, Wilson suffered form debilitating bouts of clinical depression, was a womanizer, and experimented with LSD.Francis Hartigan, the former secretary and confidant to Wilson's wife, Lois, has exhaustively researched his subject, writing with a complete insider's knowledge. Drawing on extensive interviews with Lois Wilson and scores of early members of AA, he fully explores Wilson's organizational genius, his devotion to the cause, and almost martyr-like selflessness. That Wilson, like all of us, had to struggle with his own personal demons makes this biography all the more moving and inspirational. Hartigan reveals the story of Wilson's life to be as humorous, horrific, and powerful as any of the AA vignettes told daily around the world.
The Curse of Brink's-Mat: Twenty-Five Years of Murder and Mayhem - The Inside Story of the 20th Century's Most Lucrative Armed Robbery
Wensley Clarkson - 2012
The Curse of Brink's-Mat reveals the pulse-racing full story of the crime itself before moving to its chilling aftermath, which still reverberates to this day. The heist made the careers of many of the underworld's biggest names, and changed the face of British crime forever but in the years that followed the robbery, many of those involved, innocent and guilty alike have been sent to an early grave. Two decades on, the death toll is still rising. Nobody knows more about that extraordinary morning's events than Wensley Clarkson. Nobody is better placed to track the vicious, violent and unexpected waves that followed in its wake or bring to life its cast of larger-than-life characters. From small-time crime in south-east London, to ‘the heist of the century' and its bloody consequences, Wensley Clarkson's The Curse of Brink's-Mat is an epic tale of villainy, gold and revenge.
Hard Knocks Soft Spots
Paddy Doherty - 2012
I teach my children to be proud too. Because being a traveller means everything to me. It's not just a label, it goes much deeper. It's an identity that is burned into my heart.Paddy Doherty loves his life as an Irish traveler, but as a child he felt like an outsider. He was different from his siblings. On the rare occasions he went to school, he was bullied. And beyond the gates of the camp he found nothing but hostility. Slowly, Paddy's hurt turned into anger and by the age of 11 he had started out on an illustrious career as a bare-knuckle boxer. This earned him a position as one of the most well-respected (and feared) men in the traveling community. Yet while he won countless brutal fights in the ring, the real battles he faced were very much outside. In this deeply honest autobiography, he tells of how he has loved and lost five children, and plummeted to seven stone while battling depression, drink, and drugs. He describes how it feels to be shot point-blank in the head and the lengths he'll go to to protect his people. Told with all the warmth and humor he is famed for, Paddy's rich and colorful story is one that will stay with you for a long time to come.
Truth Imagined
Eric Hoffer - 1983
At eighteen, fate would take his remaining family, sending him on the road with three hundred dollars and into the life of a Depression Era migrant worker, but his appetite for knowledge--history, science, mankind--remained and became the basis for his insights on human nature. Filled with timeless aphorisms and entertaining stories, Truth Imagined tracks Hoffer's years on the road, which served as the breeding ground for his most fertile thoughts.
Ayn Rand: The Playboy Interview
Ayn Rand - 1964
It covered jazz, of course, but it also included Davis’s ruminations on race, politics and culture. Fascinated, Hef sent the writer—future Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Alex Haley, an unknown at the time—back to glean even more opinion and insight from Davis. The resulting exchange, published in the September 1962 issue, became the first official Playboy Interview and kicked off a remarkable run of public inquisition that continues today—and that has featured just about every cultural titan of the last half century.To celebrate the Interview’s 50th anniversary, the editors of Playboy have culled 50 of its most (in)famous Interviews and will publish them over the course of 50 weekdays (from September 4, 2012 to November 12, 2012) via Amazon’s Kindle Direct platform. Here is the interview with the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand from the March 1964 issue.
The Sum of My Parts
James Sanford - 2011
At first I tried to deny my condition (trying to treat a tumor with hot baths and ice packs). Eventually, I decided I would learn as much about my illness as possible while trying to keep my emotions on hold.What followed was an experience that finally forced me to deal with issues about my body that I had tried to ignore for decades. Along the way I dealt with a physician who gave me ridiculous advice and acquaintances who asked unbelievable questions. But I was also fortunate to be surrounded by people who supported me and doctors who helped me through the process.
I Am the Gate
Osho - 1972
Osho speaks on the relationship between freedom and consciousness, defines his neo-sannyas, and elaborates on the mysteries of initiation and disciplehood.
Journey of a Master: Swami Chinmayananda
Nancy Freeman Patchen - 1989
In telling the story of one master’s training and evolution in the Himalayas and his subsequent mission to his countrymen, the author enlightens you on the essence of India’s culture, philosophy and religion. His story will surely educate you, inspire you, and broaden your horizons of the meaning of life.The Swami spent five years in the Himalayas under the tutelage of two incredible Masters of live, as different as day and night. Although both were scholars of the scriptures, their manifestation was unique. One was an incredible streak of light and energy who traveled India teaching, then created a huge ashram center to serve all of humanity. The other was a quiet contemplative recluse who sang inspirational songs and taught only a few students.Swami Chinmayananda appeared on the scene at an appropriate time in Indian history. The British had just left the country with no one trained to take the helm of State. The British had taken all the top government positions. In addition, they had curtailed any industrial development; the Empire was about having consumers for British products. The Indians had lost their moorings: economically, spiritually and personally. To these countrymen, beaten down by 150 years of British rule, repression and slavery, the Swami gave a message of hope. He worked relentlessly for about 40 years to bring about a spiritual revival in India and abroad. His unique style and logical approach was appreciated by everyone from college students to bankers to priests—both Hindu and Christian.By teaching directly the wisdom of their ancient scriptures, he gave the listeners confidence and inspiration to move forward in business and in creating charitable endeavors for the uplifting of the downtrodden of the country. Through 200 centers in India, his devotees have built and operate schools, hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, retirement homes and training centers for nurses and teachers, as well as spiritual training centers.This story of the legacy of one of the most influential persons in the modern history of Hinduism is sure to surprise you, amaze you—and inspire you.
The Tourist Gaze: Leisure And Travel In Contemporary Societies
John Urry - 1990
Urry develops this analysis through various levels - historical, economic, social, cultural and visual.Mass tourism is charted from its origins in the English seaside resorts to its development as a global industry. The economic impact and complex social relations involved in international tourism are explored. Changing patterns of tourism are shown to be connected to the broader cultural changes of postmodernism and related to the role of the service and middle classes. The author argues that we