Exploring erotic love as a profound form of contemplation, this collection delves into the beauty and complexities of life. The poems traverse diverse landscapes, from Central Europe's snowy balconies to Sydney's vibrant suburbs, reflecting a global perspective on the sacredness found in both beauty and hardship. Through rich imagery and thoughtful reflection, the work invites readers to embrace life's fullness and the transformative power of poetry.
Featuring bold illustrations, this engaging board book series introduces children to counting and the diverse plants and animals found in various habitats, including lakes, deserts, jungles, and oceans. Each book counts up to 10, presenting numerals alongside their spelled-out forms. The simple rhyming text invites young readers to participate, making it an excellent first introduction to numbers and nature.
Featuring bold blackline illustrations, this chunky board book series introduces young readers to various creatures and plants found in the lake, desert, jungle, and ocean. Each book counts up to ten, displaying both numerals and their spelled-out forms. The engaging rhyming text invites children to participate, making it an ideal first introduction to numbers while exploring the diverse flora and fauna of different habitats.
Through a series of insightful essays, the author delves into the complex relationship between humans and animals as portrayed in literature and culture. He explores diverse topics, including iconic works like 'The Man from Snowy River' and contemporary issues such as veganism and wildlife culling. With a keen focus on how these discussions reveal deeper societal attitudes, the author challenges readers to reflect on the implications of our interactions with other species and the necessary steps for progress in understanding these vital connections.
"'We need to organise politically to defend the weak, empower the many and prepare the ground for reversing the absurdities of capitalism.' - Yanis Varoufakis. 'Capitalism over the past twenty-five years has been an incredible moral good.' - David Brooks. The Munk debate on capitalism: There is a growing belief that the capitalist system no longer works. Inequality is rampant. The environment is being destroyed for profits. In some western nations, life expectancy is even falling. Political power is wielded by wealthy elites and big business, not the people. But for proponents of capitalism, it is the engine of progress, not just making all of us materially better off, but helping to address everything from women's rights to political freedoms. We seem to stand at a crossroads: do we need to fix the system as a matter of urgency, or would it be better to hold our nerve?'"-- Provided by publisher
From the influential and hugely popular "New York Times" columnist and bestselling author of "Bobos in Paradise" comes a landmark exploration of how human beings and communities succeed.
The No. 1 New York Times bestseller on the secret to leading a good life We live in a Big Me culture: universities and businesses alike reward goal-oriented superstars and those who self-promote are most likely to thrive. But what does this say about us? David Brooks argues that our hunger for wealth and status is eroding our ability to create meaningful inner lives. To show us how to live better, he looks at people whose sense of humility was fundamental to their success. What they all understood was a simple but counterintuitive truth: in order to fulfil yourself, you must learn how to forget yourself.
This title includes contributions from Richard Dawkins, Stephen Pinker, Daniel Dennett and Brian Eno among many others. It offers ideas, strategies and arguments that will help all of us understand our world and its future.
Are you on your first or second mountain? Is life about yourself or others? Are you self-improving or committed? Mainstream culture teaches us that human beings pursue our self-interest - money, power, fame. But at some point in our life we might discover that we're not interested in what other people tell us to want. We want to want the things that are truly worthy of wanting. At this point, you have moved to your second mountain. What does it mean to elevate your desires, to look beyond consumption and find a moral cause? To forget about independence and discover dependence - to be utterly enmeshed in a web of warm relationships? What does it mean to want intimacy, devotion, responsibility and commitment above individual freedom? In The Second Mountain David Brooks explores the meaning and possibilities that scaling a second mountain offer us, and the four commitments that most commonly move us there- family, vocation, philosophy and community. Inspiring, personal and full of joy, this is the start of a deeper journey into the world.
'David Brooks's gift-as he might put it in his swift, engaging way-is for making obscure but potent social studies research accessible and even startling. . . . [ The Road to Character is] a hyper-readable, lucid, often richly detailed human story. . . . In the age of the selfie, Brooks wishes to exhort us back to a semiclassical sense of self-restraint, self-erasure, and self-suspicion.' -Pico Iyer, The New York Times Book Review §§'[Brooks] emerges as a countercultural leader. . . . The literary achievement of The Road to Character is inseparable from the virtues of its author. As the reader, you not only want to know about Frances Perkins or Saint Augustine. You also want to know what Brooks makes of Frances Perkins or Saint Augustine. The voice of the book is calm, fair and humane. The highlight of the material is the quality of the author's moral and spiritual judgments.' -Michael Gerson, The Washington Post §§'Original and eye-opening . . . At his best, Brooks is a normative version of Malcolm Gladwell, culling from a wide array of scientists and thinkers to weave an idea bigger than the sum of its parts.' - USA Today §§'David Brooks breaks the columnist's fourth wall. . . . There is something affecting in the diligence with which Brooks seeks a cure for his self-diagnosed shallowness by plumbing the depths of others. . . . Brooks's instinct that there is wisdom to be found in literature that cannot be found in the pages of the latest social science journals is well-advised, and the possibility that his book may bring the likes of Eliot or Samuel Johnson- another literary figure about whom he writes with engaging sympathy-to a wider general readership is a heartening thought.' -Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker § §'If you want to be reassured that you are special, you will hate this book. But if you like thoughtful polemics, it is worth logging off Facebook to read it.' - The Economist §§'A powerful, haunting book that works its way beneath your skin.' - The Guardian (U.K.)§§'Brooks uses the powerful stories of people such as Augustine, George Eliot and Dwight Eisenhower to inspire.' - The Times (U.K.)§§'This profound and eloquent book is written with moral urgency and philosophical elegance.' -Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon §§'Elegant and lucid . . . a pitch-perfect clarion call, issued not with preachy hubris but from a deep place of humility, for awakening to the greatest rewards of living . . . The Road to Character is an essential read in its entirety-Anne Lamott with a harder edge of moral philosophy, Seneca with a softer edge of spiritual sensitivity, E. F. Schumacher for perplexed moderns.' -Maria Popova, Brain Pickings §§'David Brooks-the New York Times columnist and PBS commentator whose measured calm gives punditry a good name-offers the building blocks of a meaningful life in The Road to Character .' - Washingtonian ('Four Books Washingtonians Should Be Reading This Month')§§'Brooks, author of The Social Animal, offers biographies of a cross section of individuals who struggled against their own weaknesses and limitations and developed strong moral fiber. . . . [He] offers a humility code that cautions against living only for happiness and that recognizes we are ultimately saved by grace.' - Booklist § §'The road to exceptional character may be unpaved and a bit rocky, yet it is still worth the struggle. This is the basic thesis of Brooks's engrossing treatise on personal morality in today's materialistic, proud world. . . . [His] poignant and at times quite humorous commentary on the importance of humility and virtue makes for a vital, uplifting read.' - Publishers Weekly
