Being and Nothingness


Jean-Paul Sartre - 1943
    The central work by one of the century's most influential thinkers, it altered the course of western philosophy. Its revolutionary approach challenged all previous assumptions about the individual's relationship with the world. Known as 'the Bible of existentialism', its impact on culture & literature was immediate & was felt worldwide, from the absurdist drama of Samuel Beckett to the soul-searching cries of the Beat poets.Being & Nothingness is one of those rare books whose influence has affected the mindset of subsequent generations. Seventy years after its 1st publication, its message remains as potent as ever--challenging readers to confront the fundamental dilemmas of human freedom, choice, responsibility & action.

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong


Jean-Benoît Nadeau - 2003
    Decrypting French ideas about land, privacy and language, Nadeau and Barlow weave together the threads of French society--from centralization and the Napoleonic Code to elite education and even street protests--giving us, for the first time, a complete picture of the French.

Prisoner's Dilemma: John von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb


William Poundstone - 1992
    Though the answers may seem simple, their profound implications make the prisoner's dilemma one of the great unifying concepts of science. Watching players bluff in a poker game inspired John von Neumann--father of the modern computer and one of the sharpest minds of the century--to construct game theory, a mathematical study of conflict and deception. Game theory was readily embraced at the RAND Corporation, the archetypical think tank charged with formulating military strategy for the atomic age, and in 1950 two RAND scientists made a momentous discovery.Called the prisoner's dilemma, it is a disturbing and mind-bending game where two or more people may betray the common good for individual gain. Introduced shortly after the Soviet Union acquired the atomic bomb, the prisoner's dilemma quickly became a popular allegory of the nuclear arms race. Intellectuals such as von Neumann and Bertrand Russell joined military and political leaders in rallying to the preventive war movement, which advocated a nuclear first strike against the Soviet Union. Though the Truman administration rejected preventive war the United States entered into an arms race with the Soviets and game theory developed into a controversial tool of public policy--alternately accused of justifying arms races and touted as the only hope of preventing them.A masterful work of science writing, Prisoner's Dilemma weaves together a biography of the brilliant and tragic von Neumann, a history of pivotal phases of the cold war, and an investigation of game theory's far-reaching influence on public policy today. Most important, Prisoner's Dilemma is the incisive story of a revolutionary idea that has been hailed as a landmark of twentieth-century thought.

British English from A to Zed: A Definitive Guide to the Queen's English


Norman W. Schur - 1987
    British English from A to Zed contains more than 5,500 British terms and their American equivalents, each with a short explanation of the term’s history and an example of its use. The appendixes provide valuable supplemental material with differences between British and American pronunciation, grammar, and spelling as well as terms grouped in specific areas such as currency, weight, and numbers.This dictionary will help you unravel the meanings of:• Berk (idiot)• Bevvied up (drunk)• Crisps (potato chips)• Erk (rookie)• To judder (to shake)• Noughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe)• And more!George Bernard Shaw famously said that the British and Americans were “two peoples separated by a common language.” This book bridges that gap.

Ten Philosophical Mistakes


Mortimer J. Adler - 1985
    It teaches how they came about, how to avoid them, and how to counter their negative effects.

The Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome


E.M. Berens - 1880
    Including sections on Greek and Roman Gods, Minor Deities, Heroes and the practices of the time, it also includes a large number of illustrations. This version has been specially formatted for today's e-readers, and is a fantastic addition to any eBook collection. Whether you are a student of ancient history, or just want to know more about Zeus, Saturn, Icarus and the

Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Da Vinci Code


Dan Burstein - 2004
    Draws on the works of theologians, art historians, and other experts to explore the sources, ideas, and major themes of the novel The Da Vinci Code..

Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight


Peter Atkins - 1999
    Unlike other texts, it begins with a detailed picture of the atom then builds toward chemistry's frontier, continually demonstrating how to solve problems, think about nature and matter, and visualize chemical concepts in the same ways as working chemists. The new edition incorporates features that extend the book's emphasis on modern techniques and applications while strengthening its problem solving approach. Atkins/Jones is the only book for this course featuring integrated book specific media that provides students with effective study help via a variety of electronic tools. The website at http: //www.whfreeman.com/chemicalprinciples3e has been developed simultaneously with the text and offers a range of tools for problem solving and chemical exploration

When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?


George Carlin - 2004
    Ranging from his absurdist side (Message from a Cockroach; TV News: The Death of Humpty Dumpty; Tips for Serial Killers) to his unerring ear for American speech (Politician Talk; Societal Clichs; Euphemisms: 13 sections) to his unsparing views on America and its values (War, God, Stuff Like That; Zero Tolerance; Tired of the Handi-crap), Carlin delivers everything that his fans expect, and then adds a few surprises. Carlin on the battle of the sexes: Here's all you have to know about men and women: Women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid.

The Life of the Mind


Hannah Arendt - 1971
    The author’s final work, presented in a one-volume edition, is a rich, challenging analysis of man’s mental activity, considered in terms of thinking, willing, and judging.

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding


John Locke - 1690
    

Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750


Jonathan I. Israel - 2001
    The Radical Enlightenment played a part in this revolutionary process, which effectively overthrew all justification for monarchy, aristocracy, and ecclesiastical power, as well as man's dominance over woman, theological dominance of education, and slavery. Despite the present day interest in the revolutions of the eighteenth century, the origins and rise of the Radical Enlightenment have received limited scholarly attention. The greatest obstacle to the movement finding its proper place in modern historical writing is its international scope: the Radical Enlightenment was not French, British, German, Italian, Jewish or Dutch, but all of these at the same time.In this wide-ranging volume, Jonathan Israel offers a novel interpretation of the Radical Enlightenment down to La Mettie and Diderot, two of its key exponents. Particular emphasis is placed on the pivotal role of Spinoza and the widespread underground international philosophical movement known before 1750 as Spinozism.

I Think, Therefore I Am: All the Philosophy You Need to Know


Lesley Levene - 2010
    But is philosophy really so complicated? And is it really as irrelevant as it sometimes seems? "I Think, Therefore I Am" is the ideal way to take the fear out of philosophy. Written in an accessible and highly entertaining style, it explains how and why philosophy began, and how, from Greek democracy to Communism, the ways in which we live, learn, argue, vote and even spend our money have their origins in philosophical thought.Philosophers certainly like to make life sound awfully complicated. But is philosophy really so complicated? And is it really as irrelevant as it sometimes seems? "I Think, Therefore I Am" is the ideal way to take the fear out of philosophy. Written in an accessible and highly entertaining style, it explains how and why philosophy began, and how, from Greek democracy to Communism, the ways in which we live, learn, argue, vote and even spend our money have their origins in philosophical thought.

The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener


Martin Gardner - 1983
    Exploring issues that range from faith to prayer to evil to immortality, and far beyond, Garnder challenges the discerning reader with fundamental questions of classical philosophy and life's greater meanings.Recalling such philosophers was Wittgenstein and Arendt, The Whys of Philosophical Scrivener embodies Martin Garner's unceasing interest and joy in the impenetrable mysteries of life.

Nothing to Be Frightened of


Julian Barnes - 2008
    There are other ancestors, too: the writers—“most of them dead, and quite a few of them French"—who are his daily companions, supplemented by composers and theologians and scientists whose similar explorations are woven into this account with an exhilarating breadth of intellect and felicity of spirit.Deadly serious, masterfully playful, and surprisingly hilarious, Nothing to Be Frightened Of is a riveting display of how this supremely gifted writer goes about his business and a highly personal tour of the human condition and what might follow the final diagnosis.