Can one coherently integrate Darwin's view of evolution with an affirmation of the value of existence? In this fresh, lean, and substantive volume, William Meyer addresses this important question. By carefully analyzing Darwin's own writings and by drawing on the philosophical perspectives of William James, Alfred North Whitehead, and others, Meyer persuasively redirects the cultural conversation about Darwin away from the retrospective question of origins toward the prospective question c...

The Oxford History of Mexico is a narrative history of the events, institutions and characters that have shaped Mexican history from the reign of the Aztecs through the twenty-first century. When the hardcover edition released in 2000, it was praised for both its breadth and depth--all aspects of Mexican history, from religion to technology, ethnicity, ecology and mass media, are analyzed with insight and clarity. Available for the first time in paperback, the History covers every era in t...

The Oxford History of Mexico is a narrative history of the events, institutions and characters that have shaped Mexican history from the reign of the Aztecs through the twenty-first century. When the hardcover edition released in 2000, it was praised for both its breadth and depth--all aspects of Mexican history, from religion to technology, ethnicity, ecology and mass media, are analyzed with insight and clarity. Available for the first time in paperback, the History covers every era in t...

Gertrude Stein’s monumental novel, back in print a century after its first publication.In The Making of Americans, Gertrude Stein sets out to tell "a history of a family's progress," radically reworking the traditional family saga novel to encompass her vision of personality and psychological relationships. As the history progresses over three generations, Stein also meditates on her own writing, on the making of The Making of Americans, and on Am...

William J. Meyer engages in critical and illuminating conversation with major figures in contemporary philosophy and theology in order to explain why theology has been marginalized in modern culture and why modernity has had such difficulty integrating religion and public life. Wrestling with notable philosophers like MacIntyre and Stout, and theologians such as Gustafson, Hauerwas, Porter, Milbank, and Reinhold Niebuhr, Meyer argues that theology must embrace modernity's formal commitment...

Pure laughter, whether our own or others, makes us all feel more comfortable with the world and situations we find ourselves in. Why something is funny is hard to say but we know that there are people who are funny and can say funny things. It’s an immediate advantage for them.In this volume your hosts including Mark Twain, Nikolai Gogol, J M Barrie, O Henry and many others who range from the simply funny and the absurd to ….. well, other ways of funny.1 - Stories to Make Y...

Calm your worries and build your bravery — or just relax during a busy day or wind down before bedAll day long, you breathe — in and out, in and out — without even thinking about it. But did you know that you can play with your breath, use it to take you on an adventure? All you have to do is find a comfy spot and close your eyes.Does your breath sound like ocean waves? Like the wind before a storm or a breeze at the start of spring? Can you feel it all the...

This book explains, with case examples, a variety of social science research methods suitable for studying the unconscious components of irrational social and political actions in world affairs, which can be defined as those that are intensely destructive, self-destructive, or extremely bizarre. The book argues that they are driven in part by feelings and fantasies that are outside of conscious awareness. Meyers explores the role of empathy in clinical understanding, as well as the value o...

Uncovers the facts behind the celebrated 1889 case of Riggs v. Palmer and shows how they transform our understanding of the decision.In 1882, Elmer Palmer was convicted of poisoning his grandfather Francis in rural northern New York State. In a famous decision in 1889, the New York Court of Appeals denied Elmer the right to inherit from Francis, even though the statute governing wills seemed to entitle him to the legacy. Twentieth-century commentators have treated ...

After a substantial author’s preface recounting the author’s life-journey with the question of science and design in nature, An Informed Cosmos pulls together essays that jointly cover the core arguments for a scientific theory of intelligent design. Along with a foreword by philosopher of science and leading design theorist Stephen C. Meyer, and a wide range of recommended resources, An Informed Cosmos offers an informed overview of the contemporary case for intelligent ...

This revealing book synthesizes research from many fields to offer the first complete history of the roles played by weather and climate in American life from colonial times to the present. Author William B. Meyer characterizes weather events as neutral phenomena that are inherently neither hazards nor resources, but can become either depending on the activities with which they interact. Meyer documents the ways in which different kinds of weather throughout history have represented hazard...

This book is devoted to the exploration of environmental Prometheanism, the belief that human beings can and should master nature and remake it for the better. Meyer considers, among others, the question of why Prometheanism today is usually found on the political right while environmentalism is on the left.Chapters examine the works of leading Promethean thinkers of nineteenth and early and mid-twentieth century Britain, France, America, and Russia and how they tied their beliefs ...