Since its first publication in 1961 E.H. Carrs What is History? has established itself as the classic introduction to the subject. Ranging across topics such as historical objectivity society & the individual the nature of causation & the possibility of progress Carr delivered an incisive text that still has the power to provoke debate today. For this fortieth anniversary reissue Richard J. Evans has written an extensive new introduction that discusses the origins & the impact of the book & assesses its relevance in the age of twenty-first century postmodernism & epistemological anxiety. ...

Who is to say how things really were? In formulating a modern answer to the question ' What is History?' Professor Carr shows that the 'facts' of history are simply those which historians have selected for scrutiny. Millions have crossed the Rubicon but the historians tell us that only Caesar's crossing was significant. All historical facts come to us as a result of interpretative choices by historians influenced by the standards of their age. Yet if absolute objectivity is impossible the role of the historian need in no way suffer; nor does history lose its fascination. This edition

Includes:: new material which presents the major conclusions of Professor Carr's notes for the second edition & a new preface by the author in which he calls for 'a saner & more balanced outlook on the future'.

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Nobel laureate Erwin Schrodingers What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the twentieth century. It was written for the layman but proved to be one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology & the subsequent discovery of DNA. What is Life? appears here together with Mind & Matter his essay investigating a relationship which has eluded & puzzled philosophers since the earliest times. Brought together with these two classics are Schrodingers autobiographical sketches which offer a fascinating account of his life as a background to his scientific writings. ...

In What is Madness?" Darian Leader the author of " The New Black" & " Why do Women Write More Letters Than They Post?" asks probing questions about madness sanity & everything in between. What separates the sane from the mad? How hard or easy is it to tell them apart? & what if the difference is really between being mad & going mad? In this landmark work Darian Leader undermines common conceptions of madness. Through case studies like the apparently normal Harold Shipman he shows that madness rarely conforms to standard models. " What is Madness?" explores the idea of quiet madness
- that at times many of us live interior lives that are far from sane but allow us to function normally & unthreateningly
- he argues that we must seek a new way to assess treat & deal with those suffering mental health problems. " What is Madness?" is Darian Leaders radically insightful & masterfully convincing exploration of a painful complex but endlessly fascinating area of humanity. "A terrific intellectual stylist". (Joseph O Neill " Guardian"). " Engrossing & enlightening... Leader is as much a philosopher as a psychoanalyst". (" Metro"). " The mad.. .have been segregated & often confined; for fear perhaps that they will contaminate the rest of us. But as Darian Leader brilliantly shows things are never so simple". (Hanif Kureshi " Independent"). " Provides valuable insights into how psychiatry can help those who have suffered psychosis to rebuild their lives". (" Sunday Times"). " Witty probing. A myth-busting diagnosis of the method in our madness". (" Independent"). " Leaders insights could have radical consequences for the way we regard madness". (" Daily Telegraph). " Fascinating. A formidable grasp of psychiatric history & a storytellers flair for detail. What Leader does so effectively is to give us a sense of what it might be like to live inside the mind of a psychotic. A humane & timely book". (" New Statesman"). " Superb insights brilliant". (" Observer"). " One of our most important contemporary thinkers". (" Guardian"). Darian Leader is a psychoanalyst practising in London & a member of the Centre for Freudian Analysis & Research & of the College of Psychoanalysts
- UK. He is the author of " Why Do Women Write More Letters Than They Post?" " Promises Lovers Make When It Gets Late" " Freuds Footnotes" & " Stealing the Mona Lisa" & co-author with David Corfield of " Why Do People Get Ill?" He is Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Human & Life Sciences Roehampton University."


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If we want to achieve a different society where the principle of money operates equitably if we want to abolish the power money has developed over people historically & position money in relationship to freedom equality & fraternity.. .then we must elaborate a concept of culture & a concept of art where every person must be an artist...
- Joseph Beuys. The world of finance exerts a huge influence over our lives being responsible for economic turmoil & seemingly interminable peaks & crashes. Whereas money was once a simple means of exchange today it is a commodity in itself & as capital exerts power over individuals degrading work to tradable labour. Can we find a new way of understanding money today so that we can begin to overcome its destructive aspects? In November 1984 a remarkable discussion took place at the Meeting House in Ulm Germany. It featured the radical artist Joseph Beuys two professors (of Financial Sciences & Political Economics) & a banker. Beuys would appear to be out of place among these heavyweight academics professionals & authors. But rather than being intimidated by his fellow panellists Beuys
- also a social & political activist
- demonstrates his groundbreaking thinking on the subject & his ability to bring fresh perspectives. Here for the first time is a transcript of this debate together with analysis by Ulrich Rosch which will be of equal interest to artists economists & spiritual seekers.


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Timothy Radcliffe is in demand the world over with Bishops priests lay people & above all young people. This new book is his response. Timothy Radcliffe is a charismatic spiritual leader & a rare bird. His talks & broadcasts always surprise. A man with strong liberal instincts he has held high office in the Roman Catholic Church & has a profound respect for the authority & teaching charisma of his Church. He is constantly in demand as a speaker lecturer preacher & broadcaster & in this new volume he has assembled the best of the addresses he has given over the last three years. At times he is encouraging liturgical reform at others encouraging local Bishops to stand up to Rome. With political sympathies to the left of centre he shows himself in this new book to be passionately concerned with issues relating to environment globalisation & the pastoral care of the marginalised & dispossessed. The constant freshness of his message has made this aristocratic Englishman a man for all people & he packs in audiences from Rome to Toronto from Helsinki to Rio de Janeiro. Shot through with humour friendship & wisdom the pages of this book outline a manner of living which is at once faithful to the teachings of Jesus & rooted in the tradition of the church & at the same time responsive to the turbulence of the modern world. He is a prophet for our times. ...

In 1968 at the age of 22 Karl Marlantes abandoned his Oxford University scholarship to sign up for active service with the US Marine Corps in Vietnam. Pitched into a war that had no defined military objective other than kill ratios & body counts what he experienced over the next thirteen months in the jungles of South East Asia shook him to the core. But what happened when he came home covered with medals was almost worse. It took Karl four decades to come to terms with what had really happened during the course of which he painstakingly constructed a fictionalized version of his war MATTERHORN which has subsequently been hailed as the definitive Vietnam novel. WHAT IT IS LIKE TO GO TO WAR takes us back to Vietnam but this time there is no fictional veil. Here are the hard-won truths that underpin MATTERHORN: the author's real-life experiences behind the book's indelible scenes. But it is much more than this. It is part exorcism of Karl's own experiences of combat part confession part philosophical primer for the young man about to enter combat. It It is also a devastatingly frank answer to the questions ' What is it like to be a soldier?' What is it like to face death?' & ' What is it like to kill someone?' ...

So you're a fairly decent chess player. You compete in tournaments you play on the Internet. But you would love to make that leap to become a chess master. What do you need to know how much do you have to practise & how much of the success of the masters is simply a matter of innate talent superior brainpower or just good luck? This useful book aimed at all chess players who aspire to become chess masters shows you what the masters know & you don't. Written by one of our biggest-selling & best-loved chess authors in his trademark chatty accessible but always informative style this book is filled with practical exercises & test games that will reveal the secrets of how to join chess's elite ranks. ...

Washington D.C. 1972. Derek Strange has left the police department & set up shop as a private investigator. His former partner Frank Hound Dog Vaughn is still on the force. When a young woman comes to Strange asking for his help recovering a cheap ring she claims has sentimental value the case leads him onto Vaughns turf where a local drug addicts been murdered shot point-blank in his apartment. Soon both men are on the trail of a ruthless killer: Red Fury so called for his looks & the car his girlfriend drives but a name that fits his personality all too well. Red Fury doesnt have a retirement plan as Vaughn points out
- he doesnt care who he has to cross or kill to get what he wants. As the violence escalates & the stakes get higher Strange & Vaughn know the only way to catch their man is to do it their own way. Rich with details of place & time
- the cars the music the clothes
- & fuelled by non-stop action this is Pelecanos writing in the hard-boiled noir style that won him his earliest fans & placed him firmly in the ranks of the top crime writers in America.


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Forget everything youve heard about Hollywood. What Just Happened: Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line is the real deal. In Art Linsons true & uproarious tale of what it is to make movies we get to explore at close range finicky directors clueless executives shameless marketers famous actors battered screenwriters & hapless producers crossing paths in such calamitous ways that its a miracle these films get made at all. Whether hes trying to persuade an executive that Gwyneth Paltrow has enough chin to carry the lead in a movie forcing an enraged Alec Baldwin to shave off his mountain-man beard discussing ankle hair loss with Dustin Hoffman or sitting through an excruciating reading of a David Mamet script as Robert De Niro toys with the notion of heading up the cast Linson gives us a brutally honest funny & comprehensive tour through the horrors of Hollywood from script to screen. If you love the movies or not you wont be able to resist the stories behind them. You also wont be able to resist Linson a born story-teller whose wicked sense of humor leaves nobody safe-not even himself. ...