- Table View
- List View
A Different Order of Difficulty: Literature after Wittgenstein
by Karen Zumhagen-YekpléIs the point of philosophy to transmit beliefs about the world, or can it sometimes have higher ambitions? In this bold study, Karen Zumhagen-Yekplé makes a critical contribution to the “resolute” program of Wittgenstein scholarship, revealing his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as a complex, mock-theoretical puzzle designed to engage readers in the therapeutic self-clarification Wittgenstein saw as the true work of philosophy. Seen in this light, Wittgenstein resembles his modernist contemporaries more than might first appear. Like the literary innovators of his time, Wittgenstein believed in the productive power of difficulty, in varieties of spiritual experience, in the importance of age-old questions about life’s meaning, and in the possibility of transfigurative shifts toward the right way of seeing the world. In a series of absorbing chapters, Zumhagen-Yekplé shows how Kafka, Woolf, Joyce, and Coetzee set their readers on a path toward a new way of being. Offering a new perspective on Wittgenstein as philosophical modernist, and on the lives and afterlives of his indirect teaching, A Different Order of Difficulty is a compelling addition to studies in both literature and philosophy.
Lethal Exposure (The Craig Kreident Thrillers)
by Kevin J. Anderson Doug BeasonAt Fermilab near Chicago, researchers use the world’s largest particle accelerator to unlock the secrets of the subatomic universe. While working late one night, Dr. Georg Dumenico—candidate for the Nobel Prize in physics—is bombarded with a lethal exposure of radiation. He will die horribly within days. FBI Special Agent Craig Kreident knows it was no accident—but he has to prove it, and the clock is ticking. The nation’s most valued research is at stake, and only Dumenico himself knows enough to track down his own murderer…if he survives long enough to do it.
Lamb to the Slaughter
by Dorothy EdenIn this page-turning novel of unparalleled romantic suspense by master storyteller Dorothy Eden, a woman disappears and her best friend is plunged into mortal danger Alice Ashton arrives in the middle of a fierce downpour to visit a longtime friend. But when she arrives, there&’s no sign of Camilla. The cottage&’s only occupants are a black magpie who quotes Poe and a yellow cat.And the intruder who just crept out the back door.With no one to turn to, Alice is forced to rely on her former beau, Felix Dodsworth, who left her for Camilla. Then a man called Dundas Hill arrives. Could the widower and single father be the mysterious D in Camilla&’s daily calendar? Or is it Dalton Thorpe, with whom Camilla may have eloped? Now Alice is the target, as a cunning killer leads her to her doom.
Remember to Kill Me (The Pierre Chambrun Mysteries #19)
by Hugh PentecostA group of thugs storms the Beaumont Hotel, and only Pierre Chambrun can stop the chaosThere has been trouble in Central Park. Free concerts given on the great lawn have been ending in upheaval as gangs of toughs maraud through the crowd with bats, chains, and knives—taking what they want and crushing those who stand in their way. During a performance by red-hot diva Donna Ward, the park is peaceful. But afterward, the horde descends on the Beaumont Hotel, smashing the bar and storming the elevators in search of beautiful things to steal or destroy. In the chaos, someone takes three shots at Victoria Haven, the onetime beauty queen who has, for decades, occupied the penthouse. After the throng is expelled from the premises, manager Pierre Chambrun tries to discover who would want to kill this harmless old glamour girl. But his investigation is about to be upended—for the riot is only the beginning of his trouble.
The Memory Marketplace: Witnessing Pain in Contemporary Irish and International Theatre (Irish Culture, Memory, Place)
by Emilie PineWhat happens when cultural memory becomes a commodity? Who owns the memory? In The Memory Marketplace, Emilie Pine explores how memory is performed both in Ireland and abroad by considering the significant body of contemporary Irish theatre that contends with its own culture and history. Analyzing examples from this realm of theatre, Pine focuses on the idea of witnesses, both as performers on stage and as members of the audience. Whose memories are observed in these transactions, and how and why do performances prioritize some memories over others? What does it mean to create, rehearse, perform, and purchase the theatricalization of memory? The Memory Marketplace shows this transaction to be particularly fraught in the theatricalization of traumatic moments of cultural upheaval, such as the child sexual abuse scandal in Ireland. In these performances, the role of empathy becomes key within the marketplace dynamic, and Pine argues that this empathy shapes the kinds of witnesses created. The complexities and nuances of this exchange—subject and witness, spectator and performer, consumer and commodified—provide a deeper understanding of the crucial role theatre plays in shaping public understanding of trauma, memory, and history.
Reluctant Neighbors: Honorary White, Reluctant Neighbors, And A Kind Of Homecoming
by E. R. BraithwaiteThe acclaimed author of To Sir, With Love recalls his lifelong struggle against ignorance and racism while sharing a train ride with a bigoted white neighborOn a commuter train traveling from New Canaan, Connecticut, to New York&’s Grand Central Station, a well-heeled white suburbanite reluctantly takes the only available seat and eventually strikes up a conversation with the black man sitting next to him. The white businessman&’s verbal barrage of insensitive questions and offensive remarks incites a rage in his black neighbor that can barely be suppressed. But the offended rider is E. R. Braithwaite—former Royal Air Force pilot, Cambridge graduate, schoolteacher, social worker, diplomat, and bestselling author—and he has triumphed over prejudice and hatred throughout his truly extraordinary life and multifaceted career.Against the backdrop of a short railway commute, E. R. Braithwaite powerfully recounts a personal history of remarkable accomplishments in the face of bigotry and hatred. Part memoir, part treatise on racial intolerance and oppression, and the ignorance that engenders them, Reluctant Neighbors is the unforgettable story of one man&’s continuous struggle against injustice and his unwavering dedication to the pursuit of human dignity.
In Clara's Hands: A Novel
by Joseph OlshanIn this follow-up to Olshan&’s acclaimed debut novel, the unforgettable Clara, a tough and deeply caring Jamaican housekeeper, returns to help a troubled friend solve a mystery and deal with tragic loss Ever since childhood, Will Kaplan has trusted one person—his family&’s Jamaican housekeeper, Clara—to help him get through the pain and tragedy that have all too frequently invaded his life. When his brother, Danny, died suddenly, Clara was there to offer strength and comfort. When Will was confined to a mental hospital, she gave him hope and purpose. Now he needs her wisdom and counsel as never before in the wake of a horrific plane crash that may have taken the life of Will&’s dear friend Marie, the mother of his former lover, Peter. When he learns that Marie may not actually have been aboard the doomed flight, Will is suddenly faced with an altogether different dilemma: how to find Marie, who apparently vanished while on her way to see him. It will mean an uneasy reunion with Peter, who&’s embroiled in his own family crisis. But if he places his damaged heart and troubled soul in Clara&’s loving and capable hands once again, Will might just weather the emotional storm that is brewing all around him and emerge a stronger person because of it.
The Death Committee
by Noah GordonThe New York Times–bestselling author delivers &“a big, authentic novel&” of the professional and personal challenges of three young doctors (The New York Times).Three young men from different backgrounds have graduated from medical schools and become surgical fellows at a leading teaching hospital in Boston. They learn to become surgeons, to communicate with patients and families, and to be observed and appraised by their peers and professors on daily rounds. And each month—sometimes with dry mouth and rapid pulse—each attends the meeting of the Mortality Conference, known to all as the Death Committee, which examines every patient loss for possible human error, in order to prevent it from happening again. How the Death Committee affects and is affected by the lives, loves, and ambitions of three new doctors is the theme of this intriguing and profoundly moving novel.
Burning Love
by Nan RyanAlone in Arabia, a young woman finds love and adventure among the dunesThe thought of another summer in Europe is torture to a brash young American like Temple Longworth. In turn-of-the-century society, she flits from party to party, until every soirée blends together, and every man she meets is just another dour old bore begging for her hand. As yet another young Englishman grovels for her affection, she realizes she does not want marriage—she wants adventure. And so, without a chaperone, and without a man, Temple sets out on the journey of a lifetime. She makes her way to Arabia, where she sees sights she never could have imagined. And when she&’s kidnapped and finds herself in the oasis palace of the mysterious sheik El Siif, she finds that love and desire go hand-in-hand, and that passion&’s flower grows even in the desert.
A Smile in the Mind's Eye: An Adventure into Zen Philosophy
by Lawrence DurrellThe &“virtuoso&” author&’s memoir of his spiritual journey with famed Taoist philosopher Jolan Chang (The New York Times). Beginning with their first meeting over lunch at Lawrence Durrell&’s Provencal home, Durrell and Jolan Chang—renowned Taoist philosopher and expert on Eastern sexuality—developed an enduring relationship based on mutual spiritual exploration. Durrell&’s autobiographical rumination on their friendship and on Taoism recounts the author&’s existential ponderings, starting with his introduction to the mystical and enigmatic &“smile in the mind&’s eye.&” From parsimony, cooking, and yoga to poetry, Petrarch, and Nietzche, A Smile in the Mind&’s Eye is a charming tale of a writer&’s spiritual and philosophical awakening.
Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter: Coyote Builds North America
by Barry LopezOne of the most enduring characters in Native American mythology comes boldly and brilliantly alive in sixty-eight tales of magic and wonder from National Book Award–winning author Barry LopezAccording to Native American legend, Old Man Coyote created the earth and humankind, arranged the heavens, and brought fire and death to the world. Cunning and canny, he is a trickster, a devil, a warrior, a lover, and a fool. A magical creature of insatiable appetites, he is forever scheming, yet finds all too often that his ingenious intrigues are ultimately turned back upon himself. In Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter, critically acclaimed author Barry Lopez presents sixty-eight adventurous, humorous, ribald, and often profound Coyote tales gathered from forty-two different tribes, infusing timeless lore with new life and wonder. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Barry Lopez including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s personal collection.
The Emperor of Everything (Emancipator #2)
by Ray AldridgeThe epic Emancipator sci-fi trilogy continues with this tale of galactic action and adventure, as one man fights to bring down the brutal slave trade. Slavery is the corporate foundation of the powerful Pangalic Worlds where Ruiz Aw leads a dangerous double life, as an enforcer for the Art League that so brutally controls its slaves and as an Emancipator dedicated to eradicating the cruel business. After escaping from a herd of slaves, and voyaging across the perilous and magical world of Sook, he and his band of refugees become trapped a rotting city called SeaStack. The biomechanical city however, has secrets that no one can begin to fathom. Ruiz must use his skills to kill for money, and the battle for safety just might a secret that will challenge the foundations of the universe.
Life on Ice: A History of New Uses for Cold Blood
by Joanna RadinAfter the atomic bombing at the end of World War II, anxieties about survival in the nuclear age led scientists to begin stockpiling and freezing hundreds of thousands of blood samples from indigenous communities around the world. These samples were believed to embody potentially invaluable biological information about genetic ancestry, evolution, microbes, and much more. Today, they persist in freezers as part of a global tissue-based infrastructure. In Life on Ice, Joanna Radin examines how and why these frozen blood samples shaped the practice known as biobanking. The Cold War projects Radin tracks were meant to form an enduring total archive of indigenous blood before it was altered by the polluting forces of modernity. Freezing allowed that blood to act as a time-traveling resource. Radin explores the unique cultural and technical circumstances that created and gave momentum to the phenomenon of life on ice and shows how these preserved blood samples served as the building blocks for biomedicine at the dawn of the genomic age. In an era of vigorous ethical, legal, and cultural debates about genetic privacy and identity, Life on Ice reveals the larger picture—how we got here and the promises and problems involved with finding new uses for cold human blood samples.
Crossroads of a Continent: Missouri Railroads, 1851–1921 (Railroads Past and Present)
by Peter A. Hansen Don L. Hofsommer Carlos Arnaldo SchwantesCrossroads of a Continent: Missouri Railroads, 1851-1921 tells the story of the state's railroads and their vital role in American history. Missouri and St. Louis, its largest city, are strategically located within the American Heartland. On July 4, 1851, when the Pacific Railroad of Missouri began construction in St. Louis, the city took its first step to becoming a major hub for railroads. By the 1920s, the state was crisscrossed with railways reaching toward all points of the compass.Authors Peter A. Hansen, Don L. Hofsommer, and Carlos Arnaldo Schwantes explore the history of Missouri railroads through personal, absorbing tales of the cutthroat competition between cities and between railroads that meant the difference between prosperity and obscurity, the ambitions and dreams of visionaries Fred Harvey and Arthur Stilwell, and the country's excitement over the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904.Beautifully illustrated with over 100 color images of historical railway ephemera, Crossroads of a Continent is an engaging history of key American railroads and of Missouri's critical contribution to the American story.
Clean Tech Nation: How the U.S. Can Lead in the New Global Economy
by Ron Pernick Clint WilderFrom Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder, the authors of Clean Tech Revolution, comes the next definitive book on the Clean Tech industry. In Clean Tech Nation, they shine a light on the leaders at the forefront of the growing movement. USA Today called Pernick and Wilder’s groundbreaking first book, “one of the few instances in this genre that shows the green movement not in heartstring terms but as economically profitable.” Clean Tech Nation expands on their original idea to provide concrete analysis on the efforts of the U.S. and other countries in this area, and provides a clear way forward for the U.S. so that it can lead the pack as it competes with the rest of the world.
Science & Emotions after 1945: A Transatlantic Perspective
by Edited by Frank Biess and Daniel M. GrossThrough the first half of the twentieth century, emotions were a legitimate object of scientific study across a variety of disciplines. After 1945, however, in the wake of Nazi irrationalism, emotions became increasingly marginalized and postwar rationalism took central stage. Emotion remained on the scene of scientific and popular study but largely at the fringes as a behavioral reflex, or as a concern of the private sphere. So why, by the 1960s, had the study of emotions returned to the forefront of academic investigation? In Science and Emotions after 1945, Frank Biess and Daniel M. Gross chronicle the curious resurgence of emotion studies and show that it was fueled by two very different sources: social movements of the 1960s and brain science. A central claim of the book is that the relatively recent neuroscientific study of emotion did not initiate – but instead consolidated – the emotional turn by clearing the ground for multidisciplinary work on the emotions. Science and Emotions after 1945 tells the story of this shift by looking closely at scientific disciplines in which the study of emotions has featured prominently, including medicine, psychiatry, neuroscience, and the social sciences, viewed in each case from a humanities perspective.
Flykiller (The St-Cyr and Kohler Mysteries)
by J. Robert JanesIn Vichy, a dead mistress points to an assassination plotAt the Battle of Verdun, Marshal Philippe Pétain&’s heroic leadership won him the respect and admiration of all of France. In the decades that follow the Great War, his ambition is boundless, but not until Hitler arrives does he claim the job he&’s always wanted. When the Wehrmacht subdue the French army, Pétain takes the reins of his conquered nation, becoming World War II&’s most infamous collaborator. In February 1943, as the war turns against Germany, Pétain administers his puppet state from the spa town of Vichy. In his eighties, but still able to admire a pretty face, he asks to borrow the mistress of one of his subordinates. Before she arrives, the girl is murdered. Fearing a plot against his life, Pétain calls in inspectors Jean-Louis St-Cyr and Hermann Kohler. But they find something far more sinister than a conspiracy against the war hero who became a war criminal.
Terror Is My Trade (The Chester Drum Mysteries #7)
by Stephen MarloweCrossing the Atlantic on NATO&’s behalf, Drum tangles with mobsters, blackmail, and murderAs the H.M.S. Queen Victoria pulls out of New York Harbor, danger encircles Chester Drum. He&’s sailing for Europe on the largest luxury liner ever built, but it&’s not big enough to hold the secrets on board—or the men who keep them. And by the time the liner reaches Southampton, she will be missing a few passengers. Drum can only hope he isn&’t among those who don&’t make it to shore. Hired by a NATO functionary as a bodyguard, the private investigator quickly learns his real assignment: protecting his client from a Chicago mobster with dreams of blackmail. Keeping the mafia at bay is tricky enough, but when a State Department colleague ends up in the line of fire, Drum sets his mind on getting even. After all, there is no better spot for vengeance than the icy waters of the open sea.
Lean Forward Into Your Life: Begin Each Day as If It Were on Purpose (Personal Development Ser.)
by Mary Anne RadmacherAn ode to living a purposeful, creative life that &“touches your heart and your soul&” (Deborah Stephens, coauthor of This Is Not the Life I Ordered). This is a commonplace book for leading an uncommon life. An uncommon life need not include fame and fortune. To live an uncommon life is to pay attention, take care of yourself, live large from the heart. The chapters form a to-do list for living this way: live with intention • walk to the edge • listen hard • play with abandon • practice wellness • laugh • risk love • continue to learn • appreciate your friends • choose with no regret • fail with enthusiasm • stand by your family • celebrate the holidays that make sense • lead or follow a leader • do what you love • live as if this is all there is &“A book of healing and grace.&” —Jane Kirkpatrick, author of A Clearing in the Wild
Man on the Run
by Charles WilliamsPursued by the police, a desperate man fights to stay free—and stay aliveIt&’s raining hard when the man leaps off the train. He lands safely and creeps into town, praying he will find someplace to hide. It&’s nearly daylight, and the police are not far behind. He breaks into an unoccupied seaside cottage, and is overjoyed to find coffee, whiskey, and cigarettes. But before the fugitive can relax, the doorknob rattles. The police are at the door. Russell Foley, third mate on an oil tanker, is not a cop killer. But the night before he got into a fight with a police detective, and a few hours later the cop was found stabbed to death. Unable to explain himself, he bolts, hoping to evade the police and somehow find the real killer. But for a man who cannot stop running, justice can be a hard thing to find.
Stonekiller (The St-Cyr and Kohler Mysteries #7)
by J. Robert JanesA woman is found butchered not far from an archaeological siteIn the woods of the Dordogne, farmers and their pigs hunt the forest floor for truffles. It is June 1942, and one such farmer has found something unusual: the postmaster&’s wife, murdered and left to rot beneath the trees. By the time police inspectors Jean-Louis St-Cyr and Hermann Kohler arrive from Paris, she has been dead four days, and the flies have begun to feast. As Kohler combs the area, finding a picnic basket, two bottles of Champagne, and a collection of poisonous mushrooms, St-Cyr turns the body on its back. The woman has been mutilated, hacked to pieces by a blunt ax. She died steps from the famous Lascaux caves, an invaluable archaeological site that has attracted the Führer&’s attention. The SS is about to descend on the area, a film crew in tow, confounding the investigation as they swarm like the flies on the postmaster&’s wife.
Building Globalization: Transnational Architecture Production in Urban China
by Xuefei RenFrom the years 2004 to 2008, Beijing and Shanghai witnessed the construction of an extraordinary number of new buildings, many of which were designed by architectural firms overseas. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, historical research, and network analysis, Building Globalization closely scrutinizes the growing phenomenon of transnational architecture and its profound effect on the development of urban space. Roaming from construction sites in Shanghai to architects’ offices in Paris, Xuefei Ren interviews hundreds of architects, developers, politicians, residents, and activists to explore this issue. She finds that in the rapidly transforming cities of modern China, iconic designs from prestigious international architects help private developers to distinguish their projects, government officials to advance their careers, and the Chinese state to announce the arrival of modern China on the world stage. China leads the way in the globalization of architecture, a process whose ramifications can be felt from Beijing to Dubai to Basel. Connecting the dots between real estate speculation, megaproject construction, residential displacement, historical preservation, housing rights, and urban activism, Building Globalization reveals the contradictions and consequences of this new, global urban frontier.
Rough Strife: A Novel
by Lynne Sharon SchwartzThe arithmetic of marriage is never easy to understand—as time passes, the variables constantly changeCaroline is set adrift in 1950s Rome when she meets Ivan. Though things start slowly, Ivan wins her over after a strong pursuit, and the two marry, agreeing never to inflict any &“irreparable wounds.&” But though Ivan proves to be a fine father, he is a distant husband, and Caroline finds herself daydreaming of other men. So as the years pass, the couple finds ways to bend but not break their cardinal rule. Rough Strife, the first novel from Lynne Sharon Schwartz, was nominated for the National Book Foundation Award. In this sensational debut, Schwartz depicts a marriage that grows painfully into the modern era, despite the changes—both political and personal—that challenge it.
The Wind Off the Island: Voyage To The Playground Of The Gods
by Ernle BradfordThe bestselling author of The Journeying Moon explores the history and culture of Sicily in this colorful travel memoir. In his memoir The Journeying Moon, historian Ernle Bradford recounts the call to adventure that brought him and his wife, Janet, to a life on the sea. Continuing their adventures aboard the Mother Goose, Bradford and Janet now voyage around the island of Sicily, where the couple explores the land and learns its captivating history. Home to ancient temple ruins, charming villages, and Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, Sicily provides the perfect backdrop for this tale of exploration and wonder. In a model travel narrative, Bradford captures the sights, sounds, and flavors of Sicily in his lively portrayal of an excursion across an ancient and extraordinary island, a part of Italy and yet a world unto itself.
Gentleman Troubadours and Andean Pop Stars: Huayno Music, Media Work, and Ethnic Imaginaries in Urban Peru (Chicago Studies In Ethnomusicology Ser.)
by Joshua TuckerExploring Peru’s lively music industry and the studio producers, radio DJs, and program directors that drive it, Gentleman Troubadours and Andean Pop Stars is a fascinating account of the deliberate development of artistic taste. Focusing on popular huayno music and the ways it has been promoted to Peru’s emerging middle class, Joshua Tucker tells a complex story of identity making and the marketing forces entangled with it, providing crucial insights into the dynamics among art, class, and ethnicity that reach far beyond the Andes. Tucker focuses on the music of Ayacucho, Peru, examining how media workers and intellectuals there transformed the city’s huayno music into the country’s most popular style. By marketing contemporary huayno against its traditional counterpart, these agents, Tucker argues, have paradoxically reinforced ethnic hierarchies at the same time that they have challenged them. Navigating between a burgeoning Andean bourgeoisie and a music industry eager to sell them symbols of newfound sophistication, Gentleman Troubadours and Andean Pop Stars is a deep account of the real people behind cultural change.