"A new collection of seventeen science essays that once again demonstrate the profound knowledge and imagination which have become the hallmarks of Isaac Asimov's works. Here, Dr. Asimov explores such topics as: the farthest distance in the universe; why astrology is sheer nonsense; how eclipses occur and how they were predicted by the ancients; why antievolutionists should consider the chimpanzee; why the North Star keeps shifting, and how it proves that Bacon didn't write Shakespeare's plays; and why fusion, and not fission, is the only solution to the energy crisis. Each fascinating chapter in this new volume brings Dr. Asimov further toward his goal of explaining to everyone the wonders of the universe and of man." --

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Of all the portions of the universe we see in the sky, the most spectacular is the Sun. Our very own star, the Sun is ruler of the Solar System. When it is shining, it drowns out everything else. When clouds cover the Sun, the day is gloomy. At night, when the Sun is not overhead, the sky is dark. All the world depends on the Sun. Topics include sunspots, flares, prominences, the Sun's atmosphere, upcoming solar eclipses, and the Sun's vital importance to life on Earth.

The Russian writer Isaac Babel (1894-1940) is widely acknowledged to be one of the great masters of twentieth-century literature, hailed as a genius by such critics as Lionel Trilling and Irving Howe. The work for which he is best known is a cycle of stories called Red Cavalry, which depicts the exploits of the Cossack cavalry during the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920 and is based on Babel's experiences as he rode with the Cossacks during the campaign. Throughout this period Babel kept a diary, in which he recorded the devastation of the war, the extreme cruelty of the Polish and Red armies alike toward the Jewish population in Ukraine and eastern Poland, and his own conflicted role as both Soviet revolutionary and Jew. The 1920 Diary, a vital source for Red Cavalry as well as a compelling narrative, is now published in English for the first time

Spine creased, page edges tanned. Shipped from the U.K. All orders received before 3pm sent that weekday.

“Night is a time of rigor, but also of mercy. There are truths which one can see only when it’s dark”

Essays recall Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Aldous Huxley, Albert Einstein, various Russian writers, and other twentieth century figures the author has known.

With unrivalled political savvy and a keen sense of irony, distinguished political scientists Anthony King and Ivor Crewe open our eyes to the worst government horror stories and explain why the British political system is quite so prone to appalling mistakes.

Representative selections from the writings of major medieval Jewish philosophers are used to explain and heighten awareness of crucial areas of Jewish belief. They refute the notion that Judaism has no dogmas.

This collection of stories predicts a future where the human race no longer evolves--it upgrades. In this astonishing anthology, a host of the world's most expert dreamers take readers to a future of virtual humanity, where new technology will free humankind from the boundaries of the flesh. Contributors include Poul Anderson, Greg Egan, Robert Reed, and Stephan Baxter. Original.

Jack Zipes develops a social history of the fairy tale and shows how educated writers purposefully appropriated the oral folk tale in the eighteenth century and made it into a discourse about mores, values, and manners.

Contains essays on art and culture.

Out of the Ghetto is an account of the developing interrelationship between the Jews and their Gentile environment unique in its breadth and objectivity. He presents the story of Jewish emancipation as a whole, from both Jewish and non-Jewish points of view. If the results of the Jewish emancipation process differed from country to country, the forces effecting the changes were identical—the upheaval of the French Revolution, the loosening of bonds between church and state, and the ideas of the Enlightenment. It was those humanistic ideas which made possible the Jew's transition from the ghetto to partial inclusion in society at large and which attracted Jewish intellectuals to the "secular knowledge" of languages, mathematics, philosophy, and the wider world beyond their ancient learning.

Now restored to print, here is philosopher Jacob Needleman's groundbreaking study of America's alternative spiritual movements, with a new introduction by the author. Originally published in 1970, The New Religions was the first full-scale study of alternative spirituality in America. It remains unparalleled for the intellectual depth and seriousness with which it regards Eastern, New Age, and alternative faiths on the American landscape.

The divided welfare state is the first comprehensive political analysis of America's system of public and private social benefits. Everyone knows that the American welfare state is less expensive and extensive, later to develop and slower to grow, than comparable programs abroad. American social spending is as high as spending in many European nations. What is distinctive is that so many social welfare duties are handled by the private sector with government support. With historical reach and statistical and cross-national evidence, The divided welfare state demonstrates that private social benefits have not been shaped by public policy, but have deeply influenced the politics of public social programs-to produce a social policy framework whose political and social effects are strikingly different than often assumed.

This book, "The Venus Project: The Redesign of Culture", by Jacque Fresco, is a replication of a book originally published before 1995. It has been restored by human beings, page by page, so that you may enjoy it in a form as close to the original as possible. This book was created using print-on-demand technology. Thank you for supporting classic literature.