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The Puritans in America : A Narrative Anthology - Thryft
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Andrew Delbanco, Alan Heimert  | Harvard University Press

The Puritans in America : A Narrative Anthology

$16.21

Goodreads rating: 3.41

$16.21

The whole destiny of America is contained in the first Puritans who landed on these shores, wrote de Tocqueville. These newcomers, and the range of their intellectual achievements and failures, are vividly depicted in The Puritans in America . Exiled from England, the Puritans settled in what Cromwell called “a poor, cold, and useless” place―where they created a body of ideas and aspirations that were essential in the shaping of American religion, politics, and culture.In a felicitous blend of documents and narrative Alan Heimert and Andrew Delbanco recapture the sweep and restless change of Puritan thought from its incipient Americanism through its dominance in New England society to its fragmentation in the face of dissent from within and without. A general introduction sketches the Puritan environment, and shorter introductions open each of the six sections of the collection. Thirty-eight writers are included―among these Cotton, Bradford, Bradstreet, Winthrop, Rowlandson, Taylor, and the Mathers―as well as the testimony of Anne Hutchinson and documents illustrating the witchcraft crisis. The works, several of which are published here for the first time since the seventeenth century, are presented in modern spelling and punctuation.Despite numerous scholarly probings, Puritanism remains resistant to categories, whether those of Perry Miller, Max Weber, or Christopher Hill. This new anthology―the first major interpretive collection in nearly fifty years―reveals the beauty and power of Puritan literature as it emerged from the pursuit of self-knowledge in the New World.
The Timeless Way of Building - Thryft
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Christopher W. Alexander | Oxford University Press

The Timeless Way of Building

$15.97

Goodreads rating: 4.37

$15.97

In The Timeless Way of Building Christopher Alexander presents a new theory of architecture, building, and planning which has at its core that age-old process by which the people of a society have always pulled the order of their world from their own being.He writes, “There is one timeless way of building. It is thousands of years old, and the same today as it has always been. The great traditional buildings of the past, the villages and tents and temples in which man feels at home, have always been made by people who were very close to the center of this way. It is not possible to make great buildings, or great towns, beautiful places, places where you feel yourself, places where you feel alive, except by following this way. And, as you will see, this way will lead anyone who looks for it to buildings which are themselves as ancient in their form as the trees and hills, and as our faces are.”The Timeless Way of Building is the introductory volume to Alexander’s other works, A Pattern Language and The Oregon Experiment, in the Center for Environmental Structure series.
The Supreme Court and the Idea of Progress - Thryft
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Alexander M. Bickel | Yale University Press

The Supreme Court and the Idea of Progress

$5.05 $3.03 40% off

Goodreads rating: 4.0

$5.05 $3.03 40% off

Timeless questions about the role of the Supreme Court in the American political and legal system are raised in the late Alexander Bickel’s characteristically astute analysis of the work of the Warren Court. He takes issue with the Court’s view that its role should be to move the American polity in the direction of perfect equality and expresses his preference for "a more faithful adherence to the method of analytical reason, and a less confident reliance on the intuitive capacity to identify the course of progress."First published in 1970, this book made news with its prediction that the Court’s best-known decision, in Brown v. Board of Education, might be headed for "irrelevance." Bickel charged the Court, particularly in its segregation and reapportionment cases, with being irrational, inconsistent, and even incoherent and argued that its decisions would lead to unwise centralization of government. He explored the limitations on the role of the court in stimulating social progress and concluded that the Warren Court had intervened in matters of social policy where the political process, not judicial action, should apply."Process is what especially concerned him – the relationship between the legal and the political process in a country where the two are uniquely intermixed. If he criticized something done by the courts for the stated purpose of speeding school desegregation, that did not mean that he favored state-imposed racial discrimination; in fact he abhorred it. He was concerned, rather, about trying to solve complicated problems by legal formulas instead of leaving them to the give-and-take of the political process."-- Anthony Lewis
Work and Politics : The Division of Labour in Industry - Thryft
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Charles F. Sabel | Cambridge University Press

Work and Politics : The Division of Labour in Industry

$13.27

Goodreads rating: 4.33

$13.27

Work and Politics develops a historical and comparative sociology of workplace relations in industrial capitalist societies. Professor Sabel argues that the system of mass production using specialized machines and mostly unskilled workers was the result of the distribution of power and wealth in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Great Britain and the United States, not of an inexorable logic of technological advance. Once in place, this system created the need for workers with systematically different ideas about the acquisition of skill and the desirability of long-term employment. Professor Sabel shows how capitalists have played on naturally existing division in the workforce in order to match workers with diverse ambitions to jobs in different parts of the labor market. But he also demonstrates the limits, different from work group to work group, of these forms of collaboration.
Witness against the Beast : William Blake and the Moral Law - Thryft
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E. P. Thompson, Christopher Hill  | Cambridge University Press

Witness against the Beast : William Blake and the Moral Law

$8.01

Goodreads rating: 3.99

$8.01

E. P. Thompson's long-awaited book on William Blake was published shortly after the historian's death in August 1993. Acclaimed as one of his best and most deeply felt works, it appears now for the first time in paperback. Written with a vivid passion, and bearing the marks of Thompson's lifelong struggle against authoritarian and anti-humanitarian politics both at the level of the individual and of the state, Witness Against the Beast: William Blake and the Moral Law is a profound enquiry into the structure of Blake's thought and the character of his sensibility. Its qualities are among those which place Thompson himself in the same tradition of dissenting values and non-conforming radicalism represented by Blake some two hundred years earlier.
Leviathan
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Thomas Hobbes, J.C.A. Gaskin  | Oxford University Press

Leviathan

$8.90

Goodreads rating: 3.71

$8.90

56% off est. retail
If you're inclined towards deep thinking about the mechanisms of society and governance, "Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes is something you shouldn't miss. This edition comes with modernized spelling and valuable annotations to help you navigate Hobbes's complex arguments. It's a book that has been revered for generations, constantly finding relevance in the evolving political landscape. It could offer you a new lens to view authority, human nature, and social contracts.
The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire : From the First Century A.D.to the Third - Thryft
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Edward N. Luttwak | Johns Hopkins University Press

The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire : From the First Century A.D.to the Third

$10.46

Goodreads rating: 4.01

$10.46

Originally published in 1976, a book which looks at the success of the Roman Empire from the 1st to the 3rd century A.D. and attributes this success to the imperial military strategy.At the height of its power, the Roman Empire encompassed the entire Mediterranean basin, extending much beyond it from Britain to Mesopotamia, from the Rhine to the Black Sea. Rome prospered for centuries while successfully resisting attack, fending off everything from overnight robbery raids to full-scale invasion attempts by entire nations on the move. How were troops able to defend the Empire’s vast territories from constant attacks? And how did they do so at such moderate cost that their treasury could pay for an immensity of highways, aqueducts, amphitheaters, city baths, and magnificent temples? In The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, seasoned defense analyst Edward N. Luttwak reveals how the Romans were able to combine military strength, diplomacy, and fortifications to effectively respond to changing threats. Rome’s secret was not ceaseless fighting, but comprehensive strategies that unified force, diplomacy, and an immense infrastructure of roads, forts, walls, and barriers. Initially relying on client states to buffer attacks, Rome moved to a permanent frontier defense around 117 CE. Finally, as barbarians began to penetrate the empire, Rome filed large armies in a strategy of "defense-in-depth," allowing invaders to pierce Rome’s borders. This updated edition has been extensively revised to incorporate recent scholarship and archeological findings. A new preface explores Roman imperial statecraft. This illuminating book remains essential to both ancient historians and students of modern strategy"A fascinating book, well written and forcefully argued... Luttwak's formulations are as refreshing as they are convincing... He has done for Roman historians what they have not done for themselves." - Z. Yavetz, New Republic
Locke: Two Treatises of Government Student edition - Thryft
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John Locke | Cambridge University Press

Locke: Two Treatises of Government Student edition

$8.36

Goodreads rating: 3.87

$8.36

This is a new revised version of Dr. Laslett's standard edition of Two Treatises. First published in 1960, and based on an analysis of the whole body of Locke's publications, writings, and papers. The Introduction and text have been revised to incorporate references to recent scholarship since the second edition and the bibliography has been updated.
Hobbes: Leviathan : Revised student edition - Thryft
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Richard Tuck, Quentin Skinner, Thomas Hobbes  | Cambridge University Press

Hobbes: Leviathan : Revised student edition

$9.80

Goodreads rating: 3.71

$9.80

Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan is arguably the greatest piece of political philosophy written in the English language. Written in a time of great political turmoil (Hobbes' life spanned the reign of Charles I, the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, and the Restoration), Leviathan is an argument for obedience to authority grounded in an analysis of human nature. Since its first publication in 1991 Richard Tuck's edition of Leviathan has been recognised as the single most accurate and authoritative text, and for this revised edition Professor Tuck has provided a much amplified and expanded introduction, which will provide students unfamiliar with Hobbes with a cogent and accessible introduction to this most challenging of texts. Other vital aids to study include an extensive guide to further reading, a note on textual matters, a chronology of important events and brief biographies of important persons mentioned in Hobbes' text.
Rousseau: 'The Discourses' and Other Early Political Writings - Thryft
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Gourevitch  | Cambridge University Press

Rousseau: 'The Discourses' and Other Early Political Writings

$10.21

Goodreads rating: 4.03

$10.21

The work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau is presented in two volumes, which together form the most comprehensive anthology of Rousseau's political writings in English. Volume I contains the earlier writings such as the First and Second Discourses. The American and French Revolutions were profoundly affected by Rousseau's writing, thus illustrating the scope of his influence. Volume II contains the later writings such as the Social Contract. The Social Contract was publicly condemned on publication causing Rousseau to flee. In exile he wrote both autobiographical and political works. These volumes contain comprehensive introductions, chronologies, and guides to further reading, and will enable students to fully understand the writings of one of the world's greatest thinkers.
Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore - Thryft
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Arun Mahizhnan, Bridget Welsh, James Chin  | National University Of Singapore Press

Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore

$20.52

Goodreads rating: 3.83

$20.52

Singapore experienced substantial changes during the 14-year tenure of the country’s second Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong (1990– 2004). Coming after a long period of growth and stability, the period brought to office a new generation of political leaders who faced the task of sustaining and building upon the policies of their predecessors. There were social and cultural initiatives and significant challenges to the economy arising from the Asian crisis of 1998 and the SARS outbreak in 2003. This volume examines the changes that took place during the Goh premiership and assesses its legacy. The 45 essays in the volume review a range of issues from domestic politics and foreign policy to economic development, society, culture, the arts and media.
Abolitions as a Global Experience
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Hideaki Suzuki, Kumie Inose, Sue Peabody  | National University Of Singapore Press

Abolitions as a Global Experience

$24.90 $4.90 80% off

Goodreads rating: 0.0

$24.90 $4.90 80% off

88% off est. retail
If you're fascinated by how significant societal changes unfold on a global scale, "Abolitions as a Global Experience" offers a riveting exploration. What makes this book particularly compelling is its refusal to oversimplify the global abolition of slavery to a single moral victory. Instead, it recognizes diverse international pressures and local dynamics. Beyond the act of abolition, it dives into its consequences and the subsequent collective memory, giving you a more complex, interconnected understanding of history. This could leave you with a newfound appreciation for the intricate tapestry of global history.
The Nature of the Gods - Thryft
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Marcus Tullius Cicero, P.G. Walsh  | Oxford University Press

The Nature of the Gods

$5.21

Goodreads rating: 3.84

$5.21

Cicero's philosophical works are now exciting renewed interest and more generous appreciation, in part because they provide vital evidence of the views of the (largely lost) Greek philosophers of the Hellenistic age, and partly because of the light they cast on the intellectual life of first-century Rome. The Nature of the Gods is a central document in this area, for it presents a detailed account of the theologies of the Epicureans and of the Stoics, together with the critical objections to these doctrines raised by the Academic school.About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
The Koran: A Very Short Introduction - Thryft
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Michael A. Cook | Oxford University Press

The Koran: A Very Short Introduction

$5.29

Goodreads rating: 3.38

$5.29

The Koran has constituted a remarkably resilient core of identity and continuity for a religious tradition that is now in its fifteenth century. In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Cook provides a lucid and direct account of the significance of the Koran both in the modern world and in that of traditional Islam. He gives vivid accounts of its role in Muslim civilization, illustrates the diversity of interpretations championed by traditional and modern commentators, discusses the processes by which the book took shape, and compares it to other scriptures and classics of the historic cultures of Eurasia.About the Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
World Music: A Very Short Introduction - Thryft
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Philip V. Bohlman | Oxford University Press

World Music: A Very Short Introduction

$5.57

Goodreads rating: 3.17

$5.57

World Music draws readers into a remarkable range of historical encounters, in which music had the power to evoke the exotic and to give voice to the voiceless. In the course of the volume's eight chapters the reader witnesses music's involvement in the modern world, but also the individualmoments and particular histories that are crucial to an understanding of music's diversity. This book is wide-ranging in its geographical scope, yet individual chapters provide in-depth treatments of selected music cultures and regional music histories. The book frequently zooms in on repertoiresand musicians--such as Bob Marley, Dana International, Bartok, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan--and attempts to account for world music's growing presence and popularity at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
A Little History of Economics - Thryft
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Niall Kishtainy | Yale University Press

A Little History of Economics

$7.16

Goodreads rating: 4.09

$7.16

What causes poverty? Are economic crises inevitable under capitalism? Is government intervention in an economy a helpful approach or a disastrous idea? The answers to such basic economic questions matter to everyone, yet the unfamiliar jargon and math of economics can seem daunting. This clear, accessible, and even humorous book is ideal for young readers new to economics and for all readers who seek a better understanding of the full sweep of economic history and ideas. Economic historian Niall Kishtainy organizes short, chronological chapters that center on big ideas and events. He recounts the contributions of key thinkers including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and others, while examining topics ranging from the invention of money and the rise of agrarianism to the Great Depression, entrepreneurship, environmental destruction, inequality, and behavioral economics. The result is a uniquely enjoyable volume that succeeds in illuminating the economic ideas and forces that shape our world.
Renaissance Self Fashioning : From More to Shakespeare - Thryft
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Professor Stephen Greenblatt | University Of Chicago Press

Renaissance Self Fashioning : From More to Shakespeare

$8.24

Goodreads rating: 4.09

$8.24

Renaissance Self-Fashioning is a study of sixteenth-century life and literature that spawned a new era of scholarly inquiry. Stephen Greenblatt examines the structure of selfhood as evidenced in major literary figures of the English Renaissance—More, Tyndale, Wyatt, Spenser, Marlowe, and Shakespeare—and finds that in the early modern period new questions surrounding the nature of identity heavily influenced the literature of the era. Now a classic text in literary studies, Renaissance Self-Fashioning continues to be of interest to students of the Renaissance, English literature, and the new historicist tradition, and this new edition includes a preface by the author on the book's creation and influence."No one who has read [Greenblatt's] accounts of More, Tyndale, Wyatt, and others can fail to be moved, as well as enlightened, by an interpretive mode which is as humane and sympathetic as it is analytical. These portraits are poignantly, subtly, and minutely rendered in a beautifully lucid prose alive in every sentence to the ambivalences and complexities of its subjects."—Harry Berger Jr., University of California, Santa Cruz
Constraints on the Waging of War : An Introduction to International Humanitarian Law - Thryft
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Frits Kalshoven, Liesbeth Zegveld  | Cambridge University Press

Constraints on the Waging of War : An Introduction to International Humanitarian Law

$9.48

Goodreads rating: 3.56

$9.48

This fully revised fourth edition of Constraints on the Waging of War considers the development of the principal rules of international humanitarian law from their origins to the present day. Of particular focus are the rules governing weapons and the legal instruments through which respect for the law can be enforced. Combining theory and actual practice, this book appeals to specialists as well as to students turning to the subject for the first time.
Singapore Studies: v. 2 : Critical Surveys of the Humanities and Social Sciences - Thryft
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Chua Beng Huat | Singapore University Press

Singapore Studies: v. 2 : Critical Surveys of the Humanities and Social Sciences

$10.90

Goodreads rating: 0.0

$10.90

If you have a keen interest in understanding the academic evolution within Singapore's humanities and social sciences, this compilement of critical essays will serve as a valuable resource. Reflecting on a decade of scholarly work, it provides a nuanced perspective on the theoretical advancements and research gaps, particularly for those with an intellectual curiosity about the region's contribution to academia in a global context.
Reformations : The Early Modern World, 1450-1650 - Thryft
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Carlos M.N. Eire | Yale University Press

Reformations : The Early Modern World, 1450-1650

$18.80

Goodreads rating: 4.32

$18.80

A lively, expansive history of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations and the momentous changes they set in motionThis fast-paced survey of Western civilization’s transition from the Middle Ages to modernity brings that tumultuous period vividly to life. Carlos Eire, popular professor and gifted writer, chronicles the two-hundred-year era of the Renaissance and Reformation with particular attention to issues that persist as concerns in the present day. Eire connects the Protestant and Catholic Reformations in new and profound ways, and he demonstrates convincingly that this crucial turning point in history not only affected people long gone, but continues to shape our world and define who we are today. The book focuses on the vast changes that took place in Western civilization between 1450 and 1650, from Gutenberg’s printing press and the subsequent revolution in the spread of ideas to the close of the Thirty Years’ War. Eire devotes equal attention to the various Protestant traditions and churches as well as to Catholicism, skepticism, and secularism, and he takes into account the expansion of European culture and religion into other lands, particularly the Americas and Asia. He also underscores how changes in religion transformed the Western secular world. A book created with students and nonspecialists in mind, Reformations is an inspiring, provocative volume for any reader who is curious about the role of ideas and beliefs in history.
The Book of Mormon : A Biography - Thryft
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Paul C. Gutjahr | Princeton University Press

The Book of Mormon : A Biography

$4.76

Goodreads rating: 3.7

$4.76

Late one night in 1823, Joseph Smith, Jr., was reportedly visited in his family’s farmhouse in upstate New York by an angel named Moroni. According to Smith, Moroni told him of a buried stack of gold plates that were inscribed with a history of the Americas’ ancient peoples, and which would restore the pure Gospel message as Jesus had delivered it to them. Thus began the unlikely career of the Book of Mormon, the founding text of the Mormon religion and perhaps the most important sacred text ever to originate in the United States. Paul Gutjahr traces the life of this remarkable book, showing how it launched one of the fastest-growing new religions on the planet and has featured in everything from comic books and action figures to movies and an award-winning Broadway musical.
A Various Universe : A Study of the Journals and Memoirs of British Men and Women in the Indian Subcontinent 1765-1856 - Thryft
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Ketaki Kushari Dyson | Oxford University Press

A Various Universe : A Study of the Journals and Memoirs of British Men and Women in the Indian Subcontinent 1765-1856

$2.92

Goodreads rating: 4.0

$2.92

In this book readers are invited to explore a fascinating but neglected field of English letters; the books written by British men and women about their experience in the Indian subcontinent. Over forty individual works are surveyed, covering the time period from when the East India Company began consolidating its powers to the eve of the Mutiny. The author balances generous excerpts from the original texts with her own exegeses to produce a work which offers rich insights to lay readers as well as to professional students of literature, history, sociology, anthropology, and travel writing.
GDP : A Brief but Affectionate History - Thryft
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Diane Coyle | Princeton University Press

GDP : A Brief but Affectionate History

$8.29

Goodreads rating: 3.66

$8.29

Why did the size of the U.S. economy increase by 3 percent on one day in mid-2013--or Ghana's balloon by 60 percent overnight in 2010? Why did the U.K. financial industry show its fastest expansion ever at the end of 2008--just as the world's financial system went into meltdown? And why was Greece's chief statistician charged with treason in 2013 for apparently doing nothing more than trying to accurately report the size of his country's economy? The answers to all these questions lie in the way we define and measure national economies around the world: Gross Domestic Product. This entertaining and informative book tells the story of GDP, making sense of a statistic that appears constantly in the news, business, and politics, and that seems to rule our lives--but that hardly anyone actually understands.Diane Coyle traces the history of this artificial, abstract, complex, but exceedingly important statistic from its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century precursors through its invention in the 1940s and its postwar golden age, and then through the Great Crash up to today. The reader learns why this standard measure of the size of a country's economy was invented, how it has changed over the decades, and what its strengths and weaknesses are. The book explains why even small changes in GDP can decide elections, influence major political decisions, and determine whether countries can keep borrowing or be thrown into recession. The book ends by making the case that GDP was a good measure for the twentieth century but is increasingly inappropriate for a twenty-first-century economy driven by innovation, services, and intangible goods.
Why Has Japan 'Succeeded'? : Western Technology and the Japanese Ethos - Thryft
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Michio Morishima | Cambridge University Press

Why Has Japan 'Succeeded'? : Western Technology and the Japanese Ethos

$3.13

Goodreads rating: 4.09

$3.13

This book, by a distinguished Japanese economist now resident in the West, offers a new interpretation of the current success of the Japanese economy. By placing the rise of Japan in the context of its historical development, Michio Morishima shows how a strongly-held national ethos has interacted with religious, social and technological ideas imported from elsewhere to produce highly distinctive cultural traits. While Professor Morishima traces the roots of modern Japan back as far as the introduction of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism from China in the sixth century, he concentrates his observations on the last 120 years during which Japan has had extensive contacts with the West. He describes the swift rise of Japan to the status of a first-rate power following the Meiji Revolution after 1867, in which Japan broke with a long history of isolationism, and which paved the way for the adoption of Western technology and the creation of a modern Western-style nation state; and a similarly meteoric rise from the devastation of the Second World War to Japan's present position. A range of factors in Japan's economic success are analysed: her characteristic dualistic social structure - corresponding to the divide between large and medium/small enterprises - the relations of government and big business, the poor reception of liberalism and individualism, and the strength of the Japanese nationalism. Throughout, Professor Morishima emphasises the importance of the role played in the creation of Japanese capitalism by ethical doctrines as transformed under Japanese conditions, especially the Japanese Confucian tradition of complete loyalty to the firm and to the state. This account, which makes clear the extent to which the economic rise of Japan is due to factors unique to its historical traditions, will be of interest to a wide general readership as well as to students of Japan and its history.
A Little History of Philosophy
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Nigel Warburton | Yale University Press

A Little History of Philosophy

$8.90

Goodreads rating: 4.12

$8.90

62% off est. retail
If you've found philosophy intimidating or dense before, "A Little History of Philosophy" might change your mind. Nigel Warburton presents complex ideas with approachable clarity, making you feel like a participant in the great philosophical dialogues throughout history. This book delivers both depth and brevity, an invitation to ponder life's big questions alongside history’s greatest thinkers. It could spark a lifelong passion for philosophy in just a few pages.
Changing Landscapes of Singapore : Old Tensions, New Discoveries - Thryft
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Elaine Ho | National University Of Singapore Press

Changing Landscapes of Singapore : Old Tensions, New Discoveries

$12.61

Goodreads rating: 4.0

$12.61

Changing Landscapes of Singapore illuminates both the social and the physical terrains of modern Singapore. Geographers use the term landscape to refer to visible surfaces and to the spatial dimension of social relations. Landscapes arise from particular historical circumstances, and in turn help shape social arrangements and possible courses of future development. The authors describe how the settings inhabited by various social groups in Singapore affect life experiences, and explore the impact of broader regional and international forces on Singapore. Written for non-specialists, the volume reflects fresh perspectives from the scholarship of Singaporean academics. Their work is sensitive to historical and geographical trends in the region, and also engages with broader theoretical themes.
The Mass Ornament : Weimar Essays - Thryft
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Siegfried Kracauer | Harvard University Press

The Mass Ornament : Weimar Essays

$3.89

Goodreads rating: 4.14

$3.89

Siegfried Kracauer was one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant cultural critics, a daring and prolific scholar, and an incisive theorist of film. In this volume his finest writings on modern society make their long-awaited appearance in English.This book is a celebration of the masses―their tastes, amusements, and everyday lives. Taking up themes of modernity, such as isolation and alienation, urban culture, and the relation between the group and the individual, Kracauer explores a kaleidoscope of shopping arcades, the cinema, bestsellers and their readers, photography, dance, hotel lobbies, Kafka, the Bible, and boredom. For Kracauer, the most revelatory facets of modern life in the West lie on the surface, in the ephemeral and the marginal. Of special fascination to him is the United States, where he eventually settled after fleeing Germany and whose culture he sees as defined almost exclusively by “the ostentatious display of surface.”With these essays, written in the 1920s and early 1930s and edited by the author in 1963, Kracauer was the first to demonstrate that studying the everyday world of the masses can bring great rewards. The Mass Ornament today remains a refreshing tribute to popular culture, and its impressively interdisciplinary essays continue to shed light not only on Kracauer’s later work but also on the ideas of the Frankfurt School, the genealogy of film theory and cultural studies, Weimar cultural politics, and, not least, the exigencies of intellectual exile.In his introduction, Thomas Levin situates Kracauer in a turbulent age, illuminates the forces that influenced him―including his friendships with Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, and other Weimar intellectuals―and provides the context necessary for understanding his ideas. Until now, Kracauer has been known primarily for his writings on the cinema. This volume brings us the full scope of his gifts as one of the most wide-ranging and penetrating interpreters of modern life.
The Sumerians - Thryft
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Samuel Noah Kramer | University Of Chicago Press

The Sumerians

$18.31

Goodreads rating: 4.03

$18.31

The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.
The Coming of the French Revolution - Thryft
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Georges Lefebvre, R.R. Palmer  | Princeton University Press

The Coming of the French Revolution

$7.86

Goodreads rating: 3.79

$7.86

This classic work details what happened in France during the year 1789, the first year of the French Revolution. Lefebvre's signature contribution was writing history "from below" -- a Marxist approach -- and his particular specialty was the French Revolution as viewed from the experiences of the peasantry. Placing the "common people" at the center of his analysis, Lefebvre emphasized the class struggles within France and the significant role they played in the coming of the Revolution. First published in 1939 for the sesquicentennial of the Revolution, the book was suppressed by the Vichy government as a piece of revolutionary literature after the outbreak of the Second World War and the subsequent collapse of the Third Republic. R.R. Palmer, a distinguished historian of the French Revolution, translated the book into English in 1947. Although recent historians have reinterpreted the Revolution and disputed Lefebvre's conclusions, The Coming of the French Revolution remains essential reading for anyone interested in the origins of this great turning point in the formation of the modern world.
The Reign of Law : Marbury vs. Madison and the Origins of the American Political Imagination - Thryft
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Professor Paul W. Kahn | Yale University Press

The Reign of Law : Marbury vs. Madison and the Origins of the American Political Imagination

$11.81

Goodreads rating: 3.33

$11.81

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This book would be a great read for those who are interested in understanding the role of the Supreme Court in shaping American constitutional law. The book delves into the landmark Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of judicial review and gave the Supreme Court the power to strike down unconstitutional laws. The author draws on modern cultural theory to explore the rhetorical techniques used by the courts to maintain our belief in the rule of law. This book is unique in its approach to understanding the evolution and significance of the rule of law.
In the Fascist Bathroom : Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992 - Thryft
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Greil Marcus | Harvard University Press

In the Fascist Bathroom : Punk in Pop Music, 1977-1992

$15.70

Goodreads rating: 3.84

$15.70

Was punk just another moment in music history, a flash in time when a group of young rebels exploded in a fury of raw sound, outrageous styles, and in-your-face attitude? Greil Marcus, author of the renowned "Lipstick Traces," delves into the after-life of punk as a much richer phenomenon a form of artistic and social rebellion that continually erupts into popular culture.In more than seventy short pieces written over fifteen years, he traces the uncompromising strands of punk from Johnny Rotten to Elvis Costello, Sonic Youth, even Bruce Springsteen. Marcus's unparalleled insight into present-day culture and brilliant ear for music bring punk's searing half-life into deep focus. Originally published in the U.S. as "Ranters and Crowd Pleasers.""
Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition - Thryft
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Marcia L. Colish | Yale University Press

Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition

$9.81

Goodreads rating: 4.28

$9.81

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This magisterial book is an analysis of the course of Western intellectual history between A.D. 400 and 1400. The book is arranged in two the first surveys the comparative modes of thought and varying success of Byzantine, Latin-Christian, and Muslim cultures, and the second takes the reader from the eleventh-century revival of learning to the high Middle Ages and beyond, the period in which the vibrancy of Western intellectual culture enabled it to stamp its imprint well beyond the frontiers of Christendom.Marcia Colish argues that the foundations of the Western intellectual tradition were laid in the Middle Ages and not, as is commonly held, in the Judeo-Christian or classical periods. She contends that Western medieval thinkers produced a set of tolerances, tastes, concerns, and sensibilities that made the Middle Ages unlike other chapters of the Western intellectual experience. She provides astute descriptions of the vernacular and oral culture of each country of Europe; explores the nature of medieval culture and its transmission; profiles seminal thinkers (Augustine, Anselm, Gregory the Great, Aquinas, Ockham); studies heresy from Manichaeism to Huss and Wycliffe; and investigates the influence of Arab and Jewish writing on scholasticism and the resurrection of Greek studies. Colish concludes with an assessment of the modes of medieval thought that ended with the period and those that remained as bases for later ages of European intellectual history.
The Furies : Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions - Thryft
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Arno J. Mayer | Princeton University Press

The Furies : Violence and Terror in the French and Russian Revolutions

$19.01

Goodreads rating: 3.85

$19.01

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"The Furies" is a thought-provoking book for anyone interested in the history of revolutions, especially the French and Russian Revolutions. Mayer's argument against the prevailing view that ideologies and personalities controlled the course of these events make for a refreshing read. The book sheds light on the resistances to revolution and the nature of revolutionary violence, making it an interesting read for history enthusiasts and scholars alike. However, it is a dense read and may require some dedication to get through its 736 pages.
Politics
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Carnes Lord, Aristotle  | University Of Chicago Press

Politics

$8.90

Goodreads rating: 3.98

$8.90

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For anyone who's intrigued by the foundations of political theory, Aristotle's "Politics" is a treasure trove of ancient wisdom that still echoes in modern discourse. This particular edition, revered for its clarity and scholarliness could illuminate the nuances of Aristotle's ideas about governance and society. The efforts made to ensure that the translation remains true to the original text, while also being accessible, means you're getting a guide to political science that has weathered centuries of scrutiny.