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Timeless advice about how to use humor to win over any audience Can jokes win a hostile room, a hopeless argument, or even an election? You bet they can, according to Cicero, and he knew what he was talking about. One of Rome's greatest politicians, speakers, and lawyers, Cicero was also reputedly one of antiquity's funniest people. After he was elected commander-in-chief and head of state, his enemies even started calling him "the stand-up Consul." How to Tell a Joke provides a lively new translation of Cicero's essential writing on humor alongside that of the later Roman orator and educator Quintilian. The result is a timeless practical guide to how a well-timed joke can win over any audience. As powerful as jokes can be, they are also hugely risky. The line between a witty joke and an offensive one isn't always clear. Cross it and you'll look like a clown, or worse. Here, Cicero and Quintilian explore every aspect of telling jokes-while avoiding costly mistakes. Presenting the sections on humor in Cicero's On the Ideal Orator and Quintilian's The Education of the Orator, complete with an enlightening introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Tell a Joke examines the risks and rewards of humor and analyzes basic types that readers can use to write their own jokes. Filled with insight, wit, and examples, including more than a few lawyer jokes, How to Tell a Joke will appeal to anyone interested in humor or the art of public speaking.

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 344, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, ISBN-13: 9780691263519, Date of issue: 2024

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern. We have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "we have no theory." Frankfurt, one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt proceeds by exploring how bullshit and the related concept of humbug are distinct from lying. He argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. In fact, bullshit need not be untrue at all. Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

Longlisted for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year AwardHow 1,000 years of global history show why technological and economic progress is often followed by stagnation and even collapseIn How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey challenges the conventional belief that economic and technological progress is inevitable. For most of human history, stagnation was the norm, and even today progress and prosperity in the world’s largest, most advanced economies—the United States and China—have fallen short of expectations. To appreciate why we cannot depend on any AI-fueled great leap forward, Frey offers a remarkable and fascinating journey across the globe, spanning the past 1,000 years, to explain why some societies flourish and others fail in the wake of rapid technological change.By examining key historical moments—from the rise of the steam engine to the dawn of AI—Frey shows why technological shifts have shaped, and sometimes destabilized, entire civilizations. He explores why some leading technological powers of the past—such as Song China, the Dutch Republic, and Victorian Britain—ultimately lost their innovative edge, why some modern nations such as Japan had periods of rapid growth followed by stagnation, and why planned economies like the Soviet Union collapsed after brief surges of progress. Frey uncovers a recurring tension in history: while decentralization fosters the exploration of new technologies, bureaucracy is crucial for scaling them.When institutions fail to adapt to technological change, stagnation inevitably follows. Only by carefully balancing decentralization and bureaucracy can nations innovate and grow over the long term—findings that have worrying implications for the United States, Europe, China, and other economies today. Through a rich narrative that weaves together history, economics, and technology, How Progress Ends reveals that managing the future requires us to draw the right lessons from the past.

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 400, Publishers: Princeton University Press, ISBN-13: 9780691261911, Date of issue: 2026

Amazons - fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world - were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons. But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China. Driven by a detectives curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men. The result is likely to become a classic.

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 304, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: Donald Mackenzie, ISBN-13: 9780691217789, Date of issue: 2023

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 480, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: Iain Campbell,Pete Morris, ISBN-13: 9780691245171, Date of issue: 2026

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 232, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: Gillian Murphy, ISBN-13: 9780691257099, Date of issue: 2025

A clear, accessible exploration of how and why we love by prominent philosopher and bestselling author Harry FrankfurtIn The Reasons of Love, leading moral philosopher and bestselling author Harry Frankfurt argues that the key to a

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 272, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: Joshua N. Winn, ISBN-13: 9780691215471, Date of issue: 2023

• Klapiga kaas 17 cm (6.7") Samsung • Plast • Must • Tolmukindel, Löögikindel, Kriimukindel • Kaarditasku dbramante1928 Oslo Pro, Klapiga kaas, Samsung, Galaxy S25 FE, 17 cm (6.7"), Must

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 288, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: David G. James, ISBN-13: 9780691240565, Date of issue: 2023

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 400, Publishers: Princeton University Press, ISBN-13: 9780691255262, Date of issue: 2025

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Publishers: Princeton Univ PR, ISBN-13: 9780691268316, Date of issue: 2025

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 208, Publishers: Princeton University Press, ISBN-13: 9780691268651, Date of issue: 2026

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 464, Publishers: Princeton University Press, ISBN-13: 9780691284484, Date of issue: 2026

Steve Bannon in the United States. Aleksandr Dugin in Russia. Olavo de Carvalho in Brazil. All rising to positions of power in the past decade. All affiliated with an obscure philosophical movement called Traditionalism. Since its birth in the early

Examines the philosophical ideas and political theories belonging to one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century, whose work exploring the meaning and construction of power, evil, totalitarianism and direct democracy was informed by her experience of the Holocaust. Original. Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was one of the major intellectual figures of the twentieth century. Born in Konigsberg to secular Jewish parents, she was a student of the two major exponents of Existenz philosophy in Germany, Karl Jaspers and Martin Heidegger. Arendt escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, traveling first to Paris and then in 1940 to the United States, where she gained citizenship in 1951. As director of the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction she oversaw the collection and presentation of over 1.5 million articles of Judaica and Hebraica that had been hidden from or looted by the Nazis.This Very Short Introduction explores the philosophical ideas and political theories belonging to one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. As a survivor of the Holocaust, Arendt's life informed her work exploring the meaning and construction of power, evil, totalitarianism, and direct democracy. Through insightful readings of Arendt's best-known works, from The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) to The Life of the Mind (1978), Dana Villa traces the importance of Arendt's ideas for today's reader. In so doing, Villa explains how Arendt gained world-wide fame with the publication of Origins, and went on to have a distinguished career as a political theorist and public intellectual. A sometimes controversial figure, Arendt is now recognised as one of the most important political thinkers of the twentieth century and her works have become an acknowledged part of the Western canon of political theory and philosophy.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

"A garden of geologic delights for all EarthlingsGeopedia is a trove of geologic wonders and the evocative terms that humans have devised to describe them. Featuring dozens of entries-from Acasta gneiss to Zircon-this illustrated compendium is brimming with lapidary and lexical insights that will delight rockhounds and word lovers alike.Geoscientists are magpies for words, and with good reason. The sheer profusion of minerals, landforms, and geologic events produced by our creative planet demands an immense vocabulary to match. Marcia Bjornerud shows how this lexicon reflects not only the diversity of rocks and geologic processes but also the long history of human interactions with them.With wit and warmth, she invites all readers to celebrate the geologic glossary-a gallimaufry of allusions to mythology, imports from diverse languages, embarrassing anachronisms, and recent neologisms. This captivating book includes cross-references at the end of each entry, inviting you to leave the alphabetic trail andmeander through it like a river. Its pocket-friendly size makes it the perfect travel companion no matter where your own geologic forays may lead you.With whimsical illustrations by Haley Hagerman, Geopedia is a mix of engaging and entertaining facts about how the earth works, how it has coevolved with life over billions of years, and how our understanding of the planet has deepened over time.Features a real cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design"-- "Geopedia is a brief compendium of geological facts and lore, by the award-winning author of Timefulness"-- A garden of geologic delights for all EarthlingsGeopedia is a trove of geologic wonders and the evocative terms that humans have devised to describe them. Featuring dozens of entries—from Acasta gneiss to Zircon—this illustrated compendium is brimming with lapidary and lexical insights that will delight rockhounds and word lovers alike.Geoscientists are magpies for words, and with good reason. The sheer profusion of minerals, landforms, and geologic events produced by our creative planet demands an immense vocabulary to match. Marcia Bjornerud shows how this lexicon reflects not only the diversity of rocks and geologic processes but also the long history of human interactions with them.With wit and warmth, she invites all readers to celebrate the geologic glossary—a gallimaufry of allusions to mythology, imports from diverse languages, embarrassing anachronisms, and recent neologisms. This captivating book includes cross-references at the end of each entry, inviting you to leave the alphabetic trail and meander through it like a river. Its pocket-friendly size makes it the perfect travel companion no matter where your own geologic forays may lead you.With whimsical illustrations by Haley Hagerman, Geopedia is a mix of engaging and entertaining facts about how the earth works, how it has coevolved with life over billions of years, and how our understanding of the planet has deepened over time.Features a real cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design Autorid: Marcia Bjornerud, Haley Hagerman

An engaging and enlightening account of taxation told through lively, dramatic, and sometimes ludicrous stories drawn from around the world and across the agesGovernments have always struggled to tax in ways that are effective and tolerably fair. Sometimes they fail grotesquely, as when, in 1898, the British ignited a rebellion in Sierra Leone by imposing a tax on huts—and, in repressing it, ended up burning the very huts they intended to tax. Sometimes they succeed astonishingly, as when, in eighteenth-century Britain, a cut in the tax on tea massively increased revenue. In this entertaining book, two leading authorities on taxation, Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod, provide a fascinating and informative tour through these and many other episodes in tax history, both preposterous and dramatic—from the plundering described by Herodotus and an Incan tax payable in lice to the (misremembered) Boston Tea Party and the scandals of the Panama Papers. Along the way, readers meet a colorful cast of tax rascals, and even a few tax heroes.While it is hard to fathom the inspiration behind such taxes as one on ships that tended to make them sink, Keen and Slemrod show that yesterday’s tax systems have more in common with ours than we may think. Georgian England’s window tax now seems quaint, but was an ingenious way of judging wealth unobtrusively. And Tsar Peter the Great’s tax on beards aimed to induce the nobility to shave, much like today’s carbon taxes aim to slow global warming.Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue is a surprising and one-of-a-kind account of how history illuminates the perennial challenges and timeless principles of taxation—and how the past holds clues to solving the tax problems of today. Autorid: Michael Keen, Joel Slemrod

An essential exploration of the engineering aesthetics of celebrated structures from long-span bridges to high-rise buildingsWhat do structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the concrete roofs of Pier Luigi Nervi have in common? According to The Tower and the Bridge, all are striking examples of structural art, an exciting area distinct from either architecture or machine design. Aided by stunning photographs, David Billington discusses the technical concerns and artistic principles underpinning the well-known projects of leading structural engineer-artists, including Othmar Ammann, Félix Candela, Gustave Eiffel, Fazlur Khan, Robert Maillart, John Roebling, and many others. A classic work, The Tower and the Bridge introduces readers to the fundamental aesthetics of engineering. Autorid: David P. Billington

"At the age of 33, Tullia Ciceronis died from complications due to childbirth. Her father, the consul Marcus Tullius Cicero, was utterly distraught, as his contemporary letters and passages in the Tusculan Disputations make clear. And in an effort to grieve, Cicero did something new in world history: for the first time, he wrote a consolation speech-not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. This was his coping strategy, and it prefigures the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and so many other thinkers throughout history who write letters to themselves. Cicero's Consolation was lost in antiquity. In the Renaissance, a philologist named Charles (Carlo) Sigoni recreated the speech. He gathered all the extant quotations and, on the analogy of restoring missing pieces of sculpture or lost paintings, he drew on everything he could find in Cicero to write a new speech that effectively recreated the lost one. And for a while, it worked. For centuries many great scholars believed Sigoni really had discovered the speech, rather than recreated it. Alas, subsequent scholarship has proven the opposite. Signoni very probably did write it. But the authorship question is less important than the contents. The speech shows that Sigoni knew all the conventionsof the Consolation genre, and the historical events of Tullia's life, at least as well as any scholar then or now. It is a masterpiece: a fascinating read in Classical Latin, and it deserves a wide audience"-- An engaging new translation of a timeless masterpiece about coping with the death of a loved oneIn 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to cope with his loss, he wrote a consolation speech—not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. And it worked. Cicero’s Consolation was something new in literature, equal parts philosophy and motivational speech. Drawing on the full range of Greek philosophy and Roman history, Cicero convinced himself that death and loss are part of life, and that if others have survived them, we can, too; resilience, endurance, and fortitude are the way forward.Lost in antiquity, Cicero’s Consolation was recreated in the Renaissance from hints in Cicero’s other writings and the Greek and Latin consolatory tradition. The resulting masterpiece—translated here for the first time in 250 years—is infused throughout with Cicero’s thought and spirit.Complete with the original Latin on facing pages and an inviting introduction, Michael Fontaine’s engaging translation makes this searching exploration of grief available to readers once again. Autorid: Marcus Tullius Cicero, Michael Fontaine

"This book covers such topics as Lp spaces, distributions, Baire category, probability theory and Brownian motion, several complex variables and oscillatory integrals in Fourier analysis. The authors focus on key results in each area, highlighting their importance and the organic unity of the subject"-- "This is the fourth and final volume in the Princeton Lectures in Analysis, a series of textbooks that aim to present, in an integrated manner, the core areas of analysis. Beginning with the basic facts of functional analysis, this volume looks at Banachspaces, Lp spaces, and distribution theory, and highlights their roles in harmonic analysis. The authors then use the Baire category theorem to illustrate several points, including the existence of Besicovitch sets. The second half of the book introducesreaders to other central topics in analysis, such as probability theory and Brownian motion, which culminates in the solution of Dirichlet's problem. The concluding chapters explore several complex variables and oscillatory integrals in Fourier analysis,and illustrate applications to such diverse areas as nonlinear dispersion equations and the problem of counting lattice points. Throughout the book, the authors focus on key results in each area and stress the organic unity of the subject. A comprehensive and authoritative text that treats some of the main topics of modern analysis. A look at basic functional analysis and its applications in harmonic analysis, probability theory, and several complex variables. Key results in each area discussed in relation to other areas of mathematics. Highlights the organic unity of large areas of analysis traditionally split into subfields. Interesting exercises and problems illustrate ideas. Clear proofs provided" -- This is the fourth and final volume in the Princeton Lectures in Analysis, a series of textbooks that aim to present, in an integrated manner, the core areas of analysis. Beginning with the basic facts of functional analysis, this volume looks at Banach spaces, Lp spaces, and distribution theory, and highlights their roles in harmonic analysis. The authors then use the Baire category theorem to illustrate several points, including the existence of Besicovitch sets. The second half of the book introduces readers to other central topics in analysis, such as probability theory and Brownian motion, which culminates in the solution of Dirichlet's problem. The concluding chapters explore several complex variables and oscillatory integrals in Fourier analysis, and illustrate applications to such diverse areas as nonlinear dispersion equations and the problem of counting lattice points. Throughout the book, the authors focus on key results in each area and stress the organic unity of the subject.A comprehensive and authoritative text that treats some of the main topics of modern analysisA look at basic functional analysis and its applications in harmonic analysis, probability theory, and several complex variablesKey results in each area discussed in relation to other areas of mathematics Highlights the organic unity of large areas of analysis traditionally split into subfieldsInteresting exercises and problems illustrate ideas Clear proofs provided Autorid: Elias M. Stein, Rami Shakarchi

"Magical Mathematics reveals the secrets of amazing, fun-to-perform card tricks--and the profound mathematical ideas behind them--that will astound even the most accomplished magician. Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham provide easy, step-by-step instructionsfor each trick, explaining how to set up the effect and offering tips on what to say and do while performing it. Each card trick introduces a new mathematical idea, and varying the tricks in turn takes readers to the very threshold of today's mathematical knowledge. For example, the Gilbreath principle--a fantastic effect where the cards remain in control despite being shuffled--is found to share an intimate connection with the Mandelbrot set. Other card tricks link to the mathematical secrets of combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, topology, the Riemann hypothesis, and even Fermat's last theorem. Diaconis and Graham are mathematicians as well as skilled performers with decades of professional experience between them. In this book they share a wealth of conjuring lore, including some closely guarded secrets of legendary magicians. Magical Mathematics covers the mathematics of juggling and shows how the I Ching connects to the history of probability and magic tricks both old and new. It tells the stories--and reveals the best tricks--of the eccentric and brilliant inventors of mathematical magic. Magical Mathematics exposes old gambling secrets through the mathematics of shuffling cards, explains the classic street-gambling scam of three-card monte, traces the history of mathematical magic back to the thirteenth century and the oldest mathematical trick--and much more"-- Magical Mathematics reveals the secrets of fun-to-perform card tricks--and the profound mathematical ideas behind them--that will astound even the most accomplished magician. Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham provide easy, step-by-step instructions for each trick, explaining how to set up the effect and offering tips on what to say and do while performing it. Each card trick introduces a new mathematical idea, and varying the tricks in turn takes readers to the very threshold of today's mathematical knowledge.Diaconis and Graham tell the stories--and reveal the best tricks--of the eccentric and brilliant inventors of mathematical magic. The book exposes old gambling secrets through the mathematics of shuffling cards, explains the classic street-gambling scam of three-card Monte, traces the history of mathematical magic back to the oldest mathematical trick--and much more. Autorid: Persi Diaconis, Ron Graham, Martin Gardner

An outrageous graphic novel that investigates key concepts in mathematics Integers and permutationstwo of the most basic mathematical objectsare born of different fields and analyzed with separate techniques. Yet when the Mathematical Sciences Investigation team of crack forensic mathematicians, led by Professor Gauss, begins its autopsies of the victims of two seemingly unrelated homicides, Arnie Integer and Daisy Permutation, they discover the most extraordinary similarities between the structures of each body. Prime Suspects is a graphic novel that takes you on a voyage of forensic discovery, exploring some of the most fundamental ideas in mathematics. Travel with Detective von Neumann as he leaves no clue unturned, from shepherds huts in the Pyrenees to secret societies in the cafés of Paris, from the hidden codes in the music of the stones to the grisly discoveries in Finite Fields. Tremble at the ferocity of the believers in deep and rigid abstraction. Feel the frustrationand the excitementof our young heroine, Emmy Germain, as she blazes a trail for women in mathematical research and learns from Professor Gauss, the greatest forensic detective of them all. Beautifully drawn and exquisitely detailed, Prime Suspects is unique, astonishing, and wittya once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience mathematics like never before. Autorid: Andrew Granville, Jennifer Granville

The last decade has brought dramatic changes in the way that researchers analyze time series data. This much-needed book synthesizes all of the major recent advances and develops a single, coherent presentation of the current state of the art of this increasingly important field. James Hamilton provides for the first time a thorough and detailed textbook account of important innovations such as vector autoregressions, estimation by generalized method of moments, the economic and statistical consequences of unit roots, time-varying variances, and nonlinear time series models. In addition, Hamilton presents traditional tools for analyzing dynamic systems, including linear representations, autocovariance, generating functions, spectral analysis, and the Kalman filter, illustrating their usefulness both for economic theory and for studying and interpreting real-world data.This book is intended to provide students, researchers, and forecasters with a definitive, self-contained survey of dynamic systems, econometrics, and time series analysis. Starting from first principles, Hamilton's lucid presentation makes both old and new developments accessible to first-year graduate students and nonspecialists. Moreover, the work's thoroughness and depth of coverage will make Time Series Analysis an invaluable reference for researchers at the frontiers of the field. Hamilton achieves these dual objectives by including numerous examples that illustrate exactly how the theoretical results are used and applied in practice, while relegating many details to mathematical appendixes at the end of chapters. As an intellectual roadmap of the field for students and researchers alike, this volume promises to be the authoritative guide for years to come. The last decade has brought dramatic changes in the way that researchers analyze economic and financial time series. This book synthesizes these recent advances and makes them accessible to first-year graduate students. James Hamilton provides the first adequate text-book treatments of important innovations such as vector autoregressions, generalized method of moments, the economic and statistical consequences of unit roots, time-varying variances, and nonlinear time series models. In addition, he presents basic tools for analyzing dynamic systems (including linear representations, autocovariance generating functions, spectral analysis, and the Kalman filter) in a way that integrates economic theory with the practical difficulties of analyzing and interpreting real-world data. Time Series Analysis fills an important need for a textbook that integrates economic theory, econometrics, and new results.The book is intended to provide students and researchers with a self-contained survey of time series analysis. It starts from first principles and should be readily accessible to any beginning graduate student, while it is also intended to serve as a reference book for researchers. Autorid: James D. Hamilton

"In 1995, the editor of the newsletter for the Royal Economic Society, who was a fan of Alistair Cooke's Letter from America on BBC Radio 4, suggested to Angus Deaton that he write a Letter about economic events in America. Twenty-five years later, Deaton, now a Nobel laureate and one of the world's most respected economists, submitted his fiftieth and final Letter from America. Over the years Deaton wrote about many topics, from the War on Terror to healthcare to becoming a US citizen, all from the perspective of a Scottish/British economist. In the letters he writes about both the economics profession in America as well as American society more generally. The letters show how he admired many aspects of American life while watching others with "fascinated horror." He wrote about the positive and negative aspects of American economics, including aspects that fostered and stifled new ideas. About American society, he "frequently wrote about aspects of American inequality, not only in income and wealth, but inequality across race and citizenship, and my evolving understanding that the American government, unlike the British government, which my parents and I had confidently looked to for protection, was frequently an oppressor, more often redistributing upthan down.""-- "From the Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times-bestselling coauthor of Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, candid reflections on the economist's craftWhen economist Angus Deaton immigrated to the United States from Britain in the early 1980s, he was awed by America's strengths and shocked by the extraordinary gaps he witnessed between people. Economics in America explains in clear terms how the field of economics addresses the most pressing issues of our times-from poverty, retirement, and the minimum wage to the ravages of the nation's uniquely disastrous health care system-and narrates Deaton's own account of his experiences as a naturalized US citizen and academic economist.Deaton is witty and he pulls no punches. In this incisive, candid, and funny book, he describes the everyday lives of working economists, recounting the triumphs as well as the disasters, and tells the inside story of the Nobel Prize in economics and the journey that led him to Stockholm to receive one. He discusses the ongoing tensions between economics and politics-and the extent to which economics has any content beyond the political prejudices of economists-and reflects on whether economists bear at least some responsibility for the growing despair and rising populism in America.Blending rare personal insights with illuminating perspectives on the social challenges that confront us today, Deaton offers a disarmingly frank critique of his own profession while shining a light on his adopted country's policy accomplishments and failures"-- From the Nobel Prize–winning economist and New York Times bestselling coauthor of Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, candid reflections on the economist’s craftWhen economist Angus Deaton immigrated to the United States from Britain in the early 1980s, he was awed by America’s strengths and shocked by the extraordinary gaps he witnessed between people. Economics in America explains in clear terms how the field of economics addresses the most pressing issues of our time—from poverty, retirement, and the minimum wage to the ravages of the nation’s uniquely disastrous health care system—and narrates Deaton’s account of his experiences as a naturalized US citizen and academic economist.Deaton is witty and pulls no punches. In this incisive, candid, and funny book, he describes the everyday lives of working economists, recounting the triumphs as well as the disasters, and tells the inside story of the Nobel Prize in economics and the journey that led him to Stockholm to receive one. He discusses the ongoing tensions between economics and politics—and the extent to which economics has any content beyond the political prejudices of economists—and reflects on whether economists bear at least some responsibility for the growing despair and rising populism in America.Blending rare personal insights with illuminating perspectives on the social challenges that confront us today, Deaton offers a disarmingly frank critique of his own profession while shining a light on his adopted country’s policy accomplishments and failures. Autorid: Angus Deaton

A panoramic history of rules in the Western worldRules order almost every aspect of our lives. They set our work hours, dictate how we drive and set the table, tell us whether to offer an extended hand or cheek in greeting, and organize the rites of life, from birth through death. We may chafe under the rules we have, and yearn for ones we don’t, yet no culture could do without them. In Rules, historian Lorraine Daston traces their development in the Western tradition and shows how rules have evolved from ancient to modern times. Drawing on a rich trove of examples, including legal treatises, cookbooks, military manuals, traffic regulations, and game handbooks, Daston demonstrates that while the content of rules is dazzlingly diverse, the forms that they take are surprisingly few and long-lived.Daston uncovers three enduring kinds of rules: the algorithms that calculate and measure, the laws that govern, and the models that teach. She vividly illustrates how rules can change—how supple rules stiffen, or vice versa, and how once bothersome regulations become everyday norms. Rules have been devised for almost every imaginable activity and range from meticulous regulations to the laws of nature. Daston probes beneath this variety to investigate when rules work and when they don’t, and why some philosophical problems about rules are as ancient as philosophy itself while others are as modern as calculating machines.Rules offers a wide-angle view on the history of the constraints that guide us—whether we know it or not. Autorid: Lorraine Daston

Money in the history of political thought, from ancient Greece to the Great Inflation of the 1970sIn the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, critical attention has shifted from the economy to the most fundamental feature of all market economies—money. Yet despite the centrality of political struggles over money, it remains difficult to articulate its democratic possibilities and limits. The Currency of Politics takes readers from ancient Greece to today to provide an intellectual history of money, drawing on the insights of key political philosophers to show how money is not just a medium of exchange but also a central institution of political rule.Money appears to be beyond the reach of democratic politics, but this appearance—like so much about money—is deceptive. Even when the politics of money is impossible to ignore, its proper democratic role can be difficult to discern. Stefan Eich examines six crucial episodes of monetary crisis, recovering the neglected political theories of money in the thought of such figures as Aristotle, John Locke, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He shows how these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money, and argues that informed public debate about money requires a better appreciation of the diverse political struggles over its meaning.Recovering foundational ideas at the intersection of monetary rule and democratic politics, The Currency of Politics explains why only through greater awareness of the historical limits of monetary politics can we begin to articulate more democratic conceptions of money. Autorid: Stefan Eich

A panoramic narrative that places ancient Africa on the stage of world historyThis book brings together archaeological and linguistic evidence to provide a sweeping global history of ancient Africa, tracing how the continent played an important role in the technological, agricultural, and economic transitions of world civilization. Christopher Ehret takes readers from the close of the last Ice Age some ten thousand years ago, when a changing climate allowed for the transition from hunting and gathering to the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock, to the rise of kingdoms and empires in the first centuries of the common era.Ehret takes up the problem of how we discuss Africa in the context of global history, combining results of multiple disciplines. He sheds light on the rich history of technological innovation by African societies—from advances in ceramics to cotton weaving and iron smelting—highlighting the important contributions of women as inventors and innovators. He shows how Africa helped to usher in an age of agricultural exchange, exporting essential crops as well as new agricultural methods into other regions, and how African traders and merchants led a commercial revolution spanning diverse regions and cultures. Ehret lays out the deeply African foundations of ancient Egyptian culture, beliefs, and institutions and discusses early Christianity in Africa.A monumental achievement by one of today’s eminent scholars, Ancient Africa offers vital new perspectives on our shared past, explaining why we need to reshape our historical frameworks for understanding the ancient world as a whole. Autorid: Christopher Ehret

"An enticing and entrancing new telling of ancient Greek myths Gripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. Little wonder that they continue to fascinate readers thousands of years after they were first told. Gods and Mortals is a major new telling of ancient Greek myths by one of the world's preeminent experts. In a fresh, vibrant, and compelling style that draws readers into the lives of the characters, Sarah Iles Johnston offers new narrations of all the best-known tales as well as others that are seldom told, taking readers on an enthralling journey from the origin of the cosmos to the aftermath of the Trojan War. Some of the mortals in these stories are cursed by the gods, while luckier ones are blessed with resourcefulness and resilience. Gods transform themselves into animals, humans, and shimmering gold to visit the earth in disguise-where they sometimes transform offending mortals into new forms, too: a wolf, a spider, a craggy rock. Other mortals-both women and men-use their wits and strength to conquer the monsters created by the gods-gorgons, dragons, harpies, fire-breathing bulls.Featuring captivating original illustrations by Tristan Johnston, Gods and Mortals highlights the rich connections between the different characters and stories, draws attention to the often-overlooked perspectives of female characters, and stays true both to the tales and to the world in which ancient people lived. The result is an engaging and entertaining new take on the Greek myths"-- "A new and modern retelling of all the major myths of Ancient Greek mythology by one of the leading scholars of classical myth"-- An enticing and entrancing new telling of ancient Greek myths Gripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. Little wonder that they continue to fascinate readers thousands of years after they were first told. Gods and Mortals is a major new telling of ancient Greek myths by one of the world’s preeminent experts. In a fresh, vibrant, and compelling style that draws readers into the lives of the characters, Sarah Iles Johnston offers new narrations of all the best-known tales as well as others that are seldom told, taking readers on an enthralling journey from the origin of the cosmos to the aftermath of the Trojan War.Some of the mortals in these stories are cursed by the gods, while luckier ones are blessed with resourcefulness and resilience. Gods transform themselves into animals, humans, and shimmering gold to visit the earth in disguise—where they sometimes transform offending mortals into new forms, too: a wolf, a spider, a craggy rock. Other mortals—both women and men—use their wits and strength to conquer the monsters created by the gods—gorgons, dragons, harpies, fire-breathing bulls.Featuring captivating original illustrations by Tristan Johnston, Gods and Mortals highlights the rich connections between the different characters and stories, draws attention to the often-overlooked perspectives of female characters, and stays true both to the tales and to the world in which ancient people lived. The result is an engaging and entertaining new take on the Greek myths. Autorid: Sarah Iles Johnston

An unforgettable journey into the forgotten history of medieval Africa From the birth of Islam in the seventh century to the voyages of European exploration in the fifteenth, Africa was at the center of a vibrant exchange of goods and ideas. It was an African golden age in which Ghâna, Nubia, and Zimbabwe became the crossroads of civilizations, and where African royals, thinkers, and artists played celebrated roles in an increasingly globalized world. François-Xavier Fauvelle brings this thrilling era marvelously to life. A book that finally recognizes Africa's important role in the Middle Ages, The Golden Rhinoceros carefully pieces together the written and archaeological evidence to tell an unforgettable story that is at once sensitive to Africas rich social diversity and alert to the trajectories that connected Africa with the wider Muslim and Christian worlds. Autorid: François-Xavier Fauvelle, Troy Tice

A bold reassessment of "smart cities" that reveals what is lost when we conceive of our urban spaces as computersComputational models of urbanism—smart cities that use data-driven planning and algorithmic administration—promise to deliver new urban efficiencies and conveniences. Yet these models limit our understanding of what we can know about a city. A City Is Not a Computer reveals how cities encompass myriad forms of local and indigenous intelligences and knowledge institutions, arguing that these resources are a vital supplement and corrective to increasingly prevalent algorithmic models.Shannon Mattern begins by examining the ethical and ontological implications of urban technologies and computational models, discussing how they shape and in many cases profoundly limit our engagement with cities. She looks at the methods and underlying assumptions of data-driven urbanism, and demonstrates how the "city-as-computer" metaphor, which undergirds much of today's urban policy and design, reduces place-based knowledge to information processing. Mattern then imagines how we might sustain institutions and infrastructures that constitute more diverse, open, inclusive urban forms. She shows how the public library functions as a steward of urban intelligence, and describes the scales of upkeep needed to sustain a city's many moving parts, from spinning hard drives to bridge repairs.Incorporating insights from urban studies, data science, and media and information studies, A City Is Not a Computer offers a visionary new approach to urban planning and design. Autorid: Shannon Mattern

An unparalleled exploration of magic in the Greco-Roman worldWhat did magic mean to the people of ancient Greece and Rome? How did Greeks and Romans not only imagine what magic could do, but also use it to try to influence the world around them? In Drawing Down the Moon, Radcliffe Edmonds, one of the foremost experts on magic, religion, and the occult in the ancient world, provides the most comprehensive account of the varieties of phenomena labeled as magic in classical antiquity. Exploring why certain practices, images, and ideas were labeled as “magic” and set apart from “normal” kinds of practices, Edmonds gives insight into the shifting ideas of religion and the divine in the ancient past and later Western tradition.Using fresh approaches to the history of religions and the social contexts in which magic was exercised, Edmonds delves into the archaeological record and classical literary traditions to examine images of witches, ghosts, and demons as well as the fantastic powers of metamorphosis, erotic attraction, and reversals of nature, such as the famous trick of drawing down the moon. From prayer and divination to astrology and alchemy, Edmonds journeys through all manner of ancient magical rituals and paraphernalia—ancient tablets, spell books, bindings and curses, love charms and healing potions, and amulets and talismans. He considers the ways in which the Greco-Roman discourse of magic was formed amid the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, including Egypt and the Near East.An investigation of the mystical and marvelous, Drawing Down the Moon offers an unparalleled record of the origins, nature, and functions of ancient magic. Autorid: Radcliffe G. Edmonds, III

Since the publication of the first edition in 1966, Eye and Brain has established itself worldwide as an essential introduction to the basic phenomena of visual perception. Richard Gregory offers clear explanations of how we see brightness, movement, color, and objects, and he explores the phenomena of visual illusions to establish principles about how perception normally works and why it sometimes fails.Illusion continues to be a major theme in the book, which provides a comprehensive classification system. There are also sections on what babies see and how they learn to see, on motion perception, the relationship between vision and consciousness, and on the impact of new brain imaging techniques. Autorid: Richard L. Gregory

When it first appeared in 1979, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature hit the philosophical world like a bombshell. In it, Richard Rorty argued that, beginning in the seventeenth century, philosophers developed an unhealthy obsession with the notion of representation: comparing the mind to a mirror that reflects reality. Rorty's book is a powerful critique of this imagery and the tradition of thought that it spawned. Today, the book remains a must-read and stands as a classic of twentieth-century philosophy. Its influence on the academy, both within philosophy and across a wide array of disciplines, continues unabated. This edition includes new essays by philosopher Michael Williams and literary scholar David Bromwich, as well as Rorty's previously unpublished essay "The Philosopher as Expert." Autorid: Richard Rorty, Michael Williams, David Bromwich