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. ,

Warfighting is an authentic American philosophy ofaction that will thrill the millions of fans of SunTzu's The Artof War and Musashi's T he Book of Five Rings . Thismodern classic of strategy and philosophy is the quintessentialguide to prevailing in competitive situations, be it war, work,play, or daily living. Sometimes life is war and sometimes business is war andsometimes you need to call in the Marines. Over the past twohundred years, the Marines have developed a reputation for gettingthe job done-fearlessly, boldly, and taking no prisoners. Whatbetter role model for the hidden warriors in ourselves? What betteradvice to call on when the stakes are high and sensitivity justisn't going to work? Written in 1989 as a philosophical andstrategic guide-book for the US. Marine Corps, Warfighting is a worthy successor to SunTzu's The Art Of War . Withclarity, brevity, and wisdom, it describes the basic forces at workin every competitive situation whether on the field of battle, inthe boardro

In The Fatal Englishman, his first work of nonfiction,Sebastian Faulks explores the lives of three remarkable men. Eachhad the seeds of greatness; each was a beacon to his generation andleft something of value behind; yet each one died tragicallyyoung. Christopher Wood, only twenty-nine when he killed himself, was apainter who lived most of his short life in the beau monde of 1920sParis, where his charm, good looks, and the dissolute life thatfollowed them sometimes frustrated his ambition and achievement asan artist. Richard Hillary was a WWII fighter pilot who wrote a classicaccount of his experiences, The Last Enemy, but died in a mysterious trainingaccident while defying doctor’s orders to stay grounded afterhorrific burn injuries; he was twenty-three. Jeremy Wolfenden, hailed by his contemporaries as the brightestEnglishman of his generation, rejected the call of academia to become a hackjournalist in Cold War Moscow. A spy, alcoholic, and openhomosexual at a time when su

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.

“Uttering lines that send liberals into paroxysms of rage,otherwise known as ‘citing facts,’ is the spice of life. When I seethe hot spittle flying from their mouths and the veins bulging andpulsing above their eyes, well, that’s when I feel trulyalive.” So begins If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans, AnnCoulter’s funniest, most devastating, and, yes, most outrageousbook to date. Coulter has become the brightest star in the conservativefirmament thanks to her razor-sharp reasoning and biting wit. Ofcourse, practically any time she opens her mouth, liberal elitesdenounce Ann, insisting that “She’s gone too far!” and hopefullypredicting that this time it will bring a crashing end to hercareer. Now you can read all the quotes that have so outraged her enemiesand so delighted her legions of fans. More than just the definitivecollection of Coulterisms, If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d BeRepublicans includes dozens of brand-new commentaries written byC

“Nearly forty years after I first got involved, I remaincaptivated by the possibilities of politics and public service. Infact, I believe that my chosen profession is a noble calling.That’s why I wanted to be a part of it.” –Joe Biden As a United States senator from Delaware since 1973, Joe Biden hasbeen an intimate witness to the major events of the past fourdecades and a relentless actor in trying to shape recent Americanhistory. He has seen up close the tragic mistake of the VietnamWar, the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals, the fall of the BerlinWall, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of theSoviet Union, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a presidentialimpeachment, a presidential resignation, and a presidentialelection decided by the Supreme Court. He’s observed Nixon, Ford,Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and two Bushes wrestling with thepresidency; he’s traveled to war zones in Europe, the Middle East,and Africa and seen firsthand the devastation of genocide. Heplayed a vital role

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.

A WATERSHED ACCOUNT OF THE MOST IMPORTANT POLITICAL FRIENDSHIPIN AMERICAN HISTORY In Madison and Jefferson, esteemed historians Andrew Burstein andNancy Isenberg join forces to reveal the crucial partnership of twoextraordinary founders, creating a superb dual biography that is athrilling and unprecedented account of early America. The third and fourth presidents have long been considered properand noble gentlemen, with Thomas Jefferson’s genius overshadowingJames Madison’s judgment and common sense. But in this revelatorybook, both leaders are seen as men of their times, ruthless andhardboiled operatives in a gritty world of primal politics wherethey struggled for supremacy for more than fifty years. In most histories, the elder figure, Jefferson, looms larger. YetMadison is privileged in this book’s title because, as Burstein andIsenberg reveal, he was the senior partner at key moments in theformation of the two-party system. It was Madison who did the mostto initiate George W

Now the inspiration for the CBS Television drama, "TheUnit." Delta Force. They are the U.S. Army's most elite top-secretstrike force. They dominate the modern battlefield, but you won'thear about their heroics on CNN. No headlines can reveal theirtop-secret missions, and no book has ever taken readersinside—until now. Here, a founding member of Delta Force takes usbehind the veil of secrecy and into the action-to reveal thenever-before-told story of 1st Special Forces OperationalDetachment-D (Delta Force). Inside Delta Forece The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit He is a master of espionage, trained to take on hijackers,terrorists, hostage takers, and enemy armies. He can deploy byparachute or arrive by commercial aircraft. Survive alone inhostile cities. Speak foreign languages fluently. Strike at enemytargets with stunning swiftness and extraordinary teamwork. He isthe ultimate modern warrior: the Delta Force Operator. In this dramatic behind-the-scenes ch

Who were the three men the American and Soviet superpowersexchanged at Berlin's Glienicke Bridge and Checkpoint Charlie inthe first and most legendary prisoner exchange between East andWest? Bridge of Spies vividly traces their paths to that exchangeon February 10, 1962, when their fate helped to define theconflicts and lethal undercurrents of the most dangerous years ofthe Cold War. Bridge of Spies is the true story of three extraordinarycharacters – William Fisher, alias Rudolf Abel, a British born KGBagent arrested by the FBI in New York City and jailed as a Sovietsuperspy for trying to steal America’s most precious nuclearsecrets; Gary Powers, the American U-2 pilot who was captured whenhis plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission overthe closed cities of central Russia; and Frederic Pryor, a youngAmerican graduate student in Berlin mistakenly identified as a spy,arrested and held without charge by the Stasi, East Germany’ssecret police. By weaving

In his final book, completed just before his death, Edward W.Said offers impassioned pleas for the beleaguered Palestinian causefrom one of its most eloquent spokesmen. These essays, whichoriginally appeared in Cairo’s Al-Ahram Weekly, London’s Al-Hayat,and the London Review of Books, take us from the Oslo Accordsthrough the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, and present information andperspectives too rarely visible in America. Said is unyielding in his call for truth and justice. He insistson truth about Israel's role as occupier and its treatment of thePalestinians. He pleads for new avenues of communication betweenprogressive elements in Israel and Palestine. And he is equallyforceful in his condemnation of Arab failures and the need for realleadership in the Arab world.

“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

Widely considered in his own time as a genial but provinciallightweight who was out of place in the presidency, Abraham Lincolnastonished his allies and confounded his adversaries by producing aseries of speeches and public letters so provocative that theyhelped revolutionize public opinion on such critical issues ascivil liberties, the use of black soldiers, and the emancipation ofslaves. This is a brilliant and unprecedented examination of howLincoln used the power of words to not only build his politicalcareer but to keep the country united during the Civil War.

The ideas of US Air Force Colonel John Boyd have transformedAmerican military policy and practice. A first-rate fighter pilotand a self-taught scholar, he wrote the first manual on jet aerialcombat; spearheaded the design of both of the Air Force's premierfighters, the F-15 and the F-16; and shaped the tactics that savedlives during the Vietnam War and the strategies that won the GulfWar. Many of America's best-known military and political leadersconsulted Boyd on matters of technology, strategy, andtheory. In The Mind of War, Grant T. Hammond offers the first completeportrait of John Boyd, his groundbreaking ideas, and his enduringlegacy. Based on extensive interviews with Boyd and those who knewhim as well as on a close analysis of Boyd's briefings, thisintellectual biography brings the work of an extraordinary thinkerto a broader public.