A rich and stimulating exploration of one of our most maligned emotions and how it might actually help us flourishIn the first book to argue for the benefits of boredom, Peter Toohey dispels the myth that it's simply a childish emotion or an existential malaise like Jean-Paul Sartre's nausea. He shows how boredom is, in fact, one of our most common and constructive emotions and is an essential part of the human experience.This informative and entertaining inv...

What do you do when you're not asleep and when you're not eating? You're most likely waiting--to finish work, to get home, or maybe even to be seen by your doctor. Hold On is less about how to manage all that "staying where one is until a particular time or event" (OED) than it is about describing how we experience waiting. Waiting can embrace things like hesitation and curiosity, dithering and procrastination, hunting and being hunted, fearing and being feared, dread and...

Readers new to ancient epic are hampered in two ways: they do not know the ancient languages, and they are unfamiliar with the ancient world. This survey addresses the needs of these readers by offering guidance through the major classical writers of epic: it begins with Homer and concludes with an overview of the development of late ancient epic and of the interface between the epic and the novel.

Compete, acquire, succeed, enjoy: the pressures of living in today's materialistic world seem predicated upon jealousy—the feelings of rivalry and resentment for possession of whatever the other has. But while our newspapers abound with stories of the sometimes droll, sometimes deadly consequences of sexual jealousy, Peter Toohey argues in this charmingly provocative book that jealousy is much more than the destructive emotion it is commonly assumed to be. It helps as much as it harms.

Inventing Ancient Culture discusses aspects of antiquity which we have tended to ignore. It asks the reader how far we have reinvented antiquity, by applying modern concepts and understandings to its study. Furthermore, it challenges the common notion that perceptions of the self, of modern societal and institutional structures, originated in the Enlightenment. Rather, the authors and contributors argue, there are many continuities and marked similarities between the classical and the mode...

"Fresh Every Hour" is a work of fiction that focuses on themes of renewal, daily life, and possibly personal transformation. The title suggests a focus on living each moment to its fullest or maintaining a fresh perspective in one's daily life. The novel might explore characters who confront challenges and seek to refresh their outlook or circumstances.Given the period of publication, the novel may include elements of social commentary or reflections on contemporary issues, along with enga...

Discover the power of renewal and resilience in John Peter Toohey’s inspiring work, "Fresh Every Hour." This enlightening book offers readers a refreshing perspective on personal growth, encouraging them to embrace change and seize each moment with renewed energy and purpose.As you delve into Toohey’s insightful reflections, you might ask yourself: How can we cultivate a mindset that welcomes new opportunities and transformations? This thought-provoking exp...

A most prepossessing young person whose parents had inflicted upon her the name of Lolita Murphy was directly responsible for the alarming symptoms already hinted at. From the precise moment that Lolita came within his ken Jimmy ceased to be a rational being in full control of his faculties and his heart, in sympathetic accord with the agitated condition of its owner, began to put on an antic disposition and indulged in curious palpitations of a most annoying nature on the slightest pretex...

When Mal Brough and John Howard announced the Northern Territory intervention in mid-2007, they proclaimed a child abuse emergency. In this riveting piece of reportage and analysis, Paul Toohey unpicks the rhetoric of emergency and tracks progress. One year on, have children been saved? Will Labor continue with the intervention? What are the reasons for the social crisis - the neglect and the violence - and how might things be different? Toohey argues that the real issue is not sexual abus...

'No man is crushed by misfortune unless he has first been deceived by prosperity.' In these dialogues and essays the Stoic philosopher Seneca outlines his thoughts on how to live in a troubled world. Tutor to the young emperor Nero, Seneca wrote exercises in practical philosophy that draw upon contemporary Roman life and illuminate the intellectual concerns of the day. They also have much to say to the modern reader, as Seneca ranges widely across subjects such as the shortness of life, tr...

"Spectacular and constantly surprising."-Ken BurnsWritten with the authority of a scholar and the vigor of a bestselling narrative historian, The War That Killed Achilles is a superb and utterly timely presentation of one of the timeless stories of Western civilization. As she did in The Endurance and The Bounty, New York Times bestselling author Caroline Alexander has taken apart a narrative we think we know and put it ba...

O. Henry's Selected Short Stories are known for their wit wordplay and surprise endings. Most of the stories are set New York City in the early years of the twentieth century and deal with the common people. The Gift of the Magi deals with the working-class and unselfish love. The collection also contains stories as A Cosmopolite in a Café Roads of Destiny and The Romance of a Busy Broker.