Philosophy

The primacy of words over images has deep roots in Western culture. But what if the two are inextricably linked, equal partners in meaning-making? Written and drawn entirely as comics, Unflattening is an experiment in visual thinking. Nick Sousanis...

"Once upon a time there were just the gods; mortal beings did not yet exist."We are used to thinking of myths containing lines like this simply as stories, and modern myths as made up and fictitious. For the ancient Greeks, however, a myth was unveiled...

From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—this is award winning writer Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on...

In Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction outing, an examination of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life through an insightful, unsparing argument that proves the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination but instead are found in reality...

In Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction outing, an examination of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life through an insightful, unsparing argument that proves the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination but instead are found in reality...

In this magnificent and often surprising collection of essays Barthes explores the myths of mass culture. Taking subjects as diverse as wrestling, films, plastic and cars, Barthes elegantly deciphers the symbols and signs embedded deep in familiar...

A celebrated new translation of Dostoevsky’s masterpiece reveals the “social problems facing our own society” (Nation). Published to great acclaim and fierce controversy in 1866, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment has left...

Otters are some of the most delightful animals on the planet. These long, lean, furry creatures embody pure joy in so many ways – they live for napping, playing, making friends and eating, and forget about the rest. Pretty inspiring, right? In a...

The illegitimate son of a landowner and his common-law peasant wife, Arkady Dolgoruky has scarcely seen these parents during his nineteen years of life. In a narrative combining farce and pathos, Dostoevsky describes Arkady's visit to St Petersburg in...

Little known fact: Buddhist Monks are amazing at cleaning and tidying. In this one-of-a-kind guide to cleaning your home, Buddhist monk Shoukei Matsumoto reveals how to make your home as spotless as it is tranquil and peaceful. For Buddhist monks...

A fiery and intensely dynamic Zen teacher and artist, Hakuin (1685–1768) is credited with almost single-handedly revitalizing Japanese Zen after three hundred years of decline. As a teacher, he placed special emphasis on koan practice, inventing...

A witty, moving philosophical novel, Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums is a journey of self-discovery through the lens of Zen Buddhist thought. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Ann Douglas. Following the explosive energy of...

Architecture that is meant to have a sensuous connection to life calls for thinking that goes far beyond form and construction. In his texts, Peter Zumthor articulates what motivates him to design his buildings, which appeal to the visitor's heart and...

A pioneering work in the movement to free art from its traditional bonds to material reality, this book is one of the most important documents in the history of modern art. Written by the famous nonobjective painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944),...

The 50th anniversary edition of a classic text, featuring an expanded selection of color studies. “The landmark 1963 book by Josef Albers . . . isn’t just for aspiring artists. Its mesmerizing illustrations are a revelation for anyone...

A pithy and brilliant introduction to Susan Sontag’s writing on women, gathering early essays on aging, equality, beauty, sexuality, and fascism.Susan Sontag was one of the most formidable, original, and influential thinkers of the last century...

Horace (65-8 B.C.) is one of the most important and brilliant poets of the Augustan Age of Latin literature whose influence on European literature is unparalleled. Steeped in allusion to contemporary affairs, Horace's verse is best read in terms of his...

Exuberantly mocking the vices and pretensions of his Roman contemporaries, Horace's Satiresare stuffed full of comic vignettes, moral insights, and his pervasive humanity. Boasting famous episodes such as the fable of the town mouse and the country mouse...

Two Ayn Rand classics--Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead--together for the first time in a boxed set. Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's magnum opus: a...

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year.A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year.A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year.A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.A Tablet Best Book of the Year.Winner of a Christianity Today Book Award.“One...