Essays Social

Ian F. Svenonius’s new collection of sixteen essays and stories, entitled Censorship Now!!, is reorganizing people’s ideas about censorship, Ikea, documentary film-making, the Berlin Wall, the film Heathers, the twist, the frug, the mashed potato, shaving one’s body, Apple, Inc., Nordic functionalism, the supposed benevolence of the Wikipedia, hoarding, college rock, the origins of the Internet, and more. It’s an underground smash which has been met with horrified gasps in all respectable quarters and gog-eyed enthusiasm in artist garrets the world over.

A new, expanded collection of both new and previously published essays and articles from one of the mainstays of the Washington, DC underground rock-and-roll scene, The Psychic Soviet is the most complete collection of writings by Ian Svenonius. The selections are written in a scholarly yet engaging style, filled with parody and biting humor that subvert capitalist culture, and cover such topics as the ascent of the DJ as a star, the “cosmic depression” that followed the defeat of the USSR, and the status of rock and roll as a religion.

Solo integral es la modalidad más extrema de escalada. En su práctica, el escalador se juega la vida en cada uno de sus movimientos. Este conjunto de artículos (cien publicados y otros cien inéditos) reflejan el espíritu crítico y a contracorriente de Fernando Savater. El autor se pone a prueba en esta revisión de sus ideas no solo porque puede llegar a contradecirse, sino porque, al ser textos independientes, que no están adscritos a un medio de comunicación, puede pensar, escribir y opinar de una forma totalmente libre.

Erfrischend respektlos sind die Fragen, die Friedrich Nietzsche an vermeintlich sichere Positionen zu Fragen der Moral richtet. Wer meint, die 575 Aphorismen und Reflexionen der "Morgenröte" -größtenteils nur wenige Zeilen, manchmal aber auch mehrere Seiten umfassend - hätten nur historischen Wert, der irrt sich gründlich. Viele von Nietzsches Fragen und Anmerkungen sind immer noch hochaktuell, auch wenn bei seinen Attacken auf das Christentum viele Theologen sagen werden: "Das haben wir inzwischen längst begriffen."

At nine years old, D. Watkins has three concerns in life: picking his dad’s Lotto numbers, keeping his Nikes free of creases, and being a man. Directly in his periphery is east Baltimore, a poverty-stricken city battling the height of the crack epidemic just hours from the nation’s capital. For 30 years, Watkins is forced to safeguard every moment of joy he experiences or risk losing himself entirely. Now, for the first time, Watkins harnesses these moments to tell the story of how he matured into the D. Watkins we know today.

Why do superheroes choose to be superheroes? Where does Spider-Man's altruism come from, and what does it mean? Why is there so much prejudice against the X-Men, and how could they have responded to it, other than the way they did? Why are super-villains so aggressive? The Psychology of Superheroes answers these questions in a wide range of essays on topics from Aquaman to Arkham Asylum - exploring the inner workings our heroes usually only share with their therapists.

What is death and how does it touch upon life? Twenty writers look for answers. Birth is not inevitable. Life certainly isn't. The sole inevitability of existence, the only sure consequence of being alive, is death. In these eloquent and surprising essays, 20 writers face this fact.

Pocos problemas histórico-políticos habrán experimentado una revolución en su tratamiento por parte de historiadores y científicos sociales comparable a la sufrida por el nacionalismo en las últimas décadas. De ahí que José Álvarez Junco dedique el primer capítulo de este libro a exponer las teorías actuales en torno a naciones y nacionalismos y a proponer unas definiciones iniciales de términos.

Before the global financial meltdown of 2008, India's economy was thriving and its GDP growth was cruising at an impressive 8.8 percent. The economic boom impacted a large section of Indians, even if unequally. With sustained high growth over an extended period, India could have achieved what economists call a "take-off" (rapid and self-sustained GDP growth). The global financial meltdown disrupted this momentum in 2008.

P.J. O'Rourke traces his development from hippie protester to conservative grouch to jaded humorist. Along the way, we are privy to his strange, twisted days as editor in chief of National Lampoon, as well as the in-depth looks at appropriate sports for middle-aged Republicans, namely those which can be engaged in with a smuggled Havana between the teeth - fly-fishing, bird hunting, deep-sea fishing, and of course, golf. Plus, you'll hear O'Rourke's take on the Virtues of Automobiles - because what good was oil doing sitting in the ground for millions of years? - and many other hilarious rants in this off-the-wall collection by America's premier political humorist.

Una colección de 35 ensayos y poemas audaces, importantes e innovadores de inmigrantes, refugiados y soñadores, incluidos escritores, artistas y activistas galardonados, que iluminan la experiencia de vivir sin documentos.

Так казав Заратустра — філософський тритомний роман-трактат Фрідріха Ніцше, зміст якого обертається навколо ідей вічного повторення, "смерті Бога" та пророцтва про надлюдину. Головний персонаж — переосмислений Ніцше пророк зороастризму Заратустра, що повертається з проповіддю до людства після тривалого усамітнення в горах.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) had a profound influence on the shape of 19th-century thought and political discourse. His view of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to the unrestricted state. Mill favoured decentralised forms of socialism because he thought that a centralised model would discourage competition, neglect talent, and disregard freedom.

When Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman, News Corporation, blew up more than $870 million buying Star TV from Richard Li in the early 1990s, analysts were dismayed. Why on earth had Murdoch invested in a pan-Asian broadcaster that was neither fish nor fowl? More than 25 years later, with revenues of over $2 billion, Star India is one of the country's three largest media firms. Murdoch's instinct had done what a hundred investor summits could not: showcased the potential of the Indian media market to the world.

As at home with Galileo and his daughter in Florence as he is with Diderot in Enlightenment France, William and Alice James in fin-de-siècle Boston, or the latest research on the genome, Gerald Weissmann distills the lessons of history to guide us through our troubled age. His message is clear: "Experimental science is our defense-perhaps our best defense-against humbug and the Endarkenment."

Namita Gokhale and Malashri Lal, who brought us In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology, now present an anthology on the mysterious Radha, the epitome of love, who defies all conventional codes yet transcends social prohibitions through the power of the spiritual and the sensual, the sacred and the erotic. Finding Radha is the first of its kind: a collection of poetry, prose, and translation that enter the historical as well as the artistic dimensions of the eternal romance of Radha and Krishna.

The JDC at 100: A Century of Humanitarianism traces the history of the JDC - an organization founded to aid victims of World War I that has played a significant role in preserving and sustaining Jewish life across the globe.

With heart, pathos, humor, and insight, twenty renowned writers, performers, athletes, and activists explore what it means to be Native American today. Through a series of essays and poems, these luminaries give voice to their individual experiences while shedding light on the depth and complexity of modern Native American identity, resiliency, and joy.

This collection of 24 essays is a perfect introduction to the world of Lewis Thomas. Topics ranging from the riddle of smelling to nuclear proliferation carry the gentle, unassuming persuasiveness that characterizes the author’s work. Here we are also introduced to the concerns that have distinguished Thomas’ literary career: the natural altruism of organisms; the inter-relatedness of all creatures; the fragility of the human species; the uneasiness of life on a threatened planet.

Original and expansive, Asian American Histories of the United States is a nearly 200-year history of Asian migration, labor, and community formation in the US. Reckoning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in anti-Asian hate and violence, award-winning historian Catherine Ceniza Choy presents an urgent social history of the fastest growing group of Americans. The book features the lived experiences and diverse voices of immigrants, refugees, US-born Asian Americans, multiracial Americans, and workers from industries spanning agriculture to healthcare.