Best Selling Books by Michael

This visually stunning book focuses on the rebirth of Chinese art in the twentieth century under the influence of Western art and culture. Sullivan discusses artists and their work against China''s background of oppression and relaxation, despair and hope.

Kant sought throughout his life to provide a philosophy adequate to the sciences of his time--especially Euclidean geometry and Newtonian physics. In this new book, Michael Friedman argues that Kant''s continuing efforts to find a metaphysics that could provide a foundation for the sciences is of the utmost importance in understanding the development of his philosophical thought from its earliest beginnings in the thesis of 1747, through the Critique of Pure Reason, to his last unpublished writings in the Opus postumum. Previous commentators on Kant have typically minimized these efforts because the sciences in question have since been outmoded. Friedman argues that, on the contrary, Kant''s philosophy is shaped by extraordinarily deep insight into the foundations of the exact sciences as he found them, and that this represents one of the greatest strengths of his philosophy. Friedman examines Kant''s engagement with geometry, arithmetic and algebra, the foundations of mechanics, and the law of gravitation in Part One. He then devotes Part Two to the Opus postumum, showing how Kant''s need to come to terms with developments in the physics of heat and in chemistry formed a primary motive for his projected Transition from the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science to Physics. Kant and the Exact Sciences is a book of high scholarly achievement, argued with impressive power. It represents a great advance in our understanding of Kant''s philosophy of science.

A one-night stand spirals into a web of dark secrets in James Patterson''s steamy thriller of love, lust, and murder. Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiraling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour. In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she''s paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren''s desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood-and her life. Patterson takes us on a twisting roller-coaster ride of thrills in his most gripping novel yet. This story of love, lust and dangerous secrets will have readers'' hearts pounding to the very last page.

A social, cultural, and--above all--culinary history of dessert, Sweet Invention explores the world''s great dessert traditions, from ancient India to 21st-century Indiana. Each chapter begins with author Michael Krondl tasting and analyzing an icon of dessert, such as baklava from the Middle East or macarons from France, and then combines extensive scholarship with a lively writing style to spin an ancient tale of some of the world''s favorite treats and their creators. From the sweet makers of Persia who gave us the first donuts to the sugar sculptors of Renaissance Italy whose creativity gave rise to the modern-day wedding cake, this authoritative read clears up numerous misconceptions about the origins of various desserts, while elucidating their social, political, religious--and even sexual--uses through the ages.

The ninth edition of this successful textbook describes the full range of the astronomical universe and how astronomers think about the cosmos.

Why has human history been crowded into the last few thousand years? Why has it happened at all? Could it have happened in a radically different way? What should we make of the disproportionate role of the West in shaping the world we currently live in? This witty, intelligent hopscotch through human history addresses these questions and more. Michael Cook sifts the human career on earth for the most telling nuggets and then uses them to elucidate the whole. From the calendars of Mesoamerica and the temple courtesans of medieval India to the intricacies of marriage among an aboriginal Australian tribe, Cook explains the sometimes eccentric variety in human cultural expression. He guides us from the prehistoric origins of human history across the globe through the increasing unification of the world, first by Muslims and then by European Christians in the modern period, illuminating the contingencies that have governed broad historical change. "A smart, literate survey of human life from paleolithic times until 9/11."—Edward Rothstein, The New York Times

Basing his study on literature and film, the author presents the exploits and images of U-boats and their intrepid crews.

#1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of This is Your Mind on Plants, How to Change Your Mind, The Omnivore''s Dilemma, and Food Rules Food. There''s plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it? Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion--most of what we’re consuming today is longer the product of nature but of food science. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we see to become. With In Defense of Food, Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Pollan’s bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating.

A concise, accessible review of the principal economic developments and social changes in the US between 1945 and the present day. Covers an era of US economic dominance and the challenge from overseas. Links more ''historical'' post-war developments to the rapid ''contemporary'' changes of the 1970s-1990s. No direct competitor known to the author.

A revised and expanded edition of the first book to cover the entirety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from pre-1492 to the present In this new edition of A Queer History of the United States, Michael Bronski’s classic book now covers 500 years, bringing queer history into the 21st century and further illuminates how profoundly the LGBTQ+ life and people have shaped America. Drawing upon primary documents, literature, and popular culture, Bronski weaves a comprehensive tapestry of LGBTQ+ history, providing startling examples of unknown or ignored aspects of our collective past. From the ineffectiveness of sodomy laws in the colonies, to how rock music and youth culture unintentionally engendered the devastating backlash against gay rights in the late 1970s; from individuals such as Robert Treat Paine and Ezekiel Dodge, Harvard classmates in 1774 who formed a deep, loving relationship and wrote passionate love letters to one another to Lucy Hicks Andersen, a married African American socialite and celebrity chef in Oxnard, California, whose story appeared in Time magazine in 1945 after her transgender identity became known, Bronski covers an eclectic breadth of facts and stories. This revised edition includes details on the evolution of the transgender liberation movement, the upsurge of vibrant queer movements of color, the groundbreaking emergence of new sexual and gender identities, and concludes by analyzing the current conservative backlash against LGBTQ rights, racial and social justice policies, and the drive to eradicate historical diversity. Not simply about "gay history" it is about all American history, Bronski’s dynamic and revealing narrative radically reframes how we understand our past and, more important, our present.

Now it its Fifth Edition, this best-selling text and atlas is the perfect text for medical, health professions, and undergraduate biology students. It combines a detailed textbook that emphasizes clinical and functional correlates of histology with a beautifully illustrated atlas featuring full-color digital micrographs of the highest quality. This edition includes over 100 new illustrations, more Clinical Correlation boxes on the histology of common medical conditions, and new information on the molecular biology of endothelial cell function. Terminology throughout the text is consistent with Terminologia Anatomica. A powerful interactive histology atlas CD-ROM for students is included with the book and features all of the plates found in the text with interactive functionality.

As a contribution to multicausal analysis of social change, this is a major work. And, as a general introduction to European imperialism, its theoretical sophistication, broad sweep, and the clear presentation and organization of historical detail leave it with few peers.? American Journal of Sociology Although empires have shaped the political development of virtually all the states of the modern world, "imperialism" has not figured largely in the mainstream of scholarly literature. This book seeks to account for the imperial phenomenon and to establish its importance as a subject in the study of the theory of world politics. Michael Doyle believes that empires can best be defined as relationships of effective political control imposed by some political societies--those called metropoles--on other political societies--called peripheries. To build an explanation of the birth, life, and death of empires, he starts with an overview and critique of the leading theories of imperialism. Supplementing theoretical analysis with historical description, he considers episodes from the life cycles of empires from the classical and modern world, concentrating on the nineteenth-century scramble for Africa. He describes in detail the slow entanglement of the peripheral societies on the Nile and the Niger with metropolitan power, the survival of independent Ethiopia, Bismarck''s manipulation of imperial diplomacy for European ends, the race for imperial possession in the 1880s, and the rapid setting of the imperial sun. Combining a sensitivity to historical detail with a judicious search for general patterns, Empires will engage the attention of social scientists in many disciplines.

This book describes Trumpism: the strong allegiance to former President Donald Trump that is in evidence among a sizable portion of the US population. How did Trump come to be elected in 2016, and who supported him during his presidential tenure - and why? How is it that he continues to hold cult-like status, exerting a strong influence not only on many individuals but also on numerous elected officials, despite his defeat in 2020? Why does his character continue to be an object of fascination even among anti-Trumpists, and why will Trumpism continue to play a major role in the American sociopolitical landscape even now he has left the presidential stage? Michael J. Diamond ponders these questions through the lenses of American history and culture, political theory, social phenomena, group dynamics, and psychoanalysis. In exploring the relationship between large-group regression, cultism, destructive populism, delusional thinking, conspiratorial beliefs, authoritarianism, and leadership characterised by narcissism and paranoia, psychoanalytic ideas pertaining to group dynamics, malignant regression, and leadership are brought into play. Prominent psychoanalytic thinkers who have addressed these topics and whose work usefully contributes to the discussion include Bion, Freud, Fromm, Bollas, Kernberg, Lifton, Rosenfeld, and Volkan, as well as Bleger, Jaques, and several more recent Kleinian/Bionian-influenced analysts. Most important, the book makes use of these understandings to reestablish a sufficiently containing frame that strengthens the body politics'' nonpathological elements in order to come to grips with these disturbing factors. Whatever their political beliefs, psychoanalysts in the US and worldwide will find much to think about in reading this book''s application of their discipline to today''s sociopolitical environment. In addition, the book''s insights extend beyond arguments targeting a strictly psychoanalytic audience in order to reach social and political thinkers, as well as activists, who are deeply concerned about dangers threatening the very foundations of democracy in the US and worldwide. And finally, the thoughtful lay person will appreciate the accessibility to all these fields that the book provides, and will come away with a much deeper understanding of just what motivates us to take a stand for or against a given political figure. In short, conceptual tools are provided that lead to greater understanding as well as effective strategies and tactics for containment of destructive forces - largely unconscious ones - that imperil our society.

What is socialism? Does it have a future, or has it become an outdated ideology in the 21st century? Michael Newman examines and explains the successes and failures of modern socialism by taking an international perspective — ranging from communism in Cuba to social democracy in Sweden. Discussing its evolution from the industrial towns of the 19th century to its response to the feminist, green, and anti-capitalist movements today, Newman concludes that, with its values of equality, solidarity, and cooperation, socialism remains as relevant as ever but that it needs to learn lessons from the past. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

In this groundbreaking book, Michael Novak offers one of the most significant and refreshing appraisals of capitalism in recent times. A leading neo-conservative thinker, Novak challenges the almost universal assumption that capitalism, because of the prosperity it brings, is without the moral and spiritual underpinnings of socialism. Novak argues convincingly that, in fact, by virtue of its distinctive spirit, democratic capitalism is not only pragmatically superior but morally more sound than any other system of political economy known to man. That spirit, says Novak, consists of a novel trinity: a political democracy, a market incentive economy, and a liberal, pluralistic culture. Based on respect for individual freedom, it provides a broader vision of human possibility than that offered by any other societal alternative.

First Published in 1986. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In this "superb" thriller, Detective Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to the unsolved killing of a young female photographer during the 1992 L.A. riots (Wall Street Journal). In a case that spans 20 years, Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to a file from 1992, the killing of a young female photographer during the L.A. riots. Harry originally investigated the murder, but it was then handed off to the Riot Crimes Task Force and never solved. Now Bosch''s ballistics match indicates that her death was not random violence, but something more personal, and connected to a deeper intrigue. Like an investigator combing through the wreckage after a plane crash, Bosch searches for the "black box," the one piece of evidence that will pull the case together. Riveting and relentlessly paced, The Black Box leads Harry Bosch, "one of the greats of crime fiction" (New York Daily News), into one of his most fraught and perilous cases.

This resource guide to 100 key events in Latino history provides students, librarians, and scholars with hundreds of original and compelling term paper ideas and the key print and electronic sources needed for research. Latinos are the largest, fastest growing minority group in the United States, and the ways they have positively impacted our nation are significant and undeniable. This book examines the contributions of Latinos to U.S. history, providing hundreds of possible topics for term papers and research projects along with primary, secondary, web, and multimedia sources of topical information. Subjects such as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848); the Bracero Program (1942); the United Farm Workers of America Is Formed (1962); and The Great American Boycott ("A Day Without Immigrants") of 2006 are just a few samples of the topics included. Each historical event is described briefly, followed by direction toward specific research and writing topics for the student-historian. At least two alternative term paper suggestions complement these ideas, allowing creative, original approaches to historical inquires.

A translation from the French of Michael Lowy and Robert Sayre’s attempt to unify discussion of the diverse manifestations of of Romanicism.