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A Chance in Hell: The Men Who Triumphed Over Iraq's Deadliest City and Turned the Tide of War
by Jim MichaelsJim Michaels's A Chance in Hell presents the riveting account of how one brigade turned Iraq's most violent city into a model of stability.Colonel Sean MacFarland arrived in Iraq's deadliest city with simple instructions: pacify Ramadi without destroying it. The odds were against him from the start. By 2006, insurgents roamed freely in many parts of the city in open defiance of Iraq's U.S.-backed government. Al-Qaeda had boldly declared Ramadi its capital. Even the U.S. military acknowledged that the province would be the last to be pacified.MacFarland laid out a bold plan. His soldiers would take on the insurgents in their own backyard. He set up combat outposts in the city's most dangerous neighborhoods. Snipers roamed the back alleys, killing al-Qaeda leaders and terrorist cells. U.S. tanks rumbled down the streets, firing point-blank into buildings occupied by insurgents. MacFarland's brigade engaged in some of the bloodiest street fighting of the war. Casualties on both sides mounted. Al-Qaeda wasn't going to give up easily--Ramadi was too important. MacFarland wasn't going to back down, either.A Chance in Hell tells how a handful of men turned the tide of war at a time when it appeared all hope was lost.
The Healing Mind: The Vital Links Between Brain and Behavior, Immunity and Disease
by Paul MartinIn The Healing Mind, Dr. Paul Martin, a renowned professor behavioral biology, asserts that Wolfe's words are closer to the truth than we might imagine. Long the stuff of poetry and folklore, there is increasing scientific evidence that the brain and the immune system are inextricably linked. Dr. Martin illustrates with remarkable clarity that biological and psychological links that do indeed exist between mind and body--links that have in intricately constructed by evolution over the millennia, links that, when frayed or severed, are the root cause of more problems that you might imagine.Drawing together the latest biological and medical findings, The Healing Mind explains how we can at last reconcile many commonplace notions about "psychosomatic" illness and stress with a modern scientific understanding of how the mind and body affect each other. Martin makes impressive use of literary references to illustrate the degree to which we commonly (and accurately) observe the link between health and psyche. Here, presented in a fascinating and uniquely accessible manner, are the latest scientific solutions to some ancient puzzles concerning the relationship between brain, behavior, immunity, and disease.
How to Grow a Novel: The Most Common Mistakes Writers Make and How to Overcome Them
by Sol SteinEach year thousands of fiction writers, from beginners to bestselling author, benefit from Sol Stein's sold-out workshops, featured appearances at writers' conferences, software for writers, on-line columns, and his popular first book for writers, Stein on Writing. Stein practices what he teaches: He is the author of nine novels, including the million-copy bestseller The Magician, as well as editor of such major writers as James Baldwin, Jack Higgins, Elia Kazan, Budd Schulberg, W. H. Auden, and Jacques Barzun, and the teacher and editor of several current bestselling authors. What sets Stein apart is his practical approach. He provides specific techniques that speed writers to successful publication.How to Grow a Novel is not just a book, but an invaluable workshop in print. It includes details and examples from Stein's editorial work with a #1 bestselling novelist as well as talented newcomers. Stein takes the reader backstage in the development of memorable characters and fascinating plots. The chapter on dialogue overflows with solutions for short-story writers, novelists, screenwriters, and playwrights. Stein shows what readers are looking for-- and what they avoid-- in the experience of reading fiction. The book offers guidelines-- and warnings-- of special value for nonfiction writers who want to move into fiction. Stein points to the little, often overlooked things that damage the writer's authority without the writer knowing it. And this book, like no other writing book, takes the reader behind the scenes of the publishing business as it affects writers of every level of experience, revealing the hard truths that are kept behind shut doors.
The Leadership Wheel: Five Steps for Achieving Individual and Organizational Greatness
by C. Clinton SidleA groundbreaking five-step framework for leadership transformation by a top consultant and a fresh approach for today's rapidly changing business world, The Leadership Wheel offers a vehicle for personal and organizational change. Sidle's dynamic plan begins with a look into the inner work of leaders--the work of personal development--and then it turns to external challenges--of developing healthy relationships, teams, and organizations. Sidle reveals a unique and powerful system already embraced by companies around the world, with examples of leaders such as David Neeleman at JetBlue, and transformative exercises.
The Baby Chase: How Surrogacy Is Transforming the American Family
by Leslie Morgan SteinerFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Love comes a riveting new narrative about surrogate pregnancy from both sides of the equation—the parents and the gestational carrier.Once considered a desperate, even morally suspect option, surrogacy is now sweeping headlines, transforming the lives of celebrity mothers and fathers like Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Elton John, and changing the face of motherhood and the American family. But how much do we really know about it? And is it really as easy and accessible – emotionally, financially, legally and physically – as magazines make it out to be? We often hear about successful outcomes, but little about the journey – about the precious hope that starts it all, the ups and downs of finding a surrogate, the heartache and obstacles, the risks and expenses at every step, or the unbelievable joy when years of determination pay off. In The Baby Chase, acclaimed writer Leslie Morgan Steiner weaves three stories together — of a nurse, a firefighter, and the Indian gestational carriers and doctors who helped them — to provide one intensely personal look at what makes surrogacy so controversial, fascinating, and in some cases, the only ray of hope for today's infertile parents-to-be.Rhonda Wile and her husband Gerry struggled for years with infertility. With perseverance that shocked everyone around them, they tried every procedure and option available – unsuccessfully – until they finally decided to hire a surrogate. While surrogacy was being touted as a miracle for hopeful parents, for Rhonda and Gerry, it seemed an impossible and unaffordable dream. Until they came across the beaming smile of a beautiful Indian woman on the internet… and, within a few short months, embarked on a journey that would take them deep into the emerging world of Indian carriers, international medical tourism, and the global surrogacy community.Moving, page-turning, and meticulously researched, this complex human story is paired with an examination of the issues—religious, legal, medical and emotional—that shapes surrogacy as a solution both imperfect and life-changing.
You've Got Ketchup on Your Muumuu: An A to Z Guide to English Words from Around the World
by Eugene EhrlichFrom one of America's top wordsmiths, a lively survey of words from abroad that make English a truly international language.With dry wit and remarkable erudition, Eugene Ehrlich's You've Got Ketchup on Your Muumuu takes us on an eye-opening tour of our ever-changing language, showing us how English has, throughout its history, seamlessly sewn words from other languages into its original fabric. The language we call our own has in fact been culled from the languages of ancient invaders, such as the Romans, the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes, and the French. Ehrlich's comprehensive research and vast lingual experience bring to light the origins of some of our most popular and well-used words. For example, graffiti is shown to come from the Italian word meaning "scratches." The word for one of our favorite French pastries, éclair, means "lightning flash." And ketchup comes from the Chinese Ke-Jap, which means "fish sauce."Ehrlich illuminates the origins, purposes, and meanings of once-foreign words that have become part of the rich texture of our language.
Bad Bridesmaid: Bachelorette Brawls and Taffeta Tantrums—Tales from the Front Lines
by Siri AgrellA laugh-out-loud look at the most underrated supporting role in today's maxed-out wedding world, featuring "bad bridesmaids" who've had enough taffeta to last a lifetimeI just can't have any negative energy around my wedding." This is what Siri Agrell's best friend told her just before kicking her out of the wedding that Agrell had spent many months—and dollars—preparing for. Her offense? It's not that she slept with the groom, or even the best man. She didn't get drunk at the shower. She didn't buy the cheapest casserole dish on the registry.But she did question the role of today's much-maligned bridesmaid in an article she wrote for a national newspaper. Despite the bags of fan mail the piece generated, the bride was not amused. Agrell was booted from the bridal party in favor of a similarly sized cousin—and no, she did not get reimbursed for the $100 gold shoes she'd already bought to match the bridesmaid dress.Now she's putting all that experience and fan mail to good use: like no other book on the market, Bad Bridesmaid is a hilarious tale of weddings gone wild, full of anecdotes and advice from women worldwide, and the perfect gift to get former, current, and future bridesmaids ready for action (or therapy). It's time to give the bridesmaid back her voice, her independence, and the natural waistline that has long been hidden under layers of responsibility and badly constructed tulle!
The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History
by Robin GivhanOn November 28, 1973, the world's social elite gathered at the Palace of Versailles for an international fashion show. By the time the curtain came down on the evening's spectacle, history had been made and the industry had been forever transformed. This is that story.Conceived as a fund-raiser for the restoration of King Louis XIV's palace, in the late fall of 1973, five top American designers faced off against five top French designers in an over-the-top runway extravaganza. An audience filled with celebrities and international jet-setters, including Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, and Andy Warhol, were treated to an opulent performance featuring Liza Minnelli, Josephine Baker, and Rudolph Nureyev. What they saw would forever alter the history of fashion.The Americans at the Battle of Versailles– Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows – showed their work against the five French designers considered the best in the world – Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior. Plagued by in-fighting, outsized egos, shoestring budgets, and innumerable technical difficulties, the American contingent had little chance of meeting the European's exquisite and refined standards. But against all odds, the American energy and the domination by the fearless models (ten of whom, in a groundbreaking move, were African American) sent the audience reeling. By the end of the evening, the Americans had officially taken their place on the world's stage, prompting a major shift in the way race, gender, sexuality, and economics would be treated in fashion for decades to come. As the curtain came down on The Battle of Versailles, American fashion was born; no longer would the world look to Europe to determine the stylistic trends of the day, from here forward, American sensibility and taste would command the world's attention. Pulitzer-Prize winning fashion journalist Robin Givhan offers a lively and meticulously well-researched account of this unique event. The Battle of Versailles is a sharp, engaging cultural history; this intimate examination of a single moment shows us how the world of fashion as we know it came to be.
A Need to Kill: Confessions of a Teen Murderer
by Michael W. Cuneo***Please note: This ebook edition does not contain the photos found in the print edition.***Alec Krieder knew his best friend's family never locked their doors—making Kevin Haines and his family the perfect targets for a crime. One night, he waited until they were asleep…then entered the house with a knife. Alec burst into the master bedroom and stabbed Tom and Lisa Haines first. Then he attacked Kevin, who fought for his life. Meanwhile, at the end of the hall, Kevin's sister Maggie awoke to the sound of violence—and was the only one who made it out alive. Clean-cut and academically gifted, Alec seemed to have no motives, no history of psychosis—and no remorse. Some believed he was a serial killer in the making, a soulless monster plagued by "demons." Now, for the first time, acclaimed author Michael W. Cuneo shares the inside story—with shocking details of Alec's confession to his father, disturbing messages to his classmates, and chilling excerpts from his diaries—and takes you inside the dark, troubled mind of this teenage killer.
Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo
by Andy GreenwaldNothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo tells the story of a cultural moment that's happening right now-the nexus point where teen culture, music, and the web converge to create something new.While shallow celebrities dominate the headlines, pundits bemoan the death of the music industry, and the government decries teenagers for their morals (or lack thereof) earnest, heartfelt bands like Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, and Thursday are quietly selling hundreds of thousands of albums through dedication, relentless touring and respect for their fans. This relationship - between young people and the empathetic music that sets them off down a road of self-discovery and self-definition - is emo, a much-maligned, mocked, and misunderstood term that has existed for nearly two decades, but has flourished only recently. In Nothing Feels Good, Andy Greenwald makes the case for emo as more than a genre - it's an essential rite of teenagehood. From the '80s to the '00s, from the basement to the stadium, from tour buses to chat rooms, and from the diary to the computer screen, Nothing Feels Good narrates the story of emo from the inside out and explores the way this movement is taking shape in real time and with real hearts on the line. Nothing Feels Good is the first book to explore this exciting moment in music history and Greenwald has been given unprecedented access to the bands and to their fans. He captures a place in time and a moment on the stage in a way only a true music fan can.
Sea of Tranquillity: A Novel
by Paul RussellFrom Paul Russell, the award-winning author of The Coming Storm, comes the story of a splinted nuclear family - spanning from the optimistic time of the first moon shot to the bleak time of the early AIDS years.Astronaut Allen Cloud suffers severely from post-lunar depression, and dreams of returning to the far-off world in which he'd finally found peace. His wife's search for happiness takes her from the bottom of a bottle in middle America to Turkey, where she finds spiritual salvation. Their gay son Jonathan embarks on a journey of self-discovery, leading him from Houston to the sophisticated gay world of the East Coast. His acknowledgment of his sexual identity and pursuit of physical and spiritual fulfillment has its counterpoint in a repressed preacher's son, whose desires Jonathan awakens in high school and whose destiny Jonathan permanently alters. Told by a brilliant quartet of voices, Sea of Tranquillity demonstrates a spectrum of emotion that sweeps from razor-sharp wit to wrenching heartache, from anger and alienation to acceptance and reconciliation.
The New Destroyer: Choke Hold (The Destroyer)
by Warren Murphy James MullaneyPity poor tobacco tycoon Edgar Rawly. Thanks to lawsuits, government meddling and the inexplicable deaths of many of his best customers, his megabucks industry is gasping its last breath. That is, until the introduction of the Cheyenne Smooths, Rawly's latest product. Not quite tobacco, not quite legal, more addictive than crystal meth. Suddenly customers are once more beating a path to his door. That's when the bodies start piling up. Seems people are not only dying to taste the flavor of a Cheyenne Smooth, they're killing for it. Enter Remo Williams, the Destroyer, and Chiun, the deadly Master of Sinanju. They've been sent to kick some butt, but wind up in danger of being snuffed out themselves.Turns out Edgar Rawly is not the only shady character to recognize the value of the Cheyenne Smooths, and things really start to heat up when Remo bumps into a cult of ancient Chinese assassins, an Asian crime lord, and a worldwide addiction that just might send civilization up in smoke...and dump the Destroyer on the ash heap of history.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil
by Nicholas ShaxsonEach week the oil and gas fields of sub-Saharan Africa produce well over a billion dollars' worth of oil, an amount that far exceeds development aid to the entire African continent. Yet the rising tide of oil money is not promoting stability and development, but is instead causing violence, poverty, and stagnation. It is also generating vast corruption that reaches deep into American and European economies. In Poisoned Wells, Nicholas Shaxson exposes the root causes of this paradox of poverty from plenty, and explores the mechanisms by which oil causes grave instabilities and corruption around the globe. Shaxson is the only journalist who has had access to the key players in African oil, and is willing to make the connections between the problems of the developing world and the involvement of leading global corporations and governments.
Darklost (Renquist Quartet)
by Mick FarrenLos Angeles--City of Angels, city of dreams. But sometimes the dreams become nightmares.Having fled New York, Victor Renquist and his small group of Nosferatu are striving to reestablish their Colony in Los Angeles. They have become a deeper, darker part of the city's nightlife. And Hollywood's glitterati are hot on the scent of a new thrill, one that outshines all others--immortality.But someone, somewhere, is meddling with even darker powers, powers that even the Nosferatu fear. Someone is attempting to summon the entity of ancient evil known at Cthulhu.And Renquist must overcome dissent in his own Colony, solve the riddle of the Darklost (a being brought partway along the Nosferatu path and then abandoned), and combat powerful enemies to save the world--of humans!At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Inside The Meat Grinder
by Alan Eisenstock Chad BrownThis electrifying book, Inside the Meat Grinder, exposes the hard-hitting reality of life in the trenches for an NFL referee.Welcome to the violent world of former NFL referee Chad Brown, where three-hundred-pound men hurtle at each other at supercharged speeds. Where intimidation is a way of life. And where Chad is the man marked in stripes, the man in the middle, the man who throws the yellow flag-or doesn't.This insider's account covers a wide-range of topics, including:* On-Field Action: what players and coaches are really saying on the field in the heat of battle. * Dirty Tricks: how NFL players have perfected the art of escaping penalties-or getting them called on an opponent. * Ballistic Coaches: what it's like to have everyone--coaches, players, and a whole stadium full of fans--trying to intimidate you every moment of the game.* Instant Replay: why the video tape can make an official look like a fool or a genius-and why sometimes the tape lies.Packed with action and inside stories on some of the game's greatest players-and biggest whiners-Inside the Meat Grinder is a hard-hitting look at hardcore NFL action, where Chad Brown, a boy hell-raiser turned football player turned NFL zebra, plays the toughest position on the field.
Stone Dead (The Neil Paget Mysteries)
by Frank SmithStone Dead is Frank Smith's second novel featuring British Chief Inspector Neil Paget. A routine robbery investigation turns into something much more sinister when a corpse is found in the well of a cottage belonging to photographer Peter Foster. Foster fears the body is the ex-husband of his current girlfriend, a model shooting on location in France. Worse, he fears Lisa may have killed him.But Lisa herself has mysteriously disappeared, and the true identity of the corpse adds a strange twist to the already-convoluted crime. A murder has taken place--but who is the victim, and who is the killer? It seems everyone involved knows something, but not enough to piece together an emerging puzzle of love and hate--until a fatal mistake leads Paget to the shocking solution . . . in Frank Smith's Stone Dead.
Death to the Infidels: Radical Islam's War Against the Jews
by Mitchell BardFor more than a century, much of the attention given to the Middle East has focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The rise of a Palestinian offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, transformed the nature of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. According to Bard, the dispute, in the view of Hamas, is not over a division of Palestine, but rather about Jews ruling over Muslims and the presence of Jews on Islamic land. However, this Islamic-Jewish conflict is not simply confined to the Middle East. Muslim terrorist attacks have been directed at Jews all around the world, from Europe to Asia to Latin America. Radical Muslims in European countries are becoming more brazen, particularly in France, where the Muslims constitute nearly ten percent of the population. In just the last year, there have been several Muslim attacks on Jews throughout France. Death to the Infidels documents the growth of radical Islam in the Middle East and how, from the author's interpretation, it has transformed what had primarily been a political conflict into a one-sided religious war limiting the prospect for peace, particularly in Israel.
Addiction-Free: How to Help an Alcoholic or Addict Get Started on Recovery
by Gene Hawes Anderson HawesA thorough guide about how to get help for a friend or loved one who is having problems with alcohol or other drugs. Provides places, names, numbers--who to call, what questions to ask, and what to expect. This invaluable guide includes six initial options for getting into recovery:-- The AA treatment program--Interventions, detox and rehab--Work related programs--Al-Anon--Law-enforcement programs--Therapeutic communitiesAddiction-Free: How to Help an Alcoholic or Addict Get Started on Recovery is a much-needed guide for everyone whose life is touched by addiction.
Pokémon Future: The Unauthorized Guide
by Hank SchlesingerAre you a Poké-maniac?If so, you'll need to read on about all the cool new developments in the world of Pokémon! Learn from today's finest Pokémon masters—kids just like you—how to win at the new versions of this awesome game of monsters, and discover all the exciting new Pokémon products and off-shoots.
The Letter Killeth: A Mystery Set at the University of Notre Dame (Roger and Philip Knight Mysteries)
by Ralph McInernyOnce the college football season draws to a close for the Fighting Irish, there is little reason to ride out the winter in South Bend, Indiana. Those who can leave do, but P.I. Philip Knight stays on at Notre Dame when the university asks him to discreetly investigate a rash of threatening letters that have been sent to a number of administrators, including the new football coach, who resurrected the team in a single year.While conspiracy theories are as prevalent as the cold, Philip and his brother Roger think the letters are probably a prank or possibly a student paper's attempt at yellow journalism but nothing more. Then a controversial professor's car is set on fire, a man is found dead on campus, and the Knight brothers find themselves hot on the trail of a killer in Ralph McInerny's tenth mystery set at Notre Dame.
Bill and Hillary: The Politics of the Personal
by William H. ChafeIn Bill and Hillary: The Politics of the Personal, the distinguished historian William H. Chafe boldly argues that the trajectory of the Clintons' political lives can be understood only through the prism of their personal relationship. Each experienced a difficult childhood. Bill had an abusive stepfather, and his mother was in denial about the family's pathology. He believed that his success as a public servant would redeem the family. Hillary grew up with an autocratic father and a self-sacrificing mother whose most important lesson for her daughter was the necessity of family togetherness. As an adolescent, Hillary's encounter with her youth minister helped set her moral compass on issues of race and social justice.From the day they first met at Yale Law School, Bill and Hillary were inseparable, even though their relationship was inherently volatile. The personal dynamic between them would go on to determine their political fates. Hillary was instrumental in Bill's triumphs as Arkansas's governor and saved his presidential candidacy in 1992 by standing with him during the Gennifer Flowers sex scandal. He responded by delegating to her powers that no other First Lady had ever exercised. Always tempestuous, their relationship had as many lows as it did highs, from near divorce to stunning electoral and political successes.Chafe's many insights—into subjects such as health care, Kenneth Starr, welfare reform, and the extent to which the Lewinsky scandal finally freed Hillary to become a politician in her own right and return to the consensus reformer she had been in college and law school—add texture and depth to our understanding of the Clintons' experience together. The latest book from one of our preeminent historians, Bill and Hillary is the definitive account of the Clintons' relationship and its far-reaching impact on American political life.
How to Spot the Next Starbucks, Whole Foods, Walmart, or McDonald's Before its Shares Explode
by Mark TierEveryone knows the basic golden rule of investing: “Buy Low, Sell High,” but how many of us ever really understand the stock market, how to recognize the “next big thing,” and how to capitalize off of it once you do? ...the truth is not many or we’d all be millionaires. It seems like early investors in big companies like Facebook and Google had to have won the lottery of investing and just gotten really lucky, but there’s more to it than that. There’s a science to the “Next Big Thing” strategy, and Mark Tier understands it. In How to Spot the Next Starbucks, Whole Foods, Walmart, or McDonald's BEFORE Its Shares Explode, Tier shows readers that explosive brands like Starbucks, Whole Foods, McDonald's, and Walmart didn’t become successful on accident. Through in-depth and accessible case studies, Tier pulls back the curtain on the early Key Performance Indicators that each of these major companies showed even at their earliest stages. Once you learn how to recognize these makings of success, you too will be able to spot the next Starbucks.
Silverchest: Poems
by Carl Phillips"After / the afterlife, there's an afterlife."In Silverchest, his twelfth book, Carl Phillips considers how our fears and excesses, the damage we cause both to others and to ourselves, intentional and not, can lead not only to a kind of wisdom but also to renewal, maybe even joy, if we're willing to commit fully to a life in which "I love you / means what, exactly?" In poems shot through with his signature mix of eros, restless energy, and moral scrutiny, Phillips argues for the particular courage it takes to look at the self squarely—not with judgment but with understanding—and extend that self more honestly toward others. It's a risk, there's a lot to lose, but if it's true that "we'll drown anyway—why not / in color?"
Death Grip: A Climber's Escape from Benzo Madness
by Matt SametDeath Grip chronicles a top climber's near-fatal struggle with anxiety and depression, and his nightmarish journey through the dangerous world of prescription drugs. Matt Samet lived to climb, and craved the challenge, risk, and exhilaration of conquering sheer rock faces around the United States and internationally. But Samet's depression, compounded by the extreme diet and fitness practices of climbers, led him to seek professional help. He entered the murky, inescapable world of psychiatric medicine, where he developed a dangerous addiction to prescribed medications—primarily "benzos," or benzodiazepines—that landed him in institutions and nearly killed him.With dramatic storytelling, persuasive research data, and searing honesty, Matt Samet reveals the hidden epidemic of benzo addiction, which some have suggested can be harder to quit than heroin. Millions of adults and teenagers are prescribed these drugs, but few understand how addictive they are—and how dangerous long-term usage can be, even when prescribed by doctors.After a difficult struggle with addiction, Samet slowly makes his way to a life in recovery through perseverance and a deep love of rock climbing. Conveying both the exhilaration of climbing in the wilderness and the utter madness of addiction, Death Grip is a powerful and revelatory memoir.
Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche
by James MillerA New York Times Notable Book for 2011 We all want to know how to live. But before the good life was reduced to ten easy steps or a prescription from the doctor, philosophers offered arresting answers to the most fundamental questions about who we are and what makes for a life worth living.In Examined Lives, James Miller returns to this vibrant tradition with short, lively biographies of twelve famous philosophers. Socrates spent his life examining himself and the assumptions of others. His most famous student, Plato, risked his reputation to tutor a tyrant. Diogenes carried a bright lamp in broad daylight and announced he was "looking for a man." Aristotle's alliance with Alexander the Great presaged Seneca's complex role in the court of the Roman Emperor Nero. Augustine discovered God within himself. Montaigne and Descartes struggled to explore their deepest convictions in eras of murderous religious warfare. Rousseau aspired to a life of perfect virtue. Kant elaborated a new ideal of autonomy. Emerson successfully preached a gospel of self-reliance for the new American nation. And Nietzsche tried "to compose into one and bring together what is fragment and riddle and dreadful chance in man," before he lapsed into catatonic madness. With a flair for paradox and rich anecdote, Examined Lives is a book that confirms the continuing relevance of philosophy today—and explores the most urgent questions about what it means to live a good life.