Books Archive – Page 10 of 18

A Taste of Silence

In this book, the outcome of more than twenty years of experience with Centering Prayer, Father Arico explores the fundamentals of prayer, how it impacts on one’s life, and how it can bring one peace of mind.

“Like John Wesley or Jean Pierre de Caussade before him, Catholic priest Arico provides the devout with a model and method for the attainment of a deeper spirituality; unlike them, he feels free to draw wisdom not only from Christian and ancient models but also from Sufism and Thomas Merton to show us how ‘God is calling us from our tombs’ to the experience of ‘divine union.’ Arico’s spirituality and warmth are profound, and his guide shall be well received by most Christian readers.”—Library Journal

“As this book makes clear, Centering Prayer is not an archaic part of church history to be dug up, examined, and set on a shelf as an interesting antiquity. Rather, it’s a life-changing tool for our modern lives.”—Ferdinand G. Mahfood, Founder, Food for the Poor

Letters to a New Vegan

You’re interested in becoming a vegan but aren’t sure what it will be like. You’ve just started out on your vegan journey and you’re feeling isolated and wondering how to deal with friends and family. You’ve been a vegan for so long that you’ve forgotten the original impetus for your making the change and want to feel renewed. This book is for you.

In the spirit of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet and conceived of as a modern-day vade mecum, Letters to a New Vegan consists of 32 humorous, evocative, spirited, and even tender epistles offering advice, counsel, and inspiration from activists and leaders who’ve followed the vegan path for years. The aim is to ignite, sustain, and refresh the passion and commitment of those who want to live more consciously and compassionately on the planet, with other people, and with themselves.

With contributions from:
Demetrius Bagley—Rick Bogle—Maddie Cartwright—Ashley Curtis—Tracy Curtis—Kara Davis—Karen Davis, Ph.D.—Jason Derry—Anne Dinshah—Daniel Earle—Jean Forst—Iselin Gambert—Jennifer Gloodt—Lara Goodman—Ruby Goodman—Julie Hanan—Sangamithra Iyer—Kare Kapelnikova—Shelley Kaplan—Madeleine Lifsey—Alexa McCormack—Victoria Moran—Jacqueline Morr—Linda Nelson—Ingrid E. Newkirk—Lynn Pauly—Gretchen Primack—Beth Lily Redwood—Daniel Redwood—Martin Rowe—Kurt Schwemmer—Angela Seiw—Keane Southard—Mark Turner

America on the Couch

What lies behind America’s historic romance with the gun? Why does it have such a troubled relationship with alcohol and drugs? Why is it so wedded to consumerism and so resistant to the evidence of climate change? What are its enduring myths about individuality, freedom, and independence, and how might we re-imagine our vision of the United States as the “Promised Land” and “The City on the Hill” to reflect a multiculturalism that offers “the last, best hope” for the world?

In a two-decades long journey through the American psyche, depth journalist Pythia Peay has asked these and many more questions of no fewer than thirty-six of the world’s leading psychologists and psychoanalysts. From Robert Jay Lifton to Marion Woodman, A. Thomas McLellan to Judith V. Jordan, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to June Singer, and James Hillman to Mary Pipher, the thinkers in America on the Couch discuss violence, addiction, the environment, capitalism and consumerism, politics and power, and the soul of America. The result is a uniquely comprehensive, wide-ranging, and compelling kaleidoscope of insights into the psychodynamics of a hegemon in peace and at war, as it confronts the shadows of the American century and charts its way into an uncertain, multi-polar future.

Featuring:
Stephen Aizenstat—John Beebe—Bonnie Bright—Gary S. Bobroff—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi—Philip Cushman—Larry Decker—Raymond De Young— Edward Edinger—Michael Eigen—Stephen J. Foster—Charles Grob—Bud Harris—A. Chris Heath—James Hillman—Judith V. Jordan—Donald Kalsched—Robert J. Langs—Linda Schierse Leonard—Harriet Lerner—Robert Jay Lifton—A. Thomas McLellan—Thomas Moore—Ginette Paris—Mary Pipher—Ernest Rossi—Andrew Samuels—Erel Shalit—June Singer—Thomas Singer—Lawrence Staples—Murray Stein—Charles B. Strozier—Paul Wachtel—Karen B. Walant—Marion Woodman—Luigi Zoja

“A unique and welcome collection of interviews with leading psychologists over twenty years . . . full of revelations and insights to shape our notions of citizenship.” —Joshua Wolf Shenk, author, Lincoln’s Melancholy and Powers of Two

“America on the Couch—at once intimate and expansive—reflects a two-decade commitment to understanding the profoundly complex heart of America. In compiling this volume, Pythia Peay has redefined and deepened the meaning of ‘citizen.’”—Howard G. Lavine, Arleen C. Carlson Professor of Political Science and Psychology, University of Minnesota

“America on the Couch will inspire Americans to get off their individual couches and into the more communal streets, enacting, in Peay’s term, a more ‘psychologically conscious citizenship.’”—Jennifer Leigh Selig, author, Integration: The Psychology and Mythology of Martin Luther King, Jr. and His (Unfinished) Therapy with the Soul of America

An Art for the Other

Foreword by Steve Baker, Translated by Sarah De Sanctis

In their witty and polemical cultural analysis, art and architecture historian Valentina Sonzogni and philosopher Leonardo Caffo explore a myriad of visual, ethical, and cultural issues relating to the idea of animality. In twenty-one playful but passionately argued letters to each other, Sonzogni and Caffo propose a change of attitude toward nonhuman animals among advocates, artists, and citizens, particularly in how other-than-human life is presented and re-presented in the visual tradition. Ranging widely across continental philosophy, art theory, and cultural criticism, and with nearly thirty illustrations, An Art for the Other is a fresh and compelling work of contemporary ideas from two of the freshest critical theoreticians in Europe today.

High Moon Over the Amazon

Before primatologist Patricia Chapple Wright became the world’s foremost expert on lemurs, she was enchanted by another primate—Aotus, the owl monkey, or “monkey of the night.” But along her journey to discover the behavior of these unique nocturnal creatures, Wright finds more than she expected about family, human nature, and herself.

It all starts in a New York City pet shop when Wright and her husband buy an owl monkey whose lively and rambunctious ways soon lead the young couple to South America to acquire him a mate. But while Wright’s monkey family is growing, her own begins to fall apart when her husband leaves her and her daughter. Undeterred by her lack of academic experience, Wright sets out as a single mother to study primate behavior in the wild, including a year at a research station in the remote jungles of Peru. There she encounters jaguars, poisonous snakes, army ants, and massive floods that threaten her and her daughter’s lives, as well as moments of great clarity and beauty.

From New York City in the 1960s to the depths of the Amazon in the 1970s and 80s, this story of one woman’s transformation from Brooklyn housewife to an accomplished scientist will captivate fans of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas. High Moon over the Amazon is a thrilling memoir of adventure, inspiration, and of falling in love with a species not so unlike our own.

“This is a book you must read. Against all odds Patricia Wright succeeded in observing the previously unknown behavior of the mysterious and enchanting little owl monkey, the ‘monkey of the night.’ With the skill of a born story teller she describes hair raising adventures deep in the Amazon rainforest—and the problems of raising a child far from civilization. You will laugh and cry and marvel at the determination, courage, and scientific integrity of this amazing woman.”—Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

“Heart-warming, honest, deeply inquisitive, and chock-a-block with the absolutely insane adventure known as field biology. As a conservationist, as a primatologist, no question about it, Patricia Wright is a heavy-weight contender. High Moon Over the Amazon proves her a great storyteller as well. This is a seriously fun, smart book.”—Steven Kotler, New York Times bestselling author of Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think

“A naive young American woman with a pet monkey goes to the Amazon to find it a mate. This is the improbable beginning of an important scientific career—Pat Wright’s High Moon over the Amazon is a lively, exotic, inspirational tale about dreams that, against all odds, become reality.”—David Quammen, author of Spillover and The Song of the Dodo

Growl

With a Foreword by Brian May

For four decades, Kim Stallwood has had a front seat in the animal rights movement, starting at the grassroots in England and working his way up to leadership positions at some of the best-known organizations in the world, including Compassion In World Farming, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Yet, as Stallwood reveals in this memoir of an eventful life dedicated to social justice for the voiceless, finding the truest path for progress has meant learning a lot along the way.

Equal parts personal narrative, social history, and impassioned call for rethinking animal advocacy, Growl describes Stallwood’s journey from a meat-eating slaughterhouse worker to a vegan activist for all species. He explains the importance of four key values in animal rights philosophy and practice—compassion, truth, nonviolence, and justice—and how a deeper understanding of their role not only leads us to discover our humanity for animals, but also for ourselves.

“Not all souls sing; some growl—for justice, for truth, for nonviolence. In this compelling book, Kim Stallwood offers frontline reflections with feet-on-the-ground theory, centered in compassion.”—Carol J. Adams, author, The Sexual Politics of Meat

“An erudite, engaging, and at times hilarious autobiography from one of the wisest voices of the animal rights movement.”—Jonathan Balcombe, biologist and author, Pleasurable Kingdom

The Terrorization of Dissent

In 2006 the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) was passed with the intention to equip law enforcement agencies with the tools to apprehend, prosecute, and convict individuals who commit “animal enterprise terror.” But, as many have come to realize, this act does not concretely define what is meant by that phrase, leading to the interpretation that anyone interfering with a company’s ability to make a profit from the exploitation of animals can be considered a terrorist.

In this unprecedented and timely collection, some of the most influential voices in the world of law and animal rights examine the legalities of the AETA, highlight its repressive nature and the collusion between private interests and political legislation, and provide theoretical frameworks for understanding a variety of related issues. In a series of interviews, the book also gives animal advocates who have been convicted or directly affected by the AETA, including members of the AETA 4 and SHAC 7, an opportunity to speak for themselves. Ultimately, these writers show that the AETA is less about fighting terrorism and more about safeguarding corporate profit, and that it should be analyzed and resisted by everyone who believes in a better world.

Featuring: Piers Beirne, Sarahjane Blum, Heidi Boghosian, Walter Bond, Joseph Buddenberg, Sarat Colling, Kimberly E. McCoy, Jason Del Gandio, Scott DeMuth, Carol L. Glasser, Jennifer D. Grubbs, Josh Harper, Stephanie Jenkins, Jay Johnson, Eric Jonas, Michael Loadenthal, Dara Lovitz, Lillian M. McCartin, Anthony J. Nocella II, David Naguib Pellow, Will Potter, Dylan Powell, Ryan Shapiro, Wesley Shirley, John Sorenson, Vasile Stanescu, Brad J. Thomson, and Aaron Zellhoefer.