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Leisure: Its Rise, Fall, and Potential Rebirth
by Jacob T. SnyderLeisure is a genealogy of the concept of leisure, from its peak in the classical age to its inversion and fall in modern liberalism. The goal of this genealogy is to analyze models of leisure and to inquire into the potential future shape of it. In that process, Jacob T. Snyder asks: what was leisure in its peak form in the classical age? In such a form, how was leisure understood to be connected to human flourishing? Then, what happened to leisure? What was the argument for work that won over the West? What must be rejected, or lost, about work if leisure is to be reanimated? In asking and answering these questions, Snyder argues that political reform, such as limiting work weeks, is insufficient to make us leisured. Leisure demands more, including a new understanding of what makes us happy and thriving creatures.
Lemon in the Basket
by Charlotte ArmstrongEdgar Award Finalist: The explosive politics of the Middle East shatter a California family in this &“wonderful thriller&” (The New York Times). Among the Tylers of Santa Clara are a matriarch lauded as the first lady of American theater, a judicial appointee of the president, a noted fundraiser for international charities, a university vice-chancellor, and an esteemed and admired surgeon. The Tylers are, in their own words, &“worthy of Paradise.&” Then, a violently anti-US Middle Eastern leader sends his son to California to be treated by the young Dr. Michael Tyler. The king&’s deal: Save his &“little prince,&” and the lives of the twenty-eight American hostages languishing in his prison will be spared. And there&’s another caveat: The agreement must be kept secret. But there&’s one more Tyler to contend with. Rufus Tyler is the family &“lemon in the basket,&” an underachiever who has finally found his moment in history. By exposing his family to the press as conspirators in a terrorist&’s negotiation, Rufus will do more than breach the walls of privacy. He will plunge his family into the dangerous waters of international politics. As unfounded fears and dreadful rumors take hold, an inevitable and shocking act of violence will threaten not only the Tylers, but also the fate of the entire country. Upon the original publication of Lemon in the Basket, an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel, Dorothy B. Hughes wrote that Charlotte Armstrong should stand &“with the immortal ladies of suspense—Rinehart and Sayers, Marsh and Tey&” (Los Angeles Times).
Lending Credibility: The International Monetary Fund and the Post-Communist Transition
by Randall W. StoneWith the end of the Cold War, the International Monetary Fund emerged as the most powerful international institution in history. But how much influence can the IMF exert over fiercely contested issues in domestic politics that affect the lives of millions? In Lending Credibility, Randall Stone develops the first systematic approach to answering this question. Deploying an arsenal of methods from a range of social sciences rarely combined, he mounts a forceful challenge to conventional wisdom. Focusing on the former Soviet bloc, Stone finds that the IMF is neither as powerful as some critics fear, nor as weak as others believe, but that the answer hinges on the complex factor of how much credibility it can muster from country to country. Stone begins by building a formal, game-theoretic model of lending credibility, which he then subjects to sophisticated quantitative testing on original data from twenty-six countries over the 1990s. Next come detailed, interview-based case studies on negotiations between the IMF and Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Bulgaria. Stone asserts that the IMF has exerted startling influence over economic policy in smaller countries, such as Poland and Bulgaria. However, where U.S. foreign policy interests come more heavily into play, as in Russia, the IMF cannot credibly commit to enforcing the loans-for-policy contract. This erodes its ability to facilitate enduring market reforms. Stone's context is the postcommunist transition in Europe and Asia, but his findings carry implications for IMF activities the world over.
Lenin 2017: Remembering, Repeating, and Working Through
by V. I. Lenin Slavoj ZizekOne hundred years after the Russian Revolution, i ek shows why Lenin’s thought is still important todayLenin’s originality and importance as a revolutionary leader is most often associated with the seizure of power in 1917. But, i ek argues in this new study and collection of original texts, Lenin’s true greatness can be better grasped in the very last couple of years of his political life. Russia had survived foreign invasion, embargo and a terrifying civil war, as well as internal revolts such as at Kronstadt in 1921. But the new state was exhausted, isolated and disorientated in the face of the world revolution that seemed to be receding. New paths had to be sought, almost from scratch, for the Soviet state to survive and imagine some alternative route to the future. With his characteristic brio and provocative insight, i ek suggests that Lenin’s courage as a thinker can be found in his willingness to face this reality of retreat lucidly and frontally.From the Hardcover edition.
Lenin Reloaded: Toward a Politics of Truth
by Slavoj I Ek Sebastian Budgen Stathis KouvelakisLenin Reloaded is a rallying call by some of the world's leading Marxist intellectuals for renewed attention to the significance of Vladimir Lenin. The volume's editors explain that it was Lenin who made Karl Marx's thought explicitly political, who extended it beyond the confines of Europe, who put it into practice. They contend that a focus on Lenin is urgently needed now, when global capitalism appears to be the only game in town, the liberal-democratic system seems to have been settled on as the optimal political organization of society, and it has become easier to imagine the end of the world than a modest change in the mode of production. Lenin retooled Marx's thought for specific historical conditions in 1914, and Lenin Reloaded urges a reinvention of the revolutionary project for the present. Such a project would be Leninist in its commitment to action based on truth and its acceptance of the consequences that follow from action. These essays, some of which are appearing in English for the first time, bring Lenin face-to-face with the problems of today, including war, imperialism, the imperative to build an intelligentsia of wage earners, the need to embrace the achievements of bourgeois society and modernity, and the widespread failure of social democracy. Lenin Reloaded demonstrates that truth and partisanship are not mutually exclusive as is often suggested. Quite the opposite--in the present, truth can be articulated only from a thoroughly partisan position. Contributors. Kevin B. Anderson, Alain Badiou, Etienne Balibar, Daniel Bensad, Sebastian Budgen, Alex Callinicos, Terry Eagleton, Fredric Jameson, Stathis Kouvelakis, Georges Labica, Sylvain Lazarus, Jean-Jacques Lecercle, Lars T. Lih, Domenico Losurdo, Savas Michael-Matsas, Antonio Negri, Alan Shandro, Slavoj Žižek
Lenin and the Revolutionary Party
by Paul Le BlancFor generations, historians of the right, left, and center have all debated the best way to understand V. I. Lenin's role in shaping the Bolshevik party in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution. At their worst, these studies locate his influence in the forcefulness of his personality. At their best, they show how Lenin moved other Bolsheviks through patient argument and political debate. Yet remarkably few have attempted to document the ways his ideas changed, or how they were in turn shaped by the party he played such a central role in building.In this thorough, concise, and accessible introduction to Lenin's theory and practice of revolutionary politics, Paul Le Blanc gives a vibrant sense of the historical context of the socialist movement (in Russia and abroad) from which Lenin's ideas about revolutionary organization spring. What emerges from Le Blanc's partisan yet measured account is an image of a collaborative, ever adaptive, and dynamically engaged network of revolutionary activists who formed the core of the Bolshevik party.
Lenin and the Twentieth Century: A Bertram D. Wolfe Retrospective (Hoover Archival Documentaries)
by Lennard GersonBertram D. Wolfe was one of the foremost American authorities on Soviet history and politics. Several generations of students in dozens of countries have acquired their first understanding of the events and personalities that shaped modern Russia from Wolfe's landmark study, Three Who Made a Revolution. The twelve essays on Lenin and Leninism published in this volume were written during the last decades of Wolfe's life and reflect the unique blend of personal experience, thorough scholarship, and commitment to humanism that informed all of his writings. These essays, nine of which appear in print here for the first time, do not constitute an integrated or complete biography of Lenin. Rather they suggest the direction of Wolfe's research and thinking on the subject of Lenin's place in the twentieth century.
Lenin on the Train
by Catherine MerridaleOne of The Economist's Best Books of the YearA gripping, meticulously researched account of Lenin’s fateful 1917 rail journey from Zurich to Petrograd, where he ignited the Russian Revolution and forever changed the worldIn April 1917, as the Russian Tsar Nicholas II’s abdication sent shockwaves across war-torn Europe, the future leader of the Bolshevik revolution Vladimir Lenin was far away, exiled in Zurich. When the news reached him, Lenin immediately resolved to return to Petrograd and lead the revolt. But to get there, he would have to cross Germany, which meant accepting help from the deadliest of Russia’s adversaries. Millions of Russians at home were suffering as a result of German aggression, and to accept German aid—or even safe passage—would be to betray his homeland. Germany, for its part, saw an opportunity to further destabilize Russia by allowing Lenin and his small group of revolutionaries to return. Now, in Lenin on the Train, drawing on a dazzling array of sources and never-before-seen archival material, renowned historian Catherine Merridale provides a riveting, nuanced account of this enormously consequential journey—the train ride that changed the world—as well as the underground conspiracy and subterfuge that went into making it happen. Writing with the same insight and formidable intelligence that distinguished her earlier works, she brings to life a world of counter-espionage and intrigue, wartime desperation, illicit finance, and misguided utopianism. When Lenin arrived in Petrograd’s now-famous Finland Station, he delivered an explosive address to the impassioned crowds. Simple and extreme, the text of this speech has been compared to such momentous documents as Constantine’s edict of Milan and Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses. It was the moment when the Russian revolution became Soviet, the genesis of a system of tyranny and faith that changed the course of Russia’s history forever and transformed the international political climate.
Lenin the Dictator
by Victor Sebestyen'A fresh, powerful portrait of Lenin' Anne Applebaum, author of Red Famine'Richly readable ... An enthralling but appalling story' Francis Wheen, author of Karl MarxThe cold, one-dimensional figure of Lenin the political fanatic is only a partial truth. Drawing on extensive material that has only recently become available, Sebestyen's gripping biography casts an intriguing new light on the character behind the politics.In reality, Lenin was a man who loved nature as much as he loved making revolution, and his closest relationships were with women. He built a state based on terror. But he was a highly emotional man given to furious rages and deep passions. While never ignoring the politics, Sebestyen examines Lenin's inner life, his relationship with his wife and his long love affair with Inessa Armand, the most romantic and beguiling of Bolsheviks. These two women were as significant as the men - Stalin or Trotsky - who created the world's first Communist state with him.
Lenin the Dictator
by Victor SebestyenVictor Sebestyen's intimate biography is the first major work in English for nearly two decades on one of the most significant figures of the twentieth century. In Russia to this day Lenin inspires adulation. Everywhere, he continues to fascinate as a man who made history, and who created a new kind of state that would later be imitated by nearly half the countries in the world.Lenin believed that the 'the political is the personal', and while in no way ignoring his political life, Sebestyen's focus will be on Lenin the man - a man who loved nature almost as much as he loved making revolution, and whose closest ties and friendships were with women. The long-suppressed story of his ménage a trois with his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and his mistress and comrade, Inessa Armand, reveals a different character to the coldly one-dimensional figure of legend.Told through the prism of Lenin's key relationships, Sebestyen's lively biography casts a new light the Russian Revolution, one of the great turning points of modern history.Read by Jonathan Aris(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Lenin the Dictator: The Man, The Dictator, And The Master Of Terror
by Victor Sebestyen'A fresh, powerful portrait of Lenin' Anne Applebaum, author of Red Famine'Richly readable ... An enthralling but appalling story' Francis Wheen, author of Karl MarxThe cold, one-dimensional figure of Lenin the political fanatic is only a partial truth. Drawing on extensive material that has only recently become available, Sebestyen's gripping biography casts an intriguing new light on the character behind the politics.In reality, Lenin was a man who loved nature as much as he loved making revolution, and his closest relationships were with women. He built a state based on terror. But he was a highly emotional man given to furious rages and deep passions. While never ignoring the politics, Sebestyen examines Lenin's inner life, his relationship with his wife and his long love affair with Inessa Armand, the most romantic and beguiling of Bolsheviks. These two women were as significant as the men - Stalin or Trotsky - who created the world's first Communist state with him.
Lenin's Brother: The Origins of the October Revolution
by Philip PomperThe gripping untold story of a terrorist leader whose death would catapult his brother--Lenin--to revolution. In 1886, Alexander Ulyanov, a brilliant biology student, joined a small group of students at St. Petersburg University to plot the assassination of Russia's tsar. Known as "Second First March" for the date of their action, this group failed disastrously in their mission, and its leaders, Alexander included, were executed. History has largely forgotten Alexander, but for the most important consequence of his execution: his younger brother, Vladimir, went on to lead the October Revolution of 1917 and head the new Soviet government under his revolutionary pseudonym "Lenin." Probing the Ulyanov family archives, historian Philip Pomper uncovers Alexander's transformation from ascetic student to terrorist, and the impact his fate had on Lenin. Vividly portraying the psychological dynamics of a family that would change history, Lenin's Brother is a perspective-changing glimpse into Lenin's formative years--and his subsequent behavior as a revolutionary.
Lenin's Electoral Strategy from 1907 to the October Revolution of 1917: The Ballot, the Streets--or Both
by August H. NimtzThis book is the first full-length study of Lenin's party building project and writings on elections, looking in detail at his leadership of the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in the four state Dumas from 1906 to the beginning of the First World War.
Lenin's Jewish Question
by Yohanan Petrovsky-ShternIn this first examination of Lenin’s genealogical and political connections to East European Jews, Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern reveals the broad cultural meanings of indisputable evidence that Lenin’s maternal grandfather was a Jew. He examines why and how Lenin’s Jewish relatives converted to Christianity, explains how Lenin’s vision of Russian Marxism shaped his identity, and explores Lenin’s treatment of party colleagues of Jewish origin and the Jewish Question in Europe. Petrovsky-Shtern also uncovers the continuous efforts of the Soviet communists to suppress Lenin’s Jewishness and the no less persistent attempts of Russian extremists to portray Lenin as a Jew. In this fascinating book, Petrovsky-Shtern expands our understanding not only of Lenin, but also of Russian and Soviet handling of the Jewish Question.
Lenin's Last Struggle
by Moshe LewinOne of the great political strategists of his era, V. I. Lenin continues to attract historical interest, yet his complex personality eludes full understanding. This new edition of Moshe Lewin's classic political biography, including an afterword by the author, suggests new approaches for studying the Marxist visionary and founder of the Soviet state. Lenin's Last Struggle offers invaluable insights into the rise of the Bolshevik party and the Soviet Union, a saga complicated by complex strategic battles among the leaders of Lenin's generation: leaders whose names are universally known, but whose personalities and motivations are even now not sufficiently understood.
Lenin's Moscow
by Alfred Rosmer Ian BirchallWhen Alfred Rosmer arrived in Russia in 1919 it was considered by millions to be the center of world revolution. It was also a society beleaguered by civil war and encircled by hostile powers seeking to snuff out the promise and potential the first successful workers' revolution represented. It was in this context that revolutionaries from across the globe undertook the creation of the Communist International, hoping to forge an instrument to fan the flames of the struggle against global capitalism.In this gripping political memoir of his time in Moscow, Rosmer draws on his unique perspective as both a delegate to the Comintern-and as a member of its Executive Committee-to paint a stunning and inspiring picture of the early years of Soviet rule. From the debates sparked by the publication of Lenin's State and Revolution and Left-Wing Communism to the efforts of the International to extend its influence beyond Europe with the Congress of the Peoples of the East in Baku, Rosmer documents key developments with an unparalleled clarity of vision and offers invaluable insights.
Lenin, Religion, and Theology
by Roland BoerBased on a careful reading of Lenin's Collected Works, Roland Boer pursues the implications for linking Lenin with religion and theology and seeks to bring Lenin into recent debates over the intersections between theology and the Left, between the Bible and political thought.
Lenin: The Practice and Theory of Revolution (European History In Perspective Ser.)
by James D. WhiteA political and intellectual biographical study of Lenin which focuses on those aspects of his thought and political activities that had a bearing on the accession of the Bolsheviks to power in Russia in 1917 and the creation of the Soviet state. The book places Lenin in the context of his times and shows his relationship to other socialist thinkers. In particular it locates Lenin within the development of Marxist thought in Russia. Its historiographical chapter reveals the political factors which influenced the way biographies of Lenin were written in the Soviet Union. The book makes extensive use of first-hand materials including sources from the Russian archives.
Leningrado: La tragedia de una ciudad asediada 1941-1944
by Anna ReidEl libro que rescata del olvido a los ciudadanos que quedaron atrapados entre los dos peores sistemas totalitarios de la historia. El 8 de septiembre de 1941, once semanas después de que Hitler lanzara el brutal ataque sorpresa contra la Unión Soviética, la denominada Operación Barbarroja, la ciudad de Leningrado fue sitiada. El asedio duró casi tres años y más de setecientos cincuenta mil civiles murieron de inanición. De haber caído la ciudad, la historia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y del siglo XX, habría sido muy distinta. Leningrado es un relato entreverado de historias personales que, a partir de crónicas y testimonios reales de diarios de ambos bandos, refleja la vida cotidiana de quienes vivieron el asedio, civiles europeos del siglo XX que soportaron terribles penurias: la búsqueda incesante de comida y agua; el desánimo progresivo y la pérdida de lazos familiares; saqueos, asesinatos y canibalismo; pero, al mismo tiempo, extraordinarias historias de valentía y entrega. Anna Reid revela también la decisión deliberada de los nazis de matar de hambre a los habitantes de Leningrado para llevarlos a la rendición, las consecuencias del error de cálculo de Hitler, la incompetencia y la crueldad de los altos mandos soviéticos. Asimismo, aborda una serie de preguntas que aún hoy piden respuesta: ¿el abrumador número de muertos fue tanto culpa de Stalin como de Hitler? ¿Cómo contribuyó al desastre la desconfianza de Stalin y Moscú hacia la antigua San Petersburgo, de tendencia occidental? ¿Por qué los alemanes no tomaron la ciudad? ¿Qué impidió que cayera en la anarquía? ¿Cómo lograron sobrevivir algunos? Un clásico indispensable, libro de referencia sobre el tema, hasta ahora inédito en castellano. La crítica ha dicho: «Una obra maestra. Con rigor y sin sensiblería, nos acerca una historia terrible, documentada con maestría y narrada de manera hermosa».Anthony Beevor «Magistral».Orlando Figes «Una forma admirable de narrar la extraordinaria historia del asedio. Retrata con intensidad lo que algunos consideramos el más espantoso episodio de la Segunda Guerra Mundial».Max Hastings «Impactante y necesario. Un estudio asombroso y conmovedor del precio impuesto por el poder político sin restricciones en ambos bandos».The Daily Mail «Un relato magistral y bellamente escrito, que genera un poderoso sentido de cercanía. Reid presta especial atención a los vívidos detalles humanos, sin ignorar el contexto más amplio».The Spectator «Documentado de manera impecable, con buen ritmo y una escritura bellísima, Leningrado es el nuevo libro de referencia sobre el tema, con una interpretación más afinada y objetiva para un nuevo siglo».Financial Times «Un relato detallado y desgarrador de la vida y la muerte en Leningrado que devuelve sus voces a las personas».The Wall Street Journal
Leo Strauss
by Robert HowseExamines the German and Jewish sources of Strauss's thought and the extent to which his philosophy can shed light on the crisis of liberal democracy.
Leo Strauss Between Weimar and America
by Adi ArmonThis is the first book-length examination of the impact Leo Strauss’ immigration to the United States had on this thinking. Adi Armon weaves together a close reading of unpublished seminars Strauss taught at the University of Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s with an interpretation of his later works, all of which were of course written against the backdrop of the Cold War. First, the book describes the intellectual environment that shaped the young Strauss’ worldview in the Weimar Republic, tracing those aspects of his thought that changed and others that remained consistent up until his immigration to America. Armon then goes on to explore the centrality of Karl Marx to Strauss’s intellectual biography. By analyzing an unpublished seminar Strauss taught with Joseph Cropsey at the University of Chicago in 1960, Armon shows how Strauss’ fragmentary, partial engagement with Marx in writing obscured the important role that Marxism actually played as an intellectual challenge to his later political thinking. Finally, the book explores the manifestations of Straussian doctrine in postwar America through reading Strauss’ The City and Man (1964) as a representative of his political teaching.
Leo Strauss On Plato's Symposium
by Leo Strauss Seth BenardeteThe first major piece of unpublished work by Leo Strauss to appear in more than thirty years, this volume offers the public the unprecedented experience of encountering this renowned scholar as his students did. Given as a course in autumn 1959 under the title "Plato's Political Philosophy," these provocative lectures-until now, never published, but instead passed down from one generation of students to the next-show Strauss at his subtle and insightful best.
Leo Strauss and Anglo-American Democracy: A Conservative Critique
by Grant HaversIn this original new study, Grant Havers critically interprets Leo Strauss's political philosophy from a conservative perspective. Most mainstream readers of Strauss have either condemned him from the Left as an extreme right-wing opponent of liberal democracy or celebrated him from the Right as a traditional defender of Western civilization. Rejecting both of these portrayals, Havers shifts the debate beyond the conventional parameters of our age. He persuasively shows that Strauss was neither a man of the Far Right nor a conservative. He was in fact a secular Cold War liberal who taught his followers to uphold Anglo-American democracy as the one true universal regime that does not need a specifically Christian foundation. Strauss firmly rejects the traditional conservative view held by Edmund Burke that Anglo-American democracy needs the leavening influence of Christian morality (love thy neighbor). Havers maintains that Strauss's refusal to recognize the role of Christianity in shaping Western civilization, though historically unjustified, is crucial to Strauss and the Straussian portrayal of Anglo-American democracy. In the Straussian view, the Anglo-American ideals of liberty, equality, and constitutional government owe more to the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle than to the Christian tradition. In the process, Havers argues, Straussians end up rewriting history by falsely idealizing the ancient Greeks as the forerunners of modern liberal democracy, despite the Greek toleration of practices such as slavery and infanticide. Straussians also misrepresent statesmen of the Anglo-American political tradition such as Abraham Lincoln and Sir Winston Churchill as heirs to the ancient Greek tradition of statecraft, despite their indebtedness to Christianity. Havers contends that the most troubling implication of Straussianism is that it provides an ideological rationale for the aggressive spread of democratic values on a global basis while ignoring the preconditions that make these values possible. Concepts such as the rule of law, constitutional government, Christian morality, and the separation of church and state are not easily transplanted beyond the historic confines of Anglo-American civilization, as recent wars to spread democracy in the Middle East and Central Asia have demonstrated. This excellent study will be of interest not only to longtime readers of Strauss but also philosophers, political scientists, historians, religious studies scholars, and theologians.
Leo Strauss and Contemporary Thought: Reading Strauss Outside the Lines (SUNY series in the Thought and Legacy of Leo Strauss)
by Jeffrey A. Bernstein; Jade L. SchiffLeo Strauss's readings of historical figures in the philosophical tradition have been justly well explored; however, his relation to contemporary thinkers has not enjoyed the same coverage. In Leo Strauss and Contemporary Thought, an international group of scholars examines the possible conversations between Strauss and figures such as Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Charles Taylor, and Hans Blumenberg. The contributors examine topics including religious liberty, the political function of comedy, law, and the relation between the Ancients and the Moderns, and bring Strauss into many new and original discussions that will be of use to those interested in the thought of Strauss, the history of philosophy and political theory, and contemporary continental thought.
Leo Strauss and Islamic Political Thought
by Rasoul NamaziIn this book, Rasoul Namazi offers the first in-depth study of Leo Strauss' writings on Islamic political thought, a topic that interested Strauss over the course of his career. Namazi's volume focuses on several important studies by Strauss on Islamic thought. He critically analyzes Strauss's notes on Averroes' commentary on Plato's Republic and also proposes an interpretation of Strauss' theologico-political notes on the Arabian Nights. Namazi also interprets Strauss' essay on Alfarabi's enigmatic treatise, The Philosophy of Plato and provides a detailed commentary on his complex essay devoted to Alfarabi's summary of Plato's Laws. Based on previously unpublished material from Strauss' papers, Namazi's volume provides new insights into Strauss' reflections on religion, philosophy, and politics, and their relationship to wisdom, persecution, divine law, and unbelief in the works of key Muslim thinkers. His work presents Strauss as one of the most innovative historians and scholars of Islamic thought of all time.