This groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize-winning book sets the standard for interdisciplinary writing, exploring the patterns and symbols in the thinking of mathematician Kurt Godel, artist M.C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Tony Blair has dominated British political life for more thana decade. Like Margaret Thatcher before him, he has changed theterms of political debate and provoked as much condemnation asadmiration. At the end of his era in power, this book presents awide-ranging overview of the achievements and failures of the Blairgovernments. Bringing together Britain's most eminent academics andcommentators on British politics and society, it examines theeffect of the Prime Minister and his administration on themachinery of government, economic and social policy and foreignrelations. Combining serious scholarship with clarity andaccessibility, this book represents the authoritative verdict onthe impact of the Blair years on British politics andsociety. Covers the full term of Blair's leadership of Labour ? AnthonySeldon is a recognized authority on British Prime Ministers, andTony Blair in particular ? Uniquely authoritative with a superbcollection of contributors including John Curtice, Vernon Bogdanor,Sir La

Praise for Nancy Soderberg's The Superpower Myth "A sensible, hard-headed, realistic alternative to the excesses of America's Iraq-era dealings with the world." -James Fallows, National Correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly "One of the greatest strengths of Soderberg's book is her insider's account of many of the seminal events of the 1990s. Soderberg [gives us] a bird's-eye view of such critical issues as intervention in the Balkans and Haiti and U.S. efforts to combat al Qaeda and hunt down Osama bin Laden." -Charles A. Kupchan, The Washington Post Book World "Does America Need a Foreign Policy? by Henry Kissinger, The Choice by Zbigniew Brzezinski, and The Superpower Myth by Nancy Soderberg-all of these authors have firsthand experience in government, and it shows. The Superpower Myth, which doubles as a memoir of Soderberg's years in the Clinton administration, is a history told from inside meeting rooms, full of detail about how government bureaucracies actually function

Why were urban women veiled in the early 1900s, unveiled from 1936 to 1979, and reveiled after the 1979 revolution? This question forms the basis of Hamideh Sedghi's original and unprecedented contribution to politics and Middle Eastern studies. Using primary and secondary sources, Sedghi offers new knowledge on women's agency in relation to state power. In this rigorous analysis she places contention over women at the centre of the political struggle between secular and religious forces and demonstrates that control over women's identities, sexuality, and labor has been central to the consolidation of state power. Sedghi links politics and culture with economics to present an integrated analysis of the private and public lives of different classes of women and their modes of resistance to state power.

The Story of Philosophy is the ultimate exploration of 2,500 years of Western philosophy. From the Ancient Greeks to modern thinkers, The Story of Philosophy brings a stunning and simple approach to tackle history's biggest ideas. Professor Bryan Magee takes you from the origins of philosophy to the present day, from Plato to Popper and into the future. This essential guide is fully updated to include thoughts on our modern society, exploring science and democracy, and posing the question: where do we go from here? Celebrate the world's most revolutionary concepts and understand how these ideas continue to shape our world. Develop your own perspectives and explore relevant issues such as modern logic and religion with this wonderfully comprehensive illustrated guide. In a world of evolving ideas, The Story of Philosophy is a fantastic resource to revisit again and again. Previous edition ISBN 9781405353335 ,

In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called “the audacity of hope.” Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating hu