Existentialism is often studied by students with little or no background in philosophy; either as an introduction to the idea of studying philosophy or as part of a literary course. Although it is often an attractive topic for students interested in thinking about questions of 'self' or 'being', it also requires them to study difficult thinkers and texts. This Guide for the Perplexed begins with the question of 'What is Existentialism?' and then moves on to provide a brie...

Drinking to excess has been a striking problem for industrial and post-industrial societies – who is responsible when an individual opts for a slow suicide? The causes of such drinking have often been blamed on genes, moral weakness, ‘disease’ (addiction), hedonism, and Romantic illusion. Yet there is another reason: the drinker may act with sincere philosophical intent, exploring the edges of self, consciousness, will, ethics, authenticity and finitude. Beginning with Jack London’s Jo...

Realism is an essential concept in literary studies, yet for a variety of reasons it has not received the attention and clarity it deserves, often being dismissed as ‘too slippery’ to be of use. This accessible study remedies that failing for students and scholars of English Literature and Literary Theory alike, plainly setting out what realism is, the issues surrounding it, and its role in other major literary modes such as modernism and postmodernism. Beginning Realism gives detailed cov...

On a midsummer night in 1969 under a full moon, Richard L. Stevens helped capture a Viet Cong guerrilla leader named Hoang Thi Nu, the "Vietnamese Annie Oakley." What he saw her do that night, leaping into a river and running through gunfire, and what she endured afterwards in captivity, changed Stevens's mind about what humans are capable of, and about war.Stevens was the sole American advisor to a South Vietnamese unit of 105 "ex"-Viet Cong whose mission was to uncover enemy acti...