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Few concepts in the history of 20th-century thought are as rich with both philosophical and practical implications as the computer. And few people in the history of computing are as intellectually and personally complex as Alan Turing, the man whose

Book DescriptionPaul Strathern now applies his witty and incisive prose to brief biographical studies of the world's gret writers. He brings their lives and ideas to life in an entertaining and accessible fashion.

Book DescriptionBuilding on his enormously successful series of Philosophers in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern now applies his witty and incisive prose to brief biographical studies of the world's greatest writers.

A colorful new history of Venice that illuminates the character of the great city-state by shining a light on some of the most celebrated personalities of European history―Petrarch, Marco Polo, Galileo, Titian, Vivaldi, and Casanova.

The Republic of Venice was the first great economic, cultural, and naval power of the modern Western world. After winning the struggle for ascendency in the late 13th century, the Republic enjoyed centuries of unprecedented glory and built a trading empire which at its apogee reached as far afield as China, Syria and West Africa. This golden period only drew to an end with the Republic’s eventual surrender to Napoleon.

The Venetians illuminates the character of the Republic during these illustrious years by shining a light on some of the most celebrated personalities of European history―Petrarch, Marco Polo, Galileo, Titian, Vivaldi, Casanova. Frequently, though, these emblems of the city found themselves at odds with the Venetian authorities who prized stability above all else, and were notoriously suspicious of any "cult of personality." Was this very tension perhaps the engine for the Republic’s unprecedented rise?

Rich with biographies of some of the most exalted characters who have ever lived, The Venetians is a refreshing and authoritative new look at the history of the most evocative of city states.
16 pages of B&W and color photographs

Death in Florence: The Medici, Savonarola, and the Battle for the Soul of a Renaissance City

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Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them...I find them hard to stop reading. (Richard Bernstein The New York Times)

Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise. (Jim Holt The Wall Street Journal)

Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character...I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization. (Katherine A. Powers The Boston Globe)

A godsend in this era of the short attention span. (Daryl Royster Alexander The New York Times) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Marseilles, 1891: as Arthur Rimbaud lies dying in hospital, his mind wanders fitfully - taking him back to Commune-era Paris, and the scandalous life he led with Verlaine. But, above all, he is transported to Harar, Abyssinia, where he ventured in 1880 to seek his fortune, having chucking in the disreputable game of writing poetry...Paul Strathern's second novel, published in 1972, won a Somerset Maugham Award both for its superb evocation of the colour, squalor and hurlyburly of Harar and for its inspired 'impersonation' of Rimbaud - restless, ragged self-overcomer, would-be explorer-imperialist, and genius poet repulsed by his past literary life.

Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Aristotle in just one hour.The philosophy of Aristotle dominated Western thought for over a thousand years. He had a mind that mastered all disciplines from mathematics to politics and had a continuing impact on every sphere of knowledge he touched. Above all, Aristotle is credited with the founding of logic. He divided human knowledge into separate categories, and enabled our understanding of the world to develop in a systematic fashion.Here is a concise, expert account of Aristotle’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Aristotle’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Aristotle in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Berkeley in just one hour.Berkeley’s philosophy denies the existence of matter. According to his work, there is no material world, only our own experience. So when you don’t see something, it isn’t there. Then how does the world persist? Because it is supported by the continuous perception of an all-seeing God. Berkeley’s ideas appear to take empiricism to a ludicrous extreme. But is this quite so absurd as it seems? We are frequently forced to abandon common sense and the obvious in order to progress beyond the immediate muddle of everyday existence towards what we consider to be the truths of science.Here is a concise, expert account of Berkeley’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Berkeley’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Berkeley in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Neitzsche in just one hour.Philosophy has always been dangerous for philosophers; Friedrich Nietzsche made it dangerous for everyone. His ideas presaged a collective madness which was to ravage Europe throughout the first half of the twentieth century, drawing a chilling parallel with the insanity that gripped Nietzsche towards the end of his life. His philosophy is one of aphorisms and penetrating psychological insights, his major concept being the Will to Power – a notion that he saw as the basic impulse for all our acts. Viewing Christianity as a subtle perversion of this concept Nietzsche is famous for his pronouncement that ‘God is dead’.Here is a concise, expert account of Nietzsche’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Nietzsche’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Nietzsche in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Foucault in just one hour.The French philosopher Michel Foucault set about his task rather like a historian. After painstaking research, he concluded that knowledge and power were intimately related throughout history. He illustrated this central idea of his philosophy through studies of madness, sexuality, and discipline and punishment, arguing that there is no such thing as absolute truth, only different truths about reality at particular moments – truths that fulfil the needs of power.Here is a concise, expert account of Foucault’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Foucault’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Foucault in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Hegel in just one hour.With Hegel philosophy became very difficult indeed – even the great man himself conceded that ‘only one man understands me, and even he does not.’ His dialectical method produced the most grandiose metaphysical system known to humanity, and included absolutely everything, its most vital element being the dialectic of the thesis, antithesis and synthesis. This method arose from Hegel’s ambition to overcome the deficiencies of logic and ascend towards Mind as the ultimate reality. His view of history as a process of humanity’s self-realisation ultimately inspired Marx to synthesise his philosophy of dialectical materialism.Here is a concise, expert account of Hegel’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Hegel’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Hegel in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

One of the two major philosophical traditions of the twentieth century was linguistic analysis, derived largely from Wittgenstein. The other, diametrically opposed, came from Heidegger, and its fundamental question was: ‘What is the meaning of existence?’ For Heidegger, this was not a query that could simply be ‘analysed away’ – it was beyond the reach of logic or reason. This was the primary ‘given’ of every individual life. To confront it, Heidegger needed to develop an entirely new form of philosophy.Here is a concise, expert account of Heidegger’s life and philosophical ideas, entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Heidegger’s work, suggested further reading and chronologies that place Heidegger in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.