How remarkable changes in ancient Greek pottery reveal the transformation of classical Greek cultureWhy did soldiers stop fighting, athletes stop competing, and lovers stop having graphic sex in class
When we talk about Presocratic philosophy, we are speaking about the origins of Greek philosophy and Western rationality itself. But what exactly does it mean to talk about "Presocratic philosophy" in
A groundbreaking history that puts early and medieval West Africa in a global contextPick up almost any book on early and medieval world history and empire, and where do you find West Africa? On the p
In 2009, Harper's Magazine sent war-crimes expert Lawrence Douglas to Munich to cover the last chapter of the lengthiest case ever to arise from the Holocaust: the trial of eighty-nine-year-old John D
What makes people happy? Why should governments care about people's well-being? How would policy change if well-being was the main objective? The Origins of Happiness seeks to revolutionize how we thi
We use addition on a daily basis--yet how many of us stop to truly consider the enormous and remarkable ramifications of this mathematical activity? Summing It Up uses addition as a springboard to pre
Medieval Italian communes are known for their violence, feuds, and vendettas, yet beneath this tumult was a society preoccupied with peace. Peace and Penance in Late Medieval Italy is the first book t
Metacommunity ecology links smaller-scale processes that have been the provenance of population and community ecology--such as birth-death processes, species interactions, selection, and stochasticity
More than merely a writing text, The Imaginative Argument offers writers instruction on how to use their imaginations to improve their prose. Cioffi shows writers how they can enliven argument--the or
Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri was a fourteenth-century Egyptian polymath and the author of one of the greatest encyclopedias of the medieval Islamic world--a thirty-one-volume work entitled The Ultimate Am
The Amazon and Orinoco basins in northern South America are home to the highest concentration of freshwater fish species on earth, with more than 3,000 species allotted to 564 genera. Amazonian fishes
The social practice of tact was an invention of the nineteenth century, a period when Britain was witnessing unprecedented urbanization, industrialization, and population growth. In an era when more a
Much of what we know about life in the medieval Islamic Middle East comes from texts written to impart religious ideals or to chronicle the movements of great men. How did women participate in the soc
This second edition of Garden Insects of North America solidifies its place as the most comprehensive guide to the common insects, mites, and other "bugs" found in the backyards and gardens of the Uni
Who were the ancient Phoenicians, and did they actually exist?The Phoenicians traveled the Mediterranean long before the Greeks and Romans, trading, establishing settlements, and refining the art of n
We are taught to believe in originals. In art and architecture in particular, original objects vouch for authenticity, value, and truth, and require our protection and preservation. The nineteenth cen
The 4.4-billion-year history of the oceans and their role in Earth's climate systemIt has often been said that we know more about the moon than we do about our own oceans. In fact, we know a great dea
How human language evolved from the need for social communicationThe origins of human language remain hotly debated. Despite growing appreciation of cognitive and neural continuity between humans and
How does a culture become Christian, especially one that is heir to such ancient traditions and spectacular monuments as Egypt? This book offers a new model for envisioning the process of Christianiza
A major new history of capitalism from the perspective of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, who sustained and resisted it for centuriesThe Mexican Heartland provides a new history of capitalism from t
A new and comprehensive look at the reasons behind successful or failed nation buildingNation Building presents bold new answers to an age-old question. Why is national integration achieved in some di
An in-depth history of the linguistic turn in analytic philosophy, from a leading philosopher of languageThis is the second of five volumes of a definitive history of analytic philosophy from the inve
An innovative and accessible guide to doing social research in the digital ageIn just the past several years, we have witnessed the birth and rapid spread of social media, mobile phones, and numerous
Unequal Gains offers a radically new understanding of the economic evolution of the United States, providing a complete picture of the uneven progress of America from colonial times to today.While oth
The violent actions of a few extremists can alter the course of history, yet there persists a yawning gap between the potential impact of these individuals and what we understand about them. In Engine
The medieval theory of the caliphate, epitomized by the Abbasids (750-1258), was the construct of jurists who conceived it as a contractual leadership of the Muslim community in succession to the Prop
A new field of collective intelligence has emerged in the last few years, prompted by a wave of digital technologies that make it possible for organizations and societies to think at large scale. This
How do ordinary Muslims deal with and influence the increasingly pervasive Islamic norms set by institutions of the state and religion? Becoming Better Muslims offers an innovative account of the dyna
How do ordinary Muslims deal with and influence the increasingly pervasive Islamic norms set by institutions of the state and religion? Becoming Better Muslims offers an innovative account of the dyna
When you are half lost in a work of art, what happens to the half left behind? Semi-Detached delves into this state of being: what it means to be within and without our social and physical milieu, at
Since the mid-2000s, public opinion and debate in China have become increasingly common and consequential, despite the ongoing censorship of speech and regulation of civil society. How did this happen
A brief, accessible history of the idea of purpose in Western thought, from ancient Greece to the presentCan we live without the idea of purpose? Should we even try to? Kant thought we were stuck with
An innovative look at how families in Ming dynasty China negotiated military and political obligations to the stateHow did ordinary people in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) deal with the demands of the
Caspar Hare makes an original and compelling case for "egocentric presentism," a view about the nature of first-person experience, about what happens when we see things from our own particular point o
A fascinating account of the breakthrough ideas that transformed probability and statisticsIn the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, gamblers and mathematicians transformed the idea of chance from a
A comprehensive history of one of the world's deadliest jihadist groupsBoko Haram is one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups. It has killed more than twenty thousand people and displaced more tha
A powerful new understanding of global currency trends, including the rise of the Chinese yuanAt first glance, the modern history of the global economic system seems to support the long-held view that
Ever the Leader gathers together selected speeches and writings from one of the great scholars and commentators of higher education. William G. Bowen's career at Princeton University--from economics p
The first comprehensive account of the growing dominance of the intangible economyEarly in the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time, the major developed economies bega
The year's finest mathematics writing from around the worldThis annual anthology brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside s
