An Analysis of N.T. Wright's The New Testament and the People of God Wright’s The New Testament and the People of God is the first volume of his acclaimed series ‘Christian Origins and the Question of God’ comprehensively addressing the historical and theological questions surrounding the origins of Christianity. The text outlines Wright's hermeneutical theory and discusses the history of the Jews stressing the close connection with Judaism and developing this to examine the treatment of early Christians. Wright’s work has played a significant role in challenging prevailing assumptions relating to the religious thought of first-century Jews. On a more technical level Wright provides a reappraisal of literary and historical readings of the New Testament. | An Analysis of N. T. Wright's The New Testament and the People of God GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The end of the Cold War which occurred early in the 1990s brought joy and freedom to millions. But it posed a difficult question to the world's governments and to the academics who studied them: how would world order be remade in an age no longer dominated by the competing ideologies of capitalism and communism? Samuel P. Huntington was one of the many political scientists who responded to this challenge by conceiving works that attempted to predict the ways in which conflict might play out in the 21st century and in The Clash of Civilizations he suggested that a new kind of conflict one centred on cultural identity would become the new focus of international relations. Huntington's theories greeted with scepticism when his book first appeared in the 1990s acquired new resonance after 9/11. The Clash of Civilizations is now one of the most widely-set and read works of political theory in US universities; Huntington's theories have also had a measurable impact on American policy. In large part this is a product of his problem-solving skills. Clash is a monument to its author's ability to generate and evaluate alternative possibilities and to make sound decisions between them. Huntington's view that international politics after the Cold War would be neither peaceful nor liberal nor cooperative ran counter to the predictions of almost all of his peers yet his position – the product of an unusual ability to redefine an issue so as to see it in new ways – has been largely vindicated by events ever since. | An Analysis of Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Roland Barthes's The Death of the Author Roland Barthes’s 1967 essay The Death of the Author argues against the traditional practice of incorporating the intentions and biographical context of an author into textual interpretation because of the resultant limitations imposed on a text. Hailing the birth of the reader Barthes posits a new abstract notion of the reader as the conceptual space containing all the text’s possible meanings. The essay has become one of the most cited works in literary criticism and is a key text for any reader approaching reader response theory. | An Analysis of Roland Barthes's The Death of the Author GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Ernest Gellner's Nations and Nationalism To the dismay of many commentators – who had hoped the world was evolving into a more tolerant and multicultural community of nations united under the umbrellas of supranational movements like the European Union – the nationalism that was such a potent force in the history of the 20th-century has made a comeback in recent years. Now more than ever it seems important to understand what it is how it works and why it is so attractive to so many people. A fine place to start any such exploration is with Ernest Gellner's seminal Nations and Nationalism a ground-breaking study that was the first to flesh out the counter-intuitive – but enormously influential – thesis that modern nationalism has little if anything in common with old-fashioned patriotism or loyalty to one's homeland. Gellner's intensely creative thesis is that the nationalism we know today is actually the product of the 19th-century industrial revolution which radically reshaped ancient communities encouraging emigration to cities at the same time as it improved literacy rates and introduced mass education. Gellner connected these three elements in an entirely new way contrasting developments to the structures of pre-industrial agrarian economies to show why the new nationalism could not have been born in such communities. He was also successful in generating a typology of nationalisms in an attempt to explain why some forms flourished while others fizzled out. His remarkable ability to produce novel explanations for existing evidence marks out Nations and Nationalism as one of the most radical stimulating – and enduringly influential – works of its day. | An Analysis of Ernest Gellner's Nations and Nationalism GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy – not to mention one of the most challenging. Its topic is the nature of human knowledge and the question of whether or not it is possible to have knowledge of the world at all. Over two centuries later Kant’s treatise remains a subject of fierce debate among philosophers who continue to offer new interpretations of his meaning. What is not in doubt is the work’s originality and brilliance – nor its mastery of creative thinking. Creative thinkers are able to bring a new perspective to questions and problems look at things from a different angle and show them in a fresh light. Kant achieved this by mediating between the two major schools of philosophical thought concerning knowledge – empiricism and rationalism – to create a complex third way. Where empiricists believed all knowledge is founded on experience and rationalists believed true knowledge is founded on reason alone Kant evaluated their arguments and proposed a third position – one incorporating elements of both but within specific limits. As infamously dense as it is profound Kant’s Critique shows creative thinking operating at a level few can aspire to reach. | An Analysis of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Alfred W. Crosby's The Columbian Exchange Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 One criticism of history is that historians all too often study it in isolation failing to take advantage of models and evidence from scholars in other disciplines. This is not a charge that can be laid at the door of Alfred Crosby. His book The Columbian Exchange not only incorporates the results of wide reading in the hard sciences anthropology and geography but also stands as one of the foundation stones of the study of environmental history. In this sense Crosby's defining work is undoubtedly a fine example of the critical thinking skill of creativity; it comes up with new connections that explain the European success in colonizing the New World more as the product of biological catastrophe (in the shape of the introduction of new diseases) than of the actions of men and posits that the most important consequences were not political – the establishment of new empires – but cultural and culinary; the population of China tripled for example as the result of the introduction of new world crops. Few new hypotheses have proved as stimulating or influential. | An Analysis of Alfred W. Crosby's The Columbian Exchange Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands Europe Between Hitler and Stalin A flagbearer for the increasingly fashionable genre of transnational history Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands is first and foremost a stunning example of the critical thinking skill of evaluation. Snyder's linguistic precocity allows him to cite evidence in 10 languages putting fresh twists on the familiar story of World War II fighting on the Eastern Front from 1941-45. In doing so he works to humanize the estimated 14 million people who lost their lives as their lands were fought over repeatedly by the Nazis and their Soviet opponents. Snyder also works to link more closely the atrocities committed by Hitler and Stalin which he insists are far too often viewed in isolation. He focuses heavily on the adequacy and relevance of his evidence but he also uses the materials he has culled from so many different archives as fuel for an exemplary work of reasoning forcing readers to confront the grim realities that lie behind terms such as ‘cannibalism’ and ‘liquidation. ’ In consequence Bloodlands has emerged only a few years after its publication as one of the seminal works of its era one that is key to Holocaust studies genocide studies and area studies and to sociology as well as to history. A masterly work of literature as well as of history Bloodlands will continue to be read for decades. | An Analysis of Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands Europe Between Hitler and Stalin GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Abraham H. Maslow's A Theory of Human Motivation US psychologist Abraham H. Maslow’s A Theory of Human Motivation is a classic of psychological research that helped change the field for good. Like many field-changing thinkers Maslow was not just a talented researcher he was also a creative thinker – able to see things from a new perspective and show them in a different light. At a time when psychology was dominated by two major schools of thought Maslow was able to forge a new third paradigm that remains influential today. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis had developed the idea of understanding the mind through dialogue between patient and analyst. The behaviorism of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson had focused on comprehending the mind through behaviors that could be measured trained and changed. Maslow however generated new ideas forging what he called “positive” or “humanistic psychology”. His argument was that humans are psychologically motivated by a series of hierarchical needs starting with the most essential first. Maslow thought it important for the advancement of psychology to identify group and rank these needs in terms of priority. His belief in the value of this third way was important in leading those who studied psychology to redefine the discipline and so see it in new ways. | An Analysis of Abraham H. Maslow's A Theory of Human Motivation GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Historians of the American Revolution had always seen the struggle for independence either as a conflict sparked by heavyweight ideology or as a war between opposing social groups acting out of self-interest. In The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Bernard Bailyn begged to differ re-examining familiar evidence to establish new connections that in turn allowed him to generate fresh explanations. His influential reconceptualizing of the underlying reasons for America's independence drive focused instead on pamphleteering – and specifically on the actions of an influential group of ‘conspirators’ who identified and were determined to protect a particularly American set of values. For Bailyn these ideas could indeed be traced back to the ferment of the English Civil War – stemming from radical pamphleteers whose anti-authoritarian ideas crossed the Atlantic and embedded themselves in colonial ideology. Bailyn's thesis helps to explain the Revolution's success by pointing out how deep-rooted its founding ideas were; the Founding Fathers may have been reading Locke but the men they led were inspired by shorter pithier and altogether far more radical works. Only by understanding this Bailyn argues can we understand the passion and determination that allowed the rebel American states to defeat a global superpower. | An Analysis of Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Soren Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death Søren Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death is widely recognized as one of the most significant and influential works of Christian philosophy written in the nineteenth century. One of the cornerstones of Kierkegaard’s reputation as a writer and thinker the book is also a masterclass in the art of interpretation. In critical thinking interpretation is all about defining and clarifying terms – making sure that everyone is on the same page. But it can also be about redefining terms: showing old concepts in a new light by interpreting them in a certain way. This skill is at the heart of The Sickness unto Death. Kierkegaard’s book focuses on the meaning of “despair” – the sickness named in the title. For Kierkegaard the key problem of existence was an individual’s relationship with God and he defines true despair as equating to the idea of sin – something that separates people from God or from the idea of a higher standard beyond ourselves. Kierkegaard’s interpretative journey into the ideas of despair sin and death is a Christian exploration of the place of the individual in the world. But its interpretative skills inspired generations of philosophers of all stripes – including notorious atheists like Jean-Paul Sartre. | An Analysis of Soren Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of G.W.F. Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit Hegel’s 1807 Phenomenology of Spirit is renowned for being one of the most challenging and important books in Western philosophy. Above all it is famous for laying out a new approach to reasoning and philosophical argument an approach that has been credited with influencing Karl Marx Jean-Paul Sartre and many other key modern philosophers. That approach is the so-called “Hegelian dialectic” – an open-ended sequence of reasoning and argument in which contradictory concepts generate and are incorporated into a third more sophisticated concept. While the Phenomenology does not always clearly use this dialectical method – and it is famously one of the most difficult works of philosophy ever written – the Hegelian dialectic provides a perfect template for critical thinking reasoning skills. A hallmark of good reasoning in the construction of an argument and the searching out of answers must necessarily consider contradictory viewpoints or evidence. For Hegel contradiction is key: it is precisely what allows reasoning to progress. Only by incorporating and overcoming contradictions according to his method is it possible for thought to progress at all. While writing like Hegel might not be advisable thinking like him can help take your reasoning to the next level. | An Analysis of G. W. F. Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Carlo Ginzburg's The Night Battles Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries In The Night Battles Carlo Ginzburg does more than introduce his readers to a novel group of supposed witches – the Benandanti from the northern Italian province of Friulia. He also invents and deploys new and creative ways of tackling his source material that allow him to move beyond their limitations. Witchcraft documents are notoriously tricky sources – produced by elites with fixed views they are products of questioning designed to prove or disprove guilt rather than understand the subtleties of belief and are very often the products of torture. Ginzburg placed great stress on variations in the evidence of the Benandanti over time to reveal changing patterns of belief and also focused on the concept of ‘reading against the text’ – essentially looking as much at what is absent from the record as at what is present in it and attempting to understand what the absences mean. His work not only pioneered the creation of a new school of historical study – ‘microhistory’ – it is also a great example of the creative thinking skills of connecting things together in an original way producing novel explanations for existing evidence and redefining an issue so as to see it in a new light. | An Analysis of Carlo Ginzburg's The Night Battles Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Griselda Pollock's Vision and Difference Feminism Femininity and the Histories of Art Vision and Difference published in 1988 is one of the most significant works in feminist visual culture arguing that feminist art history of is a political as well as academic endeavour. Pollock expresses how images are key to the construction of sexual difference both in visual culture and in broader societal experiences. Her argument places feminist theory at the centre of art history proffering the idea that a feminist understanding of art history is an analysis of art history itself. This text remains key not only to understand feminine art historically but to grasp strategies for representation in the future and adding to its contemporary value. | An Analysis of Griselda Pollock's Vision and Difference Feminism Femininity and the Histories of Art GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat neurologist Oliver Sacks looked at the cutting-edge work taking place in his field and decided that much of it was not fit for purpose. Sacks found it hard to understand why most doctors adopted a mechanical and impersonal approach to their patients and opened his mind to new ways to treat people with neurological disorders. He explored the question of deciding what such new ways might be by deploying his formidable creative thinking skills. Sacks felt the issues at the heart of patient care needed redefining because the way they were being dealt with hurt not only patients but practitioners too. They limited a physician’s capacity to understand and then treat a patient’s condition. To highlight the issue Sacks wrote the stories of 24 patients and their neurological clinical conditions. In the process he rebelled against traditional methodology by focusing on his patients’ subjective experiences. Sacks did not only write about his patients in original ways – he attempt to come up with creative ways of treating them as well. At root his method was to try to help each person individually with the core aim of finding meaning and a sense of identity despite or even thanks to the patients’ condition. Sacks thus redefined the issue of neurological work in a new way and his ideas were so influential that they heralded the arrival of a broader movement – narrative medicine – that placed stronger emphasis on listening to and incorporating patients’ experiences and insights into their care. | An Analysis of Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions can be seen without exaggeration as a landmark text in intellectual history. In his analysis of shifts in scientific thinking Kuhn questioned the prevailing view that science was an unbroken progression towards the truth. Progress was actually made he argued via paradigm shifts meaning that evidence that existing scientific models are flawed slowly accumulates – in the face at first of opposition and doubt – until it finally results in a crisis that forces the development of a new model. This development in turn produces a period of rapid change – extraordinary science Kuhn terms it – before an eventual return to normal science begins the process whereby the whole cycle eventually repeats itself. This portrayal of science as the product of successive revolutions was the product of rigorous but imaginative critical thinking. It was at odds with science’s self-image as a set of disciplines that constantly evolve and progress via the process of building on existing knowledge. Kuhn’s highly creative re-imagining of that image has proved enduringly influential – and is the direct product of the author’s ability to produce a novel explanation for existing evidence and to redefine issues so as to see them in new ways. | An Analysis of Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business Econ In The Wisdom of Crowds New Yorker columnist Surowiecki explores the question of whether the many are better than an elite few – no matter their qualifications – at solving problems promoting innovation and making wise decisions. Surowiecki’s text uses multiple case studies and touches on the arenas of pop culture sociology business management and behavioural economics among others. Surowiecki’s is a fascinating text that is key to considerations and theorisations about economics politics and sociology. | An Analysis of James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business Econ GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning From More to Shakespeare What is a self? Greenblatt argues that the 16th century saw the awakening of modern self-consciousness the ability to fashion an identity out of the culture and politics of one’s society. In a series of brilliant readings Greenblatt shows how identity is constructed in the work of Shakespeare Marlowe Spenser and other Renaissance writers. A classic piece of literary criticism and the origins of the New Historicist school of thought Renaissance Self-Fashioning remains a critical and challenging text for readers of Renaissance literature. | An Analysis of Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning From More to Shakespeare GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's Judgment under Uncertainty Heuristics and Biases Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman’s 1974 paper ‘Judgement Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases’ is a landmark in the history of psychology. Though a mere seven pages long it has helped reshape the study of human rationality and had a particular impact on economics – where Tversky and Kahneman’s work helped shape the entirely new sub discipline of ‘behavioral economics. ’ The paper investigates human decision-making specifically what human brains tend to do when we are forced to deal with uncertainty or complexity. Based on experiments carried out with volunteers Tversky and Kahneman discovered that humans make predictable errors of judgement when forced to deal with ambiguous evidence or make challenging decisions. These errors stem from ‘heuristics’ and ‘biases’ – mental shortcuts and assumptions that allow us to make swift automatic decisions often usefully and correctly but occasionally to our detriment. The paper’s huge influence is due in no small part to its masterful use of high-level interpretative and analytical skills – expressed in Tversky and Kahneman’s concise and clear definitions of the basic heuristics and biases they discovered. Still providing the foundations of new work in the field 40 years later the two psychologists’ definitions are a model of how good interpretation underpins incisive critical thinking. | An Analysis of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's Judgment under Uncertainty Heuristics and Biases GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics Kenneth Waltz’s 1979 Theory of International Politics is credited with bringing about a “scientific revolution” in the study of international relations – bringing the field into a new era of systematic study. The book is also a lesson in reasoning carefully and critically. Good reasoning is exemplified by arguments that move systematically through carefully organised stages taking into account opposing stances and ideas as they move towards a logical conclusion. Theory of International Politics might be a textbook example of how to go about structuring an argument in this way to produce a watertight case for a particular point of view. Waltz’s book begins by testing and critiquing earlier theories of international relations showing their strengths and weaknesses before moving on to argue for his own stance – what has since become known as “neorealism”. His aim was “to construct a theory of international politics that remedies the defects of present theories. ” And this is precisely what he did; by showing the shortcomings of the prevalent theories of international relations Waltz was then able to import insights from sociology to create a more comprehensive and realistic theory that took full account of the strengths of old schemas while also remedying their weaknesses – reasoning out a new theory in the process. | An Analysis of Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Carole Hillenbrand's The Crusades Islamic Perspectives For many centuries the history of the crusades as written by Western historians was based solidly on Western sources. Evidence from the Islamic societies that the crusaders attacked was used only sparingly – in part because it was hard for most westerners to read and in part because much of it was inaccessible even for historians who did speak Arabic. Carole Hillenbrand set out to re-evaluate the sources for the crusading period not only looking with fresh eyes at known accounts but also locating and utilizing new sources that had previously been overlooked. Her work involved her in conducting extensive evaluations of the new sources assessing their arguments their evidence and their reasoning in order to assess their value and (using the critical thinking skill of analysis a powerful method for understanding how arguments are built) to place them correctly in the context of crusade studies as a whole. The result is not only a history that is more balanced better argued and more adequate than most that have gone before it but also a work with relevance for today. At a time when crusading imagery and mentions of the current War on Terror as a ‘crusade’ help to fuel political narrative Hillenbrand's evaluative work acts as an important corrective to oversimplification and misrepresentation. | An Analysis of Carole Hillenbrand's The Crusades Islamic Perspectives GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Eugene Genovese's Roll Jordan Roll The World the Slaves Made Most studies of slavery are underpinned by ideology and idealism. Eugene Genovese's ground-breaking book takes a stand against both these influences arguing not only that all ideological history is bad history – a remarkable statement coming from a self-professed Marxist – but also that slavery itself can only be understood if master and slave are studied together rather than separately. Genovese's most important insight which makes this book a fine example of the critical thinking skill of problem-solving is that the best way to view the institution of American slavery is to understand why exactly it was structured as it was. He saw slavery as a process of continual renegotiation of power balances as masters strove to extract the maximum work from their slaves while slaves aimed to obtain acknowledgement of their humanity and the ability to shape elements of the world that they were forced to live in. Genovese's thesis is not wholly original; he adapts Gramsci's notion of hegemony to re-interpret the master-slave relationship – but it is an important example of the benefits of asking productive new questions about topics that seem superficially at least to be entirely obvious. By focusing on slave culture rather than producing another study of economic determinism this massive study succeeds in reconceptualising an institution in an exciting new way. | An Analysis of Eugene Genovese's Roll Jordan Roll The World the Slaves Made GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Hanna Batatu's The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq How do you solve a problem like understanding Iraq? For Hanna Batatu the solution to this conundrum lay in generating alternative possibilities that effectively side-stepped the conventional wisdom of the time. Historians had long held that Iraq – like other artificial creations of ex-colonial European powers who drew lines onto the world map that ignored longstanding tribal ethnic and religious ties – was best understood by delving into its political and religious history. Batatu used the problem solving skills of asking productive questions and generating alternative possibilities to argue that Iraq’s history was better understood through the lens of a Marxist analysis focused on socio-economic history. The Old Social Classes concludes that the divisions present in Iraq – and exposed by the revolutionary movements of the 1950s – are those characterized by the struggle for control over property and the means of production. Additionally Batatu sought to establish that the most important political movements of the time notably the nationalist Ba'athists and the pan-Arab Free Officers Movement had their origins in a homegrown communist ideology inspired by local conditions and local inequality. By posing new questions – and by undertaking a vast amount of research in primary sources a rarity in the history of this region – Batatu was able to produce a strong new solution to a longstanding historiographical puzzle. | An Analysis of Hanna Batatu's The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Frederick Jackson Turner's The Significance of the Frontier in American History Frederick Jackson Turner's 1893 essay on the history of the United States remains one of the most famous and influential works in the American canon. That is a testament to Turner's powers of creative synthesis; in a few short pages he succeeded in redefining the way in which whole generations of Americans understood the manner in which their country was shaped and their own character moulded by the frontier experience. It is largely thanks to Turner's influence that the idea of America as the home of a sturdily independent people – one prepared ultimately to obtain justice for themselves if they could not find it elsewhere – was born. The impact of these ideas can still be felt today: in many Americans' suspicion of big government in their attachment to guns – even in Star Trek's vision of space as the final frontier. Turner's thesis may now be criticised as limited (in its exclusion of women) and over-stated (in its focus on the western frontier). That it redefined an issue in a highly impactful way – and that it did so exceptionally eloquently – cannot be doubted. | An Analysis of Frederick Jackson Turner's The Significance of the Frontier in American History GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique is possibly the best-selling of all the titles analysed in the Macat library and arguably one of the most important. Yet it was the product of an apparently minor meaningless assignment. Undertaking to approach former classmates who had attended Smith College with her 10 years after their graduation the high-achieving Friedan was astonished to discover that the survey she had undertaken for a magazine feature revealed a high proportion of her contemporaries were suffering from a malaise she had thought was unique to her: profound dissatisfaction at the ‘ideal’ lives they had been living as wives mothers and homemakers. For Friedan this discovery stimulated a remarkable burst of creative thinking as she began to connect the elements of her own life together in new ways. The popular idea that men and women were equal but different – that men found their greatest fulfilment through work while women were most fulfilled in the home – stood revealed as a fallacy and the depression and even despair she and so many other women felt as a result was recast not as a failure to adapt to a role that was the truest expression of femininity but as the natural product of undertaking repetitive unfulfilling and unremunerated labor. Friedan's seminal expression of these new ideas redefined an issue central to many women's lives so successfully that it fuelled a movement – the ‘second wave’ feminism of the 1960s and 1970s that fundamentally challenged the legal and social framework underpinning an entire society. | An Analysis of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of St. Augustine's Confessions St. Augustine’s Confessions is one of the most important works in the history of literature and Christian thought. Written around 397 when Augustine was the Christian bishop of Hippo (in modern-day Algeria) the Confessions were designed both to spiritually educate those who already shared Augustine’s faith and to convert those who did not. Augustine did this through the original maneuver of writing what is now recognized as being the first Western autobiography – letting readers share in his own experiences of youth sin and eventual conversion. The Confessions are a perfect example of using reasoning to subtly bring readers around to a particular point of view – with Augustine inviting them to accompany him on his own spiritual journey towards God so they could make their own conversion. Carefully structured the Confessions run from describing the first 43 years of Augustine’s life in North Africa and Italy to discussing the nature of memory before moving on to analyzing the Bible itself. In order the sections form a carefully structured argument moving from the personal to the philosophical to the contemplative. In the hundreds of years since they were first published they have persuaded hundreds of thousands of readers to recognize towards the same God that Augustine himself worshipped. | An Analysis of St. Augustine's Confessions GBP 6.50 1