Koncocoo

Best Humanism Philosophy

Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender
The present work describes a simple and effective means by which to let go of the obstacles to Enlightenment and become free of negativity. Dr. David Hawkins' book "Power vs Force" had a big impact on me when I read it several years ago and now I would like to let you know about another book by Dr. David Hawkins that you may want to consider adding to your library and that is "Letting Go". "Letting Go" is a guide to helping you remove the obstacles we all have that keep us from living a more conscious life, it is truly a life changing book. --Wayne Dyer --Wayne Dyer at Hay House. Dr. Wayne Dyer turned me and Hay House on to Dr. David Hawkins book Power vs Force quite a while ago and it helped many people improve and understand their lives and now I would like to let you know about another book by Dr. David Hawkins that you may want to consider adding to your library and that is Letting Go...Letting Go is a guide to helping you remove the obstacles we all have that keep us from living a more conscious life, it is truly a life changing book. Founding Director of the Institute for Spiritual Research, Inc. (1983) and Founder of the Path of Devotional Nonduality (2003), Dr. Hawkins has lectured widely at such places as Westminster Abbey; Oxford Forum; Universities of Notre Dame, Michigan, Argentina, Fordham and Harvard; University of California (SF) Medical School; Institute of Noetic Sciences; and Agape Spiritual Center (Los Angeles).
Reviews
"I read this book hoping to learn something more about helping my patients (I'm a psychiatrist) "let go" of the negative emotions that they hold on to. Just seems to be something he likes to enlighten us about, and people in other reviews of other books have mentioned that there are no double blind, placebo controlled scientific studies confirming the validity of this technique anyway. That just might mean, though, that one or both of us was functioning below a "200", which seems like some strange arbitrary number format of levels of vibrational energy and emotion. I have read a lot of Osho, Tolle, don Miguel Ruiz, Dalai Lama and many others, and I've found them all to be beneficial in various ways. I continue to think that a steady practice of meditation is one valid way to tame the "monkey mind" from deleterious thought patterns and associated feelings."
"On the back it says " it is an valuable resource for all professionals who work in the areas of mental health, psychology, medicine , self help, addiction recovery, and spiritual development. For example, I loved the can't VS won't question to put things in perceptive. All the information on work, love, depression, grief, courage, happiness and etc were outstanding in helping me to recontextalize the way I was seeing things. I immediately let go of enormous anger I had about a situation that I had carried for years. Then I find an answer to help get rid of the pain or emotion."
"One of them is a problem solving technique of surrendering where you don't try and surrender on the problem, but you surrender the negative charge energy of the question you are asking yourself. I immediately felt an overwhelming negative surge within me that I was able to surrender using the Letting Go Technique."
"At a very stressful time in life, just recently, I was experiencing great anxiety accompanied by increasing incidence of health problems, all caused by my own thoughts."
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The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Watts has crafted a revelatory primer on what it means to be human—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence. In this classic book, Watts provides a lucid and simple presentation of an alternative view based on Hindu and Vedantic philosophy.
Reviews
"This approach has created the technological world in which we live, but the very same mind set has created a culture in which man feels cut off from the world, isolated in the eternal 'I', lonely and at odds with those around us. Rather the world is a set of continuums and polarities which are basic to our understanding. Also, we are not divided off from the world, but intimately linked to the environment. Specifically I cannot agree that man is a total microcosm of the macrocosm, that we are a unique, yet complete, expression of Brahma, God, Absolute Meaning, or whatever you choose to describe the ultimate 'It' as."
"Alan Watts just knows how to lay down something that is hard to put into words."
"Not the best of Alan Watts but a good book all the same."
"The ideas Watts presents in this book are simply astonishing."
"Best book I've ever read."
"This book should be essential reading for those who are trying to figure out the world and their place in it without all the mysticism and new age terminology."
"And my understanding of tao got deepened through reading this book although this isn't a book about any religion or taoism."
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The Art of Loving
He discusses the familiar yet misunderstood romantic love, the all-encompassing brotherly love, spiritual love, and many more. In this fresh and candid work, renowned psychoanalyst Erich Fromm guides you in developing your capacity for love in all its aspectsromantic love, love of parents for children, brotherly love, erotic love, self-love, and love of God.
Reviews
"His main aim is profitable exchange of his skills, knowledge, and of himself, his “personality package” with others who are equally intent on a fair and profitable exchange."
"Erich Fromm's work is very interesting and it delves deep into the psyche about love in reference not only for ourselves but form family and romantic love."
"This isn't a novel it is a classic book on what love is and what it is to be loving."
"Fromm places loving in the framework of an disciplined art activity, that requires continuous engagement, attention and improvement."
"Taking stock of how we think about love, Erich reminds us of our inner ability to love before being distorted by parents, commercialism, and our partners."
"A must read, a great classic full of insights on social psychoanalysis, crucial for anyone willing to understand or discuss society and shape a better future."
"Fromm is a genius and this book is another example of his helpfulness to humanity."
"Rambling and many assertions with little evidence."
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Best Phenomenology

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Incerto)
Antifragile is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, and The Bed of Procrustes . Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the bestselling author of The Black Swan and one of the foremost thinkers of our time, reveals how to thrive in an uncertain world. What Taleb has identified and calls “antifragile” is that category of things that not only gain from chaos but need it in order to survive and flourish. In The Black Swan, Taleb showed us that highly improbable and unpredictable events underlie almost everything about our world. The book spans innovation by trial and error, life decisions, politics, urban planning, war, personal finance, economic systems, and medicine. highly entertaining.” — The Economist “A bold book explaining how and why we should embrace uncertainty, randomness, and error . You finish the book feeling braver and uplifted.” — New Statesman “Antifragility isn’t just sound economic and political doctrine. Taleb sees degrees of antifragility everywhere, from fasting, mythology, and urban planning to economic, technological, cultural, and biological systems. Such skepticism toward elites, which imbued Taleb’s The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007), continues in this work, which grapples with a concept Taleb coins as “antifragile.” Not readily reducible to a definition (Taleb takes the whole book to develop the idea), suffice to say here that antifragile’s opposites—economic, political, or medical systems that are vulnerable to sudden collapse—tend to be managed by highly educated people who think they know how systems work. Emphatic in his style and convictions, Taleb grabs readers given to musing how the world works.
Reviews
"The rest is an accumulation of more or less relevant topics, delivered in Taleb's trademarked seering, holier-than-thou, hero-or-moron style. Debt-fueled economies: debt has no flexibility, so these economies can't stand even a slowdown without risking implosion (cf current situation). Modern societies: efficiency demands are pushing the structures to the maximum, so a little sand in the cogs make the whole edifice totter. Touristification: turning adventures (kids growing up, people visiting foreign countries) from exciting, dangerous activities into bland, Disneyfied and safe ones. 1.2.3 Ways to be antifragile include: Stressors: it is healthy to be subject to some punctual stresses to awake the organism from complacency (e.g. irregular meal times, violent exercise or ingesting small amounts of poison). Barbell strategy: put 90% of your eggs into something super-safe and be very risk-seeking with the other 10% (swing for the fences). 1.2.4 For small troubles, better trust nature and do nothing than bring untested methods that can have tragic unforeseen consequence. Beware of neomania: don't embrace novelty for the sake of it. Stick to time-tested methods: what has stood the test of time has proved to be robust. Don't sweat the small stuff if it can lead to tragedy: radiation used to cure acne leading to leukemia, thalidomide prescribed to reduce morning sickness leading to malformed babies. 1.2.5 An antidote to the lack of accountability seen in the powerfuls who rule us (government officials, corporate honchos, bankers). Have them have skin in the game, i.e. to share in the downside of their decisions. In conclusion, this is an imperfect, overlong and often eye-roll-inducing book (as is usual for Taleb), but it presents an intriguing and original argument for the reader to chew on."
"A true gem that reflects the flaws of modern thinking, forcing the reader to view instead the ancient vision of wisdom that comes from via negativa, a method of reducing uncertainty by removing that which is fake, flawed or fluff."
"And that practice should embrace the inherent variation of the modern world."
"The problem with this position is one of being paradoxical to emergence....there are many "paradigm shifts" (see Kuhn's book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" if you are unfamiliar- it is a vital concept for this topic) where we do not see the "black swan" until it has occured and radically changed the playing field. I have issues with a conflict of concepts where the old paradigm (the ancient, and often the "antifragile") is shattered by the black swan event (paradigm shift) which replaces the old with a new, likely antifragile construct. This paradox plays throughout Taleb's book, unlike "The Black Swan" where there is no significant paradox in logic."
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Best Consciousness & Thought

When Breath Becomes Air
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both. And part comes from the way he conveys what happened to him—passionately working and striving, deferring gratification, waiting to live, learning to die—so well.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times. The book brims with insightful reflections on mortality that are especially poignant coming from a trained physician familiar with what lies ahead.” — The Boston Globe. When Paul Kalanithi is given his diagnosis he is forced to see this disease, and the process of being sick, as a patient rather than a doctor--the result of his experience is not just a look at what living is and how it works from a scientific perspective, but the ins and outs of what makes life matter. As he wrote to a friend: ‘It’s just tragic enough and just imaginable enough.’ And just important enough to be unmissable.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Paul Kalanithi’s memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, written as he faced a terminal cancer diagnosis, is inherently sad. It is, despite its grim undertone, accidentally inspiring.” — The Washington Post “Paul Kalanithi’s posthumous memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, possesses the gravity and wisdom of an ancient Greek tragedy. [Kalanithi] is so likeable, so relatable, and so humble, that you become immersed in his world and forget where it’s all heading.” — USA Today “It’s [Kalanithi’s] unsentimental approach that makes When Breath Becomes Air so original—and so devastating. Its only fault is that the book, like his life, ends much too early.” — Entertainment Weekly “[ When Breath Becomes Air ] split my head open with its beauty.” —Cheryl Strayed. “Rattling, heartbreaking, and ultimately beautiful, the too-young Dr. Kalanithi’s memoir is proof that the dying are the ones who have the most to teach us about life.” —Atul Gawande “Thanks to When Breath Becomes Air, those of us who never met Paul Kalanithi will both mourn his death and benefit from his life. Kalanithi strives to define his dual role as physician and patient, and he weighs in on such topics as what makes life meaningful and how one determines what is most important when little time is left. This deeply moving memoir reveals how much can be achieved through service and gratitude when a life is courageously and resiliently lived.” — Publishers Weekly “A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity . Every doctor should read this book—written by a member of our own tribe, it helps us understand and overcome the barriers we all erect between ourselves and our patients as soon as we are out of medical school.” —Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery “A tremendous book, crackling with life, animated by wonder and by the question of how we should live.
Reviews
"Ultimately there's not much triumph in it in the traditional sense but there is a dogged, quiet resilience and a frank earthiness that endures long after the last word appears. Dr. Kalanithi talks about his upbringing as the child of hardworking Indian immigrant parents and his tenacious and passionate espousal of medicine and literature. He speaks lovingly of his relationship with his remarkable wife - also a doctor - who he met in medical school and who played an outsized role in supporting him through everything he went through. He had a stunning and multifaceted career, studying biology and literature at Stanford, then history and philosophy of medicine at Cambridge, and finally neurosurgery at Yale. The mark of a man of letters is evident everywhere in the book, and quotes from Eliot, Beckett, Pope and Shakespeare make frequent appearances. Metaphors abound and the prose often soars: When describing how important it is to develop good surgical technique, he tells us that "Technical excellence was a moral requirement"; meanwhile, the overwhelming stress of late night shifts, hundred hour weeks and patients with acute trauma made him occasionally feel like he was "trapped in an endless jungle summer, wet with sweat, the rain of tears of the dying pouring down". The painful uncertainty which he documents - in particular the tyranny of statistics which makes it impossible to predict how a specific individual will react to cancer therapy - must sadly be familiar to anyone who has had experience with the disease. There are heartbreaking descriptions of how at one point the cancer seemed to have almost disappeared and how, after Dr. Kalanithi had again cautiously made plans for a hopeful future with his wife, it returned with a vengeance and he had to finally stop working."
"He says this, “The secret is to know that the deck is stacked, that you will lose, that your hands or judgment will slip, and yet still struggle to win …You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which are ceaselessly striving. In the foreword by fellow doctor and writer Abraham Verghese, that doctor writes, “He (Paul) wasn’t writing about anything—he was writing about time and what it meant to him now, in the context of his illness.” And in the afterword by his wife Lucy, the meaning of that time becomes even clearer."
"Like when you go running and forget you are on a run, because you are one with the run; reading this I was so absorbed, it was like I was listening to Paul, hearing his words, versus reading them...."
"This book tells the heart wrenching story of a family and physician who had to face death."
"The epilogue by Lucy Kalanithi is evocative,her grief,her gratefulness for the time she had with Paul,her thankfulness to family and friends,her strength....it all comes through so beautifully and honestly."
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Best Utilitarianism Philosophy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: 7 Ways to Freedom from Anxiety, Depression, and Intrusive Thoughts (Happiness is a trainable, attainable skill! Book 1)
Inspired by compassion, this book is a gift to fellow casualties of negative thought patterns, destructive behaviors, self-loathers, and those wishing freedom from persistent demons. Challenge Unhelpful, Intrusive Thoughts Build a Better Relationship with Yourself Break Bad Habits and Enjoy Life! Tags: Training, Techniques, Course, Self-Help, Online, Books, Anxiety, Depression, Cure, Insomnia, OCD, pure O, Phobias, Intrusive Thoughts, CBT, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Your Stress-Free Life. "A beautifully presented and balanced approach to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A beautifully presented and balanced approach to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, rich in recommended resources for further study or inquiry. Whether teacher, student, parent, child, sibling, friend or health professional, these 'evidence-based' approaches to sifting out the nonsense that accumulates in our thinking are an invaluable tool for living a calm and fulfilled life, no matter what your own circumstances might be. -- Athea Howard "Look inward, find strength: As Marcus Aurelius said, 'You have power over your mind, not outside events.
Reviews
"For people who suffer these conditions, it is hard to find ways to cope. It is about time to have a book that truly understands and explains the importance of careful and mindful thinking. I was not familiar with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) until I read this book."
"I'm not usually into these kinds of books, but there were a lot of interesting points made."
"Good advice for everyone, not just those who feel they need help."
"This book is actually very good."
"I really like this book and the comparison it made between the brain and the car engine, which with the right mental practice (the right “cog”), put into action at the right time (changing mental states, or “gears”), your machine (the brain) can function with more ease, efficiency, and contentment."
"I like this book.The suggestions that are given in this book are simple and easy to follow.This book stands out for its easily readable explanation of what cognitive behavioral therapy is and the practical advice it gives.It deals on how we manage our behavior and to avoid and beat anxiety.Worth recommended book."
"This stuff is a must to read for graduate students and practicing therapists who are interested in learning the essentials of CBT."
"It has helped me on many occasions to put things back into perspective, when I "feel" like I'm losing control of what's going on in my life."
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Best Rationalism Philosophy

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix. All the same, this is salutary reading as a means of culling believers' weaker arguments: that faith offers comfort (false comfort is none at all), or has provided a historical hedge against fascism (it mostly hasn't), or that "Eastern" religions are better (nope). Sam Harris' The End of Faith (2005) and Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion (2006) have questioned the existence of any spiritual being and met with enormous success. Replace religious faith with inquiry, open-mindedness, and the pursuit of ideas, he exhorts. Religious faith, he asserts, is both result and cause of dangerous sexual repression. Believers will be disturbed and may even charge him with blasphemy (he questions not only the virgin birth but the very existence of Jesus), and he may not change many minds, but he offers the open-minded plenty to think about.
Reviews
"Mr. Hitchens is very good in putting his point across."
"this book sure makes you think about things.I'm enjoying it but not finished it yet.Wish more people could get out of the box and say ,now that makes sense."
"I learned something on every page - never knew much about how religion started, but Mr. Hitchens certainly changed that."
"This is the first book I have written by the late Christopher Hitchens and I know I'll read more."
"This is a must reference book for Pro and Anti Religion."
"Firstly, I want to say that Christopher Hitchens was already on my "favorites" list (an idea at which I'm sure he would have scoffed) because I've known about him and listened to many recorded debates in which he participated. Hitchens writes in such a manner that one can easily envision him on a stage with a microphone lecturing in his dry, acerbic style with all the wit and sarcasm that his subject(s) deserve. As one of the most prevalent "arguments" from the theist's point of view seems to be that so much good has been done through and by religion, Hitchens is at his best in diffusing and disproving this oft-repeated nonsense using reason, logic, erudition and wit. But the man's command of the language and his ability to transfer his thinking and wit to the printed word is, in itself, astounding."
"It's not easy reading, but there are great points that I've not considered before."
"This book is absolutely brilliant."
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Best Structuralism Philosophy

Destination Earth: A New Philosophy of Travel by a World-Traveler (World Travel, Travel Writing, Travel Stories and Photos)
"In his book, Destination Earth, Nicos Hadjicostis shares the ultimate 'budget travel tip': how to make your travels transformational." More a guide to travel than a travel guide, Destination Earth transforms how you view travel and its relation to Life. Why long term and world travel is the ultimate university How to create a wise-line of travel through any region How to go about capturing the Soul of a country How to deal with the unpleasant realities of the world while on the road Balance the relationship between travel planning and spontaneity How a Travel Journey is related to our Life's Journey Practical advice on how to plan the exploration of regions and countries 23 inspiring travel stories from the author's journey that augment the main text 60 color photos from various places around the world. Ideas, experiences, travel stories and photographs are interwoven into a newly created Philosophy of Travel that is practical and easy to read. "In his book, Destination Earth, Nicos Hadjicostis shares the ultimate 'budget travel tip': how to make your travels transformational." Nicos not only writes in an engaging style that allows readers to share his experiences, but his philosophical reflections provide unique insights into the process and value of education through travel."
Reviews
"Being a curious, but hesitant traveler, as I read the pages of this book, I felt more courageous about exploring the world."
"This book does not offer itineraries or travel suggestions, but rather invites you to travel the world as “one single destination”."
"When you encounter a world traveler like yourself, you find a kindred spirit, a person who has shared some of the same adventures, struggles, magic and connection that travel offers. Among other reflections, we found Nicos' description of the world to be spot-on—the world was indeed providing, safe, and huge."
"By its very nature, Hadjicostis suggests, travel makes one more curious about the world and more open to the diversity of human experience. The other style is more impressionistic-poetic, describing real travel situations that inspired reflection in Hadjicostis during his own travels."
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Best Pragmatism

Status Anxiety (Vintage International)
Anyone who’s ever lost sleep over an unreturned phone call or the neighbor’s Lexus had better read Alain de Botton’s irresistibly clear-headed new book, immediately. Promising to teach us how to duck the "brutal epithet of 'loser' or 'nobody,' " de Botton notes that status has often been conflated with honor and that the number of men slain while dueling has amounted, over the centuries, to the hundreds of thousands. De Botton also discusses bohemia, the reaction to status and the attack on bourgeois values, wisely linking this movement to dadaism, whose founder, Tristan Tzara, called for the "idiotic." The phenomenon known as "keeping up with the Joneses" is nothing new, and not much has changed in the 45 years since the late Vance Packard, in The Status Seekers , wrote the definitive analysis of consumer culture and its discontents.
Reviews
"Status anxiety is not great, but its normal!"
"Lots of good examples and the final few paragraphs tie it all together."
"This book is a very interesting read."
"If you are looking to acquire more knowledge and get a new perspective about anxiety, this is the book for you."
"In spite of Botton's admirable presentation, there were some passages that seemed marginally related to the thesis and at times I was racing to finish the chapter so that I could start the next one (but this, of course, may be more indicative of my literary bent & experiences)."
"Has become of of my favorite books."
"Good promise at the start, but failed to build."
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Best Existentialism

At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir,Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others
Interweaving biography and philosophy, it is the epic account of passionate encounters--fights, love affairs, mentorships, rebellions, and long partnerships--and a vital investigation into what the existentialists have to offer us today, at a moment when we are once again confronting the major questions of freedom, global responsibility, and human authenticity in a fractious and technology-driven world. Bakewell is often annoyed but never defeated by Heidegger’s obscurity, and some of her most exciting pages are the engaged, unsimplifying accounts she offers of complex philosophies, even ones that finally repel her…One of many persuasive surprises in Bakewell’s book is her suggestion that Heidegger’s prose sometimes resembles Gertrude Stein’s in its deliberate linguistic strangeness, a resemblance that goes deeper than style…An unspoken theme of Bakewell’s book is the variety of ways in which academic philosophy can be distorted by power relations. Others, like Husserl and Heidegger, demanded obeisance… Bakewell has a special affection for philosophers who stayed free of the academy, especially Sartre and Beauvoir…Sarah Bakewell’s previous book was an engaging biography of Montaigne that was also a subtle exposition of Montaigne’s writings. Its audacious title was How to Live, and her new book deserves to be read as a further study in the same enlivening theme.” --The New York Times Book Review “ At the Existentialist Café is a bracingly fresh look at once-antiquated ideas and the milieu in which they flourished. Some may find the description of Camus as ‘a simple, cheerful soul,’ as surprising as Sartre’s apparently charming Donald Duck imitation… ‘When reading Sartre on freedom, Beauvoir on the subtle mechanisms of oppression, Kierkegaard on anxiety, Camus on rebellion, Heidegger on technology or Merleau-Ponty on cognitive science,’ Ms. Bakewell writes, ‘one sometimes feels one is reading the latest news.’” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times. "Bakewell brilliantly explains 20th-century existentialism through the extraordinary careers of the philosophers who devoted their lives and work to 'the task of responsible alertness' and 'questions of human identity, purpose, and freedom.'. “Bakewell follows her celebrated study of Montaigne…with a lively appraisal of existentialism and its leading thinkers…With coverage of friendship, travel, argument, tragedy, drugs, Paris, and, of course, lots of sex, Bakewell’s biographical approach pays off… The result is an engaging story about a group of passionate thinkers, and a reminder of their continued relevance.” —Booklist (starred review). “ At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails may come dressed in a seductive title, but Sarah Bakewell’s book about the people and ideas behind the existentialist movement is both breezy and brainy. Bakewell demonstrated her ability to plumb big ideas for real-life relevance in How to Live , her 2010 biography of Michel de Montaigne…She brings the same lively intelligence to her latest work. During the occupation, existentialists — who believed above all in freedom and responsibility — were engaged and committed to the Resistance in their actions and their literature… Among a panoply of riches, Bakewell offers fascinating anecdotes, including the heroics involved in saving Husserl’s papers during the war. But as Sarah Bakewell describes them in this vivid, vital group biography, existentialists like Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvior, and Albert Camus were courageous free thinkers in an age of fascism, totalitarianism, and conformity.” —The Boston Globe. “Although biography provides the narrative momentum of At the Existentialist Café , much of the meat comes from the philosophy…Bakewell has a knack for crystallising key ideas by identifying choice original quotations and combining them with her own words…Perhaps the aphorism that best captures the book is one of Bakewell’s own: 'Thinking should be generous and have a good appetite.'. At the Existentialist Café , Sarah Bakewell’s group portrait of Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and the other 'Continental' philosophers who flourished before and after World War II, is a work of deep intelligence and sympathy, reminding us how exciting those thinkers can be. Even if the context has shifted slightly, the question it asks remains just as relevant now as in the post-war years: what shall we make of a shattered world?” —The Brooklyn Rail "It's not often that you miss your bus stop because you're so engrossed in reading a book about existentialism, but I did exactly that while immersed in Sarah Bakewell's At the Existentialist Café . Sarah Bakewell was a bookseller and a curator of early printed books at the Wellcome Library before publishing her highly acclaimed biographies The Smart, The English Dane , and the best-selling How to Live: A Life of Montaigne , which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography.
Reviews
"After reading this book, I say, “If you are Sarah Bakewell, you can take existentialism and make sense out of it.”. The existentialist themes of freedom, political activism, and “authentic being” became watchwords of the middle and late 20th century. National Book Critics’ Circle Award winner Bakewell’s clear writing and carefully researched portrayal of the context in which existentialism developed gave me a much better understanding of this school of thought that both influenced and reflected most of the last century. Unlike Beauvoir and Sartre, “journalists did not quiz him about his sex life---which is a shame, as they would have dug up some interesting stories.” Photos throughout the book were a nice complement to the narrative."
"Although my Amazon Vine queue sometimes mystifies me (WHY as a 76-year-old woman whose youngest grandchild is in high school am I continuously being offered baby products? In addition, it is a historical description of the circumstances surrounding the development of philosophy and its interaction with the political scene before, during and after the rise of Nazism and WWII. Again due to the uncorrected proof format, the extensive notes provided at the end are not annotated in the text, which made it easy for me as a non-scholarly reader to simply read through with ease, but with confidence that if I wanted to check any sources, that information IS available."
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Best Deconstructionism History & Criticism

Initiation Into Hermetics
Bardon leads the student step by step through exercises providing detailed training in the entire arcanum of magic, from basic techniques in thought control to advanced teachings in astral travel, and much more. In contrast to other books on the subject of magic, Bardon focuses his attention on the practical training necessary for all true magical attainment. The author leads the student step by step through exercises providing detailed training in the entire arcanum of magic, from basic techniques in thought control and imagination to advanced teachings in astral travel, the use of talismans and magic mirrors, and much more.
Reviews
"In spite of the author's warnings that readers with prior magical experience might have to unlearn a lot while studying his books (which is true! Yeah, well, that was in 1956, and it's 2015 now, and there are many effective ways for a novice to gain a lot of mystical insight and experience very quickly. Buy yourself a copy of Modern Magick, or Liber Null if you're cheap, and magic yourself silly, kid. Come back when you've got a few bruises, when you've developed a healthy fear of your own power, when you need a real teacher but you don't want to join a cult. All of the magical texts you have read until now - all of the legitimate ones, at least - have basically handed you a series of increasingly deadly firearms. They have assured you that all of the old gun-juggling books, the ones that traditionally warned readers about the severe dangers of juggling guns, were just written by paranoid people and elitists, and you definitely probably maybe won't shoot your own face off. Initiation into Hermetics is a ruthlessly pragmatic and technical book about utterly mastering the four/five primal elements in both understanding and practice. There are no elaborate rituals - Bardon's firm assertion is that rituals constitute an advanced form of magic, and in the hands of novices they amount to simple acts of ignorant sorcery, achieving nothing better than that which is achievable through simple applications of elemental mastery. His second book is about ritual magic, but he insists that students must painstakingly master the primal elements and their own consciousness, in accordance with the guidelines in Initiation into Hermetics, before attempting advanced work. He uses many of his own proprietary terms, and some of the word choices - whether the fault of the author or the translator, I can't say - can be confusing until you adapt to them."
"I am studying this book little by little, great investment in my spiritual life."
"Excellent."
"It has taken far too long to get this excellent training system converted to Kindle book format."
"This book is a lot heavier than I anticipated."
"This book is an excellent study guide for mastering the fundamentals of magic and metaphysics."
"A great volume for those interested in practical hermetic occultism."
"Great book to work through."
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