Modern Politics

Voltaire est un maître de l'ironie et du mot d'esprit. Voilà les armes principales dont ce philosophe des Lumières, dramaturge, scientifique et poète se sert sans relâche dans ses attaques au vitriol contre l'institution catholique, les adversaires de la liberté de culte et d'expression, et de la séparation de l'Église et de l'État. Sélectionnées parmi ses œuvres majeures, ces 100 citations vous familiariseront avec l'essence de sa pensée tout en nourrissant votre esprit de répartie, de "Candide" au "Dictionnaire philosophique", en passant par "Zadig", le "Traité sur la tolérance" ou l'une de ses six mille lettres connues.

Charles de Montesquieu est un penseur politique, précurseur de la sociologie, philosophe et écrivain français des Lumières. Jeune homme passionné par les sciences et à l'aise avec l'esprit de la Régence, Montesquieu publie anonymement les "Lettres persanes" (1721), un roman épistolaire qui fait la satire amusée de la société française vue par des Persans fictifs et met en cause les différents systèmes politiques et sociaux, y compris le leur.

Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest statesman and orator, was elected to the Roman Republic's highest office at a time when his beloved country was threatened by power-hungry politicians, dire economic troubles, foreign turmoil, and political parties that refused to work together. Sound familiar? Cicero's letters, speeches, and other writings are filled with timeless wisdom and practical insight about how to solve these and other problems of leadership and politics. How to Run a Country collects the best of these writings to provide an entertaining, common-sense guide for modern leaders and citizens

A pithy and brilliant introduction to Susan Sontag’s writing on women, gathering early essays on aging, equality, beauty, sexuality, and fascism Susan Sontag was one of the most formidable, original, and influential thinkers of the last century. “The most interesting ideas are heresies,”...

Paul Lafargue propose un court texte argumenté, instructif mais surtout drôle, visant à réhabiliter la paresse comme un droit fondamental de l'homme. C'est un manifeste pour la liberté d'esprit et contre l'abrutissement des masses par le travail ! Car après tout, pourquoi l'effort serait-il plus légitime ? Alors que toute la société valorise la production voire la surproduction, respecter le droit de tous à la paresse ne serait-il pas plus confortable et plus égalitaire ?

Kwasi Kwarteng is the child of parents whose lives were shaped as subjects of the British Empire, first in their native Ghana, then as British immigrants. He brings a unique perspective and impeccable academic credentials to a narrative history of the British Empire, one that avoids sweeping judgmental condemnation and instead sees the Empire for what it was: a series of local fiefdoms administered in varying degrees of competence or brutality by a cast of characters as outsized and eccentric as anything conjured by Gilbert and Sullivan.

In this accessible guide for activists, scholar Lisa Mueller translates cutting-edge empirical research on effective protest to show how to make movements really matter We are in the middle of a historic swell of activism taking place throughout the world. From Occupy Wall Street and the Arab...

The good news is that the great thinkers from history have proposed the same strategies for happiness and fulfilment. The bad news is that these turn out to be the very things most discouraged by contemporary culture. This knotty dilemma is the subject of The Age of Absurdity - a wry and accessible investigation into how the desirable states of well-being and satisfaction are constantly undermined by modern life.

Florida has long beckoned retirees seeking to spend their golden years in the sun, but, for many, the American dream of owning a home there was financially impossible. That changed in the 1950s, when the so-called "installment land sales industry" appeared out of nowhere to hawk billions of dollars of Florida residential property, sight unseen, to retiring northerners. For only $10 down and $10 a month, working-class pensioners could buy a piece of the Florida dream: a graded homesite that would be waiting for them in a planned community when they were ready to build.

Herbert Stanley Redgrove (1887-1943) was a chemist and founding member of the Alchemical Society in London. The most important alchemical theories are discussed in the first part, while the second deals with notable alchemists.

Why are there restaurants? Why would anybody consider eating alongside perfect strangers in a loud and crowded room to be an enjoyable pastime? To find the answer, Rebecca Spang takes us back to France in the eighteenth century, when a restaurant was not a place to eat but a quasi-medicinal bouillon not unlike the bone broths of today.

The eighteenth century was a time of cultural friction: individuals began to assert greater independence and there was a new emphasis on social equality. In this surprising history, Lynn Hunt examines women's expanding societal roles, such as using tea to facilitate conversation between the sexes in Britain. In France, women also pushed boundaries by becoming artists, and printmakers' satiric takes on the elite gave the lower classes a chance to laugh at the upper classes and imagine the potential of political upheaval.

Masculinity today is a mess. One minute you’re told to “man up,” the next, to be more sensitive. Speak up, but don’t offend. Lead, but don’t dominate. Be bold, but stay agreeable. And if you’ve ever felt stuck in the middle of all that—you’re not the only one. Most advice just adds to the confusion. This audiobook cuts through it. It’s not recycled self-help. And it’s not a rant about “real men.” It’s a practical guide built on timeless masculine traits backed by real stories from history, straight-up steps you can use and much more.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The definitive biography of Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful woman in American political history, written by New York Times bestselling author and USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page. Featuring more than 150 exclusive interviews with those who know...

A new classic from the author of Oprah's Book Club picks A Map of the World and The Book of Ruth. "This is the book Jane Hamilton was born to write... [it is] magnificent." —Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth Mary Frances "Frankie" Lombard is fiercely in love with...

In this book in praise of wait times, award-winning author Jason Farman passionately argues that the delay between call and answer has always been an important part of the message. Traveling backward from our current era of Twitter and texts, Farman describes how societies have worked to eliminate waiting in communication and how they have interpreted those times' meanings. And in a rebuttal to the demand for instant communication, Farman makes a powerful case for why good things can come to those who wait.

Hoy en día, el mundo se vacía de cosas y se llena de información inquietante como voces sin cuerpo. La digitalización desmaterializa y descorporeíza el mundo. En lugar de guardar recuerdos, almacenamos inmensas cantidades de datos. Los medios digitales sustituyen así a la memoria, cuyo trabajo hacen sin violencia ni demasiado esfuerzo. La información falsea los acontecimientos.

How to Say No is a delightful collection of brief ancient writings about Cynicism that captures all the outrageousness, wit, and wisdom of its remarkable cast of characters—from Diogenes in the fourth century BCE to the column-stander Symeon Stylites in late antiquity.

The year was 1832, a cholera pandemic raged, and the French royal family was in exile, driven out by yet another revolution. From a drafty Scottish castle, the duchesse de Berry - the mother of the 11-year-old heir to the throne - hatched a plot to restore the Bourbon dynasty. For months, she commanded a guerilla army and evaded capture by disguising herself as a man. But soon she was betrayed by her trusted advisor, Simon Deutz, the son of France's Chief Rabbi.

After suffering from intense anxiety as a child, Thomas Wakechild spent a lifetime dedicated to the study and management of fear. In Ending Fear: The “7 R” Formula for Fearless Awakening, he combines psychological, sociological, and scientific studies to support his unique “7 R” formula to overthrow your fear-based thought system for good. Once implemented, this proven seven-step system will unlock your mind’s ability to determine what principles will guide your life.