English Philosophy

The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.

The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.

With over a quarter of a million copies sold, Mindfulness in Plain English is one of the most influential books in the burgeoning field of mindfulness and a timeless classic introduction to meditation. This is a book that people listen to, love, and share - a book that people talk about, write about, reflect on, and return to over and over again.

In simple and straightforward language, Bhante Gunaratana shares the Buddha's teachings on mindfulness and how we can use these principles to improve our daily lives, deepen our mindfulness, and move closer to our spiritual goals. Based on the classic Satipatthana Sutta, one of the most succinct yet rich explanations of meditation, Bhante's presentation is nonetheless thoroughly modern.

Already a classic, this landmark study of early Western thought now appears in a new edition with expanded coverage of the Middle Ages. Author Anthony Gottlieb looks afresh at the writings of the great thinkers, questions much of conventional wisdom, and explains his findings with unbridled brilliance and clarity. From the pre-Socratic philosophers through the celebrated days of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, up to Renaissance visionaries like Erasmus and Bacon, philosophy emerges here as a phenomenon unconfined by any one discipline.

The most fatal virus known to science, rabies kills nearly 100 percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. From Greek myths to zombie flicks, from the laboratory heroics of Louis Pasteur to the contemporary search for a lifesaving treatment, Rabid is a fresh, fascinating, and often wildly entertaining look at one of mankind’s oldest and most fearsome foes.

Hannah Arendt's insightful observations of the modern world, based on a profound knowledge of the past, constitute an impassioned contribution to political philosophy. In Between Past and Future, Arendt describes the perplexing crises modern society faces as a result of the loss of meaning of the traditional key words of politics: justice, reason, responsibility, virtue, and glory. Through a series of eight exercises, she shows how we can redistill the vital essence of these concepts and use them to regain a frame of reference for the future.

This brilliantly conceived book is based on a lecture course given by Dr. Leonard Peikoff in 1976 entitled, "The Philosophy of Objectivism". The lectures were attended by Ayn Rand, who helped prepare them and who also joined Peikoff in answering questions.

A sacred conversation between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna that teaches timeless lessons about duty, courage, selflessness, and the path to inner peace—simplified for young minds to understand and enjoy.

If you want to find inner peace and wisdom, you don't need to move to an ashram or monastery. Your life, just as it is, is the perfect place to be. Jack Kornfield, one of America's most respected Buddhist teachers, shares this and other key lessons gleaned from more than 40 years of committed study and practice.

Countless people worldwide have made Mindfulness in Plain English a beloved and best-selling classic in almost a dozen languages. Now, after nearly two decades, Bhante helps meditators of every stripe take their mindfulness practice to the next level - helping them go, in a word, beyond mindfulness. In the same warm, clear, and friendly style, Bhante introduces the listener to what have been known for centuries as the jhanas - deeply calm, joyous, and powerful states of meditation.

David Icke’s 1998 book The Biggest Secret was dubbed the Rosetta Stone of conspiracy research for connecting the dots that allowed a much bigger picture to be seen. The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, revealed the language codes that allowed Egyptian hieroglyphics to be understood. Now, The Road Map presents a massive extension and expansion with the benefit of a further three decades of full-time research.

In this fascinating history spanning continents and centuries, historian David Wootton offers a lively defense of science, revealing why the Scientific Revolution was truly the greatest event in our history. The Invention of Science goes back 500 years in time to chronicle this crucial transformation, exploring the factors that led to its birth and the people who made it happen. Wootton argues that the Scientific Revolution was actually five separate yet concurrent events that developed independently.

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. This bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other infamous strategists. The 48 Laws of Power will fascinate any listener interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

This massive 128-hour collection builds a bridge between Western and Eastern philosophy, connecting many of the most important and influential works ever written. Here you’ll encounter thinkers who dared to question everything, challenged the norms of their day and reshaped how humanity sees itself and the world.

In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned collection of essays, Ayn Rand throws new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again, she demonstrates her bold originality and her refusal to let conventional ideas define her sense of the truth. Rand eloquently asserts that one cannot create art without infusing it with one's own value judgments and personal philosophy - even an attempt to withhold moral overtones only results in a deterministic or naturalistic message.

During his lifetime, legendary martial artist Bruce Lee formulated a complex personal philosophy - a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideals - that extolled the virtues of knowledge and total mastery of one's self. Most of his philosophical writings could be found only within the personal library of the Bruce Lee estate - until John Little was given permission to publish them for the wider world.

By 1930, no place in the world was less well explored than Greenland. The native Inuit had occupied the relatively accessible west coast for centuries. The east coast, however, was another story. In August 1930, Henry George Watkins (nicknamed “Gino”), a twenty-three-year-old British explorer, led thirteen scientists and explorers on an ambitious expedition to the east coast of Greenland and into its vast and forbidding interior to set up a permanent meteorological base on the icecap, 8,200 feet above sea level.

Step into the mind of one of literature's most profound anti-heroes in Notes from Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky's existential tour de force. This unabridged classic dives deep into the psychology of alienation, human contradiction, and philosophical rebellion. Revered as a foundational work of existentialist thought, this novel challenges listeners to confront uncomfortable truths about free will, society, and the self.

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels presents history as a continuous struggle between oppressors and the oppressed. In modern society, this conflict is centered on the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The text denounces how capitalism subjects people to the power of capital, reducing human relationships to mere calculations of interest. In response, it calls for the abolition of private property and the creation of a classless society, where the free development of each individual ensures the free development of all.