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An eccentric classic of Zen poetry When Zen master Ikkyu Sojun (1394-1481) was appointed headmaster of the great temple at Kyoto, he lasted nine days before denouncing the rampant hypocrisy he saw among the monks there. He in turn invited them to look for him in the sake parlors of the Pleasure Quarters. A Zen monk-poet-calligrapher-musician, he dared to write about the joys of erotic love, along with more traditional Zen themes. He was an eccentric and genius who dared to defy authority and despised corruption. Although he lived during times plagued by war, famine, rioting, and religious upheaval, his writing and music prevailed, influencing Japanese culture to this day. "Ikkyu scandalized the Zen community of his day and is likely to scandalize some readers even now—his short poems are simultaneously bawdy, abrupt, vulgar, and reverential... It is impossible not to love the velocity and variety of his verse."—The Philadelphia Inquirer "Stephen Berg is exactly the right poet to have translated these poems."—Hayden Carruth, The Hudson Review "A deeply sensual man, Ikkyu had little patience for the fussiness of monastic life and ritual... What is especially appealing about Ikkyu's poetry is the way his sensuality infuses his Zen sensibility."—American Book Review Stephen Berg (1934-2014) was the founder and editor of American Poetry Review. Also available by Stephen Berg Steel Cricket PB $16.00, 1-55659-075-X • CUSA New & Selected Poems PB $12.00, 1-55659-043-1 • CUSA

The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times is René Guénon's most prophetic work. Having seen his telling analysis of Western culture, The Crisis of the Modern World, swiftly overtaken by events, he based this his final and most profound critique squarely on changeless metaphysical principles. He exposes with his fabled clarity the precise nature of the modern deviation, devoting special attention to the part played by modern philosophy and science (with their accompanying notions of progress and evolution) in the formation of the industrial and democratic society that we now regard as "normal." He sees history as a descent from Form (or Quality) toward Matter (or Quantity). But following after the Reign of Quantity (modern materialism and the "rise of the masses"), Guénon predicts a reign of "inverted quality" just before the end of the age: the triumph of the "counter-initiation" the kingdom of Antichrist. Although Guénon bases his critique on "abstract" principles, his examples are satisfyingly concrete: his remarks on "the degeneration of coinage" could easily be updated to include the transformation of money into electronically-stored digital information; his treatment of "the significance of metallurgy" as regards its occult dangers points directly to our own well-founded fear of such man-made elements as plutonium; and his chapter on the "cracks in the Great Wall" gives solid metaphysical grounding to our twenty-first century demonology, including the UFO phenomenon. This text is considered the magnum opus among Guénon's works of civilizational criticism, as is Symbols of Sacred Science among his studies on symbols and cosmology, and Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta among his more purely metaphysical works. The Reign of Quantity gives a concise but comprehensive view of the present state of affairs in the world, as it appears from the point of view of the 'ancient wisdom', formerly common both to the East and to the West, but now almost entirely lost sight of. The author indicates with his fabled clarity and directness the precise nature of the modern deviation, and devotes special attention to the development of modern philosophy and science, and to the part played by them, with their accompanying notions of progress and evolution, in the formation of the industrial and democratic society which we now regard as 'normal'. Guénon sees history as a descent from Form (or Quality) toward Matter (or Quantity); but after the Reign of Quantity-modern materialism and the 'rise of the masses'-Guénon predicts a reign of 'inverted quality' just before the end of the age: the triumph of the 'counter-initiation', the kingdom of Antichrist. This text is considered the magnum opus among Guénon's texts of civilizational criticism, as is Symbols of Sacred Science among his studies on symbols and cosmology, and Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta among his more purely metaphysical works.

The story of the idealists, technologists, and opportunists fighting to bring cryptocurrency to the masses. In their short history, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have gone through booms, busts, and internecine wars, recently reaching a market valuation of more than $2 trillion. The central promise of crypto endures—vast fortunes made from decentralized networks not controlled by any single entity and not yet regulated by many governments. The recent growth of crypto would have been all but impossible if not for a brilliant young man named Vitalik Buterin and his creation: Ethereum. In this book, Laura Shin takes readers inside the founding of this novel cryptocurrency network, which enabled users to launch their own new coins, thus creating a new crypto fever. She introduces readers to larger-than-life characters like Buterin, the Web3 wunderkind; his short-lived CEO, Charles Hoskinson; and Joe Lubin, a former Goldman Sachs VP who became one of crypto’s most well-known billionaires. Sparks fly as these outsized personalities fight for their piece of a seemingly limitless new business opportunity. This fascinating book shows the crypto market for what it really is: a deeply personal struggle to influence the coming revolution in money, culture, and power.

MEJOR NOVELA DE 2021 SEGÚN EL DIARIO EL PAÍS. Agnes, una muchacha peculiar que parece no rendir cuentas a nadie y que es capaz de crear misteriosos remedios con sencillas combinaciones de plantas, es la comidilla de Stratford, un pequeño pueblo de Inglaterra. Cuando conoce a un joven preceptor de latín igual de extraordinario que ella, se da cuenta enseguida de que están llamados a formar una familia. Pero su matrimonio se verá puesto a prueba, primero por sus parientes y después por una inesperada desgracia. Partiendo de la historia familiar de Shakespeare, Maggie O’Farrell transita entre la ficción y la realidad para trazar una hipnótica recreación del suceso que inspiró una de las obras literarias más famosas de todos los tiempos. La autora, lejos de fijarse únicamente en los acontecimientos conocidos, reivindica con ternura las inolvidables figuras que habitan en los márgenes de la historia y ahonda en las pequeñas grandes cuestiones de cualquier existencia: la vida familiar, el afecto, el dolor y la pérdida. El resultado es una prodigiosa novela que ha cosechado un enorme éxito internacional y confirma a O’Farrell como una de las voces más brillantes de la literatura inglesa actual. «Lo que hace tan interesantes a las novelas de O'Farrell es su apuesta por cambiar siempre de ángulo o decidirse por el más inesperado, su estilo lírico y delicado aunque directo y estremecedor si hace falta, su atención al detalle producto de una evidente investigación profunda que, sin embargo, llega con gran naturalidad a la página. Esto es muy evidente en "Hamnet".» Mariana Enriquez (Página 12) «Lo maravilloso y muy meritorio de "Hamnet" es que Maggie O’Farrell vivifica a Shakespeare, el gran “monstruo de la naturaleza” del canon universal ―siempre desde una perspectiva anglosajona―, colocando en primer plano la domesticidad y utilizando como foco narrativo prioritario la figura de su esposa, aquí llamada Agnes. (…) un magnífico texto sobre el amor de una pareja disímil que, en su superación del duelo y en la metamorfosis de la existencia que comporta la muerte intempestiva, toma en apariencia caminos divergentes.» Marta Sanz (Babelia - El País) «Un prodigio literario que indaga en el origen del dolor y transita por las sendas más desconocidas del amor y la maternidad. Una historia extraordinaria, que mezcla realidad y ficción, llena de imaginación y empatía. Una maravilla.» Inés Martín Rodrigo (ABC Cultural) «"Hamnet" es modélica en el desarrollo de su trama y en el cuidado de su ambientación.» Antonio Lozano (Cultura/s – La Vanguardia) «"Hamnet" habla de la mortalidad y el duelo, sobre cómo lo procesa y deglute cada uno. Una novela magnífica por la construcción de personajes y por el prodigio de saber escarbar con respeto en los recovecos de la verdad histórica.» Olga Merino (El Periódico) «Una obra redonda, de enorme belleza. (…) Una gran historia, enormemente conmovedora, que indaga acertadamente en el dolor y la pérdida con una destreza y una sensibilidad sencillamente magistrales.» Sagrario Fernández-Prieto (La Razón) «Es una maravilla sensible y agridulce. La obra de una gran escritora y la prueba de que los grandes siempre tiene algo que contar.» Xavi Sancho (ICON – El País) «"Hamnet" juega con la historia de Shakespeare y Agnes, pero Maggie O'Farrell es capaz de llevarse la narración siempre a su terreno, al que mejor navega: el de las relaciones personales, el dolor y la maternidad. Esa es la gran fortaleza de esta novela hermosísima de prosa bellísima.» Lara Hermoso (Radio 3) «Una novela sencillamente colosal.» Javier García Recio (La Opinión de Málaga) «Una novela ambiciosa, de una riqueza literaria que deja boquiabierto a quien se enfrenta a su grandeza.» Sonia Fides (Heraldo de Aragón) «O'Farrell toma una historia reconocible y la hace sorprendentemente nueva a los ojos asombrados de los lectores. (…) La mejor novela de Maggie O’Farrell.» Luis M. Alonso (La Nueva España) «Su mejor novela hasta la fecha. "Hamnet" demuestra que siempre hay nuevas historias que contar. (...) Esto confirma a O’Farrell como una escritora de extraordinaria versatilidad – cualidades que comparte con William Shakespeare.» Stephanie Merritt (The Guardian) «Sobresaliente, preciosa, conmovedora (…) El libro de su vida. ¡Estoy tremendamente celosa!» Tracy Chevalier «Un extraordinario hito de la imaginación y la empatía.» The New York Times Book Review «Un regalo para los sentidos. Una novela muy especial.» The Sunday Times «Una historia emotiva y llena de intriga sobre la manera en que el dolor transforma brutalmente un matrimonio.» The Washington Post «Una saga familiar tan llena de vida, de magia y de afecto que desearía que fuera real. (...) Maravillosamente escrita.» The Boston Globe

WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 'A gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of Mao, based on new research but also written with great narrative verve' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Harrowing and brilliant' Ben Macintyre 'A critical contribution to Chinese history' Wall Street Journal Between 1958 and 1962, 45 million Chinese people were worked, starved or beaten to death. Mao Zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the Great Leap Forward, an attempt to catch up with and overtake the West in less than fifteen years. It led to one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known. Dikotter's extraordinary research within Chinese archives brings together for the first time what happened in the corridors of power with the everyday experiences of ordinary people, giving voice to the dead and disenfranchised. This groundbreaking account definitively recasts the history of the People's Republic of China.

"With its gentle affirmations, inspirational quotes, fill-in-the-blank lists and tasks — write yourself a thank-you letter, describe yourself at 80, for example — The Artist’s Way proposes an egalitarian view of creativity: Everyone’s got it."—The New York Times    "Morning Pages have become a household name, a shorthand for unlocking your creative potential"—Vogue Over four million copies sold! Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to free up any areas where they might be stuck, opening up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery.   The program begins with Cameron’s most vital tools for creative recovery – The Morning Pages, a daily writing ritual of three pages of stream-of-conscious, and The Artist Date, a dedicated block of time to nurture your inner artist. From there, she shares hundreds of exercises, activities, and prompts to help readers thoroughly explore each chapter. She also offers guidance on starting a “Creative Cluster” of fellow artists who will support you in your creative endeavors. A revolutionary program for personal renewal, The Artist's Way will help get you back on track, rediscover your passions, and take the steps you need to change your life.

Principles of Economics is a university-level textbook offering a comprehensive, engaging, and easy-to-read overview of the field of economics that is valuable to the university student, the general reader, and the professional economist. Saifedean Ammous’ first book, The Bitcoin Standard, is an international best-seller that has been translated into 37 languages. The book garnered praise from respected scholars, successful entrepreneurs, professional athletes, and countless readers worldwide for its engaging and enlightening presentation of sophisticated economic and technical concepts, delivered in a style accessible to the general reader. With its sequel, The Fiat Standard, Ammous established himself as one of the world’s most effective communicators of economic ideas, whose writing resonates with a growing global readership. In Principles of Economics, his most ambitious and elaborate work to date, Ammous offers readers a potent antidote to the modern economics textbook. After two decades of learning and teaching economics at university level, Ammous became aware that most economic textbooks confuse more than they illuminate and most university students tasked with reading them learn very little that is useful and actionable. The culmination of four years' work, this book uses the underappreciated approach of the Austrian school of economics to introduce the principles, methods, and concepts of economics in a readable, engaging, and informative manner. Rather than relying on mathematical analysis of aggregates and arcane theoretical models, the book uses the clear written word to effectively illustrate key economic concepts. The book first presents the Austrian school method and the foundational concepts of value and time. With these foundations laid, the second part of the book explores how humans act individually to achieve their ends under scarcity—in other words, how humans economize. A chapter is dedicated to detailed overviews of labor, property, capital, technology, and energy, and each topic is accompanied by vivid examples explaining its relevance to the reader. The third part of the book examines economizing in the social context, with chapters examining trade, money, the market order, and capitalism—important concepts that are often shrouded by misconceptions in most modern treatments. The fourth part of the book presents the Austrian perspective on monetary economics, laying the groundwork through a detailed discussion of time preference, followed by a discussion of banking and credit, and the business cycle and its monetary origins. The final section of the book explains why respect for property rights in an extended market order is the basis for human civilization, how the market order protects against aggression, and the failures of monopoly provision of defense.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Reminders of Him comes a riveting sequel to the “glorious and touching” (USA TODAY) that picks up where It Ends with Us concluded and shares what happens next for Lily and Atlas. Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date. But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life. Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the “gripping, pulse-pounding” (Sarah Pekkanen, New York Times bestselling author) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off. Revealing more about Atlas’s past and following Lily as she embraces a second chance at true love while navigating a jealous ex-husband, it proves that “no one delivers an emotional read like Colleen Hoover” (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author).

THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER  Dr. Mark Hyman presents the definitive guide to reversing disease, easing pain, and living younger longer that “will revolutionize how we approach aging” (Jay Shetty, author of 8 Rules of Love).  Aging has long been considered a normal process. We think disease, frailty, and gradual decline are inevitable parts of life. But they don’t have to be. Science today sees aging as a treatable disease. By addressing its root causes we can not only increase our health span and live longer but prevent and reverse the maladies of aging—including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and dementia. In Young Forever, Dr. Mark Hyman challenges us to reimagine our biology, health, and the process of aging. To uncover the secrets to longevity, he explores the biological hallmarks of aging, their causes, and their consequences—then shows us how to overcome them with simple dietary, lifestyle, and emerging longevity strategies. You’ll learn: * How to turn on your body’s key longevity switches * How to reduce inflammation and support the health of your immune system * How to exercise, sleep, and de-stress for healthy aging * How to eat your way to a long life, featuring Dr. Hyman’s Pegan Diet * Which supplements are right for you * Where the research on aging is headed * And much more With dozens of science-based strategies and tips, Young Forever is a revolutionary, practical guide to creating and sustaining health—for life. "an impressive guidebook to health and longevity.” —David A. Sinclair, PhD, New York Times-bestselling author of Lifespan “Anyone pursuing a long life of health and happiness must read this book. . . It will give you hope for living your best life for a very long time.” —Wim Hof, New York Times-bestselling author of The Wim Hof Method

THE BEST BOOK THAT DESCRIBES THE WORLD OF 2020's Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, often published as 1984, is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English novelist George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, Nineteen Eighty-Four centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of persons and behaviours within society. Orwell, himself a democratic socialist, modeled the authoritarian government in the novel after Stalinist Russia. More broadly, the novel examines the role of truth and facts within politics and the ways in which they are manipulated. The story takes place in an imagined future, the year 1984, when much of the world has fallen victim to perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, historical negationism, and propaganda. Great Britain, known as Airstrip One, has become a province of a totalitarian superstate named Oceania that is ruled by the Party who employ the Thought Police to persecute individuality and independent thinking. Big Brother, the leader of the Party, enjoys an intense cult of personality despite the fact that he may not even exist. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a diligent and skillful rank-and-file worker and Party member who secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion. He enters into a forbidden relationship with a colleague, Julia, and starts to remember what life was like before the Party came to power. Nineteen Eighty-Four has become a classic literary example of political and dystopian fiction. It also popularised the term "Orwellian" as an adjective, with many terms used in the novel entering common usage, including "Big Brother", "doublethink", "thoughtcrime", "Newspeak", "memory ho

An unimpeachable classic work in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics, The Road to Serfdom has inspired and infuriated politicians, scholars, and general readers for half a century. Originally published in 1944—when Eleanor Roosevelt supported the efforts of Stalin, and Albert Einstein subscribed lock, stock, and barrel to the socialist program—The Road to Serfdom was seen as heretical for its passionate warning against the dangers of state control over the means of production. For F. A. Hayek, the collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing economic control would lead not to a utopia but to the horrors of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. First published by the University of Chicago Press on September 18, 1944, The Road to Serfdom garnered immediate, widespread attention. The first printing of 2,000 copies was exhausted instantly, and within six months more than 30,000 books were sold. In April 1945, Reader’s Digest published a condensed version of the book, and soon thereafter the Book-of-the-Month Club distributed this edition to more than 600,000 readers. A perennial best seller, the book has sold 400,000 copies in the United States alone and has been translated into more than twenty languages, along the way becoming one of the most important and influential books of the century. With this new edition, The Road to Serfdom takes its place in the series The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek. The volume includes a foreword by series editor and leading Hayek scholar Bruce Caldwell explaining the book's origins and publishing history and assessing common misinterpretations of Hayek's thought. Caldwell has also standardized and corrected Hayek's references and added helpful new explanatory notes. Supplemented with an appendix of related materials ranging from prepublication reports on the initial manuscript to forewords to earlier editions by John Chamberlain, Milton Friedman, and Hayek himself, this new edition of The Road to Serfdom will be the definitive version of Hayek's enduring masterwork.

Will there ever be another investing book like this? It's unlikely.  University of Berkshire Hathaway is a remarkable retelling of the lessons, wisdom, and investment strategies handed down personally from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger to shareholders during 30 years of their closed-door annual meetings.  From this front row seat, you'll see one of the greatest wealth-building records in history unfold, year by year. If you're looking for dusty old investment theory, there are hundreds of other books waiting to cure you of insomnia. However, if you're looking for an investing book that's as personal as it is revelatory, look no further. Packed with Buffett and Munger's timeless, generous, and often hilarious wisdom, University of Berkshire Hathaway will keep serious investors turning pages late into the night: * Get unique insight into the thinking, strategies, and decisions--both good and bad--that made Buffett and Munger two of the world's greatest investors.  * Understand the critical reasoning that leads Buffett and Munger to purchase a particular company, including their methods for assigning value. * Learn the central tenets of Buffett's value-investing philosophy "straight from the horse's mouth." * Enjoy Munger's biting wit as he goes after any topic that offends him. * Discover Buffett's distaste for "commonly accepted strategies" like modern portfolio theory. * See why these annual meetings are often called "an MBA in a weekend."