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In the spring of 1940 the Great Depression was still spreading misery throughout the world, and war in Europe threatened to drag America into the conflict. Amid these global troubles a tempest in a teapot was brewing on the island of Manhattan, where the board of the City College of New York had just appointed the renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell to teach. With the appointment of this most celebrated of philosophers, the board had intended to boost the school's image. Instead it found itself suddenly embroiled in a controversy involving the city's conservative Episcopal bishop, charges that it was encouraging radical and communist views at the college, and political in-fighting between the popular liberal mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, and corrupt Tammany Hall politicians with a hidden agenda. Journalist Thom Weidlich masterfully reconstructs this major political imbroglio, which not only captured the attention of New Yorkers but very quickly received national coverage. As political theater, with both farcical and dramatic elements, the denial of Russell's appointment is interesting in and of itself: The sanctimonious and outraged Bishop Manning demands to know how the board could have chosen a man with such radical views on sex, marriage, and religion. Then, amazingly, a seemingly ordinary Brooklyn housewife files a lawsuit to stop Russell's appointment. Journalists begin to wonder, What is her motive? Is she being manipulated by Tammany Hall politicians and their rivalry with the liberal mayor? Before long civil libertarians are holding rallies at City College in defense of the philosopher and academic freedom. And for Russell this trying situation couldn't have come at a worse time with his funds running low and his third marriage falling apart. But beyond its intrinsic interest, this 1940s' clash between an independent thinker and the guardians of public morality is still of the greatest relevance in light of today's cultural debates and arguments over standards of decency. Journalist Thom Weidlich has written an engrossing page-turner that brings recent history to life and makes us rethink the perennial issues of free thought and moral standards at publicly funded institutions.

Beneath the battle cries of the jihad and an Islamic politics that draws attention to a religion of rigid rules and obsessive devotion, lies the mystical Islam, known as Sufism. What attracts so many Westerners to the faith, says former convert Ibn al-Rawandi, is its "heart made of poetry and art, vision and devotion, that can only be known fully from within." Enchanted by the metaphysics of Sufism, Rawandi studied and worshiped in Cyprus, convinced he had found the answers to life's questions. When doubts emerged for which the traditionalist authors had no answers and the Salman Rushdie affair divided Islam, Rawandi sought to critically evaluate Sufism by reviewing its origins and the best arguments for its views.In Islamic Mysticism, Rawandi contends that unreliable sources seriously undermine the classical account of Islam and Sufism. His detailed study of the philosophy of religion -especially the work of traditionalists such as RenT Guenon and Frithjof Schuon - helps to develop a critical analysis of Islam from the inside out. Particular attention is given to great Islamic mystic Ibn Arabi, who is taken as representative of Sufism in its highest development. Rawandi offers a critical, secular perspective on Sufism and concludes that mystical experience is not a trustworthy validation of religion.

"The prospect of stopping smoking is scary as hell. I know-I've been there." So opens Escape from Nicotine Country, James Christopher's unique and uplifting guide to quitting smoking without pain or weight gain. A thirty-year smoker, Christopher gave up cigarettes in 1993, after a gradual period of individual withdrawal, exercise, and proper diet. Now he offers his remarkable and simple self-help program to all those who want to kick the habit. While not weighed down with "just say no" rhetoric, overused shock statistics, or religious undertones, Escape from Nicotine Country goes against the grain of stop-smoking polemics by empowering the individual through motivational chapters. Christopher tells his own story of addiction and success in quitting. At the same time he promotes understanding of nicotine addiction and offers a simple solution to breaking the habit through reduction. Christopher's program addresses many different types of nicotine addiction, the hunger that haunts those trying to quit, and the need for a healthy routine of exercise. The latter half of the book is an encouraging diary, which allows the reader to record the progress that will lead to a healthier, smoke-free life.

Born from today's evolutionary psychology and its studies of developing human behavior and emotions is the radical new concept from psychotherapist Jeri Fink that virtual reality has been with us since humans first walked the earth and has only been heightened by today's technology. Psychologically, humans are "wired" to crave experiences beyond our daily existence. From the cave dweller's fireside stories of slaying massive beasts and the Elizabethan experience of Shakespeare's tragedies to today's blockbuster disaster movies and, most importantly, interactive computer communication, we have always lived in a "virtual" culture.The brilliant visionary founder of "psychotechnology," an inquiry into the merging of psychology and technology, Dr. Fink is a leading mental health expert in the use of virtual applications in clinical practice. Cyberseduction: Reality in the Age of Psychotechnology places the ideas of cyberspace and virtual reality into the historical context of human perception and experience across the ages.From a biological perspective, Dr. Fink explains how and why people are seduced by many virtual realities, both simple and complex, and compares our respective experiences of reality and virtuality, showing how humanity has adapted and evolved. As humanity seeks to further meld itself with machines, the line between illusion and reality is increasingly blurred.Dr. Fink discusses her groundbreaking theory of manufactured reality by using specific types of virtualities: religion, sex, the media, and other aspects of daily living. She also considers the effects of new computer software and the internet, where anonymous individuals can become and experience almost anything they choose.Cyberseduction is a fascinating exploration of the psychology of digital culture.

Being first with a major news story drives the media to inform the public. But what limits, if any, can or should be placed on the media's vital role when their need to attract readers, listeners, or viewers compels them to jeopardize people's freedom (Richard Jewell), privacy (President Clinton and other public figures), and even personal safety (Princess Diana) in their rush to get the scoop, sell newspapers and magazines, and increase viewer numbers? To whom are the media responsible - the public, the stockholders, the advertisers? Who decides what may "harm" an audience or what is unsuitable for children? How do political agendas affect censorship and media profits? Are radical new media standards needed in light of increasing numbers of big stories based on bad reporting and lax research? These and other questions are probed in this wide-ranging selection of essays that explores the relationships between the media and their diverse audiences, sponsors, corporate owners, governments, and others.

"And now, gentlemen, as this board of review prepares to consider young Mr. Wright for Scouting's highest rank, there is one more very important thing we need to ask him. Cameron, tell us, please. Do you believe in God?" So begins Duck Egg Blue, the timely story of high school freshman Cameron Wright, who, as a result of answering truthfully that he doesn't "really know at this point,"ends up having his coveted Eagle badge withheld. But this is not the end of Cameron's troubles. While working at home on a small-scale model of the Grand Canyon for a science-class project on evolution (for which he uses the color "duck egg blue" to paint the river), his ultrareligous father objects to the teaching of evolution in science class. Cameron's science teacher, Mark Edwards, is then pressured to give "creation science" equal time with evolution, a directive that threatens his cherished position at the school, the quality of science education, and the right of the students to separation of church and state. Soon the religious right is marching through the public square toward a showdown. Duck Egg Blue captures a slice of life that is typical of many American towns where radical Christians attempt to insert creationism into public schools. The question of the proper place for religious belief is also causing controversy in another American institution-The Boy Scouts, where several cases similar to Cameron Wright's have made national headlines, one even going to the Supreme Court. A promising literary talent and a science teacher himself, Derrick Neill is no stranger to the Darwin vs. the Bible debate. Neill also wrote Adventures in Spacetime, a controversial science fiction novel that was censored from his school system when members of the religious right took their fight to the school board. Engaging, suspenseful, touching, and timely, Duck Egg Blue will move you and it will open your eyes to the dangers of religion used as a political weapon in public schools and other secular institutions.

He left school at fifteen to work as a reporter and wound up, just a few years later, as associate editor at Newsweek. He helped William F. Buckley Jr. found the National Review, worked closely with Joseph McCarthy, and became chief speechwriter for Barry Goldwater. But true to a conscience that caused him to question the claims and authority of others, Hess eventually rejected conservatism and embraced the libertarian politics of the New Left. He dabbled with drugs, rode motorcycles, worked with the Black Panthers, got arrested while protesting the war in Viet Nam, and published an article in Playboy that defined libertarianism and ignited a national debate. As an anti-Communist he cooperated with the FBI, but as a libertarian he fought the IRS until he was nearly destitute. Whatever his political leanings, he always despised conceit, exploded intolerance, and embraced life to the fullest. He was a man who traveled in influential circles, often close to power, but, in his own words, "mostly on the edge." Karl Hess participated in many of the defining events of 20th-century America, a self-taught boy who became a self-made journalist. Mostly on the Edge chronicles the life education of Hess, who became a defiant tester of the prevailing ideas of each decade. He lived by trial and error, and was always willing to acknowledge his mistakes. Like Franklin and Thoreau, Hess hoped to wake up America by questioning the moral majority, fighting the Kafkaesque intrusions of government, and encouraging his family, friends, and highly influential colleagues to think for themselves. Hess provides eyewitness accounts, unique personal observations, startling and valuable insights on leadership and dissent, and, in the end, leaves behind a clear path to realizing the dream of freedom.

The conflict between America's three prominent generations--the under 35 Generation X; over 35 Baby Boomers; and those over 65 --seems more pronounced each year due to financial burdens, social concerns, and political agendas. GENERATIONS APART features essays on and from all three generations and examines how they see themselves in relation to others.

A white-hot flash point has ignited intense arguments over immigration. With an influx of illegal aliens crossing U.S. borders and, in the minds of many, wreaking havoc with depleted resources, job availability, social services, education and law enforcement, this is a hot topic of debate. "Immigration: Debating the Issues" features selections from such noteworthy people as John F. Kennedy, George J. Borjas, Leon Bouvier, Peter Brimlow, and others.

If you're not sure what to make of all the claims and counterclaims, this new book will help cut through the conflicting reports and contradictory findings.We are bombarded daily with media reports of startling new findings from "just released" studies often in major, authoritative publications on consumer products, medications, foods, alcohol, safety devices, social behavior, public policy, and much more. The decisions of millions of consumers, professionals, and government agencies can be influenced by just one study.Light, humorous, and entertaining, Studies Show reviews sample studies to expose their traps and pitfalls. In plain English, statistics analyst John H. Fennick discusses the methods of good and bad studies to explain how scientific results can differ sometimes radically. Fennick shows that when armed with common sense and critical intelligence, we can understand almost any study.

The Art of Becoming Human considers not only the common experiences of human growth from birth to old age, but the profound influences that inborn talent, chance, necessity, and hope play in our development. Dr. Mercer's years of training and experience in internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry provided her the opportunity and privilege of witnessing the unfolding of every stage of human life. Rather than use anecdotes from her patients' personal histories, she has brought together a wealth of quotations from great works of literature to reveal the universal pattern that lies deeply buried beneath the economic, social, and political surface of individual lives.

In James Dobson's War on America, former Dobson executive and co-host of the "Focus on the Family" radio program, Gil Alexander-Moegerle, offers an insightful and detailed expose of this religious power-broker and his strong-arm corporation. Based on his ten years' experience within the Focus on the Family organization, the author's telling, behind-the-scenes look at the very private world of James Dobson traces his religious background and ultraconservative religious beliefs; his deepest inner feelings; the communication and marketing formula that helped him amass a fortune; his inner rage; his intense racism, sexism, and homophobia; his ongoing battle with the media; internal difficulties that led to boardroom allegations of mismanagement of donor funds; his budding "civil war of values"; and his radical political plan for America. The most telling description of James Dobson might be put succinctly: he is not what he appears to be. This chasm between the highly crafted public persona that exudes love and concern, and the fiercely competitive, ruthless, power-hungry, and materialistic private man reveals an almost Jekyll-and-Hyde dualism. Alexander-Moegerle's penetrating appraisal offers a former high-level insider's look at the Dobson machine and issues a warning call to concerned citizens, liberal and conservative alike, to oppose this man who, if given the opportunity, would suspend most of the liberties we hold dear.

Any intelligent debate on the ethical treatment of animals hinges on understanding their mental processes. The idea that consciousness in animals is beyond comprehension is usually traced to the 17th-century philosopher Ren? Descartes whose concept of animals as beast machines lacking consciousness influenced arguments for more than 200 years. But in reviewing Descartes' theory of mind, Daisie and Michael Radner demonstrate in Animal Consciousness that he did not hold the view so frequently attributed to him. In fact, they contend that Descartes distinguished two types of consciousness, which make it easier to discuss the conscious experiences of animals and to trace the debate into the post-Darwinian era.

Norman Cousins once wrote that "In any inventory of the natural resources on this planet", Steve Allen's conscience is "high on the list". It is this wonderfully prolific, highly educated conscience which prompted each of the articles included in But Seriously ... Steve Allen Speaks His Mind. Such a dynamic, energetic conscience has encouraged Allen throughout his career as an author and entertainer to examine the innumerable facets of modern American society, identifying the many problems which desperately need to be corrected and developing provocative new solutions to do so. Allen's razor-sharp insights always cut to the core of the issue, whether the topic involves labor relations, the atomic bomb, gifted education, or the lessons to be learned from the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This collection of speeches, articles, personal correspondence, and other writings constitutes a well-reasoned anthology filled with good humor, irony, and a deep concern for the human condition. Allen's devotion to common sense and serious social involvement carves a path for others to follow.

Incorporating material from his acclaimed technical works, Michael Martin demonstrates that well-reasoned skeptical positions don't need to be presented in dry, philosophical prose. Instead, this defense of atheism is written in the form of science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy that will arouse, provoke, and inspire the reader. The stories in The Big Domino in the Sky and Other Atheistic Tales reveal the fallacies of traditional arguments for the existence of God and the improbability of God's existence given the evil in the universe.

To create a society which is truly well, we need to spend much less energy on promoting fitness, nutrition, and stress management, and much more on encouraging people to ponder the meaning and purpose of their individual lives. This lighthearted, enjoyable guide to creating a wellness lifestyle includes more than 100 tips from wellness leaders from across the United States, Canada, and even Australia, as well as all kinds of other tools for discovering meaning and purpose in life. Here the quest for meaning is presented in an entertaining, interesting, and manageable manner. The Book of Wellness will help the reader discover a secular spirituality - an existential examination of the meaning of life free of religions, dogmas, and creeds - that ultimately could lead to a healthier, happier life.

The critical issues facing the human community population growth, sustained development, threats to the environment, the arms race, the ethical/philosophical challenges in light of advances in science and technology, and our very survival as a species require a multidisciplinary approach grounded in a clear understanding of human behavior. Fifty-one scholars from 11 countries representing 19 disciplines met at Delphi, Greece, to discuss and debate why we do what we do to ourselves and our world. Out of this vigorous exchange emerged the Delphi Society for long-term study of patterns of human behavior. This book offers a unique international perspective on global human problems.

There are many proposals for stimulating economic growth and lowering unemployment, and though they sometimes make full employment a goal, none of them except the plan highlighted in this well-researched book can make it a promise. John Pierson's Economic Performance Insurance (EPI) plan is the fruit of his lifelong campaign to tackle the New Deal's unsolved problem - involuntary unemployment. EPI avoids the pitfall of relying too heavily on government as the employer of last resort by guaranteeing a continuously adequate market for the products of private enterprise. The budget costs that may be incurred from insuring such a guarantee would be offset by the budget savings resulting from the drastic reduction in the burdensome social costs of welfare, drugs, and crime, which are directly linked to the problem of unemployment. Pierson cogently argues that EPI, or some similar plan, is not only desirable but necessary in the coming century. Eliminating unemployment is the key to tackling a host of other pressing issues, such as welfare reform, poverty, job discrimination, disarmament, and balancing our aid-and-trade relationship with Third World countries. EPI is not a utopian scheme but an eminently practical solution which, with political leadership and vision, could be enacted almost immediately.

Imagine standing in a child's room at your mid-point of life, staring into a mirror of truth, and realizing that the child you last saw in that looking glass now has thinning hair, bulging love handles, and an aching back. You may be halfway through life, but are you half-through living? Robin T.W. Yuan, M.D., attacks mid-life and its fears with vigor, humor, and truth in a book of insightful and entertaining vignettes about foggy memory, failing vision, fading dreams, and a sagging physique: a gentle, animal-loving boy becomes a middle-aged ant killer; a once avid and aggressive baseball player turns into a recreational softballer cautious about sliding into home plate; an aging uncle longs to recapture lost innocence through the eyes of his two-year-old nephew.

A thematic essay following the course of Western history in terms of cultural inheritance and legacy from Periclean Athens through the Dark Ages and Renaissance, into the beginning of what is now the third millennium.

Lader spotlights the struggle for abortion rights, discusses the brutal clinic murders in Pensacola and Boston, and argues that RU 486 could markedly reduce clinical abortions by making the termination of a pregnancy a 'private matter'.

Christine Todd Whitman came from nowhere in 1993 to defeat Democrat Jim Florio and become the first woman governor of New Jersey. Her meteoric rise to power has left many people wondering who she is, where she came from, and what motivates her. This engrossing political biography traces her background of old money tempered with social conscience and details its impact on her difficult but successful journey to the New Jersey governor's mansion...and perhaps beyond. Though an aristocrat from a moderate Republican family, Christie Whitman waged a grass-roots campaign to cut the heavy burden of New Jersey's taxes. At first, a skeptical public, reacting negatively to her plan, sent her public-opinion rating so low that even her own supporters felt she had lost the race for the governorship. But in the final, dramatic days of the campaign for the statehouse, Whitman proved to be the campaign's strongest asset. Undaunted by the polls, she donned a pair of blue jeans and took her campaign directly to New Jersey voters in farmers' markets, shopping centers, and businesses. She convinced people of her sincerity, dispelled the "out-to-lunch" image Democrats had painted of her, and fought on to capture one of the most powerful governorships in the nation. Taking office in January 1994, she surprised everyone by making good on her promise to cut income taxes for most New Jersey residents by 30 percent. As a result, she stands as a major player in national Republican politics with pundits speculating on her role in upcoming presidential elections. A voice of caution to the conservative wing of the party, she has shied away from dramatic cuts in government and takes a moderate position on socialissues. Author Sandy McClure traces Whitman's roots back to the days when she was a young tomboy plotting pranks at her parents' rural estate in northwestern New Jersey. She provides an inside look at Whitman's family heritage: the impact of her politically active grandparents, her role as the daughter of Republican party movers and shakers, her early years at the Republican National Committee, her marriage to the grandson of a New York governor, and her devotion to her role as a mother. The story includes the controversies of Whitman's early years in local and state politics and tells how her near defeat of U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, the state's most popular politician, launched her bid for the statehouse.

In this fascinating collection of his unique tales, Steve Allen, America's premier humorist and one of the true Renaissance men of our time, reveals the breadth of his writing talents as he weaves a compelling array of stories about fields as diverse as comedy, religion, politics, racial prejudice, homosexuality, sex, love, murder, and - well, the human predicament generally, which he perceives as essentially tragic. Some of his stories are chuckle-aloud funny, others are emotionally sensitive or shocking and disturbing.

THE THEATRE OF BLACK AMERICANS