BOOKWORM IN HEAT

Steven Pinker - Το Γλωσσικό Ένστινκτο

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:35:00 +0000

«Πηγαίνετε αμέσως, όχι περπατώντας αλλά τρέχοντας, να προμηθευτείτε Το γλωσσικό ένστικτο. Σ’ αυτό το όντως κατατοπιστικό και απολαυστικό βιβλίο, ο Steven Pinker αναλαμβάνει να σας εισαγάγει στον υπέροχο κόσμο της γλώσσας. Αποφεύγει να σας ταλαιπωρήσει με την "αργκό" των γλωσσολόγων και κατευθύνει την προσοχή σας σε μιαν αναλλοίωτη αλήθεια: η γλώσσα είναι ένα ένστικτο. Στηριζόμενος σε τούτη τη θεμελιώδους σημασίας ανακάλυψη, μας αποκαλύπτει τα μυστικά της νόησης. Πρόκειται για ένα πραγματικά έξοχο επίτευγμα.»
-Michael 5. Gazzaniga, Διευθυντής του Κέντρου Νευροεπιστήμης, Πανεπιστήμιο της Καλιφόρνιας

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Paolo Bacigalupi - The Windup Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:25:00 +0000

Imagine a post-petroleum world where internal combustion and electricity are vanishingly rare and almost all energy comes from biology: muscles and, ultimately, food. Can't? Let Paolo Bacigalupi do it for you. In this future, the entire global economy is built on calories: growing them as crops, consuming them as food, expending them as energy. Everything from guns to cars to factories runs on springs, wound by hand by humans or monstrous genetically altered elephants. As digital technology faded, biotech mutated out of control, and as a result humanity is ravaged by genetically engineered plagues and the streets are infested with genetically modified supercats. Bacigalupi is a worthy successor to William Gibson: this is cyberpunk without computers. Our heroine is Emiko, the windup girl of the title. She is a "New Person," a heavily genetically modified girl brewed up from scratch by the Japanese as a toy. But her DNA is not so compromised that she doesn't still yearn to be human.

Bacigalupi's book captivated sci-fi aficionados last year, when it was named one of 2009’s best novels by Time magazine. Winner of a Nebula Award, The Windup Girl also picked up a Hugo Award nomination and a Locus award.

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Pascal Boyer - Religion Explained

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:35:00 +0000

Cognitive anthropologist Boyer does not shrink from the task of explaining "the full history of all religion (ever)" in this engaging but somewhat oversold synopsis of anthropological findings, purporting to show how "the intractable mystery that was religion is now just another set of difficult but manageable problems."

Boyer eloquently critiques mainstream academic treatments of religion that, in his view, distort the facts by imposing a single explanatory theory on a complex assortment of religious phenomena. At the same time, he argues that the variety of human religious concepts is not infinite, suggesting an underlying pattern in the way certain kinds of religious concepts engage the mind by "successful activation of a whole variety of mental systems."

These patterns increase the probability that such concepts will be remembered and transmitted. Besides the religious concepts' appeal in stimulating individual minds, Boyer's account sees no deeper function or significance in them, a stance he realizes will leave most religious believers nonplussed. "People who think that we have religion because religion is true... will find little here to support their views and in fact no discussion of these views," he cautions.

Boyer's strategy of explaining religion in terms of mundane, everyday thought processes puts him at odds with recent neuropsychological studies that identify "special" cognitive structures or events associated with religious experience. Ultimately, it may be Boyer's criticism of the mere concept of "religious experience" that makes this book such a fascinating exercise in devil's advocacy. Publishers Weekly

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Dalai Lama - The Art of Hapiness (Audiobook)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:30:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down with the Dalai Lama and really press him about life's persistent questions? Why are so many people unhappy? How can I abjure loneliness? How can we reduce conflict? Is romantic love true love? Why do we suffer? How should we deal with unfairness and anger? How do you handle the death of a loved one? These are the conundrums that psychiatrist Howard Cutler poses to the Dalai Lama during an extended period of interviews in The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living.

At first, the Dalai Lama's answers seem simplistic, like a surface reading of Robert Fulghum: Ask yourself if you really need something; our enemies can be our teachers; compassion brings peace of mind. Cutler pushes: But some people do seem happy with lots of possessions; but "suffering is life" is so pessimistic; but going to extremes provides the zest in life; but what if I don't believe in karma? As the Dalai Lama's responses become more involved, a coherent philosophy takes shape. Cutler then develops the Dalai Lama's answers in the context of scientific studies and cases from his own practice, substantiating and elaborating on what he finds to be a revolutionary psychology. Like any art, the art of happiness requires study and practice--and the talent for it, the Dalai Lama assures us, is in our nature. At first, the Dalai Lama's answers seem simplistic, like a surface reading of Robert Fulghum: Ask yourself if you really need something; our enemies can be our teachers; compassion brings peace of mind. Cutler pushes: But some people do seem happy with lots of possessions; but "suffering is life" is so pessimistic; but going to extremes provides the zest in life; but what if I don't believe in karma? As the Dalai Lama's responses become more involved, a coherent philosophy takes shape. Cutler then develops the Dalai Lama's answers in the context of scientific studies and cases from his own practice, substantiating and elaborating on what he finds to be a revolutionary psychology. Like any art, the art of happiness requires study and practice - and the talent for it, the Dalai Lama assures us, is in our nature.

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M. Sara Rosenthal - 50 Ways to Prevent and Manage Stress

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:37:00 +0000

This quick and easy volume features 50 solutions you can use to alleviate the effects of stress and related disorders. 50 Ways to Prevent and Manage Stress includes information on the health toll of stress, work and home adjustments that can help reduce stress, body work, diet and herbal relief, exercise, counseling, and creative outlets.
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Dalai Lama - Kindness, Clarity, Insight

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:29:00 +0000

This best-selling book contains teachings for Western audiences during His Holiness' tours of North America. He covers a wide variety of spiritual and human concerns in a practical and direct manner with his characteristic warmth, wit and perception. The teachings move ever deeper: Religious Values and Human Society, The Luminous Nature of the Mind, Altruism and the Six Perfections; Deities; Transforming the Mind Through Meditation; Eight Verses of Training the Mind; Om Mani Padme Hum; The Path to Enlightenment; Tibetan Views on Dying; Self and Selflessness; The Two Truths.

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Mathew Ricketson - Writing Feature Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:15:00 +0000

A systematic and user-friendly approach to journalistic feature story writing for journalism students, professionals, freelancers, and beginners is provided in this guide. Writers will learn to move beyond conventional news stories and embrace their creativity to create compelling features. Generating fresh ideas, gathering factual information, sifting through raw material, choosing the best angle, and working with editors are all explored. Discussion questions and exercises reinforce the ideas presented in each chapter. Pop culture examples and recently published articles are used to make concepts memorable and easily accessible.
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The Cambridge Companion to Atheism

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:43:00 +0000

In this volume, eighteen of the world's leading scholars present original essays on various aspects of atheism: its history, both ancient and modern, defense and implications. The topic is examined in terms of its implications for a wide range of disciplines including philosophy, religion, feminism, postmodernism, sociology and psychology. In its defense, both classical and contemporary theistic arguments are criticized, and, the argument from evil, and impossibility arguments, along with a non religious basis for morality are defended. These essays give a broad understanding of atheism and a lucid introduction to this controversial topic
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All original essays designed to give a broad understanding of atheism and a lucid introduction to this controversial topic.
Essays relevant to both philosophy and religion.
Written by leading experts in their fields.

http://rapidshare.com/files/52369039/The.Cambridge.Companion.to.Atheism.rar

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8921MNS0

http://depositfiles.com/en/files/1636152

The Routledge History of Philosophy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:49:00 +0000

The Routledge History of Philosophy series provides a chronological survey of the history of Western Philosophy fro its beginnings in the sixth century BC to the present time. It discusses all the major philosophical developments in depth, and covers all those regarded as great philosophers and many lesser figures of philosophypast and present. We are pleased to announce all 10 volumes are now available in paperback for the first time.

From the Beginning to Plato covers one of the most remarkable periods in human thought. In the space of two and a half centuries, philosophy developed from quasi-mythological speculation to a state in which many of the most fundamental questions about the universe, the mind, and human behaviour were vigorously pursued, and where some of the most enduring masterworks of Western thought were written. The essays present the fundamental approaches and thinkers of Greek philosophy in chronological order. From an introduction to the polis to the lasting contribution of Plato, each essay takes account of the large amount of high-quality work done in the last few decades on Platonic and pre-Platonic philosophy.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/cd94f0e41cc5/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Volume_I_From_the_Beginning_to_Plato_-_C.C.W.Taylor.pdf.html

From Aristotle to Augustine. This work explores the schools of thought that developed in the wake of Platonism through the time of Augustine.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/b677df1188de/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Vol_II_From_Aristotle_to_Augustine_-_David_Furley.pdf.html

Medieval Philosophy is devoted to the period known as the Middle Ages. It considers the rich traditions of Arab, Jewish and Latin philosophy, which began to flourish in the ninth century and continued, in the Latin West, until the early seventeenth century. The volume begins with Boethius, the late antiquity thinker who was enormously influential in the medieval Latin West, and covers a spectrum including Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides, Abelard, Aquinas, Aureoli, all the way to medieval logic and the cultural context of medieval philosophy in both Islam and the Christian West. Medieval Philosophy offers fresh perspectives on a complex and rapidly changing area of research, in which Arab and Jewish Philosophy are considered in their own right, rather than, as sources for Latin thinkers, and where the different traditions in medieval philosophy are clearly explained.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/080b3d559a37/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Vol_III_Medieval_Philosophy_-_John_Marenbon.pdf.html

The Renaissance and 17th Century Rationalism. This volume covers a period of three hundred and fifty years, from the middle of the fourteenth century to the early years of the eighteenth century: the birth of modern philosophy.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/26d8faf482f9/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Volume_IV_The_Renaissance.pdf.html

The Age of German Idealism.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/32e1c90ab3ad/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Volume_VI_The_Age_of_German_Idealism_-_Robert_C.Solomon.pdf.html

The Nineteenth Century. This volume covers many of the most important philosophers and movements of the nineteenth century, includign utilitarianism, positivism and pragmatism.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/d7094ea21933/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Volume_VII_The_Nineteenth_Century_-_C.L.Ten.pdf.html

Continental Philosophy in the 20th Century. Continental philosophy is one of the twentieth century"s most important and challenging philosophical movements. This major volume includes fourteen chapters on its major representatives and schools, including phenomenology, existentialism and postmodernism.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/8a0ac8721a4a/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Volume_VIII_Twentieth-Century.pdf.html

Philosophy of Science, Logic and Mathematics in the 20th Century.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/502c7b1000a7/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Volume_IX_Philosophy_of_Science_Logic_and_Mathematics.pdf.html

Philosophy of Meaning, Knowledge and Value in the 20th Century.

http://kewlshare.com/dl/f6c91d6bf879/Routledge_History_of_Philosophy_Volume_X_Philosophy_of_Meaning__Knowledge_and_Value.pdf.html

Icons of Unbelief: Atheists, Agnostics, and Secularists

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:24:00 +0000

In the opinion of many critics and philosophers, we are entering an age of atheism marked by the waning of Christian fundamentalism and the flourishing of secular thought. Through alphabetically arranged entries written by expert contributors, this book profiles 27 iconic figures of unbelief whose ideas have shaped American society over the last 200 years. Included are entries on influential figures of the past, such as Albert Einstein and Voltaire, as well as on such contemporary figures as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. Each entry discusses the ideas and lasting significance of each person or group, provides sidebars of interesting information and illuminating quotations, and cites works for further reading. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students in social studies and history classes will welcome this reference as a guide to the ideas central to the American separation of Church and State and to many of the political debates at the heart of society today.

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Richard Dawkins - The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:58:00 +0000

Edited by best-selling author and renowned scientist Richard Dawkins, this sterling collection brings together exhilarating pieces by a who's who of scientists and science writers, including Stephen Pinker, Stephen Jay Gould, Martin Gardner, Albert Einstein, Julian Huxley, and many dozens more. Readers will find excerpts from bestsellers such as Douglas R. Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach, Francis Crick's Life Itself, Loren Eiseley's The Immense Journey, Daniel Dennett's Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and Rachel Carson's The Sea Around Us.

A must-read volume for all science buffs, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing is a rich and vibrant anthology that captures the poetry and excitement of scientific thought and discovery. Amazon

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Justin Fox - The Myth of the Rational Market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:50:00 +0000

At the core of the current financial crisis has been the widely held assumption that markets behave rationally. Fox, Time magazine editor-at-large, isn't the first to bring scrutiny—or censure—to the conceit, but his analysis is singularly compelling, and the rare business history that reads like a thriller. Fox leads us on a chronological journey of modern economic theory, featuring the cast of scholars who constructed the 20th- and 21st-century financial landscape, from Irving Fisher to such post-WWII figures as Milton Friedman, Harry Markowitz, Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller, Jack Treynor and William Sharpe. Fox offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at academia's finest, complete with amusing anecdotes about the players and their theories, and illustrates how our economic behaviors and markets have been shaped by a gradually refined theory holding that the stock market prices are both random and perfectly rational. A must-read for anyone interested in the markets, our economy or government, this dense but spellbinding work brings modern finance and economics to life.

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The Guardian Style Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 09:08:00 +0000

English is a malleable language. Many words have multiple spellings and there are perhaps a dozen ways to format the date. To stop their output looking sloppy and inconsistent, most news organisations produce a style guide which contributors must abide by.

Some of these style guides can be bought in books, but The Guardian Style Guide is available for free online.

PDF version: Link 1

Online (updated) version: Link 2

Jane Goodall - Wild Chimpanzees

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:40:00 +0000

Did you know that chimpanzees and humans have 98 percent of their DNA in common? You will after watching this absorbing 75-minute (including extras) documentary, featuring and partially narrated by renowned researcher Jane Goodall, who's been on the chimps' case for more than four decades. We see these African apes on the ground and in trees, playing, grooming, teaching, even killing one another. The scenes of them "fishing" for termites and ants using a stick for a pole make for extraordinary viewing; indeed, the film's principal message is that they and we are very much alike. And while the small screen can't capture the full majesty of what began as an IMAX film, one can sense the almost palpable three-dimensionality of the original. The DVD is also loaded with bonus features, including a 15-minute behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaking process and more. This is great stuff. --Sam Graham

http://rapidshare.com/files/385993368/IMAX.Jane.Goodall_s.Wild.Chimpanzees.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/385993435/IMAX.Jane.Goodall_s.Wild.Chimpanzees.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/385993525/IMAX.Jane.Goodall_s.Wild.Chimpanzees.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/385993523/IMAX.Jane.Goodall_s.Wild.Chimpanzees.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/385993508/IMAX.Jane.Goodall_s.Wild.Chimpanzees.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/385992402/IMAX.Jane.Goodall_s.Wild.Chimpanzees.part6.rar

Richard Dawkins - The Ancestor's Tale

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:10:00 +0000

The Ancestor's Tale is a pilgrimage back through time; a journey on which we meet up with fellow pilgrims as we and they converge on our common ancestors. Chimpanzees join us at about 6 million years in the past, orang utans at 14 million years, as we stride on together, a growing band. The journey provides the setting for a collection of some 40 tales. Each explores an aspect of evolutionary biology through the stories of characters met along the way. The tales are interspersed with prologues detailing the journey, route maps showing joining lineages, and life-like reconstructions of our common ancestors. The Ancestor's Tale represents a pilgrimage on an unimaginable scale: our goal is four billion years away, and the number of pilgrims joining us grows vast - ultimately encompassing all living creatures. At the end of the journey lies something remarkable in its simplicity and transformative power: the first, humble, replicating molecules.

Just as we trace our personal family trees from parents to grandparents and so on back in time, so in The Ancestor's Tale Richard Dawkins traces the ancestry of life. As he is at pains to point out, this is very much our human tale, our ancestry. Surprisingly, it is one that many otherwise literate people are largely unaware of. Hopefully Dawkins's name and well deserved reputation as a best selling writer will introduce them to this wonderful saga.

The Ancestor's Tale takes us from our immediate human ancestors back through what he calls concestors, those shared with the apes, monkeys and other mammals and other vertebrates and beyond to the dim and distant microbial beginnings of life some 4 billion years ago. It is a remarkable story which is still very much in the process of being uncovered. And, of course from a scientist of Dawkins stature and reputation we get an insider's knowledge of the most up-to-date science and many of those involved in the research. And, as we have come to expect of Dawkins, it is told with a passionate commitment to scientific veracity and a nose for a good story. Dawkins's knowledge of the vast and wonderful sweep of life's diversity is admirable. Not only does it encompass the most interesting living representatives of so many groups of organisms but also the important and informative fossil ones, many of which have only been found in recent years.

Richard Wentk, FOCUS MAGAZINE

E-book link

Audiobook links:

http://rapidshare.com/files/130982724/Richard.Dawkins-The.Ancestors.Tale-Audiobook.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/130993962/Richard.Dawkins-The.Ancestors.Tale-Audiobook.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/131003095/Richard.Dawkins-The.Ancestors.Tale-Audiobook.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/131011296/Richard.Dawkins-The.Ancestors.Tale-Audiobook.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/131011877/Richard.Dawkins-The.Ancestors.Tale-Audiobook.part5.rar

Steven Pinker - How The Mind Works

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:02:00 +0000

How exactly does the brain, a three-pound snarl of electrochemically frantic nervous tissue, create inspired inventions, the feeling of hunger, the experience of beauty, or the sense of self - and how reliable is it?
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Carl Sagan - The Demon-Haunted World (Audiobook)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:47:00 +0000

Eminent Cornell astronomer and bestselling author Sagan debunks the paranormal and the unexplained in a study that will reassure hardcore skeptics but may leave others unsatisfied. To him, purported UFO encounters and alien abductions are products of gullibility, hallucination, misidentification, hoax and therapists' pressure; some alleged encounters, he suggests, may screen memories of sexual abuse. He labels as hoaxes the crop circles, complex pictograms that appear in southern England's wheat and barley fields, and he dismisses as a natural formation the Sphinx-like humanoid face incised on a mesa on Mars, first photographed by a Viking orbiter spacecraft in 1976 and considered by some scientists to be the engineered artifact of an alien civilization. In a passionate plea for scientific literacy, Sagan deftly debunks the myth of Atlantis, Filipino psychic surgeons and mediums such as J.Z. Knight, who claims to be in touch with a 35,000-year-old entity called Ramtha. He also brands as superstition ghosts, angels, fairies, demons, astrology, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster and religious apparitions.

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The Economist (04/10/2008 - 20/12/2008 + The World in 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:31:00 +0000

The World in 2009
http://rapidshare.com/files/176284010/TheEconomist_TheWorldIn2009.pdf
December 20, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/176284009/TheEconomist_2008-12-20.pdf
December 13, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/173378781/TheEconomist_2008-12-13.pdf
December 6, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/171967341/TheEconomist_2008-12-06.pdf
November 29, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/169345982/TheEconomist_2008-11-29.pdf
November 22, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/167083265/TheEconomist_2008-11-22.pdf
November 15, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/163916987/TheEconomist_2008-11-15.pdf
November 8, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/162660581/TheEconomist_2008-11-08.pdf
November 1, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/162660580/TheEconomist_2008-11-01.pdf
October 25, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/162660579/TheEconomist_2008-10-25.pdf
October 18, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/162660578/TheEconomist_2008-10-18.pdf
October 11, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/162663482/TheEconomist_2008-10-11.pdf
October 04, 2008
http://rapidshare.com/files/162663481/TheEconomist_2008-10-04.pdf

Socks a la Carte

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:17:00 +0000

Flip-book concept is unique to the marketplace in that knitters will be able to create literally thousdands of customized sock designs by simply flipping divided pages.

Socks a la Carte is the ultimate resource for sock knitters who want to design their own original patterns without starting completely from scratch. General instructions at the beginning of the book outline the basics of sock construction, including measuring feet and making calculations based on gauge. The unique flip section is where the pages are divided into three categories: cuff, leg and sock body, which includes the heel and toe. Readers can flip these pages to see how the individual elements work together and then mix and match these patterns to create unique sock styles that they can then knit according to their personal preferences. A bonus gallery will feature a number of finished sock styles in a variety of colors as inspiration for the reader.

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Louis G. Perez - The History of Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:12:00 +0000

Every school and public library should update its resources on Japan with this engagingly written and succinct narrative history covering prehistoric times through 1997. This history, based on the most recent scholarship, provides a chronological narrative examining the political, cultural, philosophical, and religious continuities in Japan’s long, rich history in an exploration of why the Japanese are who they are today. Unlike earlier histories of Japan, it brings into sharp focus a discussion of women and other previously ignored subjects.

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Helen Wilkie - Writing Speaking Listening (The Essentials Of Business Communication)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:10:00 +0000

This handbook provides guidance on the three major communication skills at work – writing, presenting, and listening. It is suitable for managers, professionals, training departments and anyone in a people related job.

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New Scientist (Jan - Dec 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:01:00 +0000

New Scientist is a weekly international science magazine and website covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English-speaking audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier.

New Scientist has maintained a website since 1996, publishing daily news. As well as covering current events and news from the scientific community, the magazine often features speculative articles, ranging from the technical to the philosophical. It is not a peer-reviewed scientific journal, but it is read by both scientists and non-scientists, as a way of keeping track of developments outside their own fields of study or areas of interest. The magazine also regularly includes features, news and commentary on environmental issues, such as climate change.

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The Cambridge Companion to Simone de Beauvoir

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:37:00 +0000

Simone de Beauvoir was a philosopher and writer of notable range and influence whose work is central to feminist theory, French existentialism, and contemporary moral and social philosophy. The essays in this volume examine all the major aspects of her thought, including her views on issues such as the role of biology, sexuality and sexual difference, and evil, the influence on her work of Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Husserl, and others, and the philosophical significance of her memoirs and fiction. New readers and nonspecialists will find this the most convenient and accessible guide to Beauvoir currently available. Advanced students and specialists will find a conspectus of recent developments in the interpretation of Beauvoir.

• A convenient and accessible guide to Simone de Beauvoir • Essays examine all the major aspects of her thought • An international team of contributors - philosophers from Australia, Continental Europe, Britain, Canada, and the US

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Cary Cooper & Valerie Sutherland - 30 Minutes to Deal With Difficult People

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:31:00 +0000

Is someone at work making your life hell? Does a clash of personalities affect your work? The workplace is inhabited by a wide variety of people, and sometimes it can be difficult to get on with them and get on with your job as well.

This practical guide will show you how to be aware of the actions of difficult people around you, and how to minimise their negative impact on your performance at work. Whether it is your boss, your colleague or even your employee, this handy book is packed with expert advice on how to deal with awkward situations tactfully.

So next time you have to deal with a difficult work colleague, take time out to follow the simple action plan presented here.

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Simone de Beauvoir - The Second Sex

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:24:00 +0000

In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir posed questions many men, and women, had yet to ponder when the book was released in 1953. "One wonders if women still exist, if they will always exist, whether or not it is desirable that they should ...," she says in this comprehensive treatise on women. She weaves together history, philosophy, economics, biology, and a host of other disciplines to show women's place in the world and to postulate on the power of sexuality. This is a powerful piece of writing in a time before "feminism" was even a phrase, much less a movement. --
This massive, classic tome is still a delight to read. Simone de Beauvoir is intelligent, scholarly, lucid, and witty; her thesis is simple: early western philosophers established the female sex as "the other" to rationalize and promote the development and growth of fledgling patriarchy. "'The female is a female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities,' said Aristotle; 'we should regard the female nature as afflicted with a natural defectiveness.'" Referring to the earlier research of noted anthropologist Levi-Strauss on the development of the category of "other" - "as primordial as consciousness itself" in all known human cultures - Simone de Beauvoir analyses the depth, breadth, purpose, and result of the western notion of woman as not-man. The book is sub-divided into two sections, "Facts and Myths" and "Woman's Life Today," in which she examines and documents such subjects as "The Data of Biology," "History," "Myths," "The Formative Years," "Situation," "Justification," and, finally "Towards Liberation." Simone de Beauvoir - literary artist, philosopher, and founding mother of twentieth-century feminism - wrote The Second Sex "less by a wish to demand our rights than by an effort towards clarity and understanding." Forty-five years after the book's publication, it remains true to its intent

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