The Essential Epicurus: Letters, Principal Doctrines, Vatican Sayings, and Fragments by Epicurus (trans. Eugene O'Connor) Prometheus (1 May 1993) Amazon What do people think of when they think "Epicurean"? If you're Australian, you might think of the section of The Age newspaper that covers recipes, restaurant reviews, food guides. That's what people tend to associate … Continue reading The Essential Epicurus
Tag: history
The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs
The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro Yale University Press (18 May 2012) Amazon A great book for those who like language, folksy wisdom, or the way ideas are spread. The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs is a collection of sayings that emerged or became more common during … Continue reading The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs
The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus
The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus by Cassius Dio (translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert) Penguin (1 June 1987) Amazon Another one for those who like to think about the Roman Empire. The Roman History by Cassius Dio is an excellent intersection of history and philosophy, and one of the most important surviving accounts of how … Continue reading The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus
Toussaint Louverture
Toussaint Louverture: A Biography by Madison Smartt Bell Vintage (1 February 2008) Amazon Biography of a former slave who challenged an emperor and led the Haitian Revolution. Relatively short, but dense, which might be due to Madison Smartt Bell's background as a novelist. If you were being kind, you would say Louverture was a divisive … Continue reading Toussaint Louverture
How to Live
How to Live: Or, a Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell Other Press (20 September 2011) Amazon Michel de Montaigne is one of my favourite philosophers ever, and How to Live by Sarah Bakewell is one of my favourite biographies. It's not just a conventional cradle-to-grave … Continue reading How to Live
Rules for Radicals
Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky Knopf US (26 March 1990) Amazon Rules for Radicals is one of my all-time favourites books, and one that can be applied to today's social and political climate in so many ways. Saul D. Alinsky was a community organiser and political theorist, … Continue reading Rules for Radicals
The Image
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin Vintage (1 September 1992) Amazon One of the best books I've read on media, ever. The Image examines how modern life became dominated by manufactured realities. Events, people, and experiences are created to be reported, promoted, and consumed. Author Daniel Boorstin argues that … Continue reading The Image
Regret the Error
Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech by Craig Silverman Union Square Press (3 February 2009) Amazon An influential book, and a good blog too. Regret the Error is about media accountability, journalistic mistakes, and why they matter. Known as an expert in fake news, Craig Silverman started his … Continue reading Regret the Error
Public Opinion
Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann Wilder Publications (4 September 2022) Amazon First published in 1922, Public Opinion is a foundational work in media studies, politics, and sociology. Walter Lippmann examines how public opinion is formed and manipulated in democratic societies, with a particular focus on mass media and modern institutions. It has been praised as … Continue reading Public Opinion
Manufacturing the News
Manufacturing the News by Mark Fishman University of Texas Press (1 May 1980) Amazon To say that the news is a little bit biased might just be the understatement to end all understatements. The question is how that bias is formed. In Manufacturing the News, Mark Fishman takes a look at the methodology of news … Continue reading Manufacturing the News
