This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they d had in school Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors and born vaudevillians Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR s Weekend Edition . Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . . is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism ( What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common? ) to Logic ( Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything ). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read and finally, it all makes sense! Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book. ,
In this groundbreaking work, leading historian FelipeFernández-Armesto tells the story of our hemisphere as a whole,showing why it is impossible to understand North, Central, andSouth America in isolation without turning to the intertwiningforces that shape the region. With imagination, thematic breadth,and his trademark wit, Fernández-Armesto covers a range ofcultural, political, and social subjects, taking us from the dawnof human migration to North America to the Colonial andIndependence periods to the “American Century” and beyond.Fernández-Armesto does nothing less than revise the conventionalwisdom about cross-cultural exchange, conflict, and interaction,making and supporting some brilliantly provocative conclusionsabout the Americas’ past and where we are headed.
After a series of unfortunate choices and events leave herliterally living in the street for three months, Marjane decides toreturn to her native Iran. Here, she is reunited with her family,whose liberalism and emphasis on Marjane's personal worth exert asstrong an influence as the eye-popping wonders of Europe. Havinggrown accustomed to recreational drugs, partying, and dating,Marjane now dons a veil and adjusts to a society officially dividedby gender and guided by fundamentalism. Emboldened by the exampleof her feisty grandmother, she tests the bounds of the moralityenforced on the streets and in the classrooms. With a newappreciation for the political and spiritual struggles of herfellow Iranians, she comes to understand that "one person leavingher house while asking herself, 'is my veil in place?' no longerasks herself 'where is my freedom of speech?'"
