Other books that might interest you

• 

  Sengoku - Warring States and the...

  Rolf Hedger

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The Sengoku period, meaning “Warring States,” was one of the most turbulent and transformative eras in Japanese history. Lasting from the mid-15th century to the early 17th century, it was marked by ceaseless conflict, shifting alliances, and the gradual disintegration of centralized authority. The roots of this period can be traced back to the decline of the Ashikaga Shogunate, the Ōnin War, and the rise of regional warlords known as daimyo, each vying for control over Japan’s fractured political landscape. 
  The Ashikaga Shogunate, which had ruled Japan since the early 14th century, gradually lost its grip on the country due to internal corruption, weak leadership, and an inability to maintain order. By the mid-15th century, the shogunate had become largely symbolic, with real power resting in the hands of feudal lords. These tensions erupted into full-scale conflict with the outbreak of the Ōnin War (1467–1477), a devastating civil war primarily fought in and around Kyoto. What began as a succession dispute within the shogunate spiraled into a nationwide conflict, leading to the destruction of Kyoto and the collapse of central authority. 
  With the Ashikaga Shogunate rendered powerless, Japan entered a chaotic era where military might determined control. Local daimyo, originally appointed as provincial governors, seized the opportunity to establish autonomous domains. These warlords fortified their territories, raised armies, and engaged in relentless battles to expand their influence. The traditional system of hereditary rule began to erode as capable military leaders, often of humble origins, overthrew established families. This period saw the rise of powerful daimyo such as the Takeda, Uesugi, and Hojo clans, each striving to dominate the fractured nation.

  Show book

• 

  Dancing on Bones - History and...

  Katie Stallard

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  History didn't end. Democracy didn't triumph. America’s leading role in the world is no longer assured. Instead, authoritarian rule is on the rise, and the global order established after 1945 is under attack. This is the phenomenon Katie Stallard tackles in Dancing on  
  Bones as she examines how the leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea manipulate the past to serve the present and secure the future of authoritarian rule. 
   
  Russia has annexed Crimea, started a war in eastern Ukraine, and repeatedly massed troops on its borders. China has stepped up war games near Taiwan and militarized the South China Sea, while North Korea has resumed missile testing and blood-curdling threats  
  against the United States. These three states consistently top lists of threats to US and European security, and yet the leaders of all three insist that it is their country that is threatened, rewriting history and exploiting the memory of the wars of the last century to  
  justify their actions and shore up popular support. Since coming to power, Xi Jinping has almost doubled the length of China’s World War II, Vladimir Putin has elevated the memory of the Great Patriotic War to the status of a national religion, and Kim Jong Un has invested  
  vast sums in rebuilding war museums in his impoverished state, while those who try to challenge the official version of history are silenced and jailed. But this didn’t start with Putin, Xi, and Kim, and it won’t end with them. 
   
  Drawing on first-hand, on-the-ground reporting, Dancing on Bones argues that if we want to understand where these three nuclear powers are heading, we must understand the stories they are telling their citizens about the past.

  Show book

• 

  The Art of Taking It Easy - How...

  Dr. Brian King

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  From a psychologist and stand-up comedian comes a practical, yet laugh-out-loud guide to embracing humor to reduce stress and live a happier, fuller life. 
   
   
   
  Dr. Brian King got a degree in psychology before becoming a world-touring comic and the host of humor therapy seminars attended by more than ten thousand people each year. In this brilliant guide he presents hands-on techniques for managing stress by rewiring our brains to approach potentially difficult situations through a lens of positivity. To do so, Dr. King explores what stress is, where it comes from, and what it does to our bodies and brains. He delves deep into how to address everyday stress—as well as anxiety, insecurities, repression, and negativity—and gives insight into resulting ailments such as anxiety disorders, depression, hypertension, obesity, substance abuse disorders, and more. Dr. King's techniques are chemical and cost free, and embrace humor, resilience, relaxation, optimism, gratitude, and acceptance. Instead of a dry medical approach to dealing with stress, this unique volume is filled with life-changing tips and instructions presented with humor and a wealth of memorable, smile-inducing anecdotes.

  Show book

• 

  Philebus

  Plato

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The dialogue centers around the nature of pleasure and its relationship to the good life. The two main interlocutors in the dialogue are Socrates and Philebus, a prominent Athenian intellectual. Throughout the dialogue, Socrates and Philebus engage in a complex and nuanced discussion about the nature of pleasure and its place in the good life. They explore questions such as whether pleasure is the ultimate good, whether there are different kinds of pleasure, and whether pleasure can be reconciled with reason and virtue. The dialogue highlights the importance of balance and harmony in the pursuit of a good life, and it remains a significant work of philosophy to this day. Read in English, unabridged.

  Show book

• 

  Above Ground

  Clint Smith

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A New York Times bestselling poetry collection from Clint Smith, author of #1 bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award winner How the Word Is Passed.  "A joyful embrace and legacy of bright language and poignant questions." —Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders Clint Smith’s vibrant and compelling new collection traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, and explores how becoming a parent has recalibrated his sense of the world. There are poems that interrogate the ways our lives are shaped by both personal lineages and historical institutions. There are poems that revel in the wonder of discovering the world anew through the eyes of your children, as they discover it for the first time. There are poems that meditate on what it means to raise a family in a world filled with constant social and political tumult. Above Ground wrestles with how we hold wonder and despair in the same hands, how we carry intimate moments of joy and a collective sense of mourning in the same body. Smith’s lyrical, narrative poems bring the reader on a journey not only through the early years of his children’s lives, but through the changing world in which they are growing up—through the changing world of which we are all a part.Above Ground is a breathtaking collection that follows Smith's first award-winning book of poetry, Counting Descent. A Best Book of the Year 2023: TIME • NPR’s Best Books • New York Public Library • Electric Lit • The Root • NBC Today • Mother Jones

  Show book

• 

  Principles of Psicology -...

  William James

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The Principles of Psychology is an 1890 book about psychology by William James, an American philosopher and psychologist who trained to be a physician before going into psychology. There are four methods from James' book: stream of consciousness (James' most famous psychological metaphor); emotion (later known as the James–Lange theory); habit (human habits are constantly formed to achieve certain results); and will (through James' personal experiences in life).

  Show book