SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERbr>br>NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERbr>br>From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The School of Lifebr>br>''A serious and optimistic set of practical ideas that could improve and alter the way we live'' Jeanette Winterson, The Timesbr>br>''A beautiful, inspiring book... offering a glimpse of a more enlightened path'' Sunday Telegraphbr>br>''Smart, stimulating, sensitive. A timely and perceptive appreciation of how much wisdom is embodied in religious traditions and how we godless moderns might learn from it'' Financial Timesbr>br>''There isn''t a page in this book that doesn''t contain a striking idea or a stimulating parallel'' Mail on Sundaybr>br>Alain de Botton takes us one step further than Dawkins or Hitchens ventured - into a world of ideas beyond the God debate...br>br>All of us, whether religious, agnostic or atheist, are searching for meaning. And in this wise and life-affirming book, non-believer Alain de Botton both rejects the supernatural claims of the major religions and points out just how many good ideas they sometimes have about how we should live.br>br>And he suggests that non-believers can learn and steal from them.br>br>Picking and choosing from the thousands of years of advice assembled by the world''s great religions, Alain de Botton presents a range of fascinating ideas and practical insights on art, community, love, friendship, work, life and death. He shows how they can be of use to us all, irrespective of whether we do or don''t believe.>
Fundamental to Chinese philosophy and religion, the Tao Te Ching is a simple guidebook for virtue, encouraging peace, understanding and humility. Ranging from political advice to common wisdom, it has also served as an inspiration to artists across the ages and throughout the world. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.
'It is a most wonderful comfort to sit alone beneath a lamp, book spread before you, and commune with someone from the past whom you have never met...' Moonlight, sake, spring blossom, idle moments, a woman's hair - these exquisite reflections on life's fleeting pleasures by a thirteenth-century Japanese monk are delicately attuned to nature and the senses. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Yoshida Kenko (c. 1283-1352). Kenko's work is included in Penguin Classics in Essays in Idleness and Hojoki .
1864. Newman est seul, ignoré, presque dédaigné dans l'Eglise catholique qu'il a rejointe vingt ans plus tôt. Profitant de ces circonstances, un intellectuel anglican, Charles Kingsley, défie l'ancien leader du Mouvement d'Oxford en mettant en cause l'honnêteté intellectuelle de sa conversion. Kingsley croyait enterrer un moribond. En réalité il venait de réveiller un lion. Newman répliqua immédiatement. Fouillant sa mémoire, réunissant lettres et documents, il produisit en quelques semaines l'histoire des raisons qui le conduisirent à devenir catholique: l'Apologia pro vita sua. Le livre retourna l'opinion de l'Angleterre. Dans la prose majestueuse de l'Apologia, le catholicisme rayonnait de cette "splendeur de la quitté en 1845. Mais ce rayonnement ne voulait pas être aveuglant. "" Pour aller jusqu'au bout de ce qu'il jugeait la vérité, écrivait le pape PaulVI, Newman a renoncé à l'Eglise d'Angleterre non pas pour se séparer d'elle, mais pour l'accomplir. Il ne cessait pas de croire ce qu'il avait cru, mais il le croyait davantage encore, il avait porté sa foi anglicane jusqu'à sa plénitude. Une conversion est un acte prophétique. Newman a vécu l'histoire de la réunion future, de cette récapitulation en Jésus-Christ dont le moment nous est encore caché, mais à laquelle nous aspirons tous."
Is justice an ideal, forever beyond our grasp, or something that may actually guide our practical decisions and enhance our lives? In this wide-ranging book, Amartya Sen presents an alternative approach to mainstream theories of justice which, despite their many specific achievements have taken us, he argues, in the wrong direction in general.
At the heart of Sen's argument is his insistence on the role of public reason in establishing what can make societies less unjust. But it is in the nature of reasoning about justice, argues Sen, that it does not allow all questions to be settled even in theory; there are choices to be faced between alternative assessments of what is reasonable. Sen also shows how concern about the principles of justice in the modern world must avoid parochialism, and further, address questions of global injustice. The breadth of vision, intellectual acuity and striking humanity of one of the world's leading public intellectuals have never been more clearly shown than in this remarkable book.
Work makes us. Without it we are at a loss; in work we hope to have a measure of control over our lives. Yet for many of us, work is a straitjacket from which we cannot free ourselves.
Criss-crossing the world to visit workplaces and workers both ordinary and extraordinary, and drawing on the wit and wisdom of great artists, writers and thinkers, Alain de Botton here explores our love-hate relationship with our jobs. He poses and answers little and big questions, from what should I do with my life? to what will I have achieved when I retire?
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work will not only explain why it is we do what we do all day, but through its sympathy, humour and insight will seek to help us make the most of it.
Castaneda's first book in the Don Juan series. He meets Don Juan and is introduced to his magical world and philosophy by means of hallucinogenic plants and special exercises. The author's other books include "The Fire Within" and "The Quest for Ixtlan".
Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg explains the central ideas of the quantum revolution, and his Uncertainty Principle. He reveals how words and concepts can lose their meaning in the world of relativity and quantum physics, with philosophical implications for the nature of reality.
Considered in Islam to be the infallible word of God, The Qur'an was revealed to the prophet Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel in a series of divine revelations over many years after his first vision in the cave. In 114 chapters, or surahs, it provides the rules of conduct that remain fundamental to Muslims today - most importantly the key Islamic values of prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and absolute faith in God, with profound spiritual guidance on matters of kinship, marriage and family, crime and punishment, rituals, food, warfare and charity.
Through its pages, a fascinating picture emerges of life in seventh-century Arabia, and from it we can learn much about how people felt about their relationship with God and their belief in the afterlife, as well as attitudes to loyalty, friendship, race, forgiveness and the natural world. It also tells of events and people familiar to Christian and Jewish readers, fellow 'People of the Book' whose stories are recorded in the Gospels and Torah. Here we find Adam, Moses, Abraham, Jesus and John the Baptist, among others, who are regarded, like Muhammad, to be prophets of the Muslim faith.
Describes the politics surrounding the election of a new pope and the beatification of an old one, the angst of dealing with the international issue of sexual abuse, the intricacies of arranging a Papal visit to India, the conflicts involved in trying to build a car park over an ancient Roman burial site.
Unveil the secrets of angelic guidance and turn your life around Are you feeling unfulfilled? Are you often ill and run down? Do you suffer from lack of confidence? Have you had a string of heartbreaking relationships?
Sabi Hilmi had her first divine experience when a close relative was seriously ill ten years ago and an angel appeared by her side. From that day on, she began training as an angel practitioner.
By following angelic guidance, Sabi changed her life around, and the emotional rollercoaster she'd been suffering turned eventually to happiness and contentment.
In this remarkable book, she shows you how to channel your angels and gain strength and guidance from them. She shares her story of finding true love, so that you will learn the secrets given to her by the Angelic Realm and be guided to find your soulmate.
Offers a compilation of writings from the translation of "The Tibetan Book of the Dead", which explores questions such as: What is death? How can I help those who are dying? How can I prepare for my own death? And how can I come to terms with bereavement?
'Death is not the end, it's the beginning of a journey.' Travelling around the country for her hit TV show, Psychic Sally: On the Road, Sally Morgan delivers messages of comfort from beyond the grave to her stunned audiences. Read about: the two women who happened to be sitting next to each other, and whose dead babies had found each other in the spirit world; the father in row E whose son had murdered a young man and who wanted to communicate his forgiveness through Sally; the woman whose ten-year-old daughter had died when a horse kicked her in the head and who wanted to let her mummy know she was no longer in pain.
Thanks to her incredible channelling powers, Sally reveals the secrets from the afterlife and helps people to cope with the loss of loved ones.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the most powerful, influential and complex of all religious figures. Mary is so entangled in our world that it is impossible to conceive of the history of Western culture and religion without her. This title presents the story of that presence and raises profound questions about the human experience.
Darwin was committed to the abolition of slavery, in part because of his family's deeply held beliefs. Written by world authorities on Darwin, this title gives a completely new explanation of how Darwin came to his famous view of evolution, which traced all life to an ancient common ancestor.
Comprehensive, informative and authoritative, The Penguin Handbook of the World's Living Religions is compiled by a team of leading international scholars, and is the definitive guide to the religious belief systems and practices of the world today. This in-depth survey of active religions has now been fully updated to include modern developments and the most recent scholarship. It explains the sources and history of the world's religions, includes material on the phenomenon of Black African and Asian diaspora religions around the world and explores the role of gender in modern religion.
