Edited with an Introduction by Richard Storry. First published over 20 years ago and long out of print, this is a unique interpretation of the essence of Japanese society and individual psychology.

First Published in 2002. This book looks at the small groups of Japanese people who were perpetually endangered by foreign invasions, actual and potential, and even more by the disruptive forces of their own ambitious kith and kin. These people were scattered over a number of islands, each again divided by mountain ranges into a set of island-like districts, and they lived and enjoyed a perilous existence which made them stronger and still more secretive. Traits and tendencies of this orde...

"Dr. Franz Polgar (April 18, 1900 - June 1979) was a renowned psychologist, hypnotist, lecturer and entertainer. Born in city of Enying, Hungary, he earned a PhD in Psychology from the University of Budapest. In his 1951 autobiography Polgar claimed that he had served as Sigmund Freud's "medical hypnotist" (Polgar's term) in 1924 and had worked in close association with Freud for six months and had assisted in the treatment of Freud's patients. He immigrated to the United States in 1935 an...

Ernest Hemingway: Man of Courage by Kurt D. Singer is a vivid and highly readable portrait of one of America's greatest writers, told with an emphasis on the fearless spirit that defined both his life and his art. More than a simple biography, Singer's account highlights the adventures, battles, and passions that shaped Hemingway into a literary icon whose rugged persona became as legendary as his novels.Singer traces Hemingway's early years in Oak Park, Illinois, his serv...

"A genius … a writer who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine." — The New YorkerBrave New World author Aldous Huxley on enlightenment and the "ultimate reality."In this anthology of twenty-six landmark spiritual essays and other writings, Aldous Huxley discusses the nature of God, enlightenment, being, good and evil, religion, eternity, and the divine. Huxley consistently examined the spiritual basis of ...

Western thought and culture have coalesced around a series of constructed ideas—that human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled; that the mind is somehow superior to the body; that all sexuality entails a seduction—that in some way underlie our exploitation of the earth, our distrust of emotion, and our loneliness and reluctance to love. Here, Watts fundamentally challenges these assumptions, drawing on the precepts of Taoism to present an alternative vision of man a...

What happens when we die? The bestselling author of Stiff and Packing for Mars "makes a clever investigator and a thoroughly entertaining, if skeptical, tour guide." (Janet Maslin, New York Times)"A hilarious look at misadventures in paranormal research. . . . Surreal, fascinating, at times absurd" ( Boulder Weekly

A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNERTHE POSTHUMOUS MASTERWORK FROM "ONE OF THE GREATEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL MODERN WRITERS" (JAMES WOOD, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW)Composed in the last years of Roberto Bolaño's life, 2666 was greeted across Europe and Latin America as his highest achievement, surpassing even his previous work in its strangeness, beauty, and scope. Its throng of unforgettable characters includes...

Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Confucius in just one hour.Here is a concise, expert account of Confucious’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Confucious’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Confucious in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

"The most daring, ambitious and by far the best written of the several very long, daring and ambitious books Norman Mailer has so far produced....Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book....There can no longer be any doubt that he possesses the largest mind and imagination at work in American literature today."CHICAGO TRIBUNENarrated by Harry Hubbard, a second-generation CIA man, HARLO...

Ivan Morris’s definitive and widely acclaimed portrait of the ceremonious and melancholy world of ancient Japan. • "A book which should delight anyone interested in Japan.” —The New York Times Book ReviewUsing The Tale of Genji and other major literary works from Japan’s Heian period as a frame of reference, The World of the Shining Prince recreates an era when women set the cultural tone. Focusing on the world of the emperor’s court—a wo...

'No one can deny Paul Roland is a complete master of his subject.'Colin Wilson, author of The OutsiderGhosts and spirits inhabit the world around us. We can hear and see them if we are only sensitive - or psychic - enough to be aware of them.Re-examining a fascinating assortment of recorded sightings from as far back as Roman times, the author presents a serious look at ghosts, not as chain-rattling spooks, but as actual entities wi...