Benjamin Franklin : An American Life Editorial Reviews Benjamin Franklin, writes journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, was that rare Founding Father who would sooner wink at a passer-by than sit still for a formal portrait. What's more, Isaacson relates in this fluent and entertaining biography, the revolutionary leader represents a political tradition that has been all but forgotten today, one that prizes pragmatism over moralism, religious tolerance over fundamentalist rigidity, and social mobility over class privilege. That broadly democratic sensibility allowed Franklin his contradictions, as Isaacson shows. Though a man of lofty principles, Franklin wasn't shy of using sex to sell the newspapers he edited and published; though far from frivolous, he liked his toys and his mortal pleasures; and though he sometimes gave off a simpleton image, he was a shrewd and even crafty politician. Isaacson doesn't shy from enumerating Franklin s occasional peccadilloes and shortcomings, in keepi
Society Of Mind 内容简介 Marvin Minsky -- one of the fathers of computer science and cofounder of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT -- gives a revolutionary answer to the age-old question: "How does the mind work?" Minsky brilliantly portrays the mind as a "society" of tiny components that are themselves mindless. Mirroring his theory, Minsky boldly casts The Society of Mind as an intellectual puzzle whose pieces are assembled along the way. Each chapter -- on a self-contained page -- corresponds to a piece in the puzzle. As the pages turn, a unified theory of the mind emerges, like a mosaic. Ingenious, amusing, and easy to read, The Society of Mind is an adventure in imagination. 编辑推荐 For some artificial intelligence researchers, Minsky's book is too far removed from hard science to be useful. For others, the high-level approach of The Society of Mind makes it a gold mine of ideas waiting to be implemented. The author, one of the undisputed
The Second Curve: Thoughts on Reinventing Society 内容简介 Charles Handy is one of the giants of contemporary thought. His books on management including Understanding Organizations and Gods of Management have changed the way we view business. His work on broader issues and trends such as Beyond Certainty has changed the way we view society. In The Second Curve, Handy builds on a life's work to glimpse into the future and see what challenges and opportunities lie ahead. He looks at current trends in capitalism and asks whether it is a sustainable system. He explores the dangers of a society built on credit. He challenges the myth that remorseless growth is essential. He even asks whether we should rethink our roles in life as students, parents, workers and voters and what the aims of an ideal society of the future should be. Provocative and thoughtful as ever, he sets out the questions we all need to ask ourselves and points us in the direction of some of the a
The Cambridge Companion to Willa Cather offers thirteen originalessays by leading scholars of a major American modernist novelist.Willa Cather's luminous prose is 'easy' to read yet surprisinglydifficult to understand. The essays collected here aretheoretically informed but accessibly written and cover the fullrange of Cather's career, including most of her twelve novels andseveral of her short stories. The essays situate Cather's work in abroad range of critical, cultural, and literary contexts, and theintroduction explores current trends in Cather scholarship as wellas the author's place in contemporary culture. With a detailedchronology and a guide to further reading, the volume offersstudents and teachers a fresh and thorough sense of the author ofMy ?ntonia, The Professor's House, and Death Comes for theArchbishop.
F.A. Hayek (1899-1992) was among the most important economistsand political philosophers of the twentieth century. He is widelyregarded as the principal intellectual force behind the triumph ofglobal capitalism, an 'anti-Marx' who did more than any otherrecent thinker to elucidate the theoretical foundations of the freemarket economy. His account of the role played by market prices intransmitting economic knowledge constituted a devastating critiqueof the socialist ideal of central economic planning, and his famousbook The Road to Serfdom was a prophetic statement of the dangerswhich socialism posed to a free and open society. He also madesignificant contributions to fields as diverse as the philosophy oflaw, the theory of complex systems, and cognitive science. Theessays in this volume, by an international team of contributors,provide a critical introduction to all aspects of Hayek'sthought.
If you work nonstop without a break...worry about offending others and back down too easily...explain too much when asked for information....or "poll" your friends and colleagues before making a decision, chances are you have been bypassed for promotions and ignored when you expressed your ideas. Although you may not be aware of it, girlish behaviors such as these are sabotaging your career! Dr. Lois Frankel reveals why some women roar ahead in their careers while others stagnate. She's spotted a unique set of behaviors--101 in all--that women learn in girlhood that sabotage them as adults. Now, in this groudbreaking guide, she helps you eliminate these unconscious mistakes that could be holding you back--and offers invaluable coaching tips you can easily incorporate into your social and business skills. If you recognize and change the behaviors that say "girl" not "woman", the results will pay off in carrer opportunites you never thought possible--and in an image that identifies you as someone with the powe
A century after the most famous shipwreck in history, The RoughGuide to the Titanic tells the full compelling story of thesupposedly unsinkable liner. A comprehensive history, it coversevery moment of the journery and the Titanic's final hours, fromstriking the iceberg to disappearing beneath the freezing Atlanticwaters. Discover the epic human drama at the heart of the tragedy,with a rich cast of characters including the heroes, villains andvictims aboard the Titanic, and the adventurers who re-discoveredit in 1985. Plus, there are maps, diagrams and images to illustratethe disaster at every turn. The focus also stretches from thepeople who built the Titanic - with their faith in progress andtechnology - to the controversies and conspiracy theories that haveraged ever since its sinking. The Rough Guide to the Titanic alsolooks at the fascination that surrounds the Titanic, including thebooks, music and movies that have kept its memory alive - from thestiff upper lips of 1958's A Night To Remember to the tea
Join the world's hottest pop star on his rollercoaster ride tosuperstardom!plus FREE wall poster, just for you! His debut albumhas already gone platinum. He's sung for the President of theUnited States. His screaming fans have stormed TV studios and shutdown shopping malls. Justin Bieber is a global superstar and now,for the first time ever, he's going to tell all in his very ownbook. Justin's story is the stuff that every kid dreams of. Growingup an only child in Ontario, Canada, Justin had a natural talentfor music; he was forever singing around the house and taughthimself to play drums, guitar, piano and trumpet. He entered alocal singing competition and despite not having had any vocalcoaching, Justin came second aged only 12 years old. But it waswhen he posted homemade pop videos on YouTube that Justin's dreamsreally came true: the videos quickly became a word-of-mouthsensation, garnering an astonishing 10 million hits. Months later,Justin was spotted by top music manager Scooter Braun who laterjoined f
Jason Bourne is searching for an elusive cadre of terroristsplanning to destroy America's most strategic natural resources. Heneeds the help of his long-time friend, General Boris Karpov, thenewly appointed head of Russia's most feared spy agency, FSB-2.Karpov is one of the most determined, honorable, and justice-hungrymen that Bourne knows. But Karpov has made a deal with the devil.In order to remain the head of FSB-2, he must hunt down and killBourne. Now, these two trusted friends are on a deadly collision course.From the Colombian highlands to Munich, Cadiz, and Damascus, theclock is counting down to a disaster that will cripple America'seconomic and military future. Only Bourne and Karpov have a chanceto avert the catastrophe-but if they destroy each other first, thatchance will be gone forever. THE BOURNE DOMINION Jason Bourne is one of the most compelling and best lovedcharacters created by internationally bestselling novelist RobertLudlum. The hero of eight novels, including T
