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. ,

“H.W Brands has given us the authoritative Franklin biographyfor out time.” —Joseph J. Ellis author of the PulitzerPrize-winning Founding Brothers “Like its subject, this biography is both solid and enchanting.”—The New Yorker “[A] biography with a rich cast of secondary characters and alarge and handsome stock of historical scenery.... Brands writesclearly and confidently about the full spectrum of the polymath’sinterests.... This is a Franklin to savor.” —The Wall StreetJournal “Benjamin Franklin’s life is one every American should know well,and it has not been told better than by Mr. Brands.” —The DallasMorning News “A vivid portrait of the 18th-century milieu and of the18th-century man.... [Brands is] a master storyteller.” —TheChristian Science Monitor “A thorough biography of Benjamin Franklin, America’s firstRenaissance man.... In graceful, even witty prose.... Brandsrelates the entire, dense-p

For nearly twenty years, Aaron David Miller has played acentral role in U.S. efforts to broker Arab-Israeli peace as anadvisor to presidents, secretaries of state, and national securityadvisors. Without partisanship or finger-pointing, Miller recordswhat went right, what went wrong, and how we got where we aretoday. Here is a look at the peace process from a place at thenegotiation table, filled with behind-the-scenes strategy, colorfulanecdotes and equally colorful characters, and new interviews withpresidents, secretaries of state, and key Arab and Israelileaders. Honest, critical, and often controversial, Miller’s insider’saccount offers a brilliant new analysis of the problem ofArab-Israeli peace and how it still might be solved.

The political memoiras rousing adventure story—a sizzling account of a life lived inthe thick of every important struggle of the era. April 1973: snow falls thick and fast on the Badlands ofSouth Dakota. It has been more than five weeks since protestingSioux Indians seized their historic village of Wounded Knee, andthe FBI shows no signs of abandoning its siege. When Bill Zimmermanis asked to coordinate an airlift of desperately needed food andmedical supplies, he cannot refuse; flying through gunfire and amechanical malfunction, he carries out a daring dawn raid andsuccess?0?2fully parachutes 1,500 pounds of food into the village.The drop breaks the FBI siege, and assures an Indian victory. This was not the first—or last—time Bill Zimmerman put his life atrisk for the greater social good. In this extraordi?0?2nary memoir,Zimmerman takes us into the hearts and minds of those making thesocial revolution of the sixties. He writes about registering blackvoters in deepest, most racist Mississippi; marc

As a defender of national unity, a leader in war, and theemancipator of slaves, Abraham Lincoln lays ample claim to beingthe greatest of our presidents. But the story of his rise togreatness is as complex as it is compelling. In this superb,prize-winning biography, acclaimed historian Richard Carwardineexamines Lincoln’s dramatic political journey, from his early yearsin the Illinois legislature to his nation-shaping years in theWhite House. Here, Carwardine combines a new perspective with acompelling narrative to deliver a fresh look at one of the pillarsof American politics. He probes the sources of Lincoln’s moral andpolitical philosophy and uses his groundbreaking research to cutthrough the myth and expose the man behind it.

The United States has repeatedly asserted its right to intervene militarily against “failed states” around the globe. In this much-anticipated follow-up to his international bestseller Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky turns the tables, showing how the United States itself shares features with other failed states—suffering from a severe “democratic deficit,” eschewing domestic and international law, and adopting policies that increasingly endanger its own citizens and the world. Exploring the latest developments in U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Chomsky reveals Washington’s plans to further militarize the planet, greatly increasing the risks of nuclear war. He also assesses the dangerous consequences of the occupation of Iraq; documents Washington’s self-exemption from international norms, including the Geneva conventions and the Kyoto Protocol; and examines how the U.S. electoral system is designed to eliminate genuine political alternatives, impeding any meaningful democracy. Forceful

Capitalism has never been a subject for economists alone.Philosophers, politicians, poets and social scientists have debatedthe cultural, moral, and political effects of capitalism forcenturies, and their claims have been many and diverse. The Mindand the Market is a remarkable history of how the idea ofcapitalism has developed in Western thought. Ranging across an ideological spectrum that includes Hobbes,Voltaire, Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, Hegel, Marx, and MatthewArnold, as well as twentieth-century communist, fascist, andneoliberal intellectuals, historian Jerry Muller examines afascinating thread of ideas about the ramifications of capitalismand its future implications. This is an engaging and accessiblehistory of ideas that reverberate throughout everyday life.

A fresh, controversial, brilliantly written account of one ofthe epic dramas of the Cold War-and its lessons for today. "History at its best." -Zbigniew Brzezinski "Gripping, well researched, and thought-provoking, with manylessons for today." -Henry Kissinger "Captures the drama [with] the 'You are there' storytellingskills of a journalist and the analytical skills of the politicalscientist." - General Brent Scowcroft In June 1961, Nikita Khrushchev called it "the most dangerousplace on earth." He knew what he was talking about. Much has been written about the Cuban Missile Crisis a yearlater, but the Berlin Crisis of 1961 was more decisive in shapingthe Cold War-and more perilous. For the first time in history,American and Soviet fighting men and tanks stood arrayed againsteach other, only yards apart. One mistake, one overzealouscommander-and the trip wire would be sprung for a war that would gonuclear in a heartbeat. On one side was a young, untested U.S.president stil

America has a huge problem. It faces four major challenges, onwhich its future depends, and it is failing to meet them. In What'sWrong with America?, Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaumanalyze those challenges - globalization, the revolution ininformation technology, the nation's chronic deficits, and itspattern of energy consumption - and spell out what needs to be donenow to rediscover America's power and prowess. They explain how the end of the cold war blinded the nation tothe need to address these issues seriously. They show how America'shistory, when properly understood, provides the key to copingsuccessfully and explain how the paralysis of the US politicalsystem and the erosion of key American values have made itimpossible to carry out the policies the country needs. What'sWrong with America? is both a searching exploration of the Americancondition today and a rousing manifesto for American renewal.

Since it was first published in 1952, Lincoln and HisGenerals has remained one of the definitive accounts ofLincoln’s wartime leadership. In it T. Harry Williams dramatizesLincoln’s long and frustrating search for an effective leader ofthe Union Army and traces his transformation from a politician withlittle military knowledge into a master strategist of the CivilWar. Explored in depth are Lincoln’s often fraught relationshipswith generals such as McClellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker, Fremont,and of course, Ulysses S. Grant. In this superbly writtennarrative, Williams demonstrates how Lincoln’s persistent“meddling” into military affairs was crucial to the Northern wareffort and utterly transformed the president’s role ascommander-in-chief.

A revised edition of the clasic study of American politicsfrom the Founding Fathers to FDR.

The series of essays that comprise The Federalist constitutes one of the key texts of the American Revolution and thedemocratic system created in the wake of independence. Written in1787 and 1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay topromote the ratification of the proposed Constitution, these papersstand as perhaps the most eloquent testimonial to democracy thatexists. They describe the ideas behind the American system ofgovernment: the separation of powers; the organization of Congress;the respective positions of the executive, legislative, andjudiciary; and much more. The Federalist remains essentialreading for anyone interested in politics and government, andindeed for anyone seeking a foundational statement about democracyand America. This new edition of The Federalist is edited by Robert Scigliano, aprofessor in the political science department at Boston College.His substantive Introduction sheds clarifying new light on thehistorical context and meaning of The Federalist . Scig