Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince remains controversial in its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power. Is it a how-to manual for dictators, or a subtle analysis of successful government? Introducing Machiavelli traces the colorful life of this paradoxical realist whose clear-sighted patriotism made him the first truly modern political scientist.
What are millions of readers all over the world getting out of reading The Lord of the Rings? Newly reissued with a new afterword, Patrick Curry's Defending Middle-earth argues, in part, that Tolkien
Divination is any ritual and its associated tradition performed in order to ask a more-than-human intelligence for guidance. A universal human practice, it has received surprisingly little academic at
Mainstream science has long dismissed astrology as primitive superstition. Yet, from daily horoscopes to personalized star forecasts, astrology still plays a crucial role in organizing many people's e
Explores the relationship between the human soul and the stars, which has been central to Western thought and other cultures for thousands of years. This book examines ideas, beliefs and practices whi
