History of ideas Books
The School of Life Press A History of Ideas: The most intriguing, relevant
Book SynopsisA collection of humanity’s most inspiring ideas throughout time, bringing perspective to the challenges and wonders of being alive. This is an unusual sort of history book: a history of ideas – and not just any old ideas, ideas from across time and space that are best suited to healing, enchanting and reviving us. Along the way, we travel around the world, from the very beginnings of our species right up to the modern age. We hear about the Ancient Greeks and Romans, we learn about Buddhism and Islam, we acquire ideas from Hinduism and the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment and Modernity. Deliberately eclectic, the book gives us a panoramic, 3,000-year view over the finest insights of a diversity of civilisations. Every idea hangs off an image – it could be a place, a document, a building or a work of art – that has something very specific to teach us. There are ideas here that will stick in our minds because they can help to answer the biggest puzzles we may have: about the direction of our lives, the issues of relationships, the meaning of existence. The book amounts to a feast for the intellect and the imagination – to make us into the best sorts of historians, those who know how to use the past to shed light on their own lives.
£18.70
Oxford University Press Inc Radical Politics
Book SynopsisThe last twenty years have witnessed a proliferation of radical social and political movements around the world, in wave after wave of struggles against intersecting forms of exploitation, domination, and subalternization. From the International Women''s Strike and Occupy, to #BlackLivesMatter and direct action against the climate emergency, a series of common questions have continually re-emerged as immediate and practical challenges. How should radical political movements relate to the state? What makes emancipatory politics fundamentally different from both technocratic and populist models of politics as usual? Which forms of organization are most likely to deepen and extend the dynamics that led to the emergence of these movements in the first place?To investigate the goal, nature, method, and organizational forms of radical political engagement against the neoliberal consensus, Peter D. Thomas draws on the work of Antonio Gramsci, the Italian Communist Party leader and political tTrade ReviewFramed by a distilled and incisive analysis of the current conjuncture, Peter D. Thomas draws on his expert knowledge of Gramsci's revolutionary thought to challenge contemporary figures like Laclau and Negri, to clarify the recent cycles of mass mobilization and neoliberal reaction, and to help us 'break with the self-defeating structures of feeling and response' that remain such profoundly entrenched features of our age. * Peter Hallward, The Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University London *Peter D. Thomas asks perhaps the most fundamental strategic question of radical politics: how can the wide-ranging and various movements for self-emancipation gain power together while also fostering the diversity of aims and strategies that is their core strength and value? This question has gained new urgency in the last decade, Thomas reminds us, as a wave of radical movements sweeps the world, astonishing in their resilience and creativity. It is also an old question, however, and Thomas shows us how we can think with-and not merely venerate-those who have faced it before, above all the Italian communist Antonio Gramsci. This book not only offers new insights to both political theorists and political activists, but also opens a place of dialogue for radical theory and radical practice. * Angela Zimmerman, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University *In this book, Peter Thomas teases out the far-reaching implications of Gramsci's insistence that we approach the state not as some fixed entity, but rather as unstable assemblages of relationships that are themselves unstable, continually shifting as they move through history - an approach that offers genuine emancipatory potential in our 21st century moment when so many of the old fixed certainties of political identity seem to have crumbled. Deploying a deeply informed survey of the last half century of debate among leftists on the nature of the state, Radical Politics is essential reading for all those interested in Gramsci, and in the potential for transformative change in our seemingly ever more broken world. * Kate Crehan, Professor Emerita of Anthropology & Women's and Gender Studies, Graduate Center, CUNY, author of Gramsci's Common Sense. Inequality and Its Narratives *With Radical Politics: On the Causes of Contemporary Emancipation Peter Thomas enhances his already outstanding reputation as one of the most original and profound political theoreticians of our times. * Adam David Morton, Professor of Political Economy, University of Sydney, author of Unravelling Gramsci: Hegemony and Passive Revolution in the Global Political Economy *In Radical Politics, the author of The Gramscian Moment returns to Gramsci to answer [...] questions which remain central for both political theory and practical action today. Neither mere archaeology of Gramscian thought, nor indulgent pleasuring in 'left melancholia,' Peter Thomas' compelling new book offers a timely and propositive clarification of the goals, nature, methods and forms of contemporary movements underway. * Roberto M. Dainotto, Professor of Literature, Romance Studies & International Comparative Studies, Duke University, author of Europe (in Theory) and co-editor of Gramsci in the World *In Radical Politics Peter D. Thomas refuses left melancholia and pessimism, foregrounding instead the vibrant emancipatory movements that have sprung up in the past 20 years. As the pre-eminent interpreter of Antonio Gramsci's writings for Anglophone audiences since the publication of The Gramscian Moment in 2009, Thomas now insists on the imperative for re-reading Gramsci in the present conjuncture to complement and extend new ways of doing politics. This exciting and challenging book will stimulate debate for years to come. * Gillian Hart, Professor Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley and Distinguished Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, author of Rethinking the South African Crisis: Nationalism, Populism, Hegemony and co-editor of Gramsci: Space, Nature, Politics *Peter Thomas' Radical Politics brilliantly invites us to leave behind left-melancholia and to understand our political present - the social movements and left experimentations of the past twenty years - in their own terms. This does not mean leaving behind the left's theoretical or historical past. On the contrary, Thomas' book engages us in a tight dialogue between the mobilizations of recent years and a renewed and original interpretation of Gramsci's notion of hegemony and of the integral state, with the goal of making us alert to what the new forms, compositions, and methods of recent movements can teach us about winning the struggle for emancipation. * Cinzia Arruzza, Philosophy at The New School for Social Research, author of A Wolf in the City: Tyranny and the Tyrant in Plato's Republic and co-author of Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Radical Politics against the New World Order 1. Final Cause: Politics Beyond the State 2. Material Cause: The Constitution of the Political 3. Efficient Cause: Hegemony as a Method of Political Work 4. Formal Cause: The Question of Organization Conclusion: Contemporary Self-Emancipation
£999.99
Oxford University Press Inc The Rule of Law
Book SynopsisPoliticians, judges, and citizens commonly use the phrase rule of law to describe some good that flows from a legal system. But what precisely is that good? Even in Aristotle''s time, there was no agreement on either its nature, and on whether it counted as an unqualified good. Even now, a core rule-of-law aspiration is that law can constrain how power is flexed. But how or when? Disagreement persists as to whether the rule of law is a matter of how law is used or why it is deployed. In consequence, the World Bank, the leaders of Singapore''s one-party state, and the Communist Party in China can all offer their own spins on the concept.By charting these disagreements and showing the overlap and the conflicts between different understandings of the concept, Aziz Z. Huq shows how the rule of law can still be used as an important tool for framing and evaluating the goals and functions of a legal system. He traces the idea''s historical origins from ancient Greece to the constitutional theorist Albert Venn Dicey to the economist and political philosopher Friedrich Hayek. And he explores how that value is coming under pressure from terrorist threats, macroeconomic crisis, pandemics, autocratic populism, and climate change.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (10 Year
Book SynopsisA beautiful new hardback anniversary edition of the multi-million copy sensationINCLUDES A NEW AFTERWORD FROM YUVAL NOAH HARARIWhat makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?One of the world's preeminent historians and thinkers, Yuval Noah Harari challenges everything we know about being human. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us.In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going.PRAISE FOR SAPIENS:'Interesting and provocative... It gives you a sense of how briefly we've been on this Earth' Barack Obama'Jaw-dropping from the first word to the last... It may be the best book I've ever read' Chris Evans'Startling... It changes the way you look at the world' Simon Mayo'I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who's interested in the history and future of our species' Bill GatesTrade ReviewSapiens is a starburst of a book, as enjoyable as it is stimulating * Sunday Express *Unforgettably vivid language. I urge everyone to read it * H Edition *A fantastic book about how homo sapiens came to conquer the world * Mail on Sunday *
£21.25
Duckworth Books Great Minds on Small Things
Book SynopsisHow to Be Perfect meets The Daily Stoic in this witty, entertaining, highly giftable compendium of quotidian wisdomTrade Review'A tour de force of philosophical frivolity that enlightens as well as entertains' Philosophy Now
£11.69
Verso Books A Philosophy of Walking
Book SynopsisBy walking, you escape from the very idea of identity, the temptation to be someone, to have a name and a history ... The freedom in walking lies in not being anyone; for the walking body has no history, it is just an eddy in the stream of immemorial life.In A Philosophy of Walking, a bestseller in France, leading thinker Frédéric Gros charts the many different ways we get from A to B-the pilgrimage, the promenade, the protest march, the nature ramble-and reveals what they say about us. Gros draws attention to other thinkers who also saw walking as something central to their practice. On his travels he ponders Thoreau's eager seclusion in Walden Woods; the reason Rimbaud walked in a fury, while Nerval rambled to cure his melancholy. He shows us how Rousseau walked in order to think, while Nietzsche wandered the mountainside to write. In contrast, Kant marched through his hometown every day, exactly at the same hour, to escape the compulsion of thought. Brilliant and erudite, A Philosophy of Walking is an entertaining and insightful manifesto for putting one foot in front of the other.Trade Review"Resolving to take more walks in the new year might sound like promising to take more naps--choosing idleness over work. But a lot of clever people don't see it that way [...] Frédéric Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers--Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac--have also been indefatigable walkers." -- Christopher Caldwell * Financial Times *A passionate affirmation of the simple life, and joy in simple things. And it's beautifully written: clear, simple, precise. -- Carole Cadwalladr * Observer *Poignant life-stories ... are interspersed with the author's own meditations on walking... In the way a landscape is gradually absorbed by the long-distance rambler they steadily build into an insistent exhortation: get up, get out and walk! * Independent *Impressive. * Telegraph *"Life-affirming stuff." * National Geographic Traveller *"Philosopher Gros ponders walking, that most mundane mode of transportation or exercise, elevating it to its rightful place in inspiring creativity, evoking freedom, and quieting a troubled soul." * Booklist *"This elegant book inspires consideration of an oft-overlooked subject." * Publisher's Weekly *This short, simple and profound book... will be read and re-read. * Times Higher Education *Frédéric Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers - Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac - have also been indefatigable walkers . there are certain magical things that happen on the trail, and Gros is familiar with them. He thinks like a hiker. * Financial Times *An admirable little book which will delight even the most sedentary. * Le Monde *An unclassifiable book in which ideas are illuminated by the bright light of the morning. * L’Express *Unpretentious and refreshing. -- Jonathon Sturgeon * Flavorwire *A long walk, Gros suggests, allows us to commune with the sublime. * New York Times *Celebrates the liberation of the mind that comes with walking, especially in natural areas: I hike, therefore, I am. -- Matt Jaffe
£9.99
Liverpool University Press Determinism and Enlightenment: The Collaboration
Book SynopsisThis book examines Diderot’s and d’Holbach’s views on determinism to illuminate some of the most important debates taking place in eighteenth-century Europe. Insisting on aspects of Diderot’s and d’Holbach’s thought that, to date, have been given scant, if any, scholarly attention, it proposes to restore both thinkers to their rightful position in the history of philosophy. The book problematises Diderot’s and d’Holbach’s atheism by showing their philosophy to be deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and offers a more nuanced and historicised interpretation of the so-called “Radical Enlightenment”, challenging the notions that this movement can be taken to be a perfectly coherent set of ideas and that it represents a complete break with “the old”. By examining Diderot’s and d’Holbach’s works in tandem and without post-romantic assumptions about originality and single authorship, it argues that the two philosophers’ texts should be taken as the product of a fascinating collaborative form of philosophical enquiry that perfectly reflects the sociable nature of intellectual production during the Enlightenment. The book further proposes a fresh interpretation of such crucial texts as the Système de la nature and Jacques le fataliste et son maître and unveils a key web of concepts that will help researchers to better understand Enlightenment philosophy and literature as a whole.Table of ContentsList of AbbreviationsList of figuresAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1: One question, two thinkers1.1: Determinism1.2: Diderot1.3: D’Holbach2: Linking everything together2.1: Diderot and d’Holbach2.2: D’Holbach and determinism2.3: Diderot and determinism3: Synopsis3.1: Building blocks3.2: Of Individuals and Societies3.3: Determinism, complexity, and atheism4: Further aims of this book5: N.B.5.1: Determinism vs fatalism5.2: Corpora and chronologyChapter I: Three Fundamental Principles1: Background1.1: The Causal Principle1.2: The Causal Principle under attack1.3: The Principle of Sufficient Reason1.4: Causal Principle, Principle of Sufficient Reason, and Cosmological Argument1.5: Hume’s criticisms of the Cosmological Argument1.6: The Nihil ex Nihilo Principle2: Diderot and d’Holbach2.1: Diderot, d’Holbach, and the Nihil ex Nihilo Principle2.2: Diderot, d’Holbach, and the Causal Principle2.3: For the sake of determinism and science2.4: Diderot, d’Holbach, and the Principle of Sufficient Reason2.5: Causa sive ratio2.6: Cause and reason in Diderot’s and d’Holbach’s writings2.7: Why do Diderot and d’Holbach endorse the Principle of Sufficient Reason?3: ConclusionChapter II: Causal Necessitation1: Background1.1: Causal Necessitation1.2: Causal and Logical Necessitation1.3: The argument from essence1.4: The argument from total cause1.5: No Necessary Connection Arguments2: Diderot and d’Holbach on Causal Necessitation2.1: Suites et effets nécessaires2.2: Additional evidence2.3: Causal Necessitation in the moral world2.4: Diderot and d’Holbach on the equivalence of Causal and Logical Necessitation2.5: D’Holbach and the argument from essence2.6: Diderot: the argument from essence and the argument from ‘cause une’3: Causal Necessitation and theology3.1: The reasons behind it all4: ConclusionChapter III: Laws of Nature1: Background1.1: Laws of nature in eighteenth-century France1.2: The Top-Down View1.3: The Bottom-Up View1.4: Spinoza2: D’Holbach and the laws of nature2.1: D’Holbach and the Bottom-Up View2.2: D’Holbach and the Top-Down View2.3: D’Holbach’s compromise3: Diderot and the laws of nature3.1: Two arguments against Diderot’s belief in the laws of nature3.2: A glance at the texts3.3: Diderot and mathematics3.4: Diderot and the Bottom-Up View4: ConclusionChapter IV: Moral Freedom1: Background1.1: ‘Liberté naturelle’, ‘liberté civile’, and ‘liberté politique’1.2: Moral freedom1.3: The Alternative Possibilities Model1.4: The Source Model1.5: Moral Freedom and determinism2: Diderot and d’Holbach on Moral Freedom2.1: Diderot and d’Holbach on the Source Model2.2: Internal and external causes2.3: External causes2.4: Internal causes2.5: Internal and external causes reconsidered2.6: Diderot and d’Holbach on the Alternative Possibilities Model2.7: Outright rejection of Moral Freedom2.8: Moral responsibility3: ConclusionChapter V: Individuals and Society1: A deterministic theory of human life1.1: Machines de chair1.2: Pensées décousues1.2: Dreaming1.3: Madness1.4: Scientific discoveries1.5: Artistic production1.6: Aesthetic experience2: No man is an island2.1: Love2.2: Machines d’hommes2.3: Causal Necessitation and Laws of Nature2.4: Of climate and rulers2.5: Social change in a deterministic worldConclusionChapter VI: Paradoxes of Determinism1: Determinism and complexity1.1: Diderot and complexity1.2: D’Holbach and complexity1.3: Against the Argument from Design1.4: Determinism vs complexity1.5: A complex theory of determinism2: Of Predictability, chance, (dis)order, and atheism2.1: Determinism and predictability2.2: Determinism and chance2.3: Determinism or (dis)order2.4: Diderot and d’Holbach’s atheism reconsidered3. Jacques le fataliste et son maître3.1: Les chainons, le grand rouleau, et le dieu de Malebranche3.2: The mirage of freedom and the Leibnizian God3.3: Jacques, Hume, and superstitionConclusionConclusionBibliographyPre-1850 sourcesPost-1850 sources
£95.93
Cambridge University Press Confusion in the West
Book SynopsisIn their trenchant panoramic overview ranging from antiquity to the present-day John and Anna Rist write with authority and ennui about nothing less than the loss of the foundational culture of the West. The authors characterize this culture as the ''original tradition'', viewing its erosion as one which has led to anxiety about the entire value of Western thought. The causes of the disintegration are discussed with an intensity rare in academe. Critics of modernity ordinarily concentrate on the Enlightenment and the book certainly offers deep analysis of Enlightenment thought. But it goes further. Thus the cruelty of modern totalitarianism is now depicted as in the spirit of the French Revolution and its implacable hostility to a vanished primordial heritage, while scientism, bureaucracy and consumerism appear as the only rivals to a threatening nihilism. The book argues that Western thought has created a set of conflicting moral and spiritual customs: to the detriment of coherence,Table of Contents1. Confusion introduced; 2. Athens, Rome, Jerusalem; 3. From Constantine to Henry VIII; 4. Man enlightened: Montaigne to Kant; 5. Totalitarian man: theory and practice; 6. Scientistic humanism; 7. World War, bureaucracy, consumerism; 8. Sexual liberation and the subversion of the person; 9. Personalism, virtue ethics and the original tradition; 10. Culture, what culture? 2021.
£29.99
Princeton University Press Minds Wide Shut
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A sweeping study of the rise of rigid certainty in politics, economics and literature, and the threat it presents to democracy, which requires open-mindedness and compromise."---Bill Clinton, The Guardian"“Morson and Schapiro are surely right to point out that in recent years we have… seen new fundamentalisms generate solidarity through distrust, disinformation and angry resentment. Their book reminds us that we need to aspire to create communities open to learning, to conversation and to recognizing one's own errors. That's what we want, after all, from our campuses and from our democracy.” --Michael Roth, Wall Street Journal""Their argument on the whole is compelling, and one can only hope society listens to it."---Nat Brown, National Review"Gary Saul Morson and Morton Schapiro are professors at Northwestern University in such disparate fields as Slavic languages and literatures and Economics. The book is a seamless fusion of their learning, observation, analysis, and wisdom. They are experienced collaborators and we are their beneficiaries. ... Defending politics and democracy is difficult although preferable to the alternatives. The same applies to other fields vulnerable to fundamentalism. Moderation is not easy, and thinking is strenuous. However, minds wide shut hurt more. ... Minds Wide Shut ... is solemnly and enthusiastically recommended."---Linda Quest, International Social Science Review"Minds Wide Shut issues a devastating indictment of the ideological extremism so characteristic of fundamentalism." * Chronicles *"Elegantly written, thought-provoking, and timely work, enhanced by dazzling references to literature, philosophy, theology and intellectual history. [The book] is to be recommended to all scholars, senior students and even seasoned general readers concerned by the regressive forces active across the political spectrum, forces that are antithetical to a healthy democratic society."---Karl W. Schweizer, The European Legacy
£15.19
Bonnier Books Ltd The Art of Physics
Book Synopsis'Exceptionally interesting' - Alain de BottonWhy are some relationships unstable, while others last a lifetime? Why do the rich keep getting richer, and can it ever be any other way? And why do we all make seemingly irrational decisions? People are messy. Science is methodical. Could ideas from physics allow us to solve our most urgent problems? ?This book is about the hidden, surprising, and sometimes beautiful ways in which physics could help you make sense of a chaotic and unpredictable world.Drawing on cutting-edge research and eye-opening insights from quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, chaos and complexity theory, materials science and more, The Art of Physics shows that science offers a rich vocabulary for tackling contradictions that seem to be the hallmarks of daily life. Not only does physics explain many aspects of our experience, it transforms our understanding of them.
£16.00
University of Minnesota Press Architecture and Objects
Book SynopsisThinking through object-oriented ontology—and the work of architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid—to explore new concepts of the relationship between form and function Object-oriented ontology has become increasingly popular among architectural theorists and practitioners in recent years. Architecture and Objects, the first book on architecture by the founder of object-oriented ontology (OOO), deepens the exchange between architecture and philosophy, providing a new roadmap to OOO’s influence on the language and practice of contemporary architecture and offering new conceptions of the relationship between form and function. Graham Harman opens with a critique of Heidegger, Derrida, and Deleuze, the three philosophers whose ideas have left the deepest imprint on the field, highlighting the limits of their thinking for architecture. Instead, Harman contends, architecture can employ OOO to reconsider traditional notions of form and function that emphasize their relational characteristics—form with a building’s visual style, function with its stated purpose—and constrain architecture’s possibilities through literalism. Harman challenges these understandings by proposing de-relationalized versions of both (zero-form and zero-function) that together provide a convincing rejoinder to Immanuel Kant’s dismissal of architecture as “impure.”Through critical engagement with the writings of Peter Eisenman and fresh assessments of buildings by Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry, and Zaha Hadid, Architecture and Objects forwards a bold vision of architecture. Overcoming the difficult task of “zeroing” function, Harman concludes, would place architecture at the forefront of a necessary revitalization of exhausted aesthetic paradigms.Trade Review"Graham Harman’s Architecture and Objects could very well be a new philosophical blueprint for how to build our emerging twenty-first century world. By reconsidering the relationship between humanity, reality, and the built environment, he shows us, like a UV light at a crime scene, ways of understanding architecture that we’d never even considered but that are now, all of a sudden, glowing with brilliant potential."—Mark Foster Gage, Yale University, and principal of Mark Foster Gage ArchitectsTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Architects and Their Philosophers2. I Know Not What3. Object-Orientation4. The Aesthetic Centrality of Architecture5. The Architectural CellConcluding MaximsNotesBibliographyIndex
£19.79
Princeton University Press Dreamworlds of Race
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the TSA/CUP Book Prize, Transatlantic Studies Association and Cambridge University Press""Shortlisted for the BISA Susan Strange Best Book Prize, British International Studies Association""One of Foreign Affairs' Best Books""Largely forgotten today, however, is that era of history when there occurred not only a 'Great Rapprochement' between the two nations but also debates about the possibility of reuniting the 'Republic and the Empire' on the basis of a shared Anglo-Saxon racial destiny. . . . Duncan Bell’s remarkable book Dreamworlds of Race brings that history to light with both scholarly rigor and narrative flair."---Bassam Sidiki, Los Angeles Review of Books"In the United Kingdom and the United States in the late nineteenth century, a multitude of thinkers advanced new and often startling visions of the future of the global order. In this masterly book, Bell explores the ideas of some of the most intriguing figures of this era, illuminating their dreams of a world-dominating Anglo-American political community united by race and empire. This is intellectual history at its best."---G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs"Dreamworlds of Race is a powerful and profound statement that provides a definitive intellectual history of imperial era thought and deftly demonstrates its inseparability from liberalism and racial and cultural hierarchy. For students of history, politics, international relations, and even literature, its interdisciplinary appeal should make it essential reading. Ranging in widely in scope, and written with elegance and aplomb, the work is a distinguished and indispensable contribution to our understanding of how geo-political fear and ambition rested on highly racialized conceptions of nation and empire."---Robert Singh, Ethnic & Racial Studies"Dreamworlds of Race deserves to be read by a wide audience. It is an excellent work drawing together numerous strands of Anglo-American imaginations and revealing the tensions and hopes pinned on utopian racial thinking."---James Watts, Journal of Victorian Culture"A hugely impressive, and topic defining, achievement. . . . The larger portrait Bell paints is not only fascinating and important, it provides an illuminating context for Wells’s thought and art."---Adam Roberts, The Wellsian"An engaging read . . . . Bell is admirably well-read and manages to guide the reader through a myriad of different theories, thinkers and writings."---Christian K. Melby, Nations and Nationalism"Dreamworlds is a highly-topical window into these complex, often (self) contradictory visions of Anglo-America that build on race, power, and propaganda. . . . Bell’s opus is as much a necessary read for those seeking to better comprehend the world order reimaginings in the period . . . as British PM Boris Johnson’s contemporary ‘Global Britain’."---Stephanie Prévost, European Review of International Studies"It would be a fool’s errand to try to convey the book’s richness and detail.—Inder S. Marwah, Review of Politics"
£22.50
Princeton University Press Conservatism
Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of the Financial Times' Best Books of 2020: Politics""One of Kirkus Reviews Best Big-Picture History Books of 2020""A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice""A NRC Book of the Year""A truly magisterial survey of the thought and actions of conservatives in Britain, France, Germany and the United States. . . . It’s a tour de force of intellectual eclecticism, and a vital recognition that the war within conservatism matters."---Andrew Sullivan, New York Times Book Review"A valuable wide-lens perspective on currents that have been at play for decades if not centuries."---Greg Cowles, New York Times Book Review"Invaluable."---Paul Rosenberg, Salon"Enriching and worth reading."---Jacob Soll, New Republic"[An] epic history of conservatism."---John Prideaux, The Economist"This book is a stimulating read, benefiting from the author’s clarity of style, breadth of historical knowledge and decision to place conservative thinkers from each period of history alongside political practitioners."---William Hague, The Spectator"The chief virtue of Fawcett’s rich and wide-ranging account is to demonstrate how conservatism has repeatedly managed to renew itself, politically and intellectually. The conservative tradition is a remarkably fecund one. For both its supporters and opponents, that is a truth worth rescuing."---Nick Pearce, Financial Times"Members of both [liberalism and conservatism] thought-categories will find much to learn from both books, not least from the historical figures Mr. Fawcett brings into view."---William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal"[A] magisterial history. . . . Perhaps the most comprehensive view of ‘the conservative mind’ since Russell Kirk’s book (1953) of that title. . . . One of the fairest accounts of the conservative intellectual tradition to be published in recent years."---Gerald J. Russello, National Review"Fawcett, a veteran Economist journalist who describes himself as a left-wing liberal, seeks to understand conservatism as a historical phenomenon. He surveys political practice and political thought in Britain, the US, France and Germany since 1800, with authority and perspective."---Jonathan Parry, London Review of Books"An ambitious book with lucid accounts of a wide range of thinkers and some practitioners."---David Willetts, Prospect"The honest struggle of a thoughtful liberal to understand the enemy gives the book its strength, vitality and structure. . . . [A] compelling, lucid and learned work."---Richard Cockett, The Critic"The author of a much acclaimed history of liberalism turns his attention to another crucial branch of political philosophy."---Gideon Rachman, Financial Times"A sweeping new work of political history."---John Harris, The Guardian"The narrative is absorbing, the pace unflagging. The reader is carried along by the energy of the prose, by sharp insights and nice turns of phrase, and above all by the author’s evident engagement in politics and joy in ideas."---Jesse Norman, Catholic Herald"Readable and comprehensive. . . . An immensely stimulating canter though a major segment of Western political tradition." * Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review *"An astonishingly accomplished survey of the last two centuries of conservative thought."---Andrew Gimson, Conservative Home"Timely."---William Chislett, Real Instituto Elcano"In Fawcett’s analysis, the French Revolution in 1789 was both a founding moment and a false start. Fawcett rightly observes that conservatism was not “founded” with the publication of Burke’s critique of the Revolution, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790): it wasn’t until the 1830s that the term gained currency as a political label."---Emily Jones, New Statesman"A compelling work of history."---John Harris, Guardian
£17.09
Profile Books Ltd The Book of Phobias and Manias: A History of the
Book SynopsisTHE PERFECT GIFT FOR ALL BIBLIOMANIACS A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND DAILY MAIL A WATERSTONES BEST POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK Plunge into this rich and thought-provoking A-Z compendium to discover how our fixations have taken shape, from the Middle Ages to the present day, as bestselling author Kate Summerscale deftly traces the threads between the past and present, the psychological and social, the personal and the political. 'Fascinating' Malcolm Gaskill, author of the No. 1 bestseller The Ruin of All Witches 'Fascinating' Observer 'An endlessly intriguing book ... All the bibliomanes (book nutters) I know will love it' Daily MailTrade ReviewFascinating ... Summerscale uses the same talent for elaborating on psychological tics that made her non-fiction thriller The Suspicions Of Mr. Whicher a top bestseller * Mail on Sunday *This fascinating compendium traces phobias and manias through their rich social, cultural and medical history -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *An endlessly intriguing book * Daily Mail *Magnificent -- Marcus BerkmannThought-provoking, eloquent and entertaining * Fortean Times *Endlessly fascinating. It's a tantalising glimpse into the labyrinth of the human unconscious -- The TabletAmusing and oddly unsettling * The Times *Fascinating ... Phobias and manias create a magical space between us and the world -- Malcolm Gaskill, author of the No. 1 bestseller The Ruin of All WitchesWe are all, in some way or other, plagued by fears and desires beyond our control ... Fascinating, beautifully written and thoroughly researched * Irish Times *Thought-provoking and such fun -- Ian Mortimer, bestselling author of The Time Traveller's GuidesA fascinating book -- David CrystalA new book from Summerscale is always a treat. She does vast amounts of research, and then manages to let go of it, and take flight in prose that is both forensic and conversational ... Her sub-title - 'A History of the World in 99 Obsessions' - might echo Neil MacGregor, but this reads more like a book by Oliver Sacks, with dashes of Roald Dahl * Spectator *An intriguing guide to human fixations * Guardian *Fascinating... Exquisitely detailed and consistently insightful, this is an entertaining guide to humanity's compulsions * Publishers Weekly *99 hard-to-stop-reading histories ... from the familiar (homophobia) to surprising fears of eggs, hair, silence and everything (pantophobia) * Chicago Tribune *Informative, witty, and unique ... Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher and other well-regarded books, lists 99 fears and compulsions, and the result is a peculiarly engaging book * Kirkus *
£10.44
Profile Books Ltd The Rule of Laws: A 4000-year Quest to Order the
Book Synopsis'A fascinating, comprehensive study that forces us to think again about what law is, and why it matters ... For those who want to understand why human society has emerged as it has, this is essential reading' Rana Mitter, author of China's Good War The laws now enforced throughout the world are almost all modelled on systems developed in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During two hundred years of colonial rule, Europeans exported their laws everywhere they could. But they weren't filling a void: in many places, they displaced traditions that were already ancient when Vasco Da Gama first arrived in India. Where, then, did it all begin? And what has law been and done over the course of human history? In The Rule of Laws, pioneering anthropologist Fernanda Pirie traces the development of the world's great legal systems - Chinese, Indian, Roman, and Islamic - and the innumerable smaller traditions they inspired.Trade ReviewFascinating, insightful and gripping, The Rule of Laws provides a comprehensive exploration of the history underpinning our modern legal systems. A triumph -- The Secret BarristerAn ambitious account of the rise and fall of the world's great legal systems ... richly informative and consistently thought-provoking .. Fernanda Pirie's work will command, and deserve, a wide readership -- Jonathan Sumption * TLS *Exceptionally rich -- Andrew Stark * Wall Street Journal *The Rule of Laws offers a pathbreaking and stimulating account of how societies across different regions and epochs drew upon secular, sacred, and scholarly traditions to create laws that organized the lives of their citizens ... This expansive narrative challenges what we think we know about legal history and the assumptions we make about law's future -- Edward J. Watts, author * Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny *The Rule of Laws is a fascinating, comprehensive study that forces us to think again about what law is, and why it matters ... For those who want to understand why human society has emerged as it has, this is essential reading -- Rana Mitter, author * China's Good War *In the exploration of Big questions concerning the law, legality, legal traditions and suchlike, [The Rule of Laws] will occupy an important position. It asks some fundamental questions, including where did the concept of law - and thence of the rule of law - originate? ... A vast canvas ... magisterial * The Commonwealth Lawyer *Agile [and] convincing ... A valuable study for students of the law and its evolution over the millennia * Kirkus *In this panoramic history, Pirie tells the story of the rise and fall of systems of law across the civilizations, empires, and societies of the ancient and modern world ... Pirie argues that if the history of law has a common theme, it is that laws are not simply rules -- G. John Ikenberry * Foreign Affairs *An intriguing synthesis of the history of global legal codes and their origins -- Jeffrey Meyer * Library Journal *The Rule of Laws is a great overview of the history of law, covering four millennia and many different societies ... accessible to a wide readership. It dispels ideas that our current Western form of law is natural and by doing so, give us the liberty to question how it can be used or altered to make the world a better place. It also leaves us with the idea that it can be taken away * Open Letters Review *
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd The History of Sexuality 1
Book Synopsis''A brilliant display of fireworks, attacking the widespread and banal notion that in the beginning sexual activity was guilt-free and delicious, being repressed and blighted only by the gloom of Victorianism'' Spectator We talk about sex more and more, but are we more liberated? The first part of Michel Foucault''s landmark account of our evolving attitudes in the west shows how the nineteenth century, far from suppressing sexuality, led to an explosion of discussion about sex as a separate sphere of life for study and examination. As a result, he argues, we are making a science of sex which is devoted to the analysis of desire rather than the increase of pleasure. ''A wealth of insights, original conceptualizations and provocative ideas'' The Times Literary SupplementTrade ReviewA wealth of insights, original conceptualizations and provocative ideas -- Peter Oborne * Daily Telegraph *A brilliant display of fireworks, attacking the widespread and banal notion that 'in the beginning' sexual activity was guilt-free and delicious, being repressed and blighted only by the gloom of Victorianism -- Jasper Griffin * Spectator *Foucault is at his polemical best. He brilliantly succeeds in turning commonplaces on their heads -- Hayden White * The Times Literary Supplement *
£10.44
Verso Books Nevertheless: Machiavelli, Pascal
Book SynopsisNevertheless comprises essays on Machiavelli and on Pascal. The ambivalent connection between the two parts is embodied by the comma (,) in the subtitle: Machiavelli, Pascal. Is this comma a conjunction or a disjunction? In fact, both. Ginzburg approaches Machiavelli's work from the perspective of casuistry, or case-based ethical reasoning. For as Machiavelli indicated through his repeated use of the adverb nondimanco ("nevertheless"), there is an exception to every rule. Such a perspective may seem to echo the traditional image of Machiavelli as a cynical, "machiavellian" thinker. But a close analysis of Machiavelli the reader, as well as of the ways in which some of Machiavelli's most perceptive readers read his work, throws a different light on Machiavelli the writer. The same hermeneutic strategy inspires the essays on the Provinciales, Pascal's ferocious attack against Jesuitical casuistry. Casuistry vs anti-casuistry; Machiavelli's secular attitude towards religion vs Pascal's deep religiosity. We are confronted, apparently, with two completely different worlds. But Pascal read Machiavelli, and reflected deeply upon his work. A belated, contemporary echo of this reading can unveil the complex relationship between Machiavelli and Pascal - their divergences as well as their unexpected convergences.Trade ReviewA dazzling example of the pleasure of research * Il Foglio *Ginzburg calls for an intricate reading of Machiavelli. He points out that the link between the author of The Prince and the author of the Provincial Letters is justified by the fact that both pertain to the broad constellation of political theology informed by the exception, the miracle, the unique case imposed on the norm * Il Manifesto *A treasure hunt in historical sources, forgeries and the reception of texts * Avvenire *One of world's premier historians. A born detective. * New York Times *Really quite brilliant -- Jan Machielsen * Times Literary Supplement (for Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf) *
£23.75
Princeton University Press A Theory of the Aphorism
Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of FiveBooks' Best Philosophy Books of 2019"
£18.00
Haymarket Books Confronting Reification: Revitalizing Georg
Book SynopsisGeorg Lukács (1885-1971) was one of the most original Marxist philosophers and literary critics of the twentieth century. His work was a major influence on what we now know as critical theory. Almost fifty years after his death, Lukács's legacy has come under attack by right-wing extremists in his native Hungary. Despite efforts to erase his memory, Lukács remains a philosophical gadfly. In Confronting Reification, an international team of fourteen scholars explicate, reassess, and apply one of Lukács's most significant philosophical contributions, his theory of reification. Based on papers presented at the 2017 Legacy of Georg Lukács conference held in Budapest, the essays in this volume demonstrate the vitality of Lukács's thought and its relevance. Contributors include: Rüdiger Dannemann, Frank Engster, Andrew Feenberg, Joseph Grim Feinberg, Andraž Jež, Christian Lotz, Csaba Olay, Tom Rockmore, Gregory R. Smulewicz-Zucker, Mariana Teixeira, Michael J. Thompson, Tivadar Vervoort, Richard Westerman, and Sean Winkler.
£27.00
University of Minnesota Press The Dispossessed: Karl Marx’s Debates on Wood
Book SynopsisExcavating Marx’s early writings to rethink the rights of the poor and the idea of the commons in an era of unprecedented privatization The politics of dispossession are everywhere. Troubling developments in intellectual property, genomics, and biotechnology are undermining established concepts of property, while land appropriation and ecological crises reconfigure basic institutions of ownership. In The Dispossessed, Daniel Bensaïd examines Karl Marx’s early writings to establish a new framework for addressing the rights of the poor, the idea of the commons, and private property as a social institution.In his series of articles from 1842–43 about Rhineland parliamentary debates over the privatization of public lands and criminalization of poverty under the rubric of the “theft of wood,” Marx identified broader anxieties about customary law, property rights, and capitalist efforts to privatize the commons. Bensaïd studies these writings to interrogate how dispossession continues to function today as a key modality of power. Brilliantly tacking between past and present, The Dispossessed discloses continuity and rupture in our relationships to property and, through that, to one another.In addition to Bensaïd’s prescient work of political philosophy, The Dispossessed includes new translations of Marx’s original “theft of wood” articles and an introductory essay by Robert Nichols that lucidly contextualizes the essays.Trade Review"In 1842, the young Karl Marx analyzed the consequences of capitalist rural enclosures in Rhineland. Today, patent rights, biotechnologies, and different forms of intellectual property, Daniel Bensaïd convincingly argues, are means of dispossession of human beings exactly as the land enclosures of almost two centuries ago had been a crucial moment in the process of the accumulation of capital. Far from being ‘neutral’ or ‘natural,’ market society was—and still remains—built as a planned dispossession. This is a timely and highly original essay by a towering figure of French critical thought."—Enzo Traverso, author of Left-Wing Melancholia: Marxism, History, and Memory"Within a single volume, this book makes available to English-language readers for the first time not only fresh translations of Marx’s ‘wood theft articles’ but also Daniel Bensaïd’s lucid and incisive commentary on these pieces. Bensaïd’s short book brings the Marx articles alive for contemporary audiences and demonstrates their enduring relevance for longstanding debates about law, property, and rights."—Samuel A. Chambers, Johns Hopkins University"Bensaïd’s essay, as contextualized in this volume by Nichols, successfully pushes, especially those of a Marxist orientation, to make the idea of dispossession more central to their theoretical and practical work."—Marx & Philosophy Table of ContentsContentsCrisis and Kleptocracy: Bensaïd for Our TimesRobert NicholsNotes on TranslationThe Dispossessed: Karl Marx, the Wood Thieves, and the Right of the PoorI. The Law on the Theft of Wood and the Rights of the Poor“Rural Pauperism” and “Forest Malfeasance”—Hybrid and Uncertain Property—Market versus Popular EconomyII. A Social War of PropertiesThe Right of Necessity versus the Right of Property—“Property Is Theft!”—Possession and Property—Theft or ExploitationIII. The Customary Rights of the Poor to the Communal Goods of Humanity The Privatization of Knowledge—The Privatization of Life—The Common Good and the Freely Given—Inappropriable Goods—Individual and Private Property—The Age of Access?—Enforcing Rights (against Existence)—Who Will Win?Proceedings of the Sixth Rhine Province Assembly, Third Article: Debates on the Law Concerning the Theft of Wood Karl MarxSelected Works by Daniel BensaïdNotesIndex
£19.79
Penguin Books Ltd Time of the Magicians
Book SynopsisAN ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR A gripping narrative of the intertwined lives of the four philosophers whose ideas reshaped the twentieth centuryThe year is 1919. Walter Benjamin flees his overbearing father to scrape a living as a critic. Ludwig Wittgenstein, scion of one of Europe''s wealthiest families, signs away his inheritance, seeking spiritual clarity. Martin Heidegger renounces his faith and aligns his fortunes with Husserl''s phenomenological school. Ernst Cassirer sketches a new schema of human culture on a cramped Berlin tram. The stage is set for a great intellectual drama. Over the next decade the lives and thought of this quartet will converge and intertwine, as each gains world-historical significance, between them remaking philosophy.Time of the Magicians brings to life this miraculous burst of intellectual creativity, unparalleled in philosophy''s history, and with it an entire era, from post-war exuberance to economic crisis and the emergence of National Socialism. With great art, Wolfram Eilenberger traces the paths of these titanic figures through the tumult. He captures their personalities as well as their achievements, and illuminates with singular clarity the philosophies each embodied as well as espoused. It becomes an intellectual adventure story, a captivating journey through the greatest revolution in Western thought told through its four protagonists, each with their own penetrating gaze and answer to the question which has animated philosophy from the very beginning: What are we?Trade ReviewA tremendous feat of scholarship but also a technical masterpiece, knitting together the four men's love lives, money troubles, ontological anxieties and the wider ferment of the Weimar republic with uncommon dexterity -- Oliver Moody * The Times *Splendid, highly entertaining, attentive -- Jonathan Derbyshire * Financial Times *Magnificent, elegantly composed and beautifully narrated -- David Motadel * The Times Literary Supplement *Eilenberger's survey of high thoughts and low politics among German-language philosophers of the 1920s is a salutary tale for today, not just a gripping panorama of century-old dreams and feuds * Economist *Accessible and deeply human ... He draws these four intellectual magi out of the shadows of their writings -- John Kaag * The New York Times *Like any great story, Eilenberger's is not made up, but retrieved. Events have a way of narrating themselves when they encounter a gifted storyteller -- Costica Bradatan * Los Angeles Review of Books *A book of riches - full of stories as well as ideas, all brought together with a fine light touch -- Sarah Bakewell
£11.69
Dorling Kindersley Ltd Myths Legends
Book SynopsisDiscover the world''s greatest myths and legends - from Greek mythology to Norse mythology - in this comprehensive guide.What did Japanese mythology say about the beginning of the Universe? How did Oedipus become the classic tragic hero in Greek mythology? Who brought about the origin of death in Maori mythology? Combining vivid retellings of famous legends with over 1,000 illustrations of characters, famous artworks, and artefacts, Myths and Legends makes it easier than ever before to understand the stories that are central to every culture.Delve into the well-known tales of the ancient Greeks, which hold the key to such phrases as Achilles'' heel, as well as the lesser-known but richly colourful myths of Africa and the Americas. Explore global ideas such as fate and fortune, and the Underworld, and find out about the key characters - heroes, tricksters, and gods - that make up each myth system. Filled with the cultural and religious meanings behind each leg
£16.99
Cambridge University Press Hijacked
Book SynopsisWhat is the work ethic? Does it justify policies that promote the wealth and power of the One Percent at workers'' expense? Or does it advance policies that promote workers'' dignity and standing? Hijacked explores how the history of political economy has been a contest between these two ideas about whom the work ethic is supposed to serve. Today''s neoliberal ideology deploys the work ethic on behalf of the One Percent. However, workers and their advocates have long used the work ethic on behalf of ordinary people. By exposing the ideological roots of contemporary neoliberalism as a perversion of the seventeenth-century Protestant work ethic, Elizabeth Anderson shows how we can reclaim the original goals of the work ethic, and uplift ourselves again. Hijacked persuasively and powerfully demonstrates how ideas inspired by the work ethic informed debates among leading political economists of the past, and how these ideas can help us today.
£18.04
The University of Chicago Press Esalen
Book SynopsisRecounts the spectacular history of Esalen, the institute that has long been one of the world leaders in alternative and experiential education and stands at the center of the human potential movement.Trade Review"The first all-encompassing history of Esalen: its intellectual, social, personal, literary and spiritual passages. Kripal brings us up to date and takes us deep beneath historical surfaces in this definitive, elegantly written book." - Playboy "Kripal tells the story of this beautiful retreat in California's Big Sur region - its history at once sexy, salacious, intellectual and political - with reverence and playfulness.... He is an engaging storyteller and Esalen a worthy subject (a kind of Us Weekly for the discerning intellectual)." - Publishers Weekly "An impressive new book.... Kripal has written the definitive intellectual history of the ideas behind the institute." - San Francisco Chronicle "Kripal examines Esalen's extraordinary history and evocatively describes the breech birth of Murphy and Price's brainchild. His real achievement, though, is effortlessly synthesizing a dizzying array of dissonant phenomena (cold war espionage, ecstatic religiosity), incongruous pairings (Darwinism, Tantric sex), and otherwise schizy ephemera (psychedelic drugs, spaceflight) into a cogent, satisfyingly complete narrative." - Atlantic Monthly"
£18.05
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Dream Palace Of The Arabs A Generations Odyssey
Book SynopsisFrom Fouad Ajami, an acclaimed author and chronicler of Arab politics, comes a compelling account of how a generation of Arab intellectuals tried to introduce cultural renewals in their homelands through the forces of modernity and secularism. Ultimately, they came to face disappointment, exile, and, on occasion, death. Brilliantly weaving together the strands of a tumultuous century in Arab political thought, history, and poetry, Ajami takes us from the ruins of Beirut's once glittering metropolis to the land of Egypt, where struggle rages between a modernist impulse and an Islamist insurgency, from Nasser's pan-Arab nationalist ambitions to the emergence of an uneasy Pax Americana in Arab lands, from the triumphalism of the Gulf War to the continuing anguished debate over the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.For anyone who seeks to understand the Middle East, here is an insider's unflinching analysis of the collision between intellectual life and political realities in the
£12.75
Faber & Faber Battling the Gods
Book SynopsisHow new is atheism?Long before the Enlightenment sowed seeds of disbelief in a deeply Christian Europe, atheism was a matter of serious public debate in the Greek world. But history is written by those who prevail, so the lively free-thinking voices of antiquity were mostly suppressed. Tim Whitmarsh brings to life the origins of the secular values at the heart of the modern state, and reveals how atheism and doubt, far from being modern phenomena, have intrigued the human imagination for thousands of years.
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers September 1 1939 W. H. Auden and the Afterlife of
Book SynopsisThis is a book about a poet, about a poem, about a city, and about a world at a point of change. More than a work of literary criticism or literary biography, it is a record of why and how we create and respond to great poetry.This is a book about a poet W. H. Auden, a wunderkind, a victim-beneficiary of a literary cult of personality who became a scapegoat and a poet-expatriate largely excluded from British literary history because he left.About a poem September 1, 1939', his most famous and celebrated, yet one which he tried to rewrite and disown and which has enjoyed or been condemned to a tragic and unexpected afterlife.About a city New York, an island, an emblem of the Future, magnificent, provisional, seamy, and in 1939 about to emerge as the defining twentieth-century cosmopolis, the capital of the world.And about a world at a point of change about 1939, and about our own Age of Anxiety, about the aftermath of September 11, when many American newspapers reprinted Auden's pTrade ReviewPraise for September 1, 1939: ‘Sansom has given us a book in which all serious readers of Auden will find something to value. He has chosen exactly the right poem for our times to anchor his thoughts on this man who came to define a generation’ Literary Review ‘Richly entertaining … explores what goes on in the poem and why it has had such an impact. Shandyesque and magpie-like, scholarly yet frolicsome, the book makes room for all manner of diverse material, to great effect’ Blake Morrison, Guardian Praise for Paper: ‘Engaging and dynamic’ Andrew Martin, Financial Times ‘Wonderfully diverting…Splendidly dense with fact and thought’ Steven Poole, Times Literary Supplement ‘Sansom’s scholarship is prodigious; his enthusiasm inexhaustible…He can make one laugh out loud by his placing of a single word’ Daily Telegraph ‘A collection of ever so erudite, witty, chucklesome essays, rich with digressions and asides, on paper, in many of its guises, that seeks to refute – and does refute – the idea that we are moving towards a paperless world’ Bookmunch
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Ecology and Natural History Collins New
Book SynopsisEcology is the science of ecosystems, of habitats, of our world and its future. In the latest New Naturalist, ecologist David M. Wilkinson explains key ideas of this crucial branch of science, using Britain's ecosystems to illustrate each point.The science of ecology underlies most of the key issues facing humanity, from the loss of biodiversity to sustainable agriculture, to the effects of climate change and the spread of pandemics. In this accessible and timely addition to the New Naturalist series, ecologist David M. Wilkinson introduces some of the key ideas of this science, using examples from British natural history. Extensively illustrated with photographs of the species and habitats that can be seen in the British countryside, this book shows how the observations of field naturalists link into our wider understanding of the working of the natural world.Investigating ecosystems across the British Isles, from the Scottish and Welsh mountains to the woodlands of southern England aTrade Review‘All books in the New Naturalist series deal with ecology and natural history in one way or another, but this is the first to take ecology itself as the main theme. It provides a broad but comprehensive overview of the subject … The author has a pleasant ‘storytelling’ style, well suited to the task; this is a book that could, I think, be read and understood by anyone with a keen interest. I’ve bought plenty of books in this series over the years but this is the first for a while that I’ve been inspired to read through, cover to cover, within a few days.’ Ian Carter, British Birds ‘Gives a real feel of what ecologists actually have to do, and how their methods and conclusions are changing … Hasbeen done very well, combining the scientific knowledge intoan interesting story … An excellent book’ The Linnean Praise for David M. Wilkinson ‘Wilkinson offers answers as good as science currently can deliver’ Science ‘This is a fascinating book. Every ecologist will profit from reading it’ Basic and Applied Ecology ‘Extraordinarily readable and accessible … Examines some of the very basic questions underlying ecology in its widest sense’ British Ecological Society Bulletin Praise for the New Naturalist series ‘Taken either individually or as a whole, they are one of the proudest achievements of modern publishing’ The Sunday Times ‘The series is an amazing achievement’ The Times Literary Supplement
£48.75
HarperCollins Publishers Ecology and Natural History Collins New
Book SynopsisEcology is the science of ecosystems, of habitats, of our world and its future. In the latest New Naturalist, ecologist David M. Wilkinson explains key ideas of this crucial branch of science, using Britain's ecosystems to illustrate each point.The science of ecology underlies most of the key issues facing humanity, from the loss of biodiversity to sustainable agriculture, to the effects of climate change and the spread of pandemics. In this accessible and timely addition to the New Naturalist series, ecologist David M. Wilkinson introduces some of the key ideas of this science, using examples from British natural history. Extensively illustrated with photographs of the species and habitats that can be seen in the British countryside, this book shows how the observations of field naturalists link into our wider understanding of the working of the natural world.Investigating ecosystems across the British Isles, from the Scottish and Welsh mountains to the woodlands of southern England aTrade Review‘All books in the New Naturalist series deal with ecology and natural history in one way or another, but this is the first to take ecology itself as the main theme. It provides a broad but comprehensive overview of the subject … The author has a pleasant ‘storytelling’ style, well suited to the task; this is a book that could, I think, be read and understood by anyone with a keen interest. I’ve bought plenty of books in this series over the years but this is the first for a while that I’ve been inspired to read through, cover to cover, within a few days.’ Ian Carter, British Birds ‘Gives a real feel of what ecologists actually have to do, and how their methods and conclusions are changing … Hasbeen done very well, combining the scientific knowledge intoan interesting story … An excellent book’ The Linnean Praise for David M. Wilkinson ‘Wilkinson offers answers as good as science currently can deliver’ Science ‘This is a fascinating book. Every ecologist will profit from reading it’ Basic and Applied Ecology ‘Extraordinarily readable and accessible … Examines some of the very basic questions underlying ecology in its widest sense’ British Ecological Society Bulletin Praise for the New Naturalist series ‘Taken either individually or as a whole, they are one of the proudest achievements of modern publishing’ The Sunday Times ‘The series is an amazing achievement’ The Times Literary Supplement
£28.00
HarperCollins Publishers On the Origin of Evolution Tracing Darwins
Book SynopsisA Waterstones Best Book of 2020The theory of evolution by natural selection did not spring fully formed and unprecedented from the brain of Charles Darwin. Rather it has been examined and debated by philosophers the world over for thousands of years.This lively history traces the evolution of the idea of evolution, showing how it has changed and been changed by different societies over time. It will put ''Darwin's Dangerous Idea'' into its proper context, showing how it built on what went before and how it was developed in the twentieth century, through an understanding of genetics and the biochemical basis evolution. None of this diminishes the achievement of Darwin himself in perceiving the way evolution works at the level of individuals and species, but his contribution was one link in a chain that extends back into antiquity, and is still being forged today.Trade ReviewPraise for John and Mary Gribbin: ‘Elegant and meticulously researched … this is a most enjoyable book’ The Observatory ‘Mary and John Gribbin write with great clarity’ Guardian ‘Precise yet mysterious … as beautiful as a poem and as exciting as a novel’ Sunday Times ‘Immensely readable’ The Times
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Bloody Brilliant People The Couples and
Book SynopsisSometimes, 1+1 = changing the world. Cathy Newman's witty, warm history on the power of determined couples will make you look at your relationship and wonder, Could we be doing more this weekend than just going to IKEA?' CAITLIN MORANFrom rivals propelling each other forwards to friends combining their talents, it's clear: often two heads are better than one.How did William and Ellen Craft work together to pull off a perilous cross-country escape from slavery? How did the queer artists Marcel Moore and Claude Cahun become icons of the surrealist movement, then heroines of the resistance in the Second World War? Why couldn't Steve Jobs have started Apple alone?Vibrant, feminist and unexpected, Cathy Newman rewrites the history books to expose this strange power of two and to ask why certain collaborators are so often left out of the narrative.Previously published as It Takes Two.Trade Review‘Sometimes, 1+1 = changing the world. Cathy Newman’s witty, warm history on the power of determined couples will make you look at your relationship and wonder, “Could we be doing more this weekend than just going to IKEA?”’ CAITLIN MORAN ‘A fascinating and illuminating insight into the relationships of extraordinary people. Cathy Newman shows us how and why (to use a familiar phrase) it takes two to tango’BRUNO TONIOLI ‘Witty and insightful, challenging and unexpected – this book is a joy’RUTH DAVIDSON ‘A fascinating look at the enduring popularity of the double act, it’s difficulties and intricacies, and just how interwoven duos are with every facet of popular culture and history. Cathy Newman takes us deeper into the relationships we’re familiar with, and lays bare the importance of these relationships in shaping our world’SARA CANNING ‘This book is chock-full of odd couples who turn out to make perfect sense – just like me and Susanna … We’re a team – and that’s the secret of a successful pairing.It Takes Two on telly – and the world stage’PIERS MORGAN ‘It’s a fascinating study of couples and collaboration, ending very often in anger and bitterness – Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and so on’MICHAEL MORPURGO, The i ‘Filled with biographical anecdotes, this eclectic and hugely entertaining romp through the history of duos shows that “coupledom is a jewel with many facets”’GUARDIAN, BEST PAPERBACKS OF THE MONTH, AUGUST 2021
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Ecology and Natural History Collins New
Book SynopsisEcology is the science of ecosystems, of habitats, of our world and its future. In the latest New Naturalist, ecologist David M. Wilkinson explains key ideas of this crucial branch of science, using Britain's ecosystems to illustrate each point.
£56.25
HarperCollins Publishers The Official History of Britain
Book SynopsisA wonderfully written and entertaining book which places Britain under the microscope and asks who we are today and how we've changed as a nation.Entertaining and absorbing' The Sunday Times In 1841 there were 734 female midwives working in Britain, along with 9 artificial eye makers, 20 peg makers, 6 stamp makers and 1 bee dealer. Fast forward nearly two centuries and there are 51,000 midwives working in the UK and not an eye maker in sight! For the past two centuries, the National Census has been monitoring the behaviour of the British: our work-lives, homes lives and strange cultural habits. With questions on occupation, housing, religion, travel and family, the Census is a snapshot of a country at any given epoch, and its findings have informed the economy, politics and every other national matter for decades that followed.Now, for the first time ever, the Census findings of the past two centuries are collected in to a wonderfully written and entertaining book which places BritainTrade Review'This book feels like an early stocking filler. It is entertaining and absorbing… the statistical detail can be illuminating.’ The Sunday Times ‘A statistical history of Britain fit for the census year…short, readable and rigorous.’ The Financial Times
£9.49
£19.94
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Western Intellectual Tradition
Book Synopsis
£16.99
HarperCollins The Chalice and the Blade Our History Our Future
Book Synopsis
£16.14
Emerald Publishing Limited The Terror Volume Four The Terror Vol 4 French
Book SynopsisThe problem of the Terror lies at the heart of any reflection upon the French Revolution and its implications for modern political culture. This volume brings together a wide range of historiographical approaches to the French Revolution. It offers an explanation of the nature and implications of the political culture of the French Revolution.Table of ContentsAknowledgements. Abbreviations. Introduction. Approaching the Terror. Terror and Violence. Modes of Adherence, Modes of Resistance. Terror as Social Program. Terror and Democracy. Epilogue.
£151.04
Vintage Publishing Thinking the Twentieth Century
Book SynopsisTony Judt was one of the great historians and public intellectuals of his time. Educated at King's College, Cambridge, and the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, he taught at Cambridge, Oxford and Berkeley. He was the Erich Maria Remarque Professor of European Studies at New York University, as well as the founder and director of the Remarque Institute, dedicated to creating an ongoing conversation between Europe and America.The author or editor of fourteen books, Professor Judt was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, The New Republic, and The New York Times.Timothy Snyder studied at Brown and Oxford, held fellowships in Paris, Warsaw and Vienna and at Harvard, and is The Houslum Professor of History at Yale University. He is the author of five award-winning and critically-acclaimed books of European history; the most recent of which, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, won the Leipzig Prize for European Understanding, was named a book of the year by a dozen publications and has beentranslated into twenty-five languages.Trade ReviewTimothy Snyder's initiative has prompted a sparkling dialogue which, through following the stages of Tony Judt's life and emergence as an exceptional historian, offers important reflections on major currents of political thinking in the 20th century * Ian Kershaw *There is much brilliance here to enjoy ... The best kind of book -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *Brilliant to the bitter end...Tony Judt was combative and razor-sharp even as he was dying...A moving, enlightening and provocative read...It is impossible not to marvel at the dying man's extraordinary mental recall and moral integrity ... This book, bristling with learning, is a staggering achievement -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Thinking the Twentieth Century is a substantial achievement -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Brilliantly eloquent -- Neil Ascherson * Guardian *
£13.49
Vintage Publishing The Proper Study Of Mankind
Book SynopsisHe becomes everyman's guide to everything exciting in the history of ideas' New York Review of BooksIsaiah Berlin was one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century, and one of the finest writers. The Proper Study Of Mankind selects some of his best essays in which his insights both illuminate the past and offer a key to the burning issues of today.The full (and enormous) range of his work is represented here, from the exposition of his most distinctive doctrine - pluralism - to studies of Machiavelli, Tolstoy, Churchill and Roosevelt. In these pages he encapsulates the principal movements that characterise the modern age: romanticism, historicism, Fascism, relativism, irrationalism and nationalism. His ideas are always tied to the people who conceived them, so that abstractions are brought alive. EDITED BY HENRY HARDY AND ROGER HAUSHEER AND WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY ANDREW MARRTrade ReviewHe speaks with such infectious energy that he sweeps us up and carries us with him into territory that had seemed inaccessible. He becomes everyman's guide to everything exciting in the history of ideas * New York Review of Books *A restatement of liberalism in a form by which the world could live * Observer *His uniqueness can be very well sampled in this admirable selection... Large as it is, it can serve only to stimulate the appetite * Evening Standard *The pleasure in reading Berlin lies in the clarity of the argument, in the laying out of his monumental sentences and paragraphs each of which is complete in itself while part of the greater and seemingly irrefutable whole which is gradually and massively revealed * Observer *
£22.50
Vintage Publishing Sapiens
Book SynopsisProf Yuval Noah Harari has a PhD in History from the University of Oxford and now lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specialising in World History. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind has become an international phenomenon attracting a legion of fans from Bill Gates and Barack Obama to Chris Evans and Jarvis Cocker, and is published in sixty languages worldwide. It was a Sunday Times Number One bestseller and was in the Top Ten for over nine months in paperback. His follow-up to Sapiens, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow was also a Top Ten Bestseller and was described by the Guardian as 'even more readable, even more important, than his excellent Sapiens'. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, was a Number One Bestseller and was described by Bill Gates as 'fascinating' and 'crucial'. Harari worked closely with renowned comics illustrator Daniel Casanave and co-writer David Vandermeulen to create his latest book, an adaptation of his first bestseller, Sapiens Graphic Novel: Volume 1.Trade ReviewI would recommend Sapiens to anyone who’s interested in the history and future of our species * Bill Gates *Interesting and provocative… It gives you a sense of how briefly we’ve been on this Earth * Barack Obama *Jaw-dropping from the first word to the last… It may be the best book I’ve ever read * Chris Evans *Tackles the biggest questions of history and the modern world… Written in unforgettably vivid language * Jared Diamond *Startling... It changes the way you look at the world * Simon Mayo *Sapiens is a starburst of a book, as enjoyable as it is stimulating * Sunday Express *One of the best books I’ve read recently… Gives an excellent overview of how our species has developed * Lily Cole *Sweeps the cobwebs out of your brain… Radiates power and clarity, making the world strange and new * Sunday Times *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Man and the Natural World
Book Synopsis''Man and the Natural World, an encyclopaedic study of man''s relationship to animals and plants, is completely engrossing ... It explains everything - why we eat what we do, why we plant this and not that, why we keep pets, why we like some animals and not others, why we kill the things we kill and love the things we love ... It is often a funny book and one to read again and again'' Paul Theroux, Sunday Times ''The English historian Keith Thomas has revealed modes of thought and ways of life deeply strange to us'' Hilary Mantel, New York Review of Books''A treasury of unusual historical anecdote ... a delight to read and a pleasure to own'' Auberon Waugh, Sunday Telegraph''A dense and rich work ... the return to the grass roots of our own environmental convictions is made by the most enchantingly minor paths'' Ronald Blythe, GuardianTrade ReviewMan and the Natural World, an encyclopaedic study of man's relationship to animals and plants, is completely engrossing ... It explains everything - why we eat what we do, why we plant this and not that, why we keep pets, why we like some animals and not others, why we kill the things we kill and love the things we love ... It is often a funny book and one to read again and again. -- Paul Theroux * Sunday Times *The English historian Keith Thomas has revealed modes of thought and ways of life deeply strange to us -- Hilary Mantel * New York Review of Books *A treasury of unusual historical anecdote ... a delight to read and a pleasure to own -- Auberon Waugh * Sunday Telegraph *A dense and rich work ... the return to the grass roots of our own environmental convictions is made by the most enchantingly minor paths -- Ronald Blythe * Guardian *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Witcraft
Book Synopsis''Astonishing ... enjoy its riches slowly, and savour every generous, erudite and undogmatic page'' Boyd Tonkin, Financial Times''We English men have wits,'' wrote the clergyman Ralph Lever in 1573, and, ''we have also framed unto ourselves a language.''Witcraft is a fresh and brilliant history of how philosophy became established in English. It presents a new form of philosophical storytelling and challenges what Jonathan Rée calls the ''condescending smugness'' of traditional histories of philosophy. Rée tells the story of philosophy as it was lived and practised, embedded in its time and place, by men and women from many walks of life, engaged with the debates and culture of their age. And, by focusing on the rich history of works in English, including translations, he shows them to be quite as colourful, diverse, inventive and cosmopolitan as their continental counterparts.Witcraft offers new and compelling intellectual portraits not only of celebrated British and American philosophers, such as Hume, Emerson, Mill and James, but also of the remarkable philosophical work of literary authors, such as William Hazlitt and George Eliot, as well as a carnival of overlooked characters - priests and poets, teachers, servants and crofters, thinking for themselves and reaching their own conclusions about religion, politics, art and everything else.The book adopts a novel structure, examining its subject at fifty-year intervals from the sixteenth century to the twentieth. Researched over decades and illuminated by quotations from extensive archival material, it is a book full of stories and personalities as well as ideas, and shows philosophy springing from the life around it. Witcraft overturns the established orthodoxies of the history of philosophy, and celebrates the diversity, vitality and inventiveness of philosophical thought.Trade ReviewRée spans a vast ocean of ideas. He introduces us to their shapers and breakers, and gently captains us in 50-year stretches across the seas of English-language thought with astonishing skill as both map-maker and way-finder ... enjoy its riches slowly, and savour every generous, erudite and undogmatic page -- Boyd Tonkin * Financial Times *Rée's book may well be the most fun we've ever had with anglophone philosophy -- Stuart Jeffries * Spectator *Dead philosophers, and indeed dead philosophies, here feel alive, and integrated with the rest of history -- Nakul Krishna * Daily Telegraph *Witcraft is the story of philosophy in English told in a new way, narrated with relish and considerable wit -- Jonathan Egid * Times Literary Supplement *
£999.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Invention of Science A New History of the
Book SynopsisWe live in a world made by science. How and when did this happen? This book tells the story of the extraordinary intellectual and cultural revolution that gave birth to modern science, and mounts a major challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy of its history.Before 1492 it was assumed that all significant knowledge was already available; there was no concept of progress; people looked for understanding to the past not the future. This book argues that the discovery of America demonstrated that new knowledge was possible: indeed it introduced the very concept of ''discovery'', and opened the way to the invention of science.The first crucial discovery was Tycho Brahe''s nova of 1572: proof that there could be change in the heavens. The telescope (1610) rendered the old astronomy obsolete. Torricelli''s experiment with the vacuum (1643) led directly to the triumph of the experimental method in the Royal Society of Boyle and Newton. By 1750 Newtonianism was being celebrateTrade ReviewThe seventeenth century saw the emergence of the mindset that characterizes modern science. David Wootton lucidly describes the individuals, the experiments and the controversies that marked this intellectually turbulent and transformative era. ... This fascinating and scholarly book should receive a wide readership. -- Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, President of the Royal Society 2005-10This is a superb book, at once cogent, revisionist and profound. It offers the most novel and significant account of the Scientific Revolution to appear for many years ... it is simply rather brilliant. -- Michael Hunter, Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of LondonA truly remarkable piece of scholarship. His work has an ingenious and innovative linguistic foundation, examining the invention and redefinition of words as tracers of a new understanding of nature and how to approach it. His erudition is awesome, and his argument is convincing. -- Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard UniversityA grand, whooping narrative that is also exhaustively researched. It will, I am certain, become a landmark in the discipline of the history of science. -- Andrea Wulf * Financial Times *
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd The Conquest of Bread Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisWell-being for all is not a dream.In this brilliantly enjoyable rallying-cry of a book, Kropotkin lays out the heart of his anarchist beliefs—beliefs that surged around the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and that have a renewed relevance and poignancy today. Humane and thoughtful, but also a devastating critique of how modern society is organized (with the brutal, narrow few clinging onto their wealth and privileges at the expense of the many), The Conquest of Bread is a book to be argued over, again and again.For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary auth
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Russian Thinkers
Book SynopsisFew, if any, English-language critics have written as perceptively as Isaiah Berlin about Russian thought and culture. Russian Thinkers is his unique meditation on the impact that Russia''s outstanding writers and philosophers had on its culture. In addition to Tolstoy''s philosophy of history, which he addresses in his most famous essay, ''The Hedgehog and the Fox,'' Berlin considers the social and political circumstances that produced such men as Herzen, Bakunin, Turgenev, Belinsky, and others of the Russian intelligentsia, who made up, as Berlin describes, ''the largest single Russian contribution to social change in the world.''Trade ReviewThe enduring vitality of Berlin's characterisation of Russian thought is demonstrated by the publication [...] of a new edition of Russian Thinkers, painstakingly revised and augmented by Henry Hardy ... a series of sparkling and sympathetic essays * Times Literary Supplement *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Future of War
Book SynopsisFor as long as there have been wars there have been fears about the next war. Where are the new dangers? What is the best defence? How might peace come about? This is the history of how over the last 150 years we have tried - rightly and wrongly - to predict war''s future. ''Britain''s leading academic strategist ... read this book'' Economist''Insightful and opinionated ... expertly covers centuries of evolving mayhem'' Gary J. Bass, The New York Times''A bonfire of predictions ... Freedman''s purpose in this wise book is to discern patterns in the way we have thought about war''s future'' Shashank Joshi, Financial Times''It reflects the author''s immense knowledge and wisdom. It should feed our humility, because it reminds us of mankind''s unlimited capacity for folly'' Max Hastings, The TimesTrade ReviewWhat is most impressive about the book is the author's erudition and the lightness with which he wears it -- Christopher Coker * Literary Review *Arguably Britain's leading academic strategist examines how ideas about how future wars could be fought have shaped the reality, with usually baleful results. ... His message to policymakers is to beware those who tout "the ease and speed with which victory can be achieved while underestimating the resourcefulness of adversaries". Anybody who thinks otherwise should read this book * Economist *It reflects the author's immense knowledge and wisdom. It should feed our humility, because it reminds us of mankind's unlimited capacity for folly; and also of the need to sustain defences against all manner of threats, because the only certainty is that the next peril to confront us will be the one we least expect -- Max Hastings * The Times *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Two Girls One on Each Knee The Puzzling Playful
Book SynopsisIn the century since its birth, the crossword has evolved into the world''s most popular intellectual pastime: a unique form of wordplay, the codes and conventions of which are open to anyone masochistic enough to get addicted. In Two Girls, One on Each Knee, Alan Connor celebrates the wit, ingenuity and frustration of setting and solving puzzles. From the beaches of D-Day to the imaginary worlds of three-dimensional crosswords, to the British school teachers and journalists who turned the form into the fiendish sport it is today, encompassing the most challenging clues, particular tricks, the world''s greatest setters and famous solvers, PG Wodehouse and the torturers of the Spanish Inquisition, this is an ingenious book for lovers of this very particular form of wordplay.Trade ReviewAlan Connor's charming, fascinating history . . . is as elegantly sprinkled with surprising gems as the most satisfying crossword . . . thoroughly, consistently entertaining . . . In a single, gloriously decipherable chapter he lays out with perfect clarity the entire range of rules and devices through which cryptic clues work their magic * Sunday Times *It is witty, charming, encyclopaedic and highly readable - and it can be read in any order. Take a chapter or a paragraph, a puzzle or a clue. In each the reader will find something to intrigue and delight. * Spectator *Two Girls is a lovingly crafted little book, from the table of contents - where chapter titles are hidden in a crossword designed by the great Araucaria - to the index, which skips from "I give up, see frustration" via "primness in American crosswords", to finish with "zookeepers, beleaguered". * The Times *A lovingly crafted little book . . . Connor's wry, good-natured tone and his commitment to the serious business of play make him the perfect guide to a great pastime as it approaches its 100th birthday * Daily Telegraph *Connor writes with great flair . . . it is nice to dip in and out of his entertaining essays * Church Times *An ideal stocking filler * Metro *The brilliant new book on crosswords that delivers fun galore whether you're a doer or a duffer * Mail on Sunday *There is something to entertain even the most infrequent dabbler * Financial Times *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Knowledge Machine
Book SynopsisRich with tales of discovery from Galileo to general relativity, a stimulating and timely analysis of how science works and why we need it. ''The best introduction to the scientific enterprise that I know. A wonderful and important book'' David Wootton, author of The Invention of Science It is only in the last three centuries that the formidable knowledge-making machine we call modern science has transformed our way of life and our vision of the universe - two thousand years after the invention of law, philosophy, drama and mathematics. Why did we take so long to invent science? And how has it proved to be so powerful? The Knowledge Machine gives a radical answer, exploring how science calls on its practitioners to do something apparently irrational: strip away all previous knowledge - such as theological, metaphysical or political beliefs - and channel unprecedented energy into observation and experiment. In timesTrade ReviewThe best introduction to the scientific enterprise that I know. Its brevity and simplicity cannot conceal the boldness of its conception, the extraordinary scope of its ambition. A wonderful and important book. -- David Wootton, author of The Invention of ScienceA stylish and accessible investigation into the nature of the scientific method. -- Nigel Warburton * Philosophy Bites *This elegant book takes us to the heart of the scientific enterprise. -- David Papineau, King's College London, author of Knowing the ScoreThis book is a delight to read, richly illustrated with wonderfully told incidents from the history of natural science. -- Nancy Cartwright, University of California San DiegoPowerful, bracingly argued and important. There is something here for everyone -- for the expert, who will be challenged to rethink what science really is; for the layperson, who will rejoice in Strevens's deft and witty storytelling; and for the student, who will find a friendly and authoritative guide to Newton, Einstein, Popper, Kuhn, and all that. -- Jim Holt, author of 'Why Does the World Exist?'Beautifully lucid and accessible. A rare achievement, it is entertaining and edifying all at once. -- Paul Boghassian, New York UniversityAn engaging must-read. -- Manjit Kumar, author of QuantumThe most stunningly illuminating book of the last several decades regarding the all-important scientific enterprise. Not only profoundly insightful but rollicking good fun. -- Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Plato at the GoogleplexAs thrilling to read as it is important. Captivating. -- Nathan Heller, New Yorker staff writer
£10.44
