The Protestant ethic - a moral code stressing hard work, rigorous self-discipline, and the organization of one's life in the service of God - was made famous by sociologist and political economist Max Weber. In this brilliant study (his best-known and most controversial), he opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and its view that change takes place through "the struggle of opposites." Instead, he relates the rise of a capitalist economy...

The renowned political thinker and author of The Origins of Totalitarianism examines the troubling consequences of humanity's increasing power. A work of striking originality, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant today than when it first appeared in 1958. In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind in terms of its ever-expanding capabilities. Her analysis reveals a troubling paradox: that as human...

"Thousands of books have examined the effects of parents on their children. In asking what the effects are of children on their parents, journalist Jennifer Senior analyzes the many ways in which children reshape their parents' lives, whether it's their marriages, their jobs, their habits, their hobbies, their friendships, or their internal senses of self. She argues that changes in the last half century have radically altered the roles of today's...

"John Taylor Gatto's radical treatise on public education, a New Society Publishers bestseller for 25 years, continues to advocate for the unshackling of children and learning from formal schooling. Now, in an ever-more-rapidly changing world with an explosion of alternative routes to learning, it's poised to continue to shake the world of institutional education for many more years."--

"C. Wright Mills is best remembered for his highly acclaimed work The Sociological Imagination, in which he set forth his views on how social science should be pursued. Hailed upon publication as a cogent and hard-hitting critique, The Sociological Imagination took issue with the ascendant schools of sociology in the United States, calling for a humanist sociology connecting the social, personal, and historical dimensions of our lives. The sociological...

Drawing from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history and education, one of the nation's leading writers and commentators helps us become more understanding considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen.

“Reason and Revolution: Hegel and the Rise of Social Theory” is the philosopher Herbert Marcuse's first major work in English-a masterful interpretation of Hegel's philosophy and the influence it has had on European political thought from the French Revolution to the present day. “Reason & Revolution”, written in 1941, was the first Hegelian Marxist text to appear in English, the first systematic study of Hegel by a Marxist, and the first...

"Lots of people practice a religion. What is similar about people's religious beliefs? How are people's religions different? A curious kid explores these questions within his/her family and among neighbors and friends"--Provided by publisher.

Three children from other countries (Somalia, Guatemala, and Korea) struggle to adjust to their new home and school in the United States.

Following Christmas break, the girls are back together, but everything seems different with the addition of Alicia's cousin from Spain who is spending the semester at Octavian Country Day School.