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Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?
by Patrick J. BuchananAmerica is disintegrating. The "one Nation under God, indivisible" of the Pledge of Allegiance is passing away. In a few decades, that America will be gone forever. In its place will arise a country unrecognizable to our parents. This is the thrust of Pat Buchanan's Suicide of a Superpower, his most controversial and thought-provoking book to date.Buchanan traces the disintegration to three historic changes: America's loss of her cradle faith, Christianity; the moral, social, and cultural collapse that have followed from that loss; and the slow death of the people who created and ruled the nation. And as our nation disintegrates, our government is failing in its fundamental duties, unable to defend our borders, balance our budgets, or win our wars.How Americans are killing the country they profess to love, and the fate that awaits us if we do not turn around, is what Suicide of a Superpower is all about.
The Sum of the People: How the Census Has Shaped Nations, from the Ancient World to the Modern Age
by Andrew WhitbyThis fascinating three-thousand-year history of the census traces the making of the modern survey and explores its political power in the age of big data and surveillance.In April 2020, the United States will embark on what has been called "the largest peacetime mobilization in American history": the decennial population census. It is part of a tradition of counting people that goes back at least three millennia and now spans the globe.In The Sum of the People, data scientist Andrew Whitby traces the remarkable history of the census, from ancient China and the Roman Empire, through revolutionary America and Nazi-occupied Europe, to the steps of the Supreme Court. Marvels of democracy, instruments of exclusion, and, at worst, tools of tyranny and genocide, censuses have always profoundly shaped the societies we've built. Today, as we struggle to resist the creep of mass surveillance, the traditional census -- direct and transparent -- may offer the seeds of an alternative.
A Summa of the Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica, Edited and Explained for Beginners
by Thomas Aquinas Peter KreeftThis book differs from all other books on St. Thomas because it is more of the primary source itself.
Summary and Analysis of Hope in the Dark: Based on the Book by Rebecca Solnit
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Hope in the Dark tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Rebecca Solnit’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Hope in the Dark includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersDetailed timeline of eventsImportant quotes and analysisFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original workAbout Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit: Written in response to the 2004 US presidential election, and updated during the 2016 race, Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark is a call to action for people who find themselves despairing about the political climate of the world today. Hope in the Dark is a long essay that serves as a primer on social and environmental activism and uprisings from the mid-to-late 20th century to the present. Solnit uses this history of protesters, writers, and workers to argue that hope is the necessary catalyst for action. She insists that radicals and revolutionaries must hold onto hope in order to create a world more like the one they want to live in, even in the face of enormous obstacles, and especially in the face of uncertainty. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Profiles in Courage: Based on the Book by John F. Kennedy (Smart Summaries)
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Profiles in Courage tells you what you need to know—before or after you read John F. Kennedy&’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Profiles in Courage includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy: John F. Kennedy&’s Profiles in Courage takes an in-depth look at eight US senators who displayed courage by going against their political party&’s platform and acting on integrity and convictions. These timeless stories of political courage and inner strength are no less poignant today than upon the book&’s original publication in 1955. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Based on the Book by Robert M. Pirsig (Smart Summaries)
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Robert M. Pirsig&’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsCast of charactersThemes and symbolsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original workAbout Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is three books in one, including the author&’s account of a transcontinental journey, his struggle to reconcile both halves of an identity fragmented by his own mental illness, and a rumination on Eastern versus Western philosophy. Now, more than forty years since its original release, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has become a modern classic—the kind of book that challenges readers to step outside of their everyday thoughts and consider some of life&’s most profound questions through the entertaining lens of a father-son trip. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary of Rising Strong
by Brene Brown FastreadsDon't miss out on the fresh perspective of bestselling author and social scientist Brené Brown in this summary of her book, "Rising Strong: The Reckoning, The Rumble, The Revolution." This FastReads Summary contains full chapter synopses, key takeaways and analysis to help you quickly understand Brown's insight and turn your own vulnerability into strength today.
A Summary of Scientific Method (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy)
by Peter KossoA Summary of Scientific Method is a brief description of what makes science scientific. It is written in a direct, clear style that is accessible and informative for scientists and science students. It is intended to help science teachers explain how science works, highlighting strengths without ignoring limitations, and to help scientists articulate the process and standards of their work. The book demonstrates that there are several important requirements for being scientific, and the most fundamental of these is maintaining an extensive, interconnected, coherent network of ideas. Some components in the network are empirical, others are theoretical, and they support each other. Clarifying the structure of this web of knowledge explains the role of the commonly cited aspects of scientific method, things like hypotheses, theories, testing, evidence, and the like. A Summary of Scientific Method provides a clear, intuitive, and accurate model of scientific method.
Summer Meditations
by Václav Havel Paul Wilson<p>In a book written while he was president of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel combines the same powerful eloquence, moral passion, and abiding wisdom that informed his writing as a dissident and playwright, with a candor unprecedented from one with the broad perspective and infinite responsibility of governing a country. <p>Havel, now president of the Czech Republic, addresses the legacy of Communism as the euphoria of the Velvet Revolution gives way to a more problematic reality. Yet even as he grapples with the challenges of political change, he affirms his belief in a politics motivated by moral responsibility; in an economy tempered by compassion; and in the central roles of art and culture in the transformation of society. Summer Meditations is not only a timely and necessary testament of events in Eastern Europe but a profound reflection upon the nature and practice of politics and a stirring call for morality, civility, and openness in public life throughout the world.</p>
Summer of Hate: Charlottesville, USA
by Hawes SpencerIn August 2017, violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, during two days of demonstrations by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and counterprotesters, including members of antifa and Black Lives Matter. Ostensibly motivated by the city’s plans to remove Confederate statues from two public parks, members of the alt-right descended first on the University of Virginia and then, disastrously, on the city’s downtown. As these violent and ultimately deadly events gripped the attention of the nation, extensive coverage in both mainstream and fringe media promulgated competing narratives. Summer of Hate is the investigative journalist Hawes Spencer’s unbiased, probing account of August 11 and 12. Telling the story from the perspectives of figures on all sides of the demonstrations, Spencer, who reported from Charlottesville for the New York Times, carefully recreates what happened and why. Focusing on individuals including activists, city councilors, faith leaders, and the police, Spencer creates an objective, panoramic narrative that renders these dramatic events, and the ongoing conflicts underlying them, in all their complexity.
A Summer with Montaigne: On the Art of Living Well
by Antoine Compagnon“Brings the man to life and shows his questions, ideas, and solutions to be every bit as relevant as they were in the 16th century.” ?New York Journal of BooksMichel de Montaigne embodies the humanist ideal—curious, measured, contemplative yet not unworldly, witty, free of prejudice, and urbane. But what does this French Renaissance philosopher have to tell us about how to think and live today? In forty short, erudite, and lively chapters written over a single summer, Antoine Compagnon seeks answers to that question.In A Summer with Montaigne, Compagnon invites his readers to join him as he strolls through Montaigne’s key contributions to our understanding of what is good and worthwhile in life. This engaging book, then, serves as both an introduction to Montaigne for readers unfamiliar with his work and a refresher for those who are already acquainted with his unique brilliance, vitality, and timeliness. Montaigne’s Essays deal with themes that remain relevant today, from the problems posed by religion, war, power, and friendship to the absurdity of our fixations and peccadillos. Accompanying readers through the Essays, Compagnon never pontificates and is never austere. Rather, he approaches Montaigne with a sense of humor, admiration, and joy.“Agreeably useful reading in any season.” —Library Journal
A Summer with Pascal
by Antoine CompagnonFrom an eminent scholar, a spirited introduction to one of the great polymaths in the history of Europe.Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) is best known in the English-speaking world for his contributions to mathematics and physics, with both a triangle and a law in fluid mechanics named after him. Meanwhile, the classic film My Night at Maud’s popularized Pascal’s wager, an invitation to faith that has inspired generations of theologians. Despite the immensity of his reputation, few read him outside French schools. In A Summer with Pascal, celebrated literary critic Antoine Compagnon opens our minds to a figure somehow both towering and ignored.Compagnon provides a bird’s-eye view of Pascal’s life and significance, making this volume an ideal introduction. Still, scholars and neophytes alike will profit greatly from his masterful readings of the Pensées—a cornerstone of Western philosophy—and the Provincial Letters, in which Pascal advanced wry theological critiques of his contemporaries. The concise, taut chapters build upon one another, easing into writings often thought to be forbidding and dour. With Compagnon as our guide, these works are not just accessible but enchanting.A Summer with Pascal brings the early modern thinker to life in the present. In an age of profound existential doubt and assaults on truth and reason, in which religion and science are so often crudely opposed, Pascal’s sophisticated commitment to both challenges us to meet the world with true intellectual vigor.
Summers of Discontent
by Raymond Tallis Julian SpaldingSince the time of the ancient Greeks, philosophers have pondered the nature and purpose of the arts, but artists have gone on making them and audiences enjoying them regardless of these musings. None of their theories have met with universal or even popular acceptance. But here is theory that places the arts--all the arts--firmly and squarely within everyone's everyday experiences.Summers of Discontent goes to the heart of the arts. It's an examination of why artists create them in the first place and why we all feel the need for them. Raymond Tallis thinks the arts spring from our inability as humans fully to experience our experiences; from our hunger for a more rounded, more complete sense of the world.Tallis's thesis is original and fresh, down-to-earth and life-enhancing. Above all it is practical and intelligible. It will inspire anyone who feels the creative urge today, or anyone who wants to understand why and how the arts enrich their lives and those of others.Raymond Tallis is a leading academic doctor, poet, philosopher, and cultural critic. Author of more than twenty books, he was until his retirement professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Manchester.Julian Spalding was director, successively of Sheffield and Manchester Art Galleries, and latterly of the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. He has written over a dozen books on art historical subjects and curated many exhibitions.
The Summons of Love
by Mari RutiWe are conditioned to think that love heals wounds, makes us happy, and gives our lives meaning. When the opposite occurs and love causes fracturing, disenchantment, and existential turmoil, we suffer deeply, especially if we feel that love has failed us or that we have failed to experience what others seem so effortlessly to enjoy. In this eloquently argued, psychologically informed book, Mari Ruti portrays love as a much more complex, multifaceted phenomenon than we tend to appreciate—an experience that helps us encounter the depths of human existence. Love's ruptures are as important as its triumphs, and sometimes love succeeds because it fails. At the heart of Ruti's argument is a meditation on interpersonal ethics that acknowledges the inherent opacity of human interiority and the difficulty of taking responsibility for what we cannot fully understand. Yet the fact that humans are often irrational in love does not absolve us of ethical accountability. In Ruti's view, we must work harder to map the unconscious patterns motivating our romantic behavior. As opposed to popular spiritual approaches urging us to live fully in the now, Ruti treats the past as a living component of the present. Only when we catch ourselves at those moments when the past speaks in the present can we keep ourselves from hurting the ones we love. Equally important, Ruti emphasizes transcending our individual histories of pain, an act that allows us to face the unconscious demons that dictate our relational choices. Written with substance and compassion, The Summons of Love restores the enlivening and transformative possibilities of romance.
Summus Mathematicus et Omnis Humanitatis Pater
by Anja-Silvia GoeingThis book revises the picture of the teacher and educator of princes, Vittorino Rambaldoni da Feltre (c. 1378, Feltre -- 1446, Mantua), taking a completely new approach to show his work and life from the individual perspectives created by his students and contemporaries. From 1423 to 1446, Vittorino da Feltre was in charge of a school in Mantua, where his students included not only the offspring of Italy's princes, but also the first generation of authors dealing with books in print. Among his students were historians like Bartolomeo Sacchi (named Platina), who wrote an extensive history of the popes, and mathematicians like Jacopo Cassiano (Cremonensis), who translated the work of Archimedes from Greek into Latin. Vittorino is still regarded as the educationalist of Italian Renaissance humanism per sé. This work not only contributes to the study of the history of Italian humanist institutions, it also uses available sources to demonstrate the development of a new attitude to education in Italy.
The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteen
by Matthew GoodmanOn August 26, 1835, a fledgling newspaper called the Sun brought to New York the first accounts of remarkable lunar discoveries. A series of six articles reported the existence of life on the moon--including unicorns, beavers that walked on their hind legs, and four-foot-tall flying man-bats. In a matter of weeks it was the most broadly circulated newspaper story of the era, and the Sun, a working-class upstart, became the most widely read paper in the world. An exhilarating narrative history of a divided city on the cusp of greatness, and tale of a crew of writers, editors, and charlatans who stumbled on a new kind of journalism, The Sun and the Moon tells the surprisingly true story of the penny papers that made America a nation of newspaper readers.
The Sun My Heart: The Companion to The Miracle of Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat HanhThis sequel to The Miracle of Mindfulness offers accessible, eye-opening guidance for spiritual seekers on the path from mindfulness to true insight The Sun My Heart is one of Thich Nhat Hanh&’s most beloved books. Using the objects and events of everyday life in his hermitage in Plum Village—the gradual settling of the pulp in a glass of apple juice or the wind blowing into the room and scattering papers about—Thich Nhat Hanh draws from Buddhist psychology, epistemology, and the world of contemporary literature and science to guide the reader along the path of clarity and understanding. This book can be read straight through, but is also designed to be opened randomly and experienced chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph. Thich Nhat Hanh suggests in the introduction that The Sun My Heart &“prefers to be a friend rather than a book. You can take it with you on the bus or subway as you do your coat or your scarf. It can give you small moments of joy at any time.&”
The Sun My Heart: The Companion to The Miracle of Mindfulness (Thich Nhat Hanh Classics)
by Thich Nhat HanhThe Sun My Heart is one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s most beloved books. It was written as a sequel to Miracle of Mindfulness and contains the journey, on the path of everyday practice, from mindfulness to insight in an informational, conversational manner. Using the objects and events of everyday life in his hermitage in Plum Village—the gradual settling of the pulp in a glass of apple juice or the wind blowing into the room and scattering papers about—Thich Nhat Hanh draws from Buddhist psychology, epistemology, and the world of contemporary literature and science to guide the reader along the path of clarity and understanding.This book can be read straight through, but is also designed to be opened randomly and experienced chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph. Thich Nhat Hanh suggests in the Introduction that The Sun My Heart "prefers to be a friend rather than a book. You can take it with you on the bus or subway as you do your coat or your scarf. It can give you small moments of joy at any time."
Sun-Tzu: The First English Translation Incorporating the Recently Discovered Yin-ch'ueh-shan Texts (Classics Of Ancient China Ser.)
by Roger T. AmesThe most widely read military classic in human history, newly translated and revised in accordance with newly discovered materials of unprecedented historical significance. Fluid, crisp and rigorously faithful to the original, this new text is destined to stand as the definitive version of this cornerstone work of Classical Chinese. Of compelling importance not only to students of Chinese history and literature, but to all readers interested in the art or the philosophy of war.
Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text
by John Minford Lionel Giles Sun TzuSun Tzu's The Art of War has been the premier manual of Chinese military strategy for the past two millennia and, as thousands of Asian businessmen can attest, this classic work is as applicable to the corporate world as it is to the battlefield.<P><P>This is the only contemporary edition of the classic Lionel Giles translation to contain all of the translator's original notes, to help you better understand Sun Tzu's powerful maxims and apply them in your daily life. John Minford's foreword brings insights to this classic text and its timeless relevance to the modern world.This edition also marks the first time Giles' translation has been converted to Hanyu Pinyin--the standard Chinese romanization system. Additionally, the book contains the full Chinese language version of the text, along with Giles' extensive notes, with their original Chinese text references to the historical Chinese commentators, making this edition a treasure to military scholars, martial artists, and those planning to use Sun Tzu's strategies to conquer the business world.Sun Tzu's The Art of War will arm you with the knowledge that has allowed those who have studied this classic to gain victory--and often, total domination--over those who remain ignorant of its sage advice.
The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
by Simon WiesenthalWhile imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Simon Wiesenthal was taken one day from his work detail to the bedside of a dying member of the SS. Haunted by the crimes in which he had participated, the soldier wanted to confess to--and obtain absolution from--a Jew. Faced with the choice between compassion and justice, silence and truth, Wiesenthal said nothing. But even years after the way had ended, he wondered: Had he done the right thing? What would you have done in his place?In this important book, fifty-three distinguished men and women respond to Wiesenthal's questions. They are theologians, political leaders, writers, jurists, psychiatrists, human rights activists, Holocaust survivors, and victims of attempted genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, China and Tibet. Their responses, as varied as their experiences of the world, remind us that Wiesenthal's questions are not limited to events of the past. Often surprising and always thought provoking, The Sunflower will challenge you to define your beliefs about justice, compassion, and human responsibility.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Sunny Nihilist: A Declaration of the Pleasure of Pointlessness
by Wendy SyfretA positively rebellious take on a traditionally negative philosophy offers an antidote for our anxious times.Career success, a beautiful life, a beautiful Instagram account—what's the point? In a world where meaning has become twisted into a form of currency that everyone is very keen to cash in on, journalist Wendy Syfret invites you to change the way you think about the way you think.In her seminal work, The Sunny Nihilist, Syfret presents the optimism in Nihilism, encouraging us to dismantle our self-care and self-centered way of living and accept a life more or less ordinary. Syfret re-examines the meaning of worth, value, time, happiness, success, and connection, and guides us towards the alternative path of pointless pleasure.When you let go of the idea that everything must have purpose, you will find relief from stress, exhaustion, and anxiety. Most importantly, you can embrace the opportunity to enjoy the moment, the present, the chaos and luck of being alive at all. The Sunny Nihilist is an inspiring call to action and survival adaptation for modern life.
Super Courses: The Future of Teaching and Learning (Skills for Scholars)
by Ken BainFrom the bestselling author of What the Best College Teachers Do, the story of a new breed of amazingly innovative courses that inspire students and improve learningDecades of research have produced profound insights into how student learning and motivation can be unleashed—and it’s not through technology or even the best of lectures. In Super Courses, education expert and bestselling author Ken Bain tells the fascinating story of enterprising college, graduate school, and high school teachers who are using evidence-based approaches to spark deeper levels of learning, critical thinking, and creativity—whether teaching online, in class, or in the field.Visiting schools across the United States as well as in China and Singapore, Bain, working with his longtime collaborator, Marsha Marshall Bain, uncovers super courses throughout the humanities and sciences. At the University of Virginia, undergrads contemplate the big questions that drove Tolstoy—by working with juveniles at a maximum-security correctional facility. Harvard physics students learn about the universe not through lectures but from their peers in a class where even reading is a social event. And students at a Dallas high school use dance to develop growth mindsets—and many of them go on to top colleges, including Juilliard. Bain defines these as super courses because they all use powerful researched-based elements to build a “natural critical learning environment” that fosters intrinsic motivation, self-directed learning, and self-reflective reasoning. Complete with sample syllabi, the book shows teachers how they can build their own super courses.The story of a hugely important breakthrough in education, Super Courses reveals how these classes can help students reach their full potential, equip them to lead happy and productive lives, and meet the world’s complex challenges.
The Super Natural
by Jeffrey J. Kripal Whitley StrieberTwo of today's maverick authors on anomalous experience present a perception-altering and intellectually thrilling analysis of why the paranormal is real. Whitley Strieber (Communion) and Jeffrey J. Kripal (J. Newton Rayzor professor of religion at Rice University) team up on this unprecedented and intellectually vibrant new framing of inexplicable events and experiences. Rather than merely document the anomalous, these authors--one the man who popularized alien abduction and the other a renowned scholar and "renegade advocate for including the paranormal in religious studies" (The New York Times)--deliver a fast-paced and exhilarating study of why the supernatural is neither fantasy nor fiction but a vital and authentic aspect of life.Their suggestion? That all kinds of "impossible" things, from extra-dimensional beings to bilocation to bumps in the night, are not impossible at all: rather, they are a part of our natural world. But this natural world is immeasurably more weird, more wonderful, and probably more populated than we have so far imagined with our current categories and cultures, which are what really make these things seem "impossible." The Super Natural considers that the natural world is actually a "super natural world"--and all we have to do to see this is to change the lenses through which we are looking at it and the languages through which we are presently limiting it. In short: The extraordinary exists if we know how to look at and think about it.From the Hardcover edition.
SuperCooperators
by Martin Nowak Roger HighfieldEVOLUTION IS OFTEN PRESENTED AS A STRICTLY COMPETITIVE ENDEAVOR. This point of view has had serious implications for the way we see the mechanics of both science and culture. But scientists have long wondered how societies could have evolved without some measure of cooperation. And if there was cooperation involved, how could it have arisen from nature "red in tooth and claw"? Martin Nowak, one of the world's experts on evolution and game theory, working here with bestselling science writer Roger Highfield, turns an important aspect of evolutionary theory on its head to explain why cooperation, not competition, has always been the key to the evolution of complexity. He offers a new explanation for the origin of life and a new theory for the origins of language, biology's second greatest information revolution after the emergence of genes. SuperCooperators also brings to light his game-changing work on disease. Cancer is fundamentally a failure of the body's cells to cooperate, Nowak has discovered, but organs are cleverly designed to foster cooperation, and he explains how this new understanding can be used in novel cancer treatments. Nowak and Highfield examine the phenomena of reciprocity, reputation, and reward, explaining how selfless behavior arises naturally from competition; how forgiveness, generosity, and kindness have a mathematical rationale; how companies can be better designed to promote cooperation; and how there is remarkable overlap between the recipe for cooperation that arises from quantitative analysis and the codes of conduct seen in major religions, such as the Golden Rule. In his first book written for a wide audience, this hugely influential scientist explains his cutting-edge research into the mysteries of cooperation, from the rise of multicellular life to Good Samaritans. With wit and clarity, Nowak and Highfield make the case that cooperation, not competition, is the defining human trait. SuperCooperators will expand our understanding of evolution and provoke debate for years to come.