Book picks similar to
The Critical Spirit: Essays in Honor of Herbert Marcuse by Kurt H. Wolff
political-theory
politics
psychology
reference
Illness as Metaphor
Susan Sontag - 1978
By demystifying the fantasies surrounding cancer, Sontag shows cancer for what it is - just a disease. Cancer, she argues, is not a curse, not a punishment, certainly not an embarrassment and, it is highly curable, if good treatment is followed. Almost a decade later, with the outbreak of a new, stigmatized disease replete with mystifications and punitive metaphors, Sontag wrote a sequel to Illness as Metaphor, extending the argument of the earlier book to the AIDS pandemic.These two essays now published together, Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors, have been translated into many languages and continue to have an enormous influence on the thinking of medical professionals and, above all, on the lives of many thousands of patients and caregivers.
Breaking the Curse of Willie Lynch: The Science of Slave Psychology
Alvin Morrow - 2003
"A psychic examination of slavery's haunting effects on the conscious of black men & women"--Cover.
Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Requires a Pagan Ethos
Robert D. Kaplan - 2001
Kaplan explores the wisdom of the ages for answers for today’s leaders. While the modern world may seem more complex and dangerous than ever before, Kaplan writes from a deeper historical perspective to reveal how little things actually change. Indeed, as Kaplan shows us, we can look to history’s most influential thinkers, who would have understood and known how to navigate today’s dangerous political waters.Drawing on the timeless work of Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, among others, Kaplan argues that in a world of unstable states and an uncertain future, it is increasingly imperative to wrest from the past what we need to arm ourselves for the road ahead. Wide-ranging and accessible, Warrior Politics is a bracing book with an increasingly important message that challenges readers to see the world as it is, not as they would like it to be.
Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes
Jacques Ellul - 1962
With the logic which is the great instrument of French thought, [Ellul] explores and attempts to prove the thesis that propaganda, whether its ends are demonstrably good or bad, is not only destructive to democracy, it is perhaps the most serious threat to humanity operating in the modern world."--Los Angeles Times"The theme of Propaganda is quite simply...that when our new technology encompasses any culture or society, the result is propaganda... Ellul has made many splendid contributions in this book."--Book Week"An exhaustive catalog of horrors. It shows how modern, committed man, surrounded and seized by propaganda, more often than not surrenders himself to it only too willingly, especially in democracies--because he is educated for his rule as dupe. 'The most favorable moment to seize a man and influence him,' Ellul writes, 'is when he is alone in the mass; it is at this point that propaganda can be most effective. This is the situation of the 'lonely crowd,' or of isolation in the mass, which is a natural product of modern-day society, which is both used and deepened by the mass media.' "--Los Angeles Free Press
Liberalism
John N. Gray - 1986
In this new edition, John Gray argues that whereas liberalism was the political theory of modernity, it is ill-equipped to cope with the dilemmas of the postmodern condition. The task now, as Gray sees it, is to develop a pluralist theory, in which the liberal problem of finding a modus vivendi among rival communities and worldviews is solved in postliberal terms.Copublished with Open University Press
The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society
Jürgen Habermas - 1962
It will be a revelation to those who have known Habermas only through his theoretical writing to find his later interests in problems of legitimation and communication foreshadowed in this lucid study of the origins, nature, and evolution of public opinion in democratic societies.
A Companion to Marx's Capital
David Harvey - 2008
For nearly forty years, David Harvey has written and lectured on Capital, becoming one of the world’s most foremost Marx scholars.Based on his recent lectures, this current volume aims to bring this depth of learning to a broader audience, guiding first-time readers through a fascinating and deeply rewarding text. A Companion to Marx’s Capital offers fresh, original and sometimes critical interpretations of a book that changed the course of history and, as Harvey intimates, may do so again.David Harvey’s video lecture course can be found here: davidharvey.org/reading-capital/
Patterns of Culture
Ruth Benedict - 1934
. . Patterns of Culture is a signpost on the road to a freer and more tolerant life." -- New York TimesA remarkable introduction to cultural studies, Patterns of Culture is an eloquent declaration of the role of culture in shaping human life. In this fascinating work, the renowned anthropologist Ruth Benedict compares three societies -- the Zuni of the southwestern United States, the Kwakiutl of western Canada, and the Dobuans of Melanesia -- and demonstrates the diversity of behaviors in them. Benedict's groundbreaking study shows that a unique configuration of traits defines each human culture and she examines the relationship between culture and the individual. Featuring prefatory remarks by Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Louise Lamphere, this provocative work ultimately explores what it means to be human."That today the modern world is on such easy terms with the concept of culture . . . is in very great part due to this book." -- Margaret Mead"Benedict's Patterns of Culture is a foundational text in teaching us the value of diversity. Her hope for the future still has resonance in the twenty-first century: that recognition of cultural relativity will create an appreciation for 'the coexisting and equally valid patterns of life which mankind has created for itself from the raw materials of existence.'" -- from the new foreword by Louise Lamphere, past president of the American Anthrolopological AssociationRuth Benedict (1887-1948) was one of the most eminent anthropologists of the twentieth century. Her profoundly influential books Patterns of Culture and The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture were bestsellers when they were first published, and they have remained indispensable works for the study of culture in the many decades since.
Anarchism: A Collection of Revolutionary Writings
Pyotr Kropotkin - 1927
An invaluable addition to the libraries of instructors, students, and anyone interested in history, government, and anarchist thought.
Criminal Psychology: Understanding the Criminal Mind and Its Nature Through Criminal Profiling
Robert Forbes - 2016
There are records of these kinds of people in ancient times, and we all know they are still alive and well today. But what we don’t know is what goes on inside their heads. Why would anyone kill for the sake of it? Why would someone that seemed so nice and so normal do such a terrible thing? What causes this kind of behavior? These and many more questions have flooded the minds of those that study criminal psychology for decades. If there was a way to know why they do what they do, it would be so much easier to counteract it. If there was a way we could prevent this from ever happening in the first place, we would all be a lot better off than we are now, trying to figure out what is causing this behavior. But now, with this book, you can get a glimpse inside the mind of a serial killer, and see why they are the way they are. There is a lot that doesn’t meet the eye, and these things could potentially change the way we deal with violent offenders forever. We could potentially treat the symptoms from the beginning and prevent another serial killer from ever entering the world. This book covers it all, from what is really going on and what caused it to how we can prevent it. This book is going to change the way you view violent offenders, and show you we really can make a difference. Read on to discover how you can be a part of the solution to this problem, and how we can end this kind of behavior forever. Just scroll up and click the "Buy now with 1-Click" button to get the book now! $2.99 Only Today! Keywords: criminal, psychology, mind, profiling, understanding, sociology, guide, annotated, legendary, victimology
The Mass Psychology of Fascism
Wilhelm Reich - 1933
"Fascism is only the organized political expression of the structure of the average man's character. It is the basic emotional civilization and its mechanistic-mystical conception of life."Responsibility for the elimination of fascism thus results with the masses of average people who might otherwise support and champion it.
The Fall of Public Man
Richard Sennett - 1977
Richard Sennett’s insights into the danger of the cult of individualism remain thoroughly relevant to our world today. In a new epilogue, he extends his analysis to the new “public” realm of social media, questioning how public culture has fared since the digital revolution.
Crowds and Power
Elias Canetti - 1960
Breathtaking in its range and erudition, it explores Shiite festivals and the English Civil war, the finger exercises of monkeys and the effects of inflation in Weimar Germany. In this study of the interplay of crowds, Canetti offers one of the most profound and startling portraits of the human condition.
The Last Chai
Varun T. - 2017
The world, as we know today, is not the same anymore. Blatant threats of war by ‘world leaders’ is the new normal. Gone are the days when mobilizing armies at borders, or aiming missiles at adversaries, was a rare phenomenon.With every nation or their allies possessing nuclear weapons, victory through conventional means is no longer possible, paving way for covert warfare to emerge as the preferred weapon. New Delhi is an easy target and Doshi, the unassailable supremo of the regime, is on the ‘hit list’. The threat assessment being at an all time high, Ajay Kaamte, the director of SPG (Special Protection Group), is tasked with protecting the PM.Intelligence claims that the PM is susceptible to cyanide attacks and situation is grim, to say the least. Will Doshiji survive to serve another term or will he very soon be having his last chai?
You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life
Eleanor Roosevelt - 1960
Roosevelt expresses her philosophy of life by relating the experiences which have enabled her to cope with personal and public responsibilities.