Other books that might interest you

• 

  The Wounded Storyteller - Body...

  Arthur W. Frank

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Updated second edition: “A bold and imaginative book which moves our thinking about narratives of illness in new directions.” —Sociology of Heath and Illness 
   
  Since it was first published in 1995, The Wounded Storyteller has occupied a unique place in the body of work on illness. A collective portrait of a so-called “remission society” of those who suffer from illness or disability, as well as a cogent analysis of their stories within a larger framework of narrative theory, Arthur W. Frank’s book has reached a large and diverse readership including the ill, medical professionals, and scholars of literary theory. 
   
  Drawing on the work of such authors as Oliver Sacks, Anatole Broyard, Norman Cousins, and Audre Lorde, as well as from people he met during the years he spent among different illness groups, Frank recounts a stirring collection of illness stories, ranging from the well-known—Gilda Radner’s battle with ovarian cancer—to the private testimonials of people with cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and disabilities. Their stories are more than accounts of personal suffering: They abound with moral choices and point to a social ethic. 
   
  In this new edition Frank adds a preface describing the personal and cultural times when the first edition was written. His new afterword extends the book’s argument significantly, discussing storytelling and experience, other modes of illness narration, and a version of hope that is both realistic and aspirational. Reflecting on his own life during the creation of the first edition and the conclusions of the book itself, he reminds us of the power of storytelling as way to understand our own suffering. 
   
  “Arthur W. Frank’s second edition of The Wounded Storyteller provides instructions for use of this now-classic text in the study of illness narratives.” —Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine 
   
  “Frank sees the value of illness narratives not so much in solving clinical conundrums as in addressing the question of how to live a good life.” —Christianity Today

  Show book

• 

  Plato's Phaedrus

  Plato

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Plato's dialogues frequently treat several topics and show their connections to each other. Phaedrus is a model of that skill because of its seamless progression from examples of speeches about the nature of love to mythical visions of human nature and destiny to the essence of beauty and, finally, to a penetrating discussion of speaking and writing. It ends with an examination of the love of wisdom as a dialectical activity in the human mind.Phaedrus lures Socrates outside the walls of Athens, where he seldom goes, by promising to share a new work by his friend and mentor, Lysias, a famous writer of speeches. This dialogue provides a powerful example of the dialectical writing that Plato uses to manifest ideas that are essential to human existence and to living a good life. Phaedrus shows how oral and written forms of language relate to each other and to philosophy. It simultaneously embodies the entire process in some of the greatest poetry ever written.© Agora Publications

  Show book

• 

  Hitler's Engineers - Fritz Todt...

  Blaine Taylor

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “An intriguing account of two of Nazi Germany’s top architects” and how their work prolonged the war for months—includes hundreds of photos (WWII History).  A Selection of the Military Book Club.   While Nazi Germany’s temporary ascendancy owed much to military skill, the talent of its engineers not only buoyed the regime but allowed it to survive longer than would normally be expected. This unique work focusing on Fritz Todt and Albert Speer is based on many previously unpublished photographs and artwork from captured Nazi records.   Todt was the brilliant builder of the world’s first superhighway system, the Autobahn, and the architect of the German West Wall, the Siegfried Line, that predated the later Atlantic and East Walls. The builder of each of the wartime “Führer Headquarters,” as well as the submarine pens, Todt was killed in a still-mysterious airplane crash that may well have been a Nazi death plot, though he was given a state funeral by Hitler.   Todt was succeeded as German Minister of Armaments and War Production by the Führer’s longtime personal architect, Albert Speer, who was described by the Allies after the war as having prolonged the conflict by at least a year. Called a genius by Hitler, Speer designed and built the prewar Nuremberg Nazi Party Congress rally stands and buildings. More importantly, amid the constant rain of Allied bombs and the Soviet advances from the East, Speer managed to keep the German industrial machine running until the spring of 1945, though it was driven ever further underground. He also allocated resources to fortifications and counterattacks, like the V-missile installations, against both West and East, in attempts to stave off defeat. Convicted as a war criminal at Nuremberg, Speer served twenty years at Spandau Prison and remained a Nazi apologist who died in London in 1981 on the anniversary of the German invasion of Poland.   Together, Todt and Speer were the pillars that propped up the Third Reich through the vicissitudes of battlefield fortune. With over three hundred photographs, this is the first work that examines their role in history’s most terrible war.

  Show book

• 

  More Than Honey - The Survival...

  Claus-Peter Lieckfeld, Markus...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The acclaimed director shares a gorgeously photographed and “wonderfully thorough immersion in the world of bees and beekeeping” (Rowan Jacobsen, author of Fruitless Fall). The saying goes that without bees, humankind would only survive for four more years; these crucial pollinators are, indeed, worth more than honey. In his award-winning documentary More Than Honey, Markus Imhoof introduced audiences to the fascinating world of bees and the perils of Colony Collapse Disorder. Now Imhoof joins with nature writer Claus-Peter Lieckfeld to go deeper into the complex relationship between bees and humans. This book examines the history and current status of our relationship to and reliance on bees while exposing the human behaviors contributing to the decline of the bee population—a decline that could ultimately contribute directly to a world food problem. Illustrated with jaw-droppingly detailed photos of bees, More Than Honey is a fascinating, accessible overview of a species that is inextricably tied to our survival.

  Show book

• 

  At the Water's Edge - A Walk in...

  John Lister-Kaye

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “This wonderful collection of wildlife encounters will make anyone want to pull on their boots and re-discover the world on our doorsteps.”—Kate Humble, TV host & author 
   
  For the last thirty years, naturalist John Lister-Kaye has taken the same circular walk from his home deep in a Scottish glen up to a small hill loch. Each day brings a new observation or an unexpected encounter—a fragile spider’s web, an osprey struggling to lift a trout from the water or a woodcock exquisitely camouflaged on her nest—and every day, on his return home, he records his thoughts in a journal. 
   
  Drawing on this lifetime of close observation, At The Water’s Edge encourages us to look again at the nature around us, to discover its wildness for ourselves and to respect and protect it. 
   
  “A delight.”—Country Life 
   
  “This is a quiet but rousing call to action for anyone who loves the natural world and wants to help preserve it.”—Sunday Telegraph 
   
  “I’d put it in the hands of anyone who ever enjoyed a day out in the fresh air, even those who don’t think they like the countryside: they’ve got to be seduced by this prose.”—BBC Radio Scotland 
   
  “Beautifully observed and rich in description, the book sounds too with an urgent voice, warning of what will be lost to us should we continue to take too little action to protect the natural world.”—Esther Woolfson, author of Field Notes from a Hidden City 
   
  “A thoughtful analyst of the evolutionary interplay between human being and animal.”—The Times

  Show book

• 

  The Age of Living Machines - How...

  Susan Hockfield

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  From the former president of MIT, the story of the next technology revolution, and how it will change our lives. A century ago, discoveries in physics came together with engineering to produce an array of astonishing new technologies: radios, telephones, televisions, aircraft, radar, nuclear power, computers, the Internet, and a host of still-evolving digital tools. These technologies so radically reshaped our world that we can no longer conceive of life without them. Today, the world's population is projected to rise to well over 9.5 billion by 2050, and we are currently faced with the consequences of producing the energy that fuels, heats, and cools us. With temperatures and sea levels rising, and large portions of the globe plagued with drought, famine, and drug-resistant diseases, we need new technologies to tackle these problems. 
  We are on the cusp of a new convergence, argues world-renowned neuroscientist Susan Hockfield, with discoveries in biology coming together with engineering to produce another array of almost inconceivable technologies and next-generation products that have the potential to be every bit as paradigm shifting as the twentieth century's digital wonders. The Age of Living Machines describes some of the most exciting new developments and the scientists and engineers who helped create them. Virus-built batteries. Protein-based water filters. Cancer-detecting nanoparticles. Mind-reading bionic limbs. Computer-engineered crops. Together they highlight the promise of the technology revolution of the twenty-first century to overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical, and environmental challenges of our time.

  Show book