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Planet of the Blind
by Stephen Kuusisto<P> "The world is a surreal pageant," writes Stephen Kuusisto. "Ahead of me the shapes and colors suggest the sails of Tristan's ship or an elephant's ear floating in air, though in reality it is a middle-aged man in a London Fog rain coat which billows behind him in the April wind." <P>So begins Kuusisto's memoir, Planet of the Blind, a journey through the kaleidoscope geography of the partially-sighted, where everyday encounters become revelations, struggles, or simple triumphs. Not fully blind, not fully sighted, the author lives in what he describes as "the customs-house of the blind", a midway point between vision and blindness that makes possible his unique perception of the world. In this singular memoir, Kuusisto charts the years of a childhood spent behind bottle-lens glasses trying to pass as a normal boy, the depression that brought him from obesity to anorexia, the struggle through high school, college, first love, and sex. Ridiculed by his classmates, his parents in denial, here is the story of a man caught in a perilous world with no one to trust--until a devastating accident forces him to accept his own disability and place his confidence in the one relationship that can reconnect him to the world--the relationship with his guide dog, a golden Labrador retriever named Corky. With Corky at his side, Kuusisto is again awakened to his abilities, his voice as a writer and his own particular place in the world around him. <P> Written with all the emotional precision of poetry, Kuusisto's evocative memoir explores the painful irony of a visually sensitive individual--in love with reading, painting, and the everyday images of the natural world--faced with his gradual descent into blindness. Folded into his own experience is the rich folklore the phenomenon of blindness has inspired throughout history and legend.
Planet of the Umps: A Baseball Life from Behind the Plate
by David Fisher Ken KaiserFor twenty-five years, Ken Kaiser was the most colorful umpire in the major leagues. Planet of the Umps is his sidesplitting tale of life behind the plate."Two things nobody wants to grow up to be are an umpire and broke. Thanks to my career in baseball, I got both."After calling balls, strikes, and outs for thirty-six baseball seasons and more than three thousand major-league games, umpire Ken Kaiser finally called it a career. From the first day he hit a minor-league catcher with a pool table to the fateful day baseball called him out on a strike, Kaiser was one of the game's most popular and colorful characters. And in this autobiography--written with the coauthor of Ron Luciano's classic bestseller The Umpire Strikes Back--Kaiser brings to life his wild adventures from the pro-wrestling arena to the baseball diamond.This is the hysterically true story of four decades of baseball as lived and loved on the playing field, from Ted Williams and Billy Martin to Derek Jeter and Mark McGwire, from one-eyed umpires to space-age technology. As he did throughout his long and sometimes controversial career, the larger-than-his-chest-protector Kaiser calls 'em as he saw 'em.
Planetwalker
by John FrancisFrancis' journey began in 1971 when after witnessing an oil spill in San Francisco bay he gave up using motorized transport, and tired of arguing with his friends about whether he was making a difference or not, he gave up speaking. In 1983, in an effort to raise environmental awareness, he set off on foot and in silence across the US and continued to walk for the next 22 years, earning undergraduate and Masters degrees in science and environmental studies and a Ph. D. in land resources along the way. Here he presents the story of his pilgrimage which covered ground from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts, the South American continent from tip to tip, Cuba, and both Alaska and Antarctica. His pen and ink sketches illustrate the margins of practically every page. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Planned Conservation of 20th-century Architecture: Research in Italy and Brazil (SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology)
by Davide Del Curto Simona SalvoThis book deals with the planned conservation of modern architecture and proposes a comparative discussion between eight research programs recently completed in Italy and Brazil as part of the “Keeping It Modern” program by means of which the Getty Foundation supported the drafting of conservation management planning for major architectural masterpieces of the twentieth-century worldwide, between 2014 and 2020. The scientific results of this program are maturing and also resulting in publications promoted by universities and research centers involved by the Getty Foundation. Within this framework of initiatives, we dedicate this book to the comparison among research projects carried out in Italy and Brazil, starting from the distinctive characteristics that modern architecture has gained in the two countries and evaluating the impact that the Conservation Management Plans on the cultural scenario of each country and on the corresponding protection systems. We asked the co-authors to reconsider the research experience faced within the KIM program, overcoming their description, and proposed to describe its specific reflection on the role that management plans play for twentieth-century architecture and on how the outcomes of this experience have contributed to the debate on the protection of contemporary architecture. Finally, the book presents many transversal topics and highlights numerous similarities in approach between the two countries, but also profound differences in the way of understanding conservation of twentieth-century architectural heritage.
Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness
by Scott MorrisonScott Morrison, Australia's 30th Prime Minister (2018-2022), offers a unique insider's account of a Christian who was open about his faith and operated at the top level of politics for more than a decade. During one of the toughest periods since the second world war, covering drought, wildfires, a global pandemic and recession, he chronicles God's faithfulness throughout, win or lose, public criticism or public success.Less political memoir and more pastoral encouragement, Morrison is passionate about encouraging others to discover how they can access and see the many blessings of God in their own lives, no matter their circumstances, drawing on Jeremiah 29:11, that God's plans are for our good and not our harm, to give us a future and a hope. In each section Morrison asks the questions all of us are looking to find answers to:Who am I? Discovering your purpose.How should I live? Finding your pathway.What should I hope for? Embracing your future. Full of fascinating insights into the handling of some of the most significant global events and issues of our time Morrison's honest, vulnerable and reflective answers offers a unique lens to better understand your relationship with God and the blessing that can flow from such a relationship.Alongside an account of high-level politics in a new media age where cancel culture, identity politics and deep secularization is taking hold across so many western societies, creating a truly post Christian west, Morrison testifies to the faithful love and blessings of God.
Plant Dreaming Deep: A Journal
by May SartonThe author&’s tribute to the 18th-century New England farmhouse she called home: &“[A] tender and often poignant book by a woman of many insights&” (The New York Times Book Review). In Plant Dreaming Deep, Sarton shares an intensely personal account of transforming a house into a home. She begins with an introduction to the enchanting village of Nelson, where she first meets her house. Sarton finds she must &“dream the house alive&” inside herself before taking the major step of signing the deed. She paints the walls white in order to catch the light and searches for the precise shade of yellow for the kitchen floor. She discovers peace and beauty in solitude, whether she is toiling in the garden or writing at her desk. This is a loving, beautifully crafted memoir illuminated by themes of friendship, love, nature, and the struggles of the creative life. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.
Plant Dreaming Deep: A Journal
by May SartonThe author&’s tribute to the 18th-century New England farmhouse she called home: &“[A] tender and often poignant book by a woman of many insights&” (The New York Times Book Review). In Plant Dreaming Deep, Sarton shares an intensely personal account of transforming a house into a home. She begins with an introduction to the enchanting village of Nelson, where she first meets her house. Sarton finds she must &“dream the house alive&” inside herself before taking the major step of signing the deed. She paints the walls white in order to catch the light and searches for the precise shade of yellow for the kitchen floor. She discovers peace and beauty in solitude, whether she is toiling in the garden or writing at her desk. This is a loving, beautifully crafted memoir illuminated by themes of friendship, love, nature, and the struggles of the creative life. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.
Plantagenet Princesses: The Daughters of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II
by Douglas BoydA look at the royal women of twelfth-century England—from the empowered to the imprisoned—and their roles in the ruling dynasty.Eleanor of Aquitaine and her second husband, Henry II, are commonly considered medieval figures, but their era was really the violent transition from the Dark Ages, when countries’ borders were defined with fire and sword. Henry grabbed the English throne thanks largely to Eleanor’s dowry, because she owned one third of France. But their less famous daughters also lived extraordinary lives. If princes fought for their succession to crowns, the princesses were traded—usually by their mothers—to strangers to gain political power without the usual accompanying bloodshed. Years before what would today be marriageable age, royal girls were dispatched to countries whose speech was unknown to them, and there became the property of unknown men—their duty the bearing of sons to continue a dynasty and daughters who would be traded in their turn. Some became literal prisoners of their spouses; others outwitted would-be rapists and the Church to seize the reins of power when their husbands died. Eleanor’s daughters Marie and Alix were abandoned in Paris when she divorced Louis VII of France. By Henry II, she bore Matilda, Aliénor, and Joanna. Between them, these extraordinary women and their daughters knew the extremes of power and pain. Joanna was imprisoned by William II of Sicily and treated worse by her brutal second husband in Toulouse. Eleanor may have been libeled as a whore, but Aliénor’s descendants include two saints, Louis of France and Fernando of Spain. And then there were the illegitimate daughters, whose lives read like novels. This fascinating volume tells their stories.
Planting Dandelions
by Kyran Pittman"[Pittman's] tales of modern motherhood are fearless and addictive" (People, four stars) A regular contributor to Good Housekeeping, Kyran Pittman has won the hearts of readers with her keen eye, wicked tongue, and deep affection for the vagaries of family life. In these eighteen linked essays, she covers the first twelve years of starting a family, writing candidly and hilariously about things like learning to maintain a marriage over time, the challenges of sex after childbirth, saying goodbye to her younger self and embracing the still attractive forty- four-year-old version, and trying to "recession proof " her family by downsizing to avoid foreclosure. .
Planting Peace: The Story of Wangari Maathai
by Gwendolyn HooksThis is the inspiring story of Wangari Maathai, women's rights activist and one of the first environmental warriors. Overcoming great obstacles, Wangari began the Green Belt Movement in Kenya in the 1960s, which focused on planting trees, environmental conservation and women's rights. She inspired thousands across Africa to plant 30 million trees in 30 years, saving many from hunger and poverty. Her remarkable story of courage and determination shows how just one person can change the world.The story shows children how desertification works: how land is eroded and degraded when trees aren't there to hold the soil in place so it's not taken away by winds and heavy rain. It explains how all living things are dependent on each other and if trees are taken away, then you not only lessen the fertility of the soil, but you lose the animals that live there and then the animals that rely on those animals for food and so on.As well as explaining important green issues, the book also talks about Wangari's fight for human rights and shows how important it is to stand up for what you believe.The gripping narrative non-fiction text by Gwendolyn Hooks, winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children, hooks readers from the start. Vibrant illustrations from print-maker Margaux Carpentier, one of the featured artists in Taschen's The Illustrator: 100 Best from around the World, vividly evoke Wangari's amazing life story.The consultant, Dr Jane Irungu, grew up in Kenya, but is now a Professor at the University of Oklahoma. She was inspired by Wangari when she was growing up and went on to get a PhD just as Wangari did. 'Carpentier's saturated geometric illustrations emphasize the bold impact of Maathai's actions', Publishers Weekly, May 2021
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
by Anika Aldamuy DeniseRECIPIENT OF THE PURA BELPRÉ HONOR * A Today Show's Best Kids' Books of 2019 * Indie Next List Pick * Junior Library Guild Selection * “An appealing tribute and successful remedy to the lack of titles about the groundbreaking librarian...a must-have for all libraries.” —School Library Journal (starred review)An inspiring picture book biography of storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian, who championed bilingual literature.When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpré carried the cuentos folklóricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura’s legacy.Brought to colorful life by Paola Escobar’s elegant and exuberant illustrations and Anika Aldamuy Denise’s lyrical text, this gorgeous book is perfect for the pioneers in your life.Informative backmatter and suggested further reading included.A Spanish-language edition, Sembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentos, is also available.“Anika Aldamuy Denise’s intimate telling captures the magical, folk-tale feeling of Belpré’s own stories. Her lyrical text, sprinkled like fairy dust with Spanish words, begs to be read aloud, while Paola Escobar’s stylishly detailed and warmly expressive illustrations capture the joy of sharing stories.” —New York Times Book Review
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai
by Claire A. NivolaWangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement, grew up in the highlands of Kenya, where fig trees cloaked the hills, fish filled the streams, and the people tended their bountiful gardens. But over many years, as more and more land was cleared, Kenya was transformed. When Wangari returned home from college in America, she found the village gardens dry, the people malnourished, and the trees gone. How could she alone bring back the trees and restore the gardens and the people? Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, says: “Wangari Maathai’s epic story has never been told better—-everyone who reads this book will want to plant a tree!” With glowing watercolor illustrations and lyrical prose, Claire Nivola tells the remarkable story of one woman’s effort to change the fate of her land by teaching many to care for it. An author’s note provides further information about Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement. In keeping with the theme of the story, the book is printed on recycled paper.
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai
by Claire A. NivolaWith glowing watercolor illustrations and lyrical prose, Claire Nivola tells the remarkable story of one woman's effort to change the fate of her land by teaching many to care for it. An author's note provides further information about Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement. In keeping with the theme of the story, the book is printed on recycled paper.
Plantéate esto: Momentos de mi vida como escritor que lo cambiaron todo
by Chuck PalahniukEl libro más personal del célebre autor de El club de la lucha: una guía indispensable y original para aspirantes a escritores. Tras más de dos décadas dedicado a la escritura, el aclamado autor de El club de la lucha ha decidido compartir su sabiduría y sus años de experiencia en el arte de contar historias. Palahniuk revela los conocimientos que él mismo ha ido acumulando con los años, gracias a su gran capacidad de observación, a los talleres literarios en los que se formó, y a los escritores y maestros que, como Tom Spanbauer, influyeron en su obra. Palahniuk nos regala una sólida guía práctica para construir y desarrollar una novela (con propuestas únicas que no aparecen en los manuales de escritura), y nos habla de los tipos de personajes que conforman una trama, de la escritura como terapia o de cómo implicar al lector para que empatice con la narración. Las ideas que plantea incluyen desde consejos prácticos y ejemplos de obras clásicas y de sus propios libros, hasta un sinfín de anécdotas y recuerdos de su vida como escritor y de sus años de tours literarios por el mundo. Esta obra, destinada a convertirse en un referente de los libros sobre la escritura, es una lúcida, sensible y experta carta de amor al oficio de escritor. La crítica ha dicho:«Con reminiscencias a Mientras escribo de Stephen King, que es tan entretenido como didáctico, [Plantéate esto] es un recurso indispensable para escritoresPublishers Weekly «Palahniuk revela una humildad sorprendente con ideas frescas y accesibles. Sus fans apreciarán el análisis de su propio trabajo —especialmente con El club de la lucha (1996)—, sus homenajes a amigos y antecesores, y cómo imparte sabiduría de una forma amable y alentadora en su particular tono coloquial».Booklist «Un maestro cargado de sabiduría. [Palahniuk] ofrece consejos muy detallados y sumamente prácticos».Kirkus Reviews «Un libro esclarecedor».Dallas Morning News «Consejos prácticos y veraces para aspirantes a escritores».USA Today «Una de las imaginaciones más febriles de las letras estadounidenses».The Washington Post «Palahniuk no escribe para turistas. Escribe para devotos incondicionales que se sienten atraídos por la imaginación salvaje y furiosa que desprende, y por ese sobresaliente humor con el que rompe tabúes».Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Plastic Jesus
by Poppy Z. BriteThe 1960's brought Seth and Payton all they'd fantasized about—perfect friendships, a successful four-man band, and most importantly, each other. Together they embarked on a tour that brought them stimulating highs and shattering lows, and they prospered and suffered in one another's arms. The two men carried each other and carried a group that created both a history and a future for rock. But at some point their music blurred with the news of their love and the world was faced with the choice to embrace its heroes or revert back to its deep-rooted prejudices.
Plastic Surgery in Wars, Disasters and Civilian Life: The Memoirs of Professor Anthony Roberts OBE
by Anthony RobertsThe specialty of plastic surgery was developed and named by Sir Harold Gillies following his work between the two world wars reconstructing severely damaged servicemen from the First World War. Sir Harold went on to inspire and train other surgeons from around the world. Among them was his cousin Sir Archibald McIndoe, who in the Second World War set up the unit at East Grinstead Hospital which looked after severely burned airmen and some other servicemen. The airmen themselves set up the famous Guinea Pig Club which gave enormous social and often financial support to the severely injured. After the Second World War specialized burn units were created throughout the UK, including one at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where Anthony Roberts served. After the number of war injuries had reduced, the burn unit for all three services was set up at RAF Halton, a few miles from Stoke Mandeville. A close relationship between the hospitals developed which led to military surgeons being posted to Stoke Mandeville for training in the care of burns and an introduction to plastic surgery. Most doctors will never be involved in a disaster during their working lives. Anthony Roberts was involved in treating casualties from the Bradford City football stadium fire in 1985 that claimed 56 lives and resulted in hundreds more being injured, many of them with severe burns. It had a major effect on him, and on all those involved. It started his appearances on the media and his overseas visits to other countries to talk about it. And subsequently he was asked to join and to lead other international efforts to provide help. He led the first British team from Stoke Mandeville that gave aid in Sarajevo during the war. He returned several times and has also given aid in three other war zones and six major disasters. Because of this involvement in all these situations Professor Roberts taught junior trainee surgeons from the three British services and those of several foreign countries. As well as his military involvement, Anthony Roberts spent sixteen years working with the Royal Protection Group at State occasions, and thirty years working as a motor racing track doctor including at Formula One level, providing immediate and vital treatment to drivers who suffered serious injuries and burns following accidents on the track and to spectators. There have been enormous changes in the specialty over the past fifty years and a detailed view of these is given in an absorbing account of this life-enhancing surgery by one who served on the frontline in difficult and dangerous situations around the world.
Plata como cancha: Secretos, impunidad y fortuna de César Acuña
by Christopher AcostaUna exhaustiva investigación periodística que revelan secretos, impunidad y fortuna del político peruano César Acuña Este no es un perfil oficial ni una biografía autorizada. Es más bien la exposición de un proceder, de una conducta. El periodista Christopher Acosta Alfaro escarba en la narrativa que el actual candidato a la presidencia del Perú, César Acuña, ha urdido durante años tanto política como comercialmente. Y demuestra que solo su fortuna ha sido capaz de crear un sistema que compensa atropellos y silencia agraviados. Valiéndose de una exhaustiva investigación que incluye expedientes judiciales y fiscales, resoluciones gubernamentales, informes de inteligencia, acuerdos confidenciales, así como un amplio acceso al círculo más íntimo del político y empresario, el autor de Plata como cancha saca a la luz las piezas de un rompecabezas donde el poder y el dinero se solapan entre sí, en las historias que se cuentan aquí por primera vez. «Si César Acuña no fuera rico —señala Acosta Alfaro en estas páginas—, estaría, muy probablemente, preso».
Plate Tectonics and Great Earthquakes: 50 Years of Earth-Shaking Events
by Lynn R. SykesThe theory of plate tectonics transformed earth science. The hypothesis that the earth’s outermost layers consist of mostly rigid plates that move over an inner surface helped describe the growth of new seafloor, confirm continental drift, and explain why earthquakes and volcanoes occur in some places and not others. Lynn R. Sykes played a key role in the birth of plate tectonics, conducting revelatory research on earthquakes. In this book, he gives an invaluable insider’s perspective on the theory’s development and its implications.Sykes combines lucid explanation of how plate tectonics revolutionized geology with unparalleled personal reflections. He entered the field when it was on the cusp of radical discoveries. Studying the distribution and mechanisms of earthquakes, Sykes pioneered the identification of seismic gaps—regions that have not ruptured in great earthquakes for a long time—and methods to estimate the possibility of quake recurrence. He recounts the various phases of his career, including his antinuclear activism, and the stories of colleagues around the world who took part in changing the paradigm. Sykes delves into the controversies over earthquake prediction and their importance, especially in the wake of the giant 2011 Japanese earthquake and the accompanying Fukushima disaster. He highlights geology’s lessons for nuclear safety, explaining why historic earthquake patterns are crucial to understanding the risks to power plants. Plate Tectonics and Great Earthquakes is the story of a scientist witnessing a revolution and playing an essential role in making it.
Platinum Doll: A Novel
by Anne GirardA fictionalized portrait of Golden Age–Hollywood’s original blonde bombshell, the ambitious star who battled real-life drama as she lit up the screen.It’s the Roaring Twenties and seventeen-year-old Harlean Carpenter McGrew has run off to Beverly Hills. She’s chasing a dream—to escape her small, Midwestern life and see her name in lights.In California, Harlean has everything a girl could want—a rich husband, glamorous parties, socialite friends—except an outlet for her talent. But everything changes when a dare pushes her to embrace her true ambition—to be an actress on the silver screen. With her timeless beauty and striking shade of platinum-blond hair, Harlean becomes Jean Harlow. And as she’s thrust into the limelight, Jean learns that this new world of opportunity comes with its own set of burdens. Torn between her family and her passion to perform, Jean is forced to confront the difficult truth—that fame comes at a price, if only she’s willing to pay it . . . Amid a glittering cast of ingenues and Hollywood titans—Clara Bow, Clark Gable, Laurel and Hardy, Howard Hughes—Platinum Doll introduces us to the star who would shine brighter than them all.Praise for Platinum Doll“A fascinating, page-turning, behind-the-scenes look at what it took to be a celebrity in early Hollywood.” —Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and Twain’s End“[Girard] brings Harlow to life.” —The Globe and Mail“An engrossing look at a Hollywood icon. I couldn’t put it down.” —Karleen Koen, New York Times–bestselling author of Through a Glass Darkly“Jean’s is a moving story of love and hard choices, and she leaps off these pages shining as bright as her signature platinum hair.” —Marci Jefferson, author of Girl on the Golden Coin and Enchantress of Paris“Will entrance readers as Harlow entranced the world.” —Heather Webb, author of Rodin’s Lover“A gem of a book.” —The Historical Novel Society
Plato and Platonism
by Walter Horatio PaterA discussion of Plato and Platonic thought, with a historical context.
Plato and the Tyrant: The Fall of Greece's Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece
by James RommFrom an eminent historian and classicist, an incisive portrait of the philosopher Plato, showing how the ideas in his masterwork, Republic, were tested by violent events in the most powerful Greek city of the era. Plato is one of history’s most influential thinkers, the “sublime philosopher” whose writings remain foundational to Western culture. He is known for the brilliant dialogues in which he depicted his teacher, Socrates, discussing ethical truths with prominent citizens of Athens. Yet the image we have of Plato—an ethereal figure far removed from society and politics, who conjured abstract ideas in peaceful groves—is a fiction, created by Plato’s admirers and built up over centuries. In fact, Plato was very much a man of the world. In Plato and the Tyrant, acclaimed historian and classicist James Romm draws on personal letters of Plato—documents that have long been kept in obscurity—to show how a philosopher helped topple the leading Greek power of the era: the opulent city of Syracuse. There, Plato encountered two authoritarian rulers, a father and son both named Dionysius, and tried to steer them toward philosophy. At the same time, he worked on his masterpiece, Republic, in which he conceived a ruler who unites perfect wisdom with absolute power. That dream has echoed down through the ages and given rise to a famous term, one that Plato himself didn’t actually use: philosopher-king. As Romm reveals, Plato’s time in Syracuse helped shape Republic—and also had disastrous results for Plato himself and for all of Greek Sicily. The younger Dionysius, emotionally unstable but intellectually curious, welcomed Plato with open arms, but soon the relationship soured. Plato’s close friendship with Dionysius’s uncle, Dion—possibly a bond of romantic love—created a rift in the ruling family that led to a chaotic civil war. Combining thrilling political drama with explorations of Plato’s most cherished ideas, Romm takes us into the heart of Greece’s late classical age, a time when many believed that democracy had failed. Plato’s search for solutions led him to write his fervent plea for a new political order, and also led him to a place where he believed his theories might be put into practice. But Plato and the Tyrant demonstrates how Plato’s experiment with enlightened autocracy spiraled into catastrophe, and also gives us nothing less than a new account of the origins of Western political thought.
Plato's "Letters": The Political Challenges of the Philosophic Life (Agora Editions)
by PlatoIn Plato's "Letters", Ariel Helfer provides to readers, for the first time, a highly literal translation of the Letters, complete with extensive notes on historical context and issues of manuscript transmission. His analysis presents a necessary perspective for readers who wish to study Plato's Letters as a work of Platonic philosophy. Centuries of debate over the provenance and significance of Plato's Letters have led to the common view that the Letters is a motley collection of jewels and scraps from within and without Plato's literary estate. In a series of original essays, Helfer describes how the Letters was written as a single work, composed with a unity of purpose and a coherent teaching, marked throughout by Plato's artfulness and insight and intended to occupy an important place in the Platonic corpus. Viewed in this light, the Letters is like an unusual epistolary novel, a manner of semifictional and semiautobiographical literary-philosophic experiment, in which Plato sought to provide his most demanding readers with guidance in thinking more deeply about the meaning of his own career as a philosopher, writer, and political advisor.Plato's "Letters" not only defends what Helfer calls the "literary unity thesis" by reviewing the scholarly history pertaining to the Platonic letters but also brings out the political philosophic lessons revealed in the Letters. As a result, Plato's "Letters" recovers and rehabilitates what has been until now a minority view concerning the Letters, according to which this misunderstood Platonic text will be of tremendous new importance for the study of Platonic political philosophy.
Plato's Theory of Knowledge: The Theaetetus and the Sophist (Dover Philosophical Classics Ser.)
by Plato Francis M. CornfordTranslated by the noted classical scholar Francis M. Cornford, this edition of two masterpieces of Plato's later period features extensive ongoing commentaries by Cornford that provide helpful background information and valuable insights. Both works pose eternal questions that keep these dialogs ever-relevant not only for students of philosophy but also for every reader and thinker. The Theatetus offers a systematic treatment of the question, "What is knowledge?" Most of the dialog takes place between Socrates and the student Theatetus. Among the answers they explore: knowledge as perception; knowledge as true belief; knowledge as true belief plus an account (i.e., a justified true belief); as well as variations on each of these answers. Like most Socratic dialogs, the Theatetus ends without a definitive answer — leaving the subject open for the reader's further consideration. In the Sophist, a related dialog, Plato redefines the term "sophist," which hitherto had connoted one who gives sophia (wisdom) to his disciples. Plato depreciated the term, and ever since, in philosophy, sophistry indicates the deceptive exploitation of linguistic ambiguities. The dialog follows Socrates' cross-examination of a self-proclaimed true philosopher, The Stranger, on the distinction between philosophers, statesmen, and sophists.
Plato: A Very Short Introduction
by Julia AnnasJulia Annas covers Plato's style of writing, and delves into discussions of love and philosophy, his attitude towards women and towards homosexual love. Finally, she explores Plato's claim that virtue is sufficient for happiness and touches on his arguments for the immorality of the soul and his ideas about the nature of the universe.
Platoon Leader
by James R. McdonoughA remarkable memoir of small-unit leadership and the coming of age of a young soldier in combat in Vietnam.'"Using a lean style and a sense of pacing drawn from the tautest of novels, McDonough has produced a gripping account of his first command, a U.S. platoon taking part in the 'strategic hamlet' program. . . . Rather than present a potpourri of combat yarns. . . McDonough has focused a seasoned storyteller's eye on the details, people, and incidents that best communicate a visceral feel of command under fire. . . . For the author's honesty and literary craftsmanship, Platoon Leader seems destined to be read for a long time by second lieutenants trying to prepare for the future, veterans trying to remember the past, and civilians trying to understand what the profession of arms is all about."-Army TimesFrom the Paperback edition.