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The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency
by John DickersonFrom the veteran political journalist and 60 Minutes correspondent, a deep dive into the history, evolution, and current state of the American presidency—and how we can make the job less impossible and more productive. <P><P>magine you have just been elected president. You are now commander-in-chief, chief executive, chief diplomat, chief legislator, chief of party, chief voice of the people, first responder, chief priest, and world leader. You’re expected to fulfill your campaign promises, but you&’re also expected to solve the urgent crises of the day. What’s on your to-do list? Where would you even start? What shocks aren’t you thinking about? <P><P>The American presidency is in trouble. It has become overburdened, misunderstood, almost impossible to do. “The problems in the job unfolded before Donald Trump was elected, and the challenges of governing today will confront his successors,” writes John Dickerson. After all, the founders never intended for our system of checks and balances to have one superior Chief Magistrate, with Congress demoted to “the little brother who can’t keep up.” <P><P>In this eye-opening book, John Dickerson writes about presidents in history such a Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and Eisenhower, and and in contemporary times, from LBJ and Reagan and Bush, Obama, and Trump, to show how a complex job has been done, and why we need to reevaluate how we view the presidency, how we choose our presidents, and what we expect from them once they are in office. Think of the presidential campaign as a job interview. Are we asking the right questions? Are we looking for good campaigners, or good presidents? Once a candidate gets the job, what can they do to thrive? <P><P> Drawing on research and interviews with current and former White House staffers, Dickerson defines what the job of president actually entails, identifies the things that only the president can do, and analyzes how presidents in history have managed the burden. What qualities make for a good president? Who did it well? Why did Bill Clinton call the White House “the crown jewel in the American penal system”? <P><P>The presidency is a job of surprises with high stakes, requiring vision, management skill, and an even temperament. Ultimately, in order to evaluate candidates properly for the job, we need to adjust our expectations, and be more realistic about the goals, the requirements, and the limitations of the office. As Dickerson writes, “Americans need their president to succeed, but the presidency is set up for failure. It doesn&’t have to be.” <P><P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Hardest Problem: God, Evil and Suffering
by Rupert ShorttHow can a supposedly all-powerful and all-loving God permit evil and suffering on a grand scale?The question has assailed people across cultures at least as far back as the biblical Book of Job. To sceptics, it forms clinching evidence that all talk of providence is childish -- or even a dangerous delusion. Writing clearly and concisely but avoiding simplistic answers, Rupert Shortt argues that belief in a divine Creator is intellectually robust, despite apparent signs to the contrary. Having cleared the ground, he goes on to show how a Christian understanding, in particular, points the way forward through terrain where raw feelings, intellectual inquiry and the toughest trials of the spirit often overlap.The Hardest Problem takes its place alongside the work of C. S. Lewis as an essential guide to one of life's deepest dilemmas for a new generation of readers.
The Hardest Problem: God, Evil and Suffering
by Rupert ShorttHow can a supposedly all-powerful and all-loving God permit evil and suffering on a grand scale?The question has assailed people across cultures at least as far back as the biblical Book of Job. To sceptics, it forms clinching evidence that all talk of providence is childish -- or even a dangerous delusion. Writing clearly and concisely but avoiding simplistic answers, Rupert Shortt argues that belief in a divine Creator is intellectually robust, despite apparent signs to the contrary. Having cleared the ground, he goes on to show how a Christian understanding, in particular, points the way forward through terrain where raw feeling, intellectual inquiry and the toughest trials of the spirit often overlap.The Hardest Problem takes its place alongside the work of C. S. Lewis as an essential guide to one of life's deepest dilemmas for a new generation of readers.
The Harmony of Illusions: Inventing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
by Allan YoungAs far back as we know, there have been individuals incapacitated by memories that have filled them with sadness and remorse, fright and horror, or a sense of irreparable loss. Only recently, however, have people tormented with such recollections been diagnosed as suffering from "post-traumatic stress disorder." Here Allan Young traces this malady, particularly as it is suffered by Vietnam veterans, to its beginnings in the emergence of ideas about the unconscious mind and to earlier manifestations of traumatic memory like shell shock or traumatic hysteria. In Young's view, PTSD is not a timeless or universal phenomenon newly discovered. Rather, it is a "harmony of illusions," a cultural product gradually put together by the practices, technologies, and narratives with which it is diagnosed, studied, and treated and by the various interests, institutions, and moral arguments mobilizing these efforts. This book is part history and part ethnography, and it includes a detailed account of everyday life in the treatment of Vietnam veterans with PTSD. To illustrate his points, Young presents a number of fascinating transcripts of the group therapy and diagnostic sessions that he observed firsthand over a period of two years. Through his comments and the transcripts themselves, the reader becomes familiar with the individual hospital personnel and clients and their struggle to make sense of life after a tragic war. One observes that everyone on the unit is heavily invested in the PTSD diagnosis: boundaries between therapist and patient are as unclear as were the distinctions between victim and victimizer in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
The Haruki Phenomenon: Haruki Murakami as Cosmopolitan Writer
by Tomoki WakatsukiThis book explores the idea of a new cosmopolitan Japanese identity through a socio-cultural analysis of contemporary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. It is the first monograph to apply the idea of cosmopolitanism to this writer’s global popularity widely known as the “Haruki phenomenon”.By pioneering an enquiry into Murakami’s cosmopolitanism, this book aims to overcome the prevailing myth of “Japaneseness”(Nihonjinron) as a form of self-identification for Japanese, and propose an alternative approach for contemplating contemporary Japanese cultural identity. Socio-cultural analysis of this author and his works shall establish Murakami’s cosmopolitan qualities and how they contribute to the cultural phenomenon of globalization. Furthermore, this book will introduce the idea of “everyday cosmopolitanism” as a relevant concept to address an emergent global cultural sphere. Unlike the traditional model of cosmopolitanism, which is sometimes regarded as idealist and elitist, “everyday cosmopolitanism” encompasses the everyday spheres of ordinary people. Tomoki Wakatsuki argues that the Haruki phenomenon, as a global and local event, echoes this important social trend today. Murakami’s departure from conventional notions of Japanese identity offers an alternative perception of identity and belonging that is useful for situating Japanese identity within a global context. This text will be of interest to students and scholars of cultural studies, global literature, contemporary Japanese literature, cultural cosmopolitanism and the global cultural sphere.
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America
by Don Lattin“[Don Lattin] has created a stimulating and thoroughly engrossing read.” —Dennis McNally, author of A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead, and Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America It is impossible to overstate the cultural significance of the four men described in Don Lattin’s The Harvard Psychedelic Club. Huston Smith, tirelessly working to promote cross-cultural religious and spiritual tolerance. Richard Alpert, a.k.a. Ram Dass, inspiring generations with his mantra, “be here now.” Andrew Weil, undisputed leader of the holistic medicine revolution. And, of course, Timothy Leary, the charismatic, rebellious counter-culture icon and LSD guru. Journalist Don Lattin provides the funny, moving inside story of the “Cambridge Quartet,” who crossed paths with the infamous Harvard Psilocybin Project in the early 60’s, and went on to pioneer the Mind/Body/Spirit movement that would popularize yoga, vegetarianism, and Eastern mysticism in the Western world.
The Harvest of Tragedy (Routledge Revivals)
by Thomas Rice HennUpon initial publication in 1956, this book was an attempt to re-state certain problems concerning the aesthetics and ethics of the tragic form; to examine these in relation to contemporary work in psychology and anthropology; to enquire into the significance of ‘the fact or experience called tragedy’ in the modern world; and to suggest a synthesis in terms of the Christian tradition. This is a reissue of the corrected second edition of the work, first published in 1966.
The Hateful and the Obscene: Studies in the Limits of Free Expression
by Leonard SumnerIn a series of landmark decisions since 1990, Canadian courts have shaped a distinctive approach to the regulation of obscenity, hate literature, and child pornography. Missing from the debate, however, has been any attempt to determine whether the legal status quo can be justified by reference to a framework of moral/political principles. The Hateful and the Obscene is intended to fill that gap. L.W. Sumner brings philosophical depth and theoretical rigour to some of the most important and difficult questions concerning free expression. Building on a framework set out by J.S. Mill – that a legal restriction of expression is justified only when the expression in question is harmful to others and when the benefits of the restriction will exceed its costs – Sumner shows how the Canadian courts have replicated Mill's framework in their interpretation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Hateful and the Obscene is a compelling interpretation of freedom of expression that combines serious philosophical thought with a focus on Canadian law, thus maintaining the breadth to deal with both obscenity and hate literature.
The Hatred of Literature
by William MarxFor 2,500 years literature has been condemned in the name of authority, truth, morality and society. But in making explicit what a society expects from literature, anti-literary discourse paradoxically asserts the validity of what it wishes to deny. The threat to literature’s continued existence, William Marx writes, is not hatred but indifference.
The Hatred of Music
by Pascal Quignard Matthew Amos Fredrik RönnbäckThroughout Pascal Quignard's distinguished literary career, music has been a recurring obsession. As a musician he organized the International Festival of Baroque Opera and Theatre at Versailles in the early 1990s, and thus was instrumental in the rediscovery of much forgotten classical music. Yet in 1994 he abruptly renounced all musical activities. The Hatred of Music is Quignard's masterful exploration of the power of music and what history reveals about the dangers it poses. From prehistoric chants to challenging contemporary compositions, Quignard reflects on music of all kinds and eras. He draws on vast cultural knowledge--the Bible, Greek mythology, early modern history, modern philosophy, the Holocaust, and more--to develop ten accessible treatises on music. In each of these small masterpieces the author exposes music's potential to manipulate, to mesmerize, to domesticate. Especially disturbing is his scrutiny of the role music played in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Quignard's provocative book takes on particular relevance today, as we find ourselves surrounded by music as never before in history.
The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich
by Evan Osnos&‘An eye-opening account of superyachts, the billionaires who buy them, and what it all means for the rest of us … [a] droll and timely analysis of extreme wealth&’ – GuardianWho are America's oligarchs? What do they want? How do they operate? Is there anything that can be done to contain their power? The ultrarich hold more of America&’s wealth than they did in the heyday of the Carnegies and Rockefellers. In this incisive and provocative book, Evan Osnos offers an unforgettable portrait of the tactics and obsessions driving this new Gilded Age, in which superyachts, luxury bunkers, elite tax dodges and a torrent of political donations bespeak staggering disparities of wealth and power. With deft storytelling and meticulous reporting, Osnos explores the indulgences, incentives and psychological distortions that define our time. He delves into the unprecedented influence Silicon Valley and Wall Street have on government, drawing on in-depth interviews with Mark Zuckerberg and other billionaires. He also exposes the hidden world of the ultrarich in all its outrageous, fabulous, ridiculous detail: a private wealth manager who broke with members of an American dynasty and spilled their secrets; the pop stars who perform at lavish parties for thirteen-year-olds; the status anxieties that spill out of marinas in Monaco and Palm Beach like real-world episodes of Succession and The White Lotus. Originally published in the New Yorker, these essays have been revised and expanded to deliver an unflinching portrait of the rise of America&’s modern oligarchy. Osnos&’s essays are a wake-up call – a case against complacency in the face of unchecked excess, as the choices of the ultrarich ripple through our lives. Entertaining, unsettling and eye-opening, The Haves and Have-Yachts couldn&’t be more relevant to today&’s world.
The Hawk Temple at Tierra Grande (American Poets Continuum #Vol. 72)
by Ray GonzalezKnown for his superrealism and magical images born of the imagery of the Chicano/South Western culture, Ray Gonzalez gives new imagery and intensity to the mystery and common miracles of that culture, the passionate reclamation of identity.Ray Gonzalez is a poet, essayist, and editor born in El Paso, Texas. He is the author of five books of poetry, including The Heat of Arrivals (BOA 1996), which won the 1997 Josephine Miles Book Award for Excellence in Literature, and Cabato Sentora (BOA 1999). He is the editor of twelve anthologies and serves as Poetry Editor of The Bloomsbury Review.Also available by Ray Gonzalez: The Heat of Arrivals TP $12.50, 1-880238-39-X o CUSA Cabato Sentora TP $12.50, 1-880238-70-5 o CUSA
The Hazards of Urban Life in Late Stalinist Russia
by Donald FiltzerThis is the first detailed study of the standard of living of ordinary Russians following World War II. It examines urban living conditions under the Stalinist regime with a focus on the key issues of sanitation, access to safe water supplies, personal hygiene and anti-epidemic controls, diet and nutrition, and infant mortality. Comparing five key industrial regions, it shows that living conditions lagged some fifty years behind Western European norms. The book reveals that, despite this, the years preceding Stalin's death saw dramatic improvements in mortality rates thanks to the application of rigorous public health controls and Western medical innovations. While tracing these changes, the book also analyzes the impact that the absence of an adequate urban infrastructure had on people's daily lives and on the relationship between the Stalinist regime and the Russian people, and, finally, how the Soviet experience compared to that of earlier industrializing societies.
The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment: Part of the On Zen Practice collection
by Bernie Glassman Taizan Maezumi Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao Chogyam Trungpa Daishin John BuksbazenThe Hazy Moon of Enlightenment takes the reader to the next level of Zen practice, exploring some of the more subtle and sophisticated topics in Zen.The first two parts of the book explore enlightenment and delusion: What is nature of enlightenement? What does it mean to describe enlightenment as sudden or gradual? What is the nature of delusion, and how can watch out for the particular delusion that masquerades as enlightenment? The third part looks at "enlightenment in action"--what it means for someone to living and acting in order with the deep wisdom of enlightenment, and how we can practice learning "learning how to be satisfied" and enjoy serenity and transquility. The final section is a moving and powerful firsthand account of one woman's solitary realization of the deepest truths--a story that can become an inspiration for all of us. The contributors to this volume include some the pioneering masters who were seminal in helping Zen take firm root in American soil.
The Healer Within
by Roger JahnkeWith today's emphasis on bottom-line managed care, self-care has never been more important. And with ever-increasing evidence of their efficacy, ancient mind-body healing practices once deemed "alternative" have never been more popular. Inspired by Chinese medicine's central belief that the remedies we need are produced naturally within us all, Roger Jahnke, a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine, "prescribes" an easy-to-implement program of gentle movement, self-applied massage, breathing excercises and relaxation or meditation. Through these four remarkably simple yet dramatically effective techniques, he provides a self-care plan that works without costly drugs, equipment or experts. Including applications for specific ailments, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and arthritis, this is an empowering, hands-on guide to enjoying optimal health and well-being.
The Healing Energy of Shared Consciousness: A Taoist Approach to Entering the Universal Mind
by Mantak ChiaHow to connect with universal energy for inner peace, happiness, and individual and global healing • How to transform the energy around us into positive loving energy • How to perform the World Link meditation to unite with global consciousness • How to fuse the observing mind, the conscious mind, and the mind of awareness Western science now recognizes the three “minds” associated with the three tan tiens of Taoism: the observing mind centered in the brain, the conscious mind centered in the heart, and the mind of awareness centered in the lower abdomen. By unifying the three minds--what in Chinese is called Yi--we can transform the energy around us into positive loving energy and be empowered to manifest our goals and dreams. This can lead to a more balanced, less negative way of life and offers a way to gain inner peace, wholeness, and happiness as well as the ability to heal yourself and others. In The Healing Energy of Shared Consciousness, Master Mantak Chia shows how to fuse the three minds and form the Protective Sacred Circle of Fire, which creates a seal around us allowing in only good energy and intentions. He explains step-by-step how to perform the World Link meditation to connect with global and universal energy for inner peace, happiness, and healing. Accessible even for those who have never worked with the Universal Healing Tao, this practice offers a way to unite people all over the world in a form of shared consciousness that amplifies collective loving energy to benefit the world.
The Heart Is A Little to the Left: Essays on Public Morality
by William Sloane CoffinFrom the preface: "Today the currents of history are indeed churning into rapids and waterfalls. If we are to be equal to the times we live in and to the greater problems the future will bring, we had better learn to scorn trifles and strive to be far more imaginative and more generous in spirit. Above all, I believe we need to claim the kinship of all people, to recover the prophetic insight that we belong one to another, every one of us from the pope to the loneliest wino on the planet. From a religious perspective, that's the way God made us. From a Christian perspective, Christ died to keep us that way, which means that our sin is only and always that we put asunder what God has joined together."
The Heart Sutra
by Osho Osho International FoundationThe Heart Sutra, originally a very short set of verses, was given in privacy. It was a message to one of Buddha's close disciples, Sariputra, and was specifically addressed to him. Over time, the Heart Sutra became one of Buddhism's core teachings. In these ten talks Osho presents the powerful message of these ancient words and brings them to a modern audience -- one with different minds and needs than the original audiences of Buddha more than 2,500 years ago. Osho's message is not about Buddha the historical figure: instead, he addresses his readers and listeners and encourages them to discover their own inner reality, their own buddhahood. Like Buddha's, Osho's message is about meditation and meditation alone -- "rely only on your meditation and nothing else." Osho also speaks on the seven chakras, the energy centers of the human body, and their corresponding relationships to the physical, psychosomatic, psychological, psychospiritual, spiritual, spiritual-transcendental, and transcendental aspects of human growth and consciousness.
The Heart of Compassion: A Practical Approach to a Meaningful Life
by Dalai LamaThis book carefully balances philosophical concepts with a very practical, day-by-day approach to living a spiritual life. Anyone reading this book will come away richer for the experience, regardless of your own spiritual or religious background. Of special note is his clear integration of the teachings of Jesus into his overall world view, showing how all teachings can find their harmony in the ultimate spiritual oneness and truth that underlies them all.
The Heart of Emerson's Journals
by Ralph Waldo Emerson Bliss PerryCarefully selected passages from 55 years of journal entries: thoughts, religious sentiments, impressions of books, authors, contemporaries, much more. Splendid, revealing record of Emerson's personal beliefs, as well as a social and historical record of his age. "Beyond all doubt this . . . volume will extend the sphere of Emerson's influence."--Springfield Republican. Biographical notes.
The Heart of God
by Rabindranath Tagore Herbert F. VetterAwarded the Noble Prize for Literature in 1913, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-- 1941) is considered the most important poet of modern-day India. He was also a distinguished author, educator, social reformer, and philosopher. Today, Tagore along with Mahatma Gandhi are prized as the foremost intellectual and spiritual advocates of India's liberation from imperial rule.This inspiring collection of Tagore's poetry represent his "simple prayers of common life." Each of the seventy-seven prayers is an eloquent affirmation of the divine in the face of both joy and sorrow. Like the Psalms of David, they transcend time and speak directly to the human heart.
The Heart of God
by Rabindranath Tagore Herbert F. VetterAwarded the Noble Prize for Literature in 1913, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-- 1941) is considered the most important poet of modern-day India. He was also a distinguished author, educator, social reformer, and philosopher. Today, Tagore along with Mahatma Gandhi are prized as the foremost intellectual and spiritual advocates of India's liberation from imperial rule.This inspiring collection of Tagore's poetry represent his "simple prayers of common life." Each of the seventy-seven prayers is an eloquent affirmation of the divine in the face of both joy and sorrow. Like the Psalms of David, they transcend time and speak directly to the human heart.The spirit of this collection may be best symbolized by a single sentence by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the renowned philosopher and statesman who served as president of India: "Rabindranath Tagore was one of the few representatives of the universal person to whom the future of the world belongs."
The Heart of Man: Its Genius for Good and Evil
by Erich FrommThe acclaimed social psychologist and New York Times–bestselling author of The Art of Loving discusses the nature of evil and humanity&’s capacity for it. Originally published in 1964, The Heart of Man was influenced by turbulent times. Average Americans were suffering from different forms of evil, including a rise in juvenile delinquency. On a grander scale, the threat of nuclear war loomed over the nation, and President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. What could drive humanity to do things such as these? In The Heart of Man, renowned humanist philosopher and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm investigates man&’s capacity to destroy, his narcissism, and his incestuous fixation. He expands upon ideas he presented in Escape from Freedom, Man for Himself, and The Art of Loving, and examines the essence of evil, as well as the choice between good and evil. He also explores man&’s ability to destroy and further considers freedom, aggression, destructiveness, and violence. &“The Heart of Man questions human nature itself, from the forms of violence that plague it to individual and social narcissism to how the positive value of &“love of life&” can potentially outweigh the destructive &“syndrome of decay&” caused by the love of death and other harmful tendencies of thought.&” —Midwest Book Review
The Heart of Philosophy
by Jacob NeedlemanPhilosophy as it is frequently taught in classrooms bears little relation to the impassioned and immensely practical search for self-knowledge conducted by not only its ancient avatars but also by men and woman who seek after truth today. In The Heart of the Philosophy, Jacob Needleman provides a "user's guide" for those who would take philosophy seriously enough to understand its life-transforming qualities. .
The Heart of Plotinus: The Essential Enneads
by Algis UzdavinysDrawing parallels with other traditions, U davinys emphasizes that Plotinus'' philosophy was not a purely mental or rational exercise, but a complete way of life incorporating the spiritual virtues. Plotinus is widely regarded as the founder of the school of Neo-Platonism and this book provides an introduction to his teachings and an informative commentary on the Enneads. Also included is a commentary by Plotinus'' leading disciple, Porphyry (c. 233-305 A.D.), on an enigmatic passage from Homer''s epic, the Odyssey.