Author: Henry Steele Commager
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9781842120767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 381
Book Description
Beginning with a survey of the origins and growth of 18th century rationalism, the author explains how the realization of the great philosophers' ideals in Europe was inevitably frustrated by the counterweight of tradition and privilege. He points out that in America there were no such barriers. The principles of the Enlightenment were written into law, crystallised into institutions, and sanctified by use. Although democracy was not absolute (the existence of slavery remained unquestioned), in comparison with Europe, America could justifiably claim to be incorporating the ideals of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' into the daily lives of her people. The result was the start of an American revolution as significant as the winning of independence and the creation of a nation. This book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of America's past - essential both for a true appreciation of America's European origins and for her subsequent development into the 20th century."Learning and reason are at the service of a mind whose understanding of democracy gains brilliance and power from a passion for democratic freedom." Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
The Empire of Reason
Author: Henry Steele Commager
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9781842120767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 381
Book Description
Beginning with a survey of the origins and growth of 18th century rationalism, the author explains how the realization of the great philosophers' ideals in Europe was inevitably frustrated by the counterweight of tradition and privilege. He points out that in America there were no such barriers. The principles of the Enlightenment were written into law, crystallised into institutions, and sanctified by use. Although democracy was not absolute (the existence of slavery remained unquestioned), in comparison with Europe, America could justifiably claim to be incorporating the ideals of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' into the daily lives of her people. The result was the start of an American revolution as significant as the winning of independence and the creation of a nation. This book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of America's past - essential both for a true appreciation of America's European origins and for her subsequent development into the 20th century."Learning and reason are at the service of a mind whose understanding of democracy gains brilliance and power from a passion for democratic freedom." Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 9781842120767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 381
Book Description
Beginning with a survey of the origins and growth of 18th century rationalism, the author explains how the realization of the great philosophers' ideals in Europe was inevitably frustrated by the counterweight of tradition and privilege. He points out that in America there were no such barriers. The principles of the Enlightenment were written into law, crystallised into institutions, and sanctified by use. Although democracy was not absolute (the existence of slavery remained unquestioned), in comparison with Europe, America could justifiably claim to be incorporating the ideals of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' into the daily lives of her people. The result was the start of an American revolution as significant as the winning of independence and the creation of a nation. This book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of America's past - essential both for a true appreciation of America's European origins and for her subsequent development into the 20th century."Learning and reason are at the service of a mind whose understanding of democracy gains brilliance and power from a passion for democratic freedom." Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
Empire of Reason
Author: Lewis Pyenson
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004246622
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Preliminary Material -- 1 Imperious Metropolitan Knowledge -- 2 Stars of the Southern Heavens -- 3 Islands of Earthly Wonders -- 4 Knowledge Radiant and Resplendent -- 5 Tenebrous Colonial Visions -- Index.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004246622
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Preliminary Material -- 1 Imperious Metropolitan Knowledge -- 2 Stars of the Southern Heavens -- 3 Islands of Earthly Wonders -- 4 Knowledge Radiant and Resplendent -- 5 Tenebrous Colonial Visions -- Index.
Soldiers of Reason
Author: Alex Abella
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780156033442
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
This history of the RAND Corporation, written with full access to its archives, is a page-turning chronicle of the rise of the secretive think tank that has been the driving force behind the American government for 60 years.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780156033442
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
This history of the RAND Corporation, written with full access to its archives, is a page-turning chronicle of the rise of the secretive think tank that has been the driving force behind the American government for 60 years.
Philadelphia's Enlightenment, 1740-1800
Author: Nina Reid-Maroney
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
Rather than treating the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment as defining opposites in 18th century American culture, this study argues that the imperatives of the great revival actually shaped the pursuit of enlightened science. Reid-Maroney traces the interwoven histories of the two movements by reconstructing the intellectual world of the Philadelphia circle. Prophets of the Enlightenment had long tried to resolve pressing questions about the limitations of human reason and the sources of our knowledge about the created order of things. The leaders of the Awakening addressed those questions with a new urgency and, in the process, determined the character of the Enlightenment emerging in Philadelphia's celebrated culture of science. Tracing the influence of evangelical sensibility and the development of a Calvinist parallel to the philosophical skepticism of enlightened Scots, Reid-Maroney finds that the Philadelphians' love of science rested on a radical critique of human reason, even while it acknowledged that reason was the dignifying and distinguishing property of human nature. Benjamin Rush alluded to an enlightenment wrought by grace in his image of the Kingdom of Christ and the Empire of Reason. In the post-Revolutionary period, the redemptive Enlightenment of the Philadelphia circle reached its greatest cultural power as a vision for scientific progress in the new republic.
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
Rather than treating the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment as defining opposites in 18th century American culture, this study argues that the imperatives of the great revival actually shaped the pursuit of enlightened science. Reid-Maroney traces the interwoven histories of the two movements by reconstructing the intellectual world of the Philadelphia circle. Prophets of the Enlightenment had long tried to resolve pressing questions about the limitations of human reason and the sources of our knowledge about the created order of things. The leaders of the Awakening addressed those questions with a new urgency and, in the process, determined the character of the Enlightenment emerging in Philadelphia's celebrated culture of science. Tracing the influence of evangelical sensibility and the development of a Calvinist parallel to the philosophical skepticism of enlightened Scots, Reid-Maroney finds that the Philadelphians' love of science rested on a radical critique of human reason, even while it acknowledged that reason was the dignifying and distinguishing property of human nature. Benjamin Rush alluded to an enlightenment wrought by grace in his image of the Kingdom of Christ and the Empire of Reason. In the post-Revolutionary period, the redemptive Enlightenment of the Philadelphia circle reached its greatest cultural power as a vision for scientific progress in the new republic.
If Men Were Angels
Author: Richard K. Matthews
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780700606436
Category : Constitutional history
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"A devastating critique of Madison's political thought". -- Gordon S. Wood in The New York Review of Books. "If Matthews is right -- that Madison and Jefferson 'were, from an ideological perspective, worlds apart' -- then we must reassess just about everything we think we know about ideology and politics in the early republic". -- Journal of American History. "The most provocative recent book on Madison". -- New York Times Book Review.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780700606436
Category : Constitutional history
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"A devastating critique of Madison's political thought". -- Gordon S. Wood in The New York Review of Books. "If Matthews is right -- that Madison and Jefferson 'were, from an ideological perspective, worlds apart' -- then we must reassess just about everything we think we know about ideology and politics in the early republic". -- Journal of American History. "The most provocative recent book on Madison". -- New York Times Book Review.
Empire of Illusion
Author: Chris Hedges
Publisher: Knopf Canada
ISBN: 0307398587
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Pulitzer prize–winner Chris Hedges charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy and illusion. Chris Hedges argues that we now live in two societies: One, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world, that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. In this “other society,” serious film and theatre, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins. In the tradition of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Hedges navigates this culture — attending WWF contests as well as Ivy League graduation ceremonies — exposing an age of terrifying decline and heightened self-delusion.
Publisher: Knopf Canada
ISBN: 0307398587
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Pulitzer prize–winner Chris Hedges charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy and illusion. Chris Hedges argues that we now live in two societies: One, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world, that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. In this “other society,” serious film and theatre, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins. In the tradition of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Hedges navigates this culture — attending WWF contests as well as Ivy League graduation ceremonies — exposing an age of terrifying decline and heightened self-delusion.
Empire of Mud
Author: J. D. Dickey
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493013939
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 325
Book Description
Washington, DC, gleams with stately columns and neoclassical temples, a pulsing hub of political power and prowess. But for decades it was one of the worst excuses for a capital city the world had ever seen. Before America became a world power in the twentieth century, Washington City was an eyesore at best and a disgrace at worst. Unfilled swamps, filthy canals, and rutted horse trails littered its landscape. Political bosses hired hooligans and thugs to conduct the nation's affairs. Legendary madams entertained clients from all stations of society and politicians of every party. The police served and protected with the aid of bribes and protection money. Beneath pestilential air, the city’s muddy roads led to a stumpy, half-finished obelisk to Washington here, a domeless Capitol Building there. Lining the streets stood boarding houses, tanneries, and slums. Deadly horse races gouged dusty streets, and opposing factions of volunteer firefighters battled one another like violent gangs rather than life-saving heroes. The city’s turbulent history set a precedent for the dishonesty, corruption, and mismanagement that have led generations to look suspiciously on the various sin--both real and imagined--of Washington politicians. Empire of Mud unearths and untangles the roots of our capital’s story and explores how the city was tainted from the outset, nearly stifled from becoming the proud citadel of the republic that George Washington and Pierre L'Enfant envisioned more than two centuries ago.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493013939
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 325
Book Description
Washington, DC, gleams with stately columns and neoclassical temples, a pulsing hub of political power and prowess. But for decades it was one of the worst excuses for a capital city the world had ever seen. Before America became a world power in the twentieth century, Washington City was an eyesore at best and a disgrace at worst. Unfilled swamps, filthy canals, and rutted horse trails littered its landscape. Political bosses hired hooligans and thugs to conduct the nation's affairs. Legendary madams entertained clients from all stations of society and politicians of every party. The police served and protected with the aid of bribes and protection money. Beneath pestilential air, the city’s muddy roads led to a stumpy, half-finished obelisk to Washington here, a domeless Capitol Building there. Lining the streets stood boarding houses, tanneries, and slums. Deadly horse races gouged dusty streets, and opposing factions of volunteer firefighters battled one another like violent gangs rather than life-saving heroes. The city’s turbulent history set a precedent for the dishonesty, corruption, and mismanagement that have led generations to look suspiciously on the various sin--both real and imagined--of Washington politicians. Empire of Mud unearths and untangles the roots of our capital’s story and explores how the city was tainted from the outset, nearly stifled from becoming the proud citadel of the republic that George Washington and Pierre L'Enfant envisioned more than two centuries ago.
Empire of Man
Author: David Weber
Publisher: Baen Publishing Enterprises
ISBN: 1625792468
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1253
Book Description
New York Times best-selling series - Omnibus - March Upcountry and March to the Sea, Books 1 and 2 in the Empire of Man Series. Roger Ramius MacClintock was young, handsome, athletic, an excellent dresser, and third in line for the Throne of Man. It probably wasn't too surprising that someone in his position should react by becoming spoiled, self_centered, and petulant. After all, what else did he have to do with his life? Then warships of the Empire of Man's worst rivals shoot his crippled vessel out of space and Roger is shipwrecked on the planet Marduk, whose jungles are full of deadly predators and barbarian hordes with really bad dispositions. Now all Roger has to do is hike halfway around the entire planet, then capture a spaceport from the Bad Guys, somehow commandeer a starship, and then go home to Mother for explanations. Fortunately, Roger has an ace in the hole: Bravo Company of Bronze Battalion of The Empress' Own Regiment. If anyone can get him off Marduk alive, it's the Bronze Barbarians. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About The Empire of Man Series: _Will fascinate sophisticated readers (the manual of arms for a fourarmed, 10 foot soldier is a thing of beauty) . . . [and] grip straightforward action lovers.Ó ¾Publishers Weekly _Coauthors Weber and Ringo excel in depicting the lives and times of soldiers both on and off the battlefield.Ó ¾Library Journal.
Publisher: Baen Publishing Enterprises
ISBN: 1625792468
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1253
Book Description
New York Times best-selling series - Omnibus - March Upcountry and March to the Sea, Books 1 and 2 in the Empire of Man Series. Roger Ramius MacClintock was young, handsome, athletic, an excellent dresser, and third in line for the Throne of Man. It probably wasn't too surprising that someone in his position should react by becoming spoiled, self_centered, and petulant. After all, what else did he have to do with his life? Then warships of the Empire of Man's worst rivals shoot his crippled vessel out of space and Roger is shipwrecked on the planet Marduk, whose jungles are full of deadly predators and barbarian hordes with really bad dispositions. Now all Roger has to do is hike halfway around the entire planet, then capture a spaceport from the Bad Guys, somehow commandeer a starship, and then go home to Mother for explanations. Fortunately, Roger has an ace in the hole: Bravo Company of Bronze Battalion of The Empress' Own Regiment. If anyone can get him off Marduk alive, it's the Bronze Barbarians. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About The Empire of Man Series: _Will fascinate sophisticated readers (the manual of arms for a fourarmed, 10 foot soldier is a thing of beauty) . . . [and] grip straightforward action lovers.Ó ¾Publishers Weekly _Coauthors Weber and Ringo excel in depicting the lives and times of soldiers both on and off the battlefield.Ó ¾Library Journal.
How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It
Author: K. J. Parker
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 0316498653
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
"Full of invention and ingenuity . . . Great fun." - SFX on Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City This is the history of how the City was saved, by Notker the professional liar, written down because eventually the truth always seeps through. The City may be under siege, but everyone still has to make a living. Take Notker, the acclaimed playwright, actor, and impresario. Nobody works harder, even when he's not working. Thankfully, it turns out that people enjoy the theater just as much when there are big rocks falling out of the sky. But Notker is a man of many talents, and all the world is, apparently, a stage. It seems that the empire needs him -- or someone who looks a lot like him -- for a role that will call for the performance of a lifetime. At least it will guarantee fame, fortune, and immortality. If it doesn't kill him first. In the follow up to the acclaimed Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, K. J. Parker has created one of fantasy's greatest heroes, and he might even get away with it. For more from K. J. Parker, check out:Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City The Two of SwordsThe Two of Swords: Volume OneThe Two of Swords Volume TwoThe Two of Swords: Volume Three The Fencer TrilogyColours in the SteelThe Belly of the BowThe Proof House The Scavenger TrilogyShadowPatternMemory Engineer TrilogyDevices and DesiresEvil for EvilThe EscapementThe CompanyThe Folding KnifeThe HammerSharps
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 0316498653
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
"Full of invention and ingenuity . . . Great fun." - SFX on Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City This is the history of how the City was saved, by Notker the professional liar, written down because eventually the truth always seeps through. The City may be under siege, but everyone still has to make a living. Take Notker, the acclaimed playwright, actor, and impresario. Nobody works harder, even when he's not working. Thankfully, it turns out that people enjoy the theater just as much when there are big rocks falling out of the sky. But Notker is a man of many talents, and all the world is, apparently, a stage. It seems that the empire needs him -- or someone who looks a lot like him -- for a role that will call for the performance of a lifetime. At least it will guarantee fame, fortune, and immortality. If it doesn't kill him first. In the follow up to the acclaimed Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, K. J. Parker has created one of fantasy's greatest heroes, and he might even get away with it. For more from K. J. Parker, check out:Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City The Two of SwordsThe Two of Swords: Volume OneThe Two of Swords Volume TwoThe Two of Swords: Volume Three The Fencer TrilogyColours in the SteelThe Belly of the BowThe Proof House The Scavenger TrilogyShadowPatternMemory Engineer TrilogyDevices and DesiresEvil for EvilThe EscapementThe CompanyThe Folding KnifeThe HammerSharps
The Empire of Necessity
Author: Greg Grandin
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
ISBN: 1429943173
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 378
Book Description
From the acclaimed author of Fordlandia, the story of a remarkable slave rebellion that illuminates America's struggle with slavery and freedom during the Age of Revolution and beyond One morning in 1805, off a remote island in the South Pacific, Captain Amasa Delano, a New England seal hunter, climbed aboard a distressed Spanish ship carrying scores of West Africans he thought were slaves. They weren't. Having earlier seized control of the vessel and slaughtered most of the crew, they were staging an elaborate ruse, acting as if they were humble servants. When Delano, an idealistic, anti-slavery republican, finally realized the deception, he responded with explosive violence. Drawing on research on four continents, The Empire of Necessity explores the multiple forces that culminated in this extraordinary event—an event that already inspired Herman Melville's masterpiece Benito Cereno. Now historian Greg Grandin, with the gripping storytelling that was praised in Fordlandia, uses the dramatic happenings of that day to map a new transnational history of slavery in the Americas, capturing the clash of peoples, economies, and faiths that was the New World in the early 1800s.
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
ISBN: 1429943173
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 378
Book Description
From the acclaimed author of Fordlandia, the story of a remarkable slave rebellion that illuminates America's struggle with slavery and freedom during the Age of Revolution and beyond One morning in 1805, off a remote island in the South Pacific, Captain Amasa Delano, a New England seal hunter, climbed aboard a distressed Spanish ship carrying scores of West Africans he thought were slaves. They weren't. Having earlier seized control of the vessel and slaughtered most of the crew, they were staging an elaborate ruse, acting as if they were humble servants. When Delano, an idealistic, anti-slavery republican, finally realized the deception, he responded with explosive violence. Drawing on research on four continents, The Empire of Necessity explores the multiple forces that culminated in this extraordinary event—an event that already inspired Herman Melville's masterpiece Benito Cereno. Now historian Greg Grandin, with the gripping storytelling that was praised in Fordlandia, uses the dramatic happenings of that day to map a new transnational history of slavery in the Americas, capturing the clash of peoples, economies, and faiths that was the New World in the early 1800s.