For Beginners
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Bukowski For Beginners
by Carlos Polimeni
Part of the For Beginners series
Charles Bukowski, poet, novelist, short-story writer, journalist, and cult figure of the dissident and rebellious was born in Germany in 1920 and died in the USA in 1994. During his life he was hailed as "laureate of American lowlife" by Time magazine literary critic Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote: "The secret of Bukowski's appeal... (is that) he combines the confessional poet's promise of intimacy with the largerthan-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero." Bukowski was one of the most unconventional writers and cultural critics of the 20th century. He lived an unorthodox, idiosyncratic life and wrote in a style that was unique-one that is impossible to classify or categorize. His work was at times cynical or humorous, but was always brilliant and challenging. His life and work are distinguished not only by a remarkable talent for words, but also by his rejection of the dominant social and cultural values of American society. Bukowski began writing at the age of forty and published forty-five books, six of them novels. He is also considered one of the great literary voices of Los Angeles. In Bukowski For Beginners, playwright Carlos Polimeni evaluates the life and literary achievements of the cult writer whose voice of dissidence and discontent is still heard and appreciated by readers worldwide.
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First Amendment For Beginners
by Michael J. LaMonica
Part of the For Beginners series
Join Michael LaMonica, author of French Revolutions For Beginners, as he takes you on a journey through the ins and outs of an amendment that means so much more than just freedom of speech. First Amendment For Beginners will explore some of the biggest cases ever to come before the Supreme Court and answer questions such as whether it really is okay to shout "fire" in a crowded theater, wear a T-shirt that reads "F**K THE DRAFT!" (without the asterisks) into a courthouse, burn the flag, burn your draft card, join the Communist party, sell nudie magazines, ban Ku Klux Klan marches, and publish confidential government secrets in a newspaper, to name just a few. The religion clauses are included too, with pertinent questions such as whether the First Amendment protects your right to use psychoactive drugs in religious rituals, marry multiple partners, or engage in animal sacrifice. The book also wades into the political maelstrom to examine recent controversies such as whether money really equals speech and if corporations have constitutionally protected rights to speech and religion. Whether you're a court watcher, political junkie, history buff, civil libertarian, news enthusiast, or just curious about the most important amendment in the Constitution, this book is for you!
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Tesla For Beginners
by Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen
Part of the For Beginners series
The father of modern-day electricity and considered by some to be the ultimate "mad scientist," Nikola Tesla filed nearly 300 patents in his lifetime. Many of these patents resulted in functioning inventions; others were little more than wide-eyed dreams-or still await possible development. Tesla For Beginners examines the man behind the alternating current and wireless technologies who traveled from Serbia by steamship to arrive in the United States with only four cents in his pocket. It was in the early 1880s, at the tail end of the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution, that America beckoned him. Nikola Tesla-a poet of invention-left behind a vast and intriguing legacy. He was a scientist, physicist, mathematician, electrical engineer, and extensively published author who spent his last decades scraping for funding for celestial projects and living out his final days in penurious solitude with a pigeon.
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Lincoln For Beginners
by Paul Buhle
Part of the For Beginners series
There is no greater symbol of the American presidency than Abraham Lincoln. Though, Lincoln himself, his personality, the sources of his dedication and his idealism, remains very much a mystery. The sudden rise to world stature of a hard-traveling lawyer from the frontier, with no prominent family or social connections to back him, was a wonder of the age. Well over a thousand books about Lincoln have been written and still the enigma remains, perhaps because it is the enigma of a young country finding its footing and its destiny. Yet, no part is deeper, more perplexing, than Lincoln's own beliefs about God and destiny. Featuring a foreword by Pulitzer prize-winning author Eric Foner, Lincoln For Beginners sets to demystify the man behind the legend.
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Malcolm X For Beginners
by Bernard Aquina Doctor
Part of the For Beginners series
Powerful narrative and graphics tell the story of Malcolm X's life, his journey of self-discovery, his far-reaching ideas, his martyrdom, and his impact on an era. Embraced as a righteous prophet of Black power and pride, damned as the voice of violence, Malcolm X emerges as a complex, brave, and brilliant figure with much to teach about the struggle for dignity.
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McLuhan For Beginners
by W. Terrence Gordon
Part of the For Beginners series
Marshall McLuhan was one of the most brilliant and original thinkers of the 20th century. He was so far ahead of his time that he predicted the future and offered a critique of human behavior in a media saturated world that is perhaps more valuable in today's Internet age than it was in his own time. McLuhan pioneered the study of Media, unified Art and Science, and warned us about the perils of a televised, computerized, famous-for-15-minutes, social media world. A world where we would live in each other's faces, and become so alike, so isolated, so anonymous that violence would become a scream of identity, a way of saying, "I am not invisible." McLuhan tried to teach us to guard against these dehumanizing, debasing effects of technology, and a thousand other things, but we got reality television anyway. The centennial celebration of McLuhan's life and the re-release of his books has led to a surge of new interest in his thinking and teachings. McLuhan For Beginners provides an essential introduction that is clear, comprehensive, and easy to remember. It is full of wise and witty art by Susan Willmarth that is a perfect match to W. Terrence Gordon's writing. McLuhan envisioned the media generated Global Village before it existed, and no one since McLuhan has described its allure and pitfalls better.
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French Revolutions For Beginners
by Michael J. LaMonica
Part of the For Beginners series
Allons enfant de la Patrie, le jour de gloire est arrivé! 'Arise children of the Fatherland, the day of glory has arrived!' These opening lines to La Marseillaise, France's famously stirring and evocative national anthem, capture perfectly the passion, fear, and frenetic energy of Republicanism's sanguinary birth on French soil. Through the violence of the Revolutions (yes, there were many) the reign of the Bourbon monarchy came to an end and modern France was born. French Revolutions For Beginners examines the several bloody revolutions and counter-revolutions throughout the course of the 19th century and the constant upheavals and disruptions in France's ever changing political landscape from 1789-1900. While most people have some familiarity with names like Louis XVI and Napoleon, the details of what exactly happened during the French Revolution - apart from pithy royal pronouncements about cake eating and the ever-falling blade of the guillotine - are often difficult to understand, and for good reason: there were a whopping 15 changes of government in less than a century! The legacy of the French Revolutions remains with us today; we see it all over the world when an oppressed people rise up against an authoritarian regime demanding their rights as citizens be recognized. French Revolutions For Beginners presents the major political figures, events and hot-button political issues of this extremely violent, chaotic, confusing - but always exciting - period in a way that is accessible, interesting, and fun to both history-buffs and the neophyte alike.
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Climate Change For Beginners
by Dean Goodwin
Part of the For Beginners series
Year after year science continually proves that global climate change is real. But what does it all really mean and what can or should we do about it? Climate Change For Beginners is a clear, fluid narrative by a leading scientist and educator who takes a scrupulously balanced approach in explaining the history of global climate monitoring and change, and the whos, hows, whats, whens, wheres and whys of the interaction between human activity and recent trends in the Earth's climate. Working from the premise that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something, Dean Goodwin challenges readers with experiments they can conduct to gain a better understanding of the science underlying the problems facing our planet and concludes with a list of 50 easy actions readers can choose from to start doing their part in the effort to slow or stop global warming.
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The Black Holocaust For Beginners
by S. E. Anderson
Part of the For Beginners series
Virtually anyone, anywhere knows that six million Jewish human beings were killed in the Jewish Holocaust. But how many African human beings were killed in the Black Holocaust - from the start of the European slave trade (c. 1500) to the Civil War (1865)? And how many were enslaved? The Black Holocaust, a travesty that killed millions of African human beings, is the most underreported major event in world history. A major economic event for Europe and Asia, a near fatal event for Africa, the seminal event in the history of every African American - if not every American! - and most of us cannot answer the simplest question about it. Here is a sample of what you will get from the painstakingly researched, painfully honest The Black Holocaust For Beginners:"The total number of slaves imported is not known. It is estimated that nearly 900,000 came to America in the 16th Century, 2. 75 million in the 17th Century, 7 million in the 18th, and over 4 million in the 19th - perhaps 15 million in total. Probably every slave imported represented, on average, five corpses in Africa or on the high seas. The American slave trade, therefore, meant the elimination of at least 60 million Africans from their fatherland. "The Black Holocaust For Beginners - part indisputably documented chronicle, part passionately engaging narrative, puts the tragic event in plain sight where it belongs! The long overdue book answers all of your questions, sensitively and in great depth.
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Plato For Beginners
by Robert Cavalier
Part of the For Beginners series
All philosophy is a footnote to Plato. No other person so shaped the Western world and the way we think about it. Plato's questions remain as real for us today as they were 2500 years ago, and as human beings, we cannot avoid their presence nor shirk our responsibility to attempt to answer them: What is Justice? What is Truth? What is Beauty? What kind of society should we build? How do we know what we know? Plato For Beginners introduces the reader to Socrates, Plato's mentor whose martyrdom led Plato to formulate a new system of knowledge based on reason. Socrates was found guilty and sentenced to death for refusing to recognize the gods of the State and for introducing other divinities. He was also found guilty of corrupting youth. Plato For Beginners also covers the history of Greece as well as the life and ideas of this great philosopher and his influence over time, from early Christianity to the 20th Century. The reader learns what he meant by Truth, Beauty, and the Good. Classical dialogues such as Symposium, Phaedo, The Apology, and The Republic are all explored in the context of his time and our own.
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Ayn Rand For Beginners
by Andrew Bernstein
Part of the For Beginners series
Ayn Rand, author of the best-selling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, is beloved by millions of readers, and equally despised by a significant number of detractors. Her novels and her revolutionary philosophy of Objectivism have acquired a world-wide following. They have also created legions of readers who are hungry for a deeper understanding of her writings. Despite her undeniably significant contributions to the literary canon and the progression of philosophy, there has been no simple, comprehensive introduction to Rand's books and ideas, until now. Ayn Rand For Beginners sheds new light on Rand's monumental works and robust philosophy. In clear, down-to-earth language, it explains Rand to a new generation of readers in a manner that is entertaining, and easy to read and comprehend.
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Eastern Philosophy For Beginners
by Jim Powell
Part of the For Beginners series
The spiritual rewards and intellectual challenges of Eastern Philosophy are revealed in this visually stunning book, illustrated by Joe Lee and with 19th Century engravings. Eastern Philosophy is not an intellectual pursuit, but one that involves one's entire being. Much of it is so deeply entwined with the non-intellectual art of meditation that the two are impossible to separate. In this accessible survey of the major philosophies of India, China, Tibet, and Japan, Jim Powell draws upon his knowledge of Sanskrit and Chinese, as well as decades of meditation. Whether tackling Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Dogen, the Dali Lama or Pantajal - Powell's insights are deeply illuminating. All the major philosophies of India, China, Tibet and Japan are explained and everyone - from beginner to expert - will find Eastern Philosophy For Beginners a beautiful and insightful overview.
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Harriet Tubman For Beginners
by Annette Alston
Part of the For Beginners series
As the most famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, escaped slave Harriet Tubman earned the nickname "Moses of her People" for leading scores of men, women, and children from bondage to freedom in the North. During the Civil War, she worked as a nurse for wounded soldiers, a caretaker of refugee slaves, and a spy and scout for Union forces. Late in life she was active in the fight for women's suffrage. Mythologized by many biographers and historians, Tubman was an ordinary but complex woman-tiny but strong, guided by her belief in God and religious visions, yet a tough, savvy leader who the radical abolitionist John Brown admired as "the General." In 2016, it was announced that Tubman would become the first woman to appear on US currency-the $20 bill-in over a century. Drawing on the latest historical research, Harriet Tubman For Beginners portrays a woman who resisted and transcended slavery and fought injustice her entire life. Beyond legend, she made her mark on history by defending core American principles-life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness-for others.
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Zen For Beginners
by Judith Blackstone
Part of the For Beginners series
Zen, from its foundation in China of the 6th Century A.D., has always been more than a religion. It is an intriguing system of principles and practices designed to give each individual the experience of eternity in a split second, the knowledge of divinity in every living thing. To create a book about Zen, however, is risky. It is one thing to describe the factual history of this exotic strain of Buddhism. It's quite another thing to successfully convey the crazy wisdom of the Zen masters, their zany sense of humor, and their uncanny ability to pass on the experience of enlightenment to their students. The authors of Zen For Beginners have clearly overcome these considerable risks. The book uses an engaging mix of clear, informative writing and delightful illustrations to document the story of Zen from its impact on Chinese and Japanese culture to its influence on American writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Gary Snyder. The paradoxical teaching stories and style of the Zen master are also shown as important keys to understanding Oriental art, literature, architecture, and attitudes towards life and death.
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Anthropology For Beginners
by Micah J. Fleck
Part of the For Beginners series
Anyone living today could form the impression that humanity is essentially fractured and fragmented; that we're split up along ethnic, geographic, cultural, national, and ideological lines. This is the societal reality. But in Anthropology For Beginners, Micah J. Fleck asks us to take a big step backward and look at the full picture, as if we were aliens who stumbled upon planet Earth and glimpsed its inhabitants. We would see a myriad of languages, practices, religious rites, food palettes, clothing styles, and leisure activities-all of which belong to the same curious species: Homo sapiens. Where did it come from? How did it develop so many different ways of being? And most importantly, what do its members have in common?
Anthropology is the field that sets out to answer these questions. Micah J. Fleck provides a history not only of humankind, but of anthropology itself-giving anyone with an interest in the subject a solid background of its key figures and developments.
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Unions For Beginners
by David Cogswell
Part of the For Beginners series
Do you appreciate your forty-hour, five-day workweek? Appreciate having a safe working environment? Unions made this all possible in one way or another. Unions bring value to all sectors of a society. As the champion of people power versus corporate power, unions help to spread the benefits of production throughout a society. Regardless of the state of the economy, there is the timeless struggle of workers trying to gain or retain their rights. However, a vast amount of Americans (including union members) are unaware of the full history of unions and how they have impacted the American workplace today. Unions For Beginners provides an introduction to that essential history. Written and illustrated in the user-friendly, accessible style of the For Beginners series, Unions For Beginners presents the epic story of the labor movement in a simple, memorable way. The role of unions in empowering working people to rise above unfair payment and work conditions to become full-fledged participants in the American dream they helped to build is told in vibrant detail. Unions For Beginners presents the history of unions and the labor movement, the principles underlying union organizing, the decline of unions in the shadow of the rising corporate state, and the resurgence in the 21st century of union activism.
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Music Theory For Beginners
by R. Ryan Endris
Part of the For Beginners series
Learning to read and write music is very similar to learning a new language. Music theory is the study of the fundamental elements of music and how it is written. Music Theory For Beginners was developed for anyone interested in learning to read and write music, a task that can be quite daunting for novices. This book, however, will allay any fears and set you on the path to learning what all those dots, lines, and symbols actually mean. It provides the necessary scholarly muscle to entice and inform the reader, yet it does not require any prior knowledge of music or force the reader to wade through hundreds of pages of jargon and details. Whether your goal is to gain a cursory understanding of music, become fluent in reading music, or start composing your own music, this text will provide everything you need for a solid foundation in music theory. Anyone can pick up Music Theory For Beginners and instantly start learning about-and understanding-music theory.
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Islam For Beginners
by N. I. Matar
Part of the For Beginners series
Five times a day, close to a billion people turn to the Ka'aba in submission to Allah/God. In the seventeenth century the religion of Islam was revealed to the prophet Mohammad through the Holy Koran. Since then, Islam has spread to every center of the world. Starting with the life of the prophet Mohammed, Islam For Beginners details the historic beginnings of Islam and its spread throughout the Middle East and Africa on to the European and American continents. It describes the major achievements of the Muslim community worldwide and examines the influence Islam has had on other cultures. In keeping with Islamic tradition, the illustrations in the book are rendered in two-dimensional silhouettes and shadows and include the repetitive, extendible patterns representative of Islamic expression.
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Nietzsche For Beginners
by Marc Sautet
Part of the For Beginners series
Not only does Nietzsche For Beginners delve into the scandalous life and considerable works of Friedrich Nietzsche, it also give a clear picture of the puzzling time in which he lived. We meet the luminaries of the day - Richard Wagner, Bismarck, Freud, and Darwin - and see their influences on his work. We also receive introductions to some of the great minds that preceded and shaped his writing. Luther, Schopenhauer, Hegel, and Kant. Sautet clarifies the individual philosophers and their contributions, making the book an important introduction to philosophy. Nietzche's famous ménage à trois, his theories of Superman, of the Antichrist of nihilism, and Zarathustra, and his posthumous and misinformed use by the Nazis make for a fascinating read.
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Literary Theory For Beginners
by Mary Klages
Part of the For Beginners series
Have you heard the terms structuralism and deconstruction and postmodernism but aren't really sure what they mean? Have you taken a whole course on literary criticism but are still feeling lost? Here's the book you need to sort it all out-and enjoy doing so!In Literary Theory For Beginners, Mary Klages takes you into her classroom, cuts through the jargon, and explains the ABCs (and the DEFs as well) in terms you can get your head around. Her breadth of knowledge, her unique skills as a teacher, and the delightful illustrations of Frank Reynoso help us understand why literature matters, how it affects us, and how it reflects history, culture, and diversity. Here are ways of thinking about literature-not just reading it-methods of study and frameworks of interpretation from classical humanism all the way up to psychoanalysis, gender and queer theory, race, postcolonialism, and, yes, postmodernismWith wit and wisdom, Klages takes on the two most frequently asked questions about literature and makes it all fun:What does the work MEAN? (What is the deeper, hidden, or symbolic meaning? Did the author intend all these meanings? Are any and all meanings present in the text? Are all meanings equally valid?)What does the work DO? (Why is literature important? What effect does it have on the reader? How can literature be a force for social change?)So sit back, relax, and take it all in!
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Linguistics For Beginners
by W. Terrence Gordon
Part of the For Beginners series
Linguistics For Beginners is the first book to ever make the arcane labors of linguistics accessible to general readers. It begins with a lucid definition of language and proceeds to examine how it becomes the subject matter of linguistics. Key topics include the contrast between writing and speech, and elementary lessons in analyses ranging from simple sounds to entire sentences. Absurd fictions such as Eskimos having hundreds of words for snow are exploded, and the borderlands between linguistics and philosophy are investigated. Linguistics For Beginners teaches concise lessons using wit and whimsy making for a memorable learning experience. The reader will learn about language acquisition, ancient languages, little-known languages, tonal and whistle languages, linguistic engineering, structuralism, language origins, the anthropological approach to linguistics, kinship semantics, color lexicons, geographical linguistics, and much more! Linguistics For Beginners is the key tool for linguistic students of any level.
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The History Of Classical Music For Beginners
by R. Ryan Endris
Part of the For Beginners series
Music history is nearly as old as human civilization itself, and while it has permeated the arts and popular culture for centuries, it still has this mystifying aura surrounding it. But fear not-it's not as complicated as it seems, and anyone can learn the origins and history of Western art music. In addition to learning how better to understand (and enjoy!) classical music, The History of Classical Music For Beginners will help you will learn of some of the more interesting and sometimes comical stories behind the music and composers. Did you know that Jean-Baptiste Lully actually died from conducting one of his own compositions? You may have heard of Gregorian chant, but did you know there are many forms of chant, including Ambrosian and Byzantine chant? And did you also know that only a small portion of "classical music" is even technically Classical? These interesting, insightful facts and more are yours to discover in The History of Classical Music For Beginners.
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Libertarianism For Beginners
by Todd Seavey
Part of the For Beginners series
Libertarianism isn't about winning elections; it is first and foremost a political philosophy-a description of how, in the opinion of libertarians, free people ought to treat one another, at least when they use the law, which they regard as potentially dangerous. If libertarians are correct, the law should intrude into people's lives as little as possible, rarely telling them what to do or how to live.A political and economic philosophy as old as John Locke and John Stuart Mill, but as alive and timely as Rand Paul, the Tea Party, and the novels of Ayn Rand, libertarianism emphasizes individual rights and calls for a radical reduction in the power and size of government. Libertarianism For Beginners lays out the history and principles of this often-misunderstood philosophy in lucid, dispassionate terms that help illuminate today's political dialogue.
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Chomsky For Beginners
by David Cogswell
Part of the For Beginners series
Noam Chomsky has written some 30 books, he is one of the most-quoted authors on Earth, The New York Times calls him "arguably the most important intellectual alive" - yet most people have no idea who he is or what he's about. Chomsky For Beginners tells you what he's about: Chomsky is known for his work in two distinct areas - Linguistics and... "Gadflying." ("Gadfly," the word applied to Socrates, comes closest to the constant social irritant that Chomsky has become.) It is Chomsky's work as Political Gadfly and Media Critic that has given passion and hope to the general public - and alienated the Major Media - which is, of course, why you don't know more about him. Chomsky's message is very simple: Huge corporations run our country, the world, both political parties, and Major Media. (You suspected it; Chomsky proves it.) If enough people open their minds to what he has to say, the whole gingerbread fantasy we've been fed about America might turn into a real democracy. What's so special about Chomsky For Beginners? The few existing intros to Chomsky cover either Chomsky-the-Linguist or Chomsky-the-Political-Gadfly. Chomsky For Beginners covers both - plus an exclusive interview with the maverick genius. The clarity of David Cogwell's text and the wit of Paul Gordon's illustrations make Chomsky as easy to understand as the genius next door. Words and art are combined to clarify (but not oversimplify) the work and to "humanize" the man who may very well be what one savvy interviewer called him - "the smartest man on Earth."
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Mormonism For Beginners
by Stephen Carter
Part of the For Beginners series
Mormonism For Beginners is a balanced, richly engaging introduction to the history, tenets, practices, traditions, and yes, debates and controversies of this uniquely American Protestant movement. Designed for the uninitiated or younger members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), this book presents the history of the movement from Joseph Smith to the 21st century along with the key doctrines of the faith in the context of everyday life, as well as the essential scriptures. Not least of Carter and Atwood's accomplishments is addressing such headline-grabbing issues as polygamy, same-sex marriage, and the role of women in the LDS church in dispassionate, even-handed terms. Their goal is to shed a clear light on an often misunderstood belief system and way of life.
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Heidegger For Beginners
by Eric Lemay
Part of the For Beginners series
The ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger have been described as an intellectual time bomb, as some of the most revolutionary thought in Western history. Despite the enormous amount of secondary scholarships available on Heidegger, it is - due to the complexity of his thought and the density of his writing - difficult for the curious beginner to gain an insight into Heidegger's philosophy. Heidegger For Beginners serves as an entry into the ideas of on of the 20th Century's most important thinkers, situating Heidegger's thought within its philosophical and historical context - alongside such thinkers as Plato, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Husserl, and Sartre. Heidegger For Beginners explicates many of Heidegger's central ideas, including the Nothing, average-everydayness, care, existence, being-in-the-world, the One, the critique of technology, anxiety, and most importantly, being - a notion which may offer us the key to understanding the very mystery of our own existence. Explained here in a way that makes it both accessible and relevant, Heidegger's thought not only challenges an entire intellectual tradition, but also challenges our own self-conceptions, the very manner in which we, as humans, choose to exist.
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Deconstruction For Beginners
by Jim Powell
Part of the For Beginners series
Deconstruction is so labyrinthine (and rumored to be fatal) that it's become the monster that murdered philosophy. When Jacques Derrida, the father of deconstruction, uses buzz-words such as "phallogocentrism" and "transcendental signified," humanities students and aspiring philosophers may get weak in the knees. Following up on the success of Derrida For Beginners, Jim Powell's Deconstruction For Beginners is an irreverent romp through deconstructive domains. Though Powell offers lucid explanations of the most important deconstructive ideas and texts, he also dive into lesser known works. One of these, The Right to Look, finds Derrida offering his thoughts on a photo-novella consisting of images of women making love with each other. Powell then goes on to explore how deconstruction, like an unruly mistress, has escaped Derrida, especially in the realm of architecture. Then, based on Derrida's assertion that deconstruction happens differently in different cultures, Powell examines how - through Buddhism and Taoism - deconstruction took place in ancient India, Japan, and China.
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Buddha For Beginners
by Stephen T. Asma
Part of the For Beginners series
Despite the widespread popularity of Buddhist practices (like meditation), there is little understanding of the complex philosophy behind Buddhism. The historical Buddha, Gautama, was a real person-a radical-who challenged the religious leaders of his day. Buddha For Beginnersintroduces the reader to the historical Buddha, to the ideas that made him change his life, and to the fascinating philosophical debates that engaged him and formed the core of Buddhism. Buddha For Beginners compares Buddha's philosophy with those of his contemporaries, the later Buddhist schools, and Western Philosophy. The book includes a survey, distinguishing the philosophical differences among later schools of Buddhism, such as Theravada, Madhyamaika, Tantric, Zen, and others. Buddha For Beginners is not a book you read, it is a book you experience. It makes you stop and close your eyes. Through some magical combination of words, drawings, and intuitive wisdom, Buddha For Beginners conveys not only the facts of Buddhism, but the peace, the silence... the feel of it. It is historically accurate, spiritually challenging, and the white spaces mean as much as the words.
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African History For Beginners
by Herb Boyd
Part of the For Beginners series
African History For Beginners explores the rich history of this continent of contrasts. Discover the glory of the Pharaohs and Towers of Zimbabwe, the cosmology of the Yoruba, the courage of the Masai and the golden wonders of Mali, the art treasures of the Bushongo and the sophistication of the Egyptians. It is a unique documentary portrait of the Africans' struggle to preserve their cultural heritage and homeland. Recent archeological discoveries indicate that Africa was the birth place of humankind. Over the ages, the riches and wonders of Africa have attracted the world. Yet the Africans themselves often remained unknown or misunderstood. Here is a book to set the historical record straight.
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Dada & Surrealism For Beginners
by Elsa Bethanis
Part of the For Beginners series
What kind of artists put a mustache on the Mona Lisa? Enter a urinal in an art competition? Declare their own independent republic? Hijack a ship? Dadas! And what happens in such a movement? With Dada, many of the artists declared their own "Pope" and continued their journey (with no destination) into Surrealism, creating burning giraffes, "amoebic" dogs, and lobster telephones - some of the most imaginative and intense works of art of the 20th Century. In Dada & Surrealism For Beginners, you'll get a colorful overview of these two movements, and develop a sense of the turbulent, wild, and unapologetically mad mood and tone of the Dada and Surrealist movements. Whether you're an artist, would-be artist, or someone seeking the marvelous, you'll find the courage and originality of the movements inspiring, and you'll gain an understanding of their long-term (and current) influences on contemporary art and culture - everything from performance art to pop art to the abandoned train ticket you find in the street.
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Stanislavski For Beginners
by David Allen
Part of the For Beginners series
Stanislavski was the first person to develop a cogent and practical system of acting. Throughout his life he sought the answers to such fundamental questions as: "What is great acting?" and "How can you find inspiration in every performance?" Stanislavski remains the most important influence on actor training today, and yet many of his ideas are little known, or even misunderstood. Stanislavski For Beginners charts the development of the Stanislavski system. It includes a clear exposition of the key elements of the system and explores his Method of Physical Actions, which he worked on in the years before his death, and which he called "the result of my whole life's work."
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Dante For Beginners
by Joe Lee
Part of the For Beginners series
Dante For Beginners takes the reader on a trip starting in hell and ending in heaven. The reader gets a quick introduction to Dante and his times. Next, the reader meets a sweet lass named Beatrice and samples a bit of his other literary offerings, such as the great feast, the Convivio. But then it's on to the big one, the Commedia, and a canto by canto description of the entire work. Characters, ideas and situations are described as they happen-no searching through end notes, footnotes or field notes to distinguish Forese Donati, Dante's pal, from his evil brother, Corso. The entire plan of the hereafter is simply mapped out. Dante For Beginners is a great vacation with history's greatest tourist, Dante Alighieri.
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Anarchism For Beginners
by Marcos Mayer
Part of the For Beginners series
During the second half of the Twentieth Century, the ideas of leading anarchist thinkers such as Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin seemed destined to fade into history. But today they are finding new energy and power. Libertarian flags wave above the crowds at anti-globalization and anti-corporation rallies. Anarchist axioms appear in contemporary debates on neoliberalism and ecology. Websites passing on anarchism's radical principles proliferate in cyberspace. Popular intellectuals like Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Osvaldo Bayer, Noam Chomsky and Murray Boochkin acknowledge in their work the debt they owe to the towering nonconformist figures who preceded them. The anarchists' fight against power, oppression and the State, which reached its pinnacle with the farmers' collectives of pre-Franco Spain, has influenced societies around the world. Vanguard artistic movements high and low, from dada to punk, were inspired by anarchism. In Anarchism For Beginners, Marcos Mayer aided by illustrations from the incomparable Sanyú, takes readers on a journey through the anarchist movement, explaining its principles and documenting its influence, inspiring figures and indefatigable fighting spirit.
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Exercise Tips for Beginners
by James Smith
Part of the For Beginners series
Synopsis currently unavailable.
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Bulking Up For Beginners
by James Smith
Part of the For Beginners series
Thank you for your interest in the for beginners series.
This one in particular, looks at achieving ultimate physique; it is a guide on bulking up. It is not, focused on any fad, just the basics. If you are interested, don't hesitate and get it. The minimal investment will be worth it.... Your body will thank you!
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Derrida For Beginners
by Jim Powell
Part of the For Beginners series
In 1966, Jacques Derrida gave a lecture at Johns Hopkins University that cast the entire history of Western philosophy into doubt. The following year, Derrida published three brilliant but mystifying books that convinced the pollsters that he was the most important philosopher of the late 20th century. Unfortunately, nobody was sure whether the intellectual movement he spawned-Deconstruction-advanced philosophy or murdered it. The truth?-Derrida is one of those annoying geniuses you can take a class on, read half-a-dozen books by and still have no idea what he's talking about. Derrida's 'writing'-confusing doesn't begin to describe it (it's like he's pulling the rug out from under the rug that he pulled out from under philosophy.) But beneath the confusion, like the heartbeat of a bird in your hand, you can feel Derrida's electric genius. It draws you to it; you want to understand it...but it's so confusing. Readers will learn the coolest Derridian buzzwords (e.g., intertexuality, binary oppositions, hymen, sous rature, arche-writing, phallogocentrism), the high-and-low-lights of deconstruction's history (including the deMan controversy), and the various criticisms of Derrida and deconstrcution, including Camille Paglia's objection that America, the rock-n-roll nation, isn't formal enough to need deconstruction.
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Proust For Beginners
by Steve Bachmann
Part of the For Beginners series
Proust For Beginners is a compelling biography of French novelist Marcel Proust and a vivid portrait of his times. It also serves as a concise guide and critical review of In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu, 7 volumes, 1913-1927), one of the most difficult-yet widely taught-works of French literature. With extensive passages from In Search of Lost Time and other essential works, Proust For Beginners highlights the defining themes and unique literary style of a modern master whom many have heard about but few fully fathom. It portrays Proust and the milieu in which he wrote in vivid detail, bringing to life the "Proustian moments" at the heart of his greatest work-and our own everyday experience. Proust's masterpiece "begins in a series of rooms in which he unlocks themes, styles, references, and foreshadows," writes Harold Augenbraum in the foreword. Proust For Beginners will provide the key.
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Existentialism for Beginners
by David Cogswell
Part of the For Beginners series
Existentialism For Beginners is an entertaining romp through the history of a philosophical movement that has had a broad and enduring influence on Western culture. From the middle of the Nineteenth Century through the late Twentieth Century, existentialism informed our politics and art, and still exerts its influence today. Tracing the movement's beginnings with close-up views of seminal figures like Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche, Existentialism For Beginners follows its intellectual and literary trail to German philosophers Jaspers and Heidegger, and finally to the movement's flowering in post-World-War-II France thanks to masterworks by such giants as Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, plus many others.Illustrations throughout - at once lighthearted and gritty - help readers explore and understand a style of thinking that, while pervasive in its influence, is often seen as obscure, difficult, cryptic and dark. Existentialism For Beginners draws the movement's many diverse elements together to provide an accessible introduction for those who seek a better understanding of the topic, and an enjoyable historical review packed with timeless quotes from existentialism's leading lights.
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Relativity And Quantum Physics For Beginners
by Steven L. Manly
Part of the For Beginners series
As we humans have expanded our horizons to see things vastly smaller, faster, larger, and farther than ever before, we have been forced to confront preconceptions born of the human experience and create wholly new ways of looking at the world around us. The theories of relativity and quantum physics were developed out of this need and have provided us with phenomenal, mind-twisting insights into the strange and exciting reality show of our universe. Relativity and Quantum Physics For Beginners is an entertaining and accessible introduction to the bizarre concepts that fueled the scientific revolution of the 20th century and led to amazing advances in our understanding of the universe.
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Lacan For Beginners
by Philip Hill
Part of the For Beginners series
Jacques Lacan is probably the most influential psychoanalyst since Freud (of the roughly 20,000 psychoanalysts in the world, about half are 'Lacanians') yet most people know nothing about him. The 10,000 analysts who use Lacan's ideas work mostly in France, Spain, Italy, and South America. To the rest of the world, including England and America, Lacan is a genius-in-waiting, due to be 'discovered' any day now. Despite or because of his brilliance, Lacan is difficult to understand. He wrote with an obscure, style that casually refers to philosophy, linguistics, biology, mathematics, etc. -and to make matters worse, his ideas changed over the years. Lacan For Beginners by Philip Hill introduces the reader to Lacan's theories and their relation to clinical practice in twelve elegantly structured chapters, designed around tantalizing questions that clarify Lacan's ideas. Lacan For Beginners is written with insight and wit and illustrated with examples from popular culture and cinema. The artwork is humorous and informative, and works with the text. So don't you think it is about time you become familiar with his work?
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Jung For Beginners
by Jon Plantania
Part of the For Beginners series
Carl Gustav Jung merged Eastern mysticism with Western psychology, brought scientific respectability to religion, laid the foundation for 'the New Age,' and is second only to Freud in influence and importance in the world of psychoanalysis. Many consider him a genius, but many others disagree. Scholar and clinical psychologist Jon Platania, PhD, presents Jung as a somewhat opportunistic and dissociated character whose most famous historical events were his break with Freud and his questionable sojourn with the psychological elite of the German Third Reich. On the other side of Jung's complex genius, there is a deeply spiritual man who laid the groundwork for a more optimistic approach to our modern understanding of the human psyche in both theology and psychology. He is remembered by many as the "Swiss Doctor of the Soul". Dr. Platania then takes us on a tour of the work that made Jung one of the pillars of modern psychology. And what a body of work it is. Jung's open-mindedness was astonishing. Wherever he went-Calcutta, Egypt, Palestine, Kenya-Jung learned something that expanded his views. His open-ended psychology incorporated Yoga, meditation, prayer, alchemy, mythology, astrology, numerology, the I Ching-even flying saucers! He taught us that psychology and religion can not only coexist peacefully together, but that they can enhance us, inspire us, and help us complete ourselves. Freud, for all of his brilliance, reduced us to little more than vessels of hormones with high IQs. Jung, for all of his flaws, gave us back our souls.
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Sartre For Beginners
by Donald D. Palmer
Part of the For Beginners series
Sartre For Beginners is an accessible yet sophisticated introduction to the life and works of the famous French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre. Sartre was a member of the French underground during WWII, a novelist, a playwright, and a major influence in French political and intellectual life. The book opens with a biographical section, introducing the significant events in the life of the man who coined the term "existentialism. "Then it examines Sartre's early philosophical works. Ideas from Sartre's other fictional and dramatic works are discussed, but the greatest part is the presentation of the main concepts from Sartre's Being and Nothingness (1943). These include the topics of consciousness, freedom, responsibility, absurdity, "bad faith," authenticity, and the hellish confrontation with other people. Finally, the book deals with Sartre's modification of his early existentialism to compliment his conversion to a kind of "existential" Marxism. Sartre For Beginners summarizes the work of the most renown philosopher of the 20th Century.
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Astronomy For Beginners
by Jeff Becan
Part of the For Beginners series
Astronomy For Beginners is a friendly and accessible guide to our universe, our galaxy, our solar system and the planet we call home. Each year as we cruise through space on this tiny blue-green wonder, a number of amazing and remarkable events occur. For example, like clockwork, we'll run head-on into asteroid and cometary debris that spreads shooting stars across our skies. On occasion, we'll get to watch the disk of the Moon passing the Sun, casting its shadow on the face of the Earth, and sometimes we'll get to watch our own shadow as it glides across the face of the Moon. The Sun's path will constantly change across the daytime sky, as will the stars and constellations at night. During this time, we'll also get to watch the other majestic planets in our solar system wander the skies, as they too circle the Sun in this elaborate celestial dance. Astronomy For Beginners will explain this elaborate celestial dance - the patterns of the heavens, the equinoxes and the solstices, the major meteor showers, and the solar and lunar eclipses. In addition, Astronomy For Beginners will also take you on a guided tour of the solar system and beyond. We'll discover how the way we measure time itself is intimately related to celestial phenomena, and we'll furthermore explore our historical and continuing mission to understand our place in this marvelous universe in which we find ourselves. Oh yeah, one more thing: Astronomy For Beginners will not only help you become an expert in space and time - but it also promises to be a pretty fun ride!
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Toni Morrison For Beginners
by Ron David
Part of the For Beginners series
Many people consider Morrison's novels difficult to read. Most of her readers have at least one book on their shelves that they couldn't finish or, when they did finish one, just scratched their heads in confusion. And when we think we are sure we know what she's writing about, it turns out we are half wrong or only getting the tip of the iceberg instead of the whole, beautiful, brooding thing. Toni Morrison For Beginners is about the woman, her books, her mission, her word music, and all that subtext in her writings. Morrison's books are like the ocean: the surface is beautiful but everything that gives them life lies beneath. She's the kind of writer who can change your life and this book is here to help you navigate the words and the woman.
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Shakespeare For Beginners
by Brandon Toropov
Part of the For Beginners series
Despite the reshifting of values that has affected every aspect of life in the 21st century, William Shakespeare still stands as the greatest writer the English language has ever produced. Even so, many people have never read him. If you have never read "the Bard"-or if you've tried and given up in frustration-you need Shakespeare For Beginners. Author Brandon Toropov opens with the observation that Shakespeare's genius is not in his (or England's) history, it's in his words, most notably, his plays-in his brilliant stories, unforgettable characters, and the impossible beauty of his language. So, Shakespeare For Beginners skips the historical foreplay and goes straight to Shakespeare's plays. The book offers clear, concise descriptions and plot summaries of each play; it lists key phrases and important themes, explains the main ideas behind each work and features excerpt of important passages (with explanatory notes on tough words.) And it is the only 'entry level' book available outside Great Britain that covers all of Shakespeare's plays.
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Kierkegaard For Beginners
by Donald D. Palmer
Part of the For Beginners series
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard was one of the most original thinkers of the 19th Century - and one of the most enigmatic men who ever walked the Earth. Philosophically, Kierkegaard was the "bridge" that led from Hegel to Existentialism. Kierkegaard abhorred Hegel's abstract, Know-it-all idealism that tried to capture reality in a few words. Kierkegaard's attack on social and religious complacency and his single-handed assault on traditional Western philosophy generated a crisis that produced a radically new way of philosophizing and made him the founder of the school that would later be called Existentialism. To Kierkegaard, reality was personal, subjective - it began and ended with the individual - and philosophy was not something one merely talked about, it was the way you lived. For such a brilliant thinker, the way Kierkegaard lived was… somewhat too interesting? His "abstract" love affair? His obsession with death? His "leap of Faith," his cynicism, his marvelous sense of humor - how do you put all that into one man? For starters, you read Kierkegaard For Beginners. It explains, plainly and simply, the great Danish thinker's obsession with the particularity of human existence as well as his demonstration of how the creation of an authentic new kind of individual is possible
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Marx's 'Das Kapital' for Beginners
by Michael Wayne
Part of the For Beginners series
Marx's 'Das Kapital' cannot be put into a box marked "economics." It is a work of politics, history, economics, philosophy and even in places, literature (yes Marx's style is that rich and evocative). Marx's 'Das Kapital' For Beginners is an introduction to the Marxist critique of capitalist production and its consequences for a whole range of social activities such as politics, media, education and religion. 'Das Kapital' is not a critique of a particular capitalist system in a particular country at a particular time. Rather, Marx's aim was to identify the essential features that define capitalism, in whatever country it develops and in whatever historical period. For this reason, 'Das Kapital' is necessarily a fairly general, abstract analysis. As a result, it can be fairly difficult to read and comprehend. At the same time, understanding 'Das Kapital' is crucial for mastering Marx's insights to capitalism.Marx's 'Das Kapital' For Beginners offers an accessible path through Marx's arguments and his key questions: What is commodity? Where does wealth come from? What is value? What happens to work under capitalism? Why is crisis part of capitalism's DNA? And what happens to our consciousness, our very perceptions of reality and our ways of thinking and feeling under capitalism? Understanding and learn from Marx's work has taken on a fresh urgency as questions about the sustainability of the capitalist system in today's global economy intensify.
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Prison Industrial Complex For Beginners
by James Braxton Peterson
Part of the For Beginners series
Prison Industrial Complex For Beginners is a graphic narrative project that attempts to distill the fundamental components of what scholars, activists, and artists have identified as the Mass Incarceration movement in the United States. Since the early 1990s, activist critics of the US prison system have marked its emergence as a "complex" in a manner comparable to how President Eisenhower described the Military Industrial Complex. Like its institutional "cousin," the Prison Industrial Complex features a critical combination of political ideology, far-reaching federal policy, and the neo-liberal directive to privatize institutions traditionally within the purview of the government. The result is that corporations have capital incentives to capture and contain human bodies. The Prison Industrial Complex relies on the "law and order" ideology fomented by President Nixon and developed at least partially in response to the unrest generated through the Civil Rights Movement. It is (and has been) enhanced and emboldened via the US "war on drugs," a slate of policies that by any account have failed to do anything except normalize the warehousing of nonviolent substance abusers in jails and prisons that serve more as criminal training centers then as redemptive spaces for citizens who might re-enter society successfully. Prison Industrial Complex For Beginners is a primer for how these issues emerged and how our awareness of the systems at work in mass incarceration might be the very first step in reforming an institution responsible for some of our most egregious contemporary civil rights violations.