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What if the poverty, inequality,and instability in modern life are not historical accidents, but thepredictable results of a single act of fraud committed five thousand years agothat has never been fixed? This is the argument made by economist and forecasterFred Harrison. By the time you finish reading, it's hard to disagree.The fraud is elegant in itssimplicity. When people live and work together, they create a surplus — a netincome that belongs to no individual, arising from the community, shared land,and nature. Economists call it rent. For most of human prehistory, communitiesshared this surplus for the common good. Then, with the rise of agriculture andsettled civilisations, chiefs and priests realised they could take rent forthemselves. They did, leading to everything that followed: slavery, empires,the cyclical collapse of societies, and the deep poverty that coexists withgreat wealth — all stemming from that original betrayal.This is not a book about ancienthistory; it's about today. Harrison shows that the fraud still exists in thefinancial systems of every modern state. Governments tax wages and businesses —activities that create wealth — while allowing the value of land and naturalresources to remain in private hands. The result is an economy permanentlytilted against working people, a property market that inflates in regulareighteen-year boom-and-bust cycles (Harrison predicted the 2008 crash years inadvance and identifies 2028 as the next), and severe spatial inequality wherethe gap in healthy life expectancy between the wealthiest and poorest areas ofBritain stretches to eighteen years — determined not by individual choices, butby where the rent flows.The human cost is staggering. InScotland, communities whose land was taken over centuries now face the highestdrug death rate in Europe. In places like Blackpool, life is noticeably shorterand harder than in wealthy London boroughs. Harrison estimates 125,000 peoplein Britain die from preventable causes every year as a direct consequence offiscal choices that could change. These are not distant statistics; theyrepresent neighbours, parents, and children.What makes this book sounsettling is its parallel story of how the fraud became invisible. Harrisonexplains how economists and policymakers who had identified the problem weresidelined or absorbed into a professional culture that removed rent from itsdiscussions — producing a discipline able to debate inequality at great length,yet never quite pinpointing its cause.But history is speeding up. Fiveurgent crises are now converging: political deadlock, ecological collapse, massdisplacement, rising authoritarianism, and the newest and most alarming —artificial intelligence trained on a civilisation's worth of data, all shapedby a culture of cheating. An AI that adopts humanity's current values may seeno reason to keep humanity around.Harrison's solution, One WorldRent, is as ambitious as the diagnosis. He proposes replacing taxes on wageswith charges on the rental value of land and natural resources. Sharing rentsacross borders makes cooperation more profitable than conflict. Pooling globalrents could fund the transition to a sustainable climate. The boom-bust cyclewould vanish. Working people would be freed from fiscal punishment. Theinequalities quietly harming people in post-industrial towns could finallybegin to shrink.Rigorous, compassionate, andfuelled by a controlled fury at what has been allowed to persist for so long,Cheating — The Human Project and Its Betrayal is one of the most ambitiousworks of political economy in a generation — a clear explanation of why theworld is as it is, and a strong case that it doesn't have to remain this way.The Human Project faced betrayalonce. The question this book poses is whether we will allow it to be betrayedagain.

Everyone wants to be happy…don’t they? Everyone seeks fulfilment in life…don’t they? Unfortunately, this is not the common state in life today and much is due to the human failing of greed. This book offers a solution.Science explains and understands the world of matter and philosophy explains and understands the world of spirit. Economics is the meeting place of these two worlds. Tippett provides the bridge between these two realms. It is a necessary to do so, to ensure the rule of justice.This book is aimed at presenting a common-sense, first-principles, philosophical perspective on a vital subject that seems to have lost its way. There is such a thing as justice, there is such a thing as truth; and these two need not be lost forever.

As the cost of living rises and wages stagnates, it seems like bleak times are upon is. We are being bombarded by messaged from politicians and business leaders that the boom years are over and a recession stalks the economy. We are resigning ourselves to financial hardship, while social media continues to peddle rampant consumerism and contributes to social unrest by 'othering' people, causing us to fight amongst ourselves over who deserves to dip into a dwindling public purse the most. But while it may feel like book-and-bust economic cycles are inevitable, it does not have to be this way.In his debut book, author Karim El-Ayoubi explains how we have been sold a lie. Universities teaching Neoclassical economics peddle the myth that money and banking are unimportant to the economy, leading the economists they produce to construct economic policies that make no sense in the real world. Economists who have no idea how recessions happen or how to fix them. The result is a banking system that exploits the economy rather than supports it, an endless boom-and-bust cycle, unemployment, instability, and levels of inequality approaching those of feudal times.In this groundbreaking new book, El-Ayoubi proves what most people have suspected for quite some time - our economy is failing us. There is nothing stopping us from simply throwing out Neoclassical economics, learning from the economic policies that created the Asian Tiger economies and applying them to ourselves. A different economic approach saw Japan become recession-free for 30 years post-World War II, while China has been an unstoppable powerhouse for the last 40 years.In Realonomics, El-Ayoubi does more than prove what is wrong with our current economic system and how we got into this mess - he provides a roadmap for an alternative. An alternative that consigns recession, and its devastating impact on the lives of ordinary people, to the history books. An alternative that will bring real and lasting equality to our society. For everyone who has ever wondered why their standard of living is lower than that of their parents, why hard work does not seem to bring its own rewards, and why they are struggling so hard just to stand still, Realonomics provides the answers to these questions.Our economy is rigged and we are fighting against it. If we can change the theory it is based on, we can change our future. The coming years do not have to be bleak; we have the power to make them bright if we can only learn from the lessons of the past.

When the first edition appeared in 2005, the consensus among forecasters was that the boom in house prices would cool to an annual 2 or 3% rise over the following years. As predicted by the author, however, prices continued to rise by more than 10% well into 2007. Basing his argument on a study of property markets over the last 200 years, Harrison warns of the danger to banks, business and jobs of ignoring a remarkably regular 18-year cycle. Recent events have proved the accuracy of his prediction. He accuses Gordon Brown of giving people a false sense of security by his oft repeated claim, last made in his 2007 Budget speech, that 'we will never return to the old boom and bust'. Alan Greenspan in the US encouraged a similar belief which led to the risky sub-prime mortgage spree. The reason for the instability, Harrison explains, is not the housing market itself but the land market on which all buildings stand. Land is in fixed supply - as Mark Twain noted: 'They're not making any more of it'.Therefore, as the demand for land for new homes and offices rises with population growth and economic expansion, market forces, which normally increase supply to reduce prices, have the reverse effect: prices rise. This encourages speculation, with banks lending more against escalating asset values and reinforcing the upward spiral. Under existing government policies, the only way land prices can be brought back to affordable levels is a slump, undermining the banking system and causing widespread unemployment and repossessions. This is what happened with the collapse of US sub-prime mortgages. The author argues that monetary policy and bank regulation only have a marginal impact on land speculation. The only way of neutralising the boom bust cycle and creating conditions of economic stability is a fundamental reform of the tax system.

EVEN IF THERE IS A REALM BEYOND MORTALITY, WOULD FINDING IT IMPROVE OUR LIVES ON EARTH? What use is Spirituality to a suffering world? Do prayer and meditation work? Addressing these questions, this title offers evidence that with patient perseverance, the grip of the ego and all the unhappiness it brings, can be loosened.

The major industrial nations enter the 1990s in the midst of land booms offering riches for a few but unemployment for many.Banks in TEXAS were bankrupted by massive speculation in real estate. Even embassies had to abandon their offices because they could not afford the rents in TOKYO.In BRITAIN, the spoils from housing - the direct result of the way the land market operates - enriched owner-occupiers but crippled the flow of workers into regions where entrepreneurs wanted to invest and lead the economy back to full-employment.Fred Harrison's thesis is that land speculation is the major cause of depressions. He shows how the land market functions as a junction box which regulates the power flowing between Labour and Capital. And how land speculation periodically throws the switches on the productive power of men and machines, causing economic stagnation.This theory was acknowledged by philosophers such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx, and social reformers ranging from Winston Churchill to Leo Tolstoy, but it has been forgotten by today's economists and policy-makers. The hypothesis is tested against the historical facts and the recent booms and slumps, and is found to offer a powerful explanation for postwar trends in unemployment and the distribution of income.The Power in the Land challenges the pessimistic belief, nurtured by the depressions of the last two decades, that unemployment is now a permanent feature of late 20th century society. The author elaborates policies, based on a radical reform of the tax system, which would banish involuntary unemployment and generate continuous economic growth.Author Details:Fred Harrison is Executive Director for the Land Research Trust. He studied economics at Oxford, first at Ruskin College and then at University College, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. His MSc is from the University of London.Reviews:“This is a brilliantly-written and extremely readable book … not unduly difficult for those with no more than an elementary grasp of economic concepts.” Journal of General Management “Harrison’s book is a formidable challenge to the apologists for the status quo which raises, and goes a long way toward answering, the questions that gnaw at the intellects and consciences of all thinking men and women.” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology“In his book, The Power in the Land, first published in 1983, Harrison, correctly forecast property prices would peak in 1989 as well as the recession that followed it.” The Full Interview with Ed Magnus is available here: www.thisismoney.co.uk (Financial Website of the Year and part of the Daily Mail Group)

William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942 until his death in 1944, is by common consent among the greatest holders of that office and one of the most remarkable Englishmen of this century. The son of Archbishop Frederick Temple (1897-1902) and in his twenties and thirties an Oxford don and public school headmaster, he made creative contributions in many fields: as the leader of the Life and Liberty Movement which led to the creation in 1921 of the Church Assembly; as a pioneer of the Ecumenical Movement; as a philosopher of religion (he was author of "Mens Creatrix", "Christus Veritas" and "Nature, Man and God"); as an interpreter of Christianity for the general public; and as one who argued from Christian principles to find solutions to contemporary problems. This book gives clear and popular expression to views which Temple held, in general, for most of his working life. The book's first appearence in 1942 coincided with a surge of feeling that victory over Nazism must be followed by a "new deal" at home.Temple's objectives are: firstly, to vindicate the Church's right to intervene in economic questions; secondly, to show that it has something worthwhile to say; and thirdly, to indicate clearly where the competence of the Church ceases because technicalities are involved. Other points he emphasises are the need to determine the proper balance between the profit motive and service to the community, and between the power of the state and the freedom of the individual; and the importance for man of rediscovering his true relationship with the earth upon which he lives.

'From women's eyes this doctrine I derive: They are the ground, the books, the academes, From whence doth spring the true Promethean fire' These lines, spoken by Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, embody all the passions of the early stages of love but, as so often with Shakespeare, he seems to be hinting at something more. What is the doctrine he derives from women's eyes? What is it women's eyes convey? What is the true Promethean fire? The answers to these questions lie in the Christian-Platonic philosophy of love which permeates all Shakespeare's plays and poems. Although Christian-Platonism, or the new learning as it was known in his time, has long been associated with the poetry of many of his contemporaries, its relationship to Shakespeare's work is not so well known. This perennial philosophy has come down through a long line of teachers, including Hermes Trismegistus, Pythagoras, Plato and Plotinus. The philosopher of this tradition, whom Shakespeare most clearly reflects, was the scholar-priest Marsilio Ficino, who lived in Florence a hundred years before him.It was he who drew together the strands of many teachings and, having found the same truths in Christianity, formulated a philosophy that is generally referred to today as Christian-Platonism. Most of the comedies and some of the sonnets are explained in the light of this philosophy as they show most clearly the concepts of Platonic love. The tragedies, some of the Roman plays and Shakespeare's last plays are used to show how he expanded on these ideas throughout his life, but only passing reference is made to the histories. Most Shakespearean criticism of recent years has been set firmly in the historical, social and political context of our contemporary world. This book reveals the philosophy which enabled Shakespeare to write of such universal themes as the harmony and disharmony between nations and princes, and the inner conflicts of mind and soul in men and women whose natures and desires are not confined to any particular age. It will appeal to theatregoers and students, especially those seeking to understand inner meaning of his plays and poems.

Ficino's commentary on Plato's Timaeus offers the English reader, for the first time, an opportunity to share the insights of this highly influential Renaissance philosopher into one of Plato's most important works. It provides rich source material for those interested in philosophy, the history of cosmic theory, Platonic and Renaissance studies.

Real estate is sold as a much safer investment than the constantly fluctuating stock market. Share price volatility is compared unfavorably with the steadier and impressive gains made from real estate which is, we are told, 'as safe as houses'. This book details the cyclical nature of real estate.

St Claire Bullock - a Professor of Philosophy, no less - in the intervals between pondering the great questions of life, turned his hand to penning light verse in the manner of Hilaire Belloc, Ogden Nash and Edward Lear. In rhyming couplets these wry and witty poems ponder the foibles and vanities of mortals. Some of these are captured in pen and ink drawings which caricature the subject of the poems. Each character is given an amusing name, beginning with Master Cecil Abercorn, through Clarence Castle, Serena Huff, The Marchioness of Mal de Mer, Major Houghton Reid and Thomas Tinkham Tattersall to Roland Washburn White. There are 70 poems in all of which 10 are illustrated. The illustration on the front cover relates to Rupert Ashe: 'The greatest pride of Rupert Ashe was his luxuriant moustache. He took great care to keep it groomed, And even, with restraint, perfumed. He brushed it upward every day, and it made such a grand display, that people who were not the wiser, imagined that he was the Kaiser.'

Thoughtful and informative, this essay is an analysis of the basis and nature of human rights. Arguing that human rights is an issue that is often invoked but seldom intelligently considered, this record examines concrete, immediate, moral, and social issues, including birth control, taxation, welfare, private behavior, and military service. Noting the inadequacies of non-Christian positions—such as the radical-humanist, utilitarian, and self-realization approaches—this account develops an original thesis in which the absolute ground for rights is the will and grace of God.

Pinpointing a flaw in prevailing economic practices that explains why so many families in the richest nation on earth are mired in poverty, homelessness, joblessness, and hunger, this study suggests that a reform is available to correct this flaw that is corroding the enterprise system. This flaw is widely accepted and enshrined in law; certain taxation and land policies enable a powerful few to skim off a large share of the wealth created by the mass of citizens. How this injustice plays a major role in generating destructive boom and bust cycles is important, but the overprivileged who benefit from “legalized theft” are not vilified. Rather, the book calls for correcting the public policies that make slum ownership, land speculation, and other forms of parasitic and exploitive behavior more profitable than honest labor and productive enterprise. Accounts of places in the United States and elsewhere that are applying the proposed reform are presented, proving that it is politically feasible, and offers an ethical cleansing of the economy so that all people can enjoy all the fruits of their efforts.

Based on new information recently come to light, this history reveals how Britain's staunchly anti-communist Prime Minister was deceived into supporting communist Tito and into cutting all aid to the anti-communist forces resisting the Germans in Yugoslavia. If it had not been for Churchill’s change of heart in December of 1948, this record argues, Tito would not have overcome his political opponents and have emerged as the country's undisputed ruler after the war. Exposing the skullduggery behind the blue-blooded British Establishment, this account also reveals how Tito used the munitions received from the British and Americans not to kill Germans, as promised to Churchill, but mostly to eliminate his political rivals; how he accused his political opponents of accepting weapons from the Italians while he was proposing joint action to the Germans to resist an Allied landing in the Balkans; and how his Partisans massacred thousands of anti-communist Yugoslavs handed over to him by the British in good faith. In essence, this account is a revisionist biography of Tito, puncturing the wartime myths surrounding the communist leader.

Inspirational and entertaining, this autobiography chronicles the life of a performing artist with a deeply devout outlook. Mary O’Hara won global acclaim as a singer and harpist, yet behind public success was an unsuspected tragedy in which joy turned to sorrow. From her humble beginnings in the west of Ireland to her first husband’s tragic death and her 12-year sojourn in a monastery, this tale of triumph over tragedy also journeys with O’Hara into the wilds of Africa following her second marriage. Written with warmth and humor, this book is also filled with insights into O’Hara’s albums and concert tours.

Advocating a new form of leadership that places the health and well-being of people and the planet first, this book proposes a new Earth law, a framework for sustainable development and international environmental governance. As it argues that the planet is not the exclusive preserve of the executives of the world’s top corporations, this volume illustrates how the law can be the catalyst in a shift of attitude away from regarding the Earth as something to be owned and traded for profit. Detailed and passionate, this is a holistic approach to law, business, and the environment in the battle for the ecosystem.

Based on a three-year course prepared by Leon MacLaren for the School of Economic Science in London in the late 1960s, this book reassesses the first principles of economics. Leon MacLaren (1910–1994) was a barrister, politician, philosopher, and the founder of the School of Economic Science. In his view, science is a study of laws that exist in nature, while economics is a study of the humanities with the interaction between human nature and the natural universe at its heart. With original subject matter from his economic course and introducing more recent examples and statistics from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the United States, the study examines the major characteristics of the modern economy—such as banking, taxation, and international trade—and considers the role of the government in economic affairs. It concludes with an examination of society's structure as a whole, the part economic activity plays in the bigger picture, and the social and cultural influences that shape the production and distribution of wealth.

Offering an unusual and exceptionally clear insight into Shakespeare’s philosophy and a viewpoint seldom considered, this book argues that his philosophy was consistent, consciously held, and profoundly Christian. Showing that Shakespeare appreciated the danger faced in writing at a time of major religious intolerance, it explains how the playwright used the medieval allegory of love to veil his ideas. Fresh and fascinating, this record also demonstrates that, even in his earliest work, Shakespeare was moving toward the universal ideas of love, forgiveness, and regeneration. Love's Labour Lost, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Romeo and Juliet are discussed at length.

Looking at some of the Shakespearean comedies, author John Vyvyan suggests they express a consistent, profoundly Christian philosophy of life based on the Platonic ideas of beauty and love. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, and All’s Well That Ends Well, the heroines bring to life the idea of love as the force that is awakened in the world by beauty which then leads the soul to perfection. Vyvyan believes that for Shakespeare, love was preeminent over human ideas of justice, that self-discovery was a supreme human experience, and that breaking faith with the ideal—as Agamemnon, Cressida, and Hector all do in Troilus and Cressida —sowed the seeds of tragedy. The author’s recognition of Shakespeare's use of allegory enables him to make sense of certain developments in these plays that seem weak or absurd from the psychological standpoint. He does not suggest that Shakespeare’s philosophy is the most important thing about his plays; it is simply one thing about them that ought to be known. The recognition of this philosophy enhances enjoyment of the plays, giving them a new dimension and richness. This edition contains a list of the author’s Shakespearean references and an enhanced index.

Are you angered by the high level of inequality but frustrated about what to do? From Here to Prosperity tells you how we can resolve this together. It is not another lengthy, learned work on the extent of the problem, it is about how to fix it, build a sustainable economy and bring greater social justice. This refreshing book is a must-read for anyone who wants to see a better life for themselves and the millions who suffer unnecessary financial hardship and pressure every day. It is written in a common sense style to encourage discussion and immediate action. Research shows that high levels of inequality are bad for us all (The Spirit Level: Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett). Polls show that extreme inequality is a key issue for voters and that most people expect the government to take effective action. But they don't, Why? Because we don't push them hard, show our true feelings. Voting is not enough, a strong determined social movement is required to press our politicians to act boldly and transform our society for the better, for all, not just the few. From Here to Prosperity is a handbook for this social movement, this political revolution.It sets out a very clear bold agenda for action. This agenda is based on the principle of 'Income for me/wealth for we". We keep more of the income we earn and we share more equitably the wealth we create jointly. There are just five key interlinked policy initiatives in the Agenda for Progressive Prosperity and they could all be kick started on Day One of any new political administration and see positive results within three years, to ensure that our democracy works for us all, not just the few. Now is the time to act. First step: buy this book.

South Africa, like many countries in Africa, is resource rich but the benefits are not shared by the whole population. High levels of unem-ployment are leading to increasing conflict and violence, undermining the brighter future hoped for when apartheid was abolished. The authors set out a proposal to unleash their country's potential for growth in a way that benefits investors and the poorest by reforming taxation - a blueprint for other developing countries. The rapid develop-ment of Taiwan and South Korea in the 1950s and 1960s owed much to a similar, business-friendly tax reform. Governments today tax social ills like tobacco and alcohol to discourage use, but why tax work and investment? The result, the authors reveal, is to make half the country economically unviable, yet economists since Adam Smith have known that a tax on ground rent does not have this adverse effect. As he put it: "Though a part of this revenue should be taken ...in order to defray the expenses of the state, no dis-couragement will thereby be given to any sort of industry." All governments need do is collect the value they create and stop taxing the value created by labour and capital.To achieve this, the authors propose replacing most taxes with land value rentals and, in the case of mining, rolling out the tried and tested gold mine tax formula to the rest of the industry, thus stimulating development and creating more jobs.Such a regime would encourage the owner of land to put it to its best use or sell it for someone else to do so. It would also make viable public investment in new infrastructure projects. These would become self financing, because the uplift in land values, due to the improved amenities, would automatically be captured in higher rentals payable to the government, a kind of virtuous circle.

This engaging poem depicts Winston Churchill as a hero, in traditional epic style and echoes the works of Homer and Virgil. The metre adds an emotional intensity to the events of 20th century history more usually found within Classical literature. The narrative covers the period from 1940, when Great Britain faced perhaps the greatest threat to its very existence as an independent nation: invasion and defeat by the rampant forces of Nazi Germany, to 1941 when the United States entered the war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In this acute crisis King George VI appointed a man whose reputation and earlier political success were questioned by many influential figures. Yet public opinion and some wiser men and women of substance, such as Lord Halifax, the alternative choice as Prime Minister at the time, determined the outcome. Their choice was thoroughly vindicated by the events that followed. His courage, boldness, rhetoric and inspiration united the country in its solitary stand against the might of the Luftwaffe and the potential landing of the dreaded Wehrmacht on British soil.Under his leadership the Royal Air Force defeated the Luftwaffe's attack, foiling Hitler's plans to invade England to the extent that he began to think instead of attacking his apparent ally, the Soviet Union, and to leave Britain to wither alone. Churchill knew that that he had only won a respite, but he set about to strengthen the country and to turn it from defence to aggression. The bomber force was developed, the army enlarged and re-equipped, the navy set to the task of eliminating German surface marauders and submarines. The population at large were motivated to make a supreme effort to resist the still extant threat to their whole way of life. Until Hitler attacked Russia, Britain stood alone, confronting a Europe largely controlled by the Nazis and their allies. To Stalin he offered full support: Hitler was the immediate threat to a civilised world. Only when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the USA into the war, did he realise that Germany - and Japan - were sure to be defeated. He had led the British people from the brink of utter disaster to the expectation of victory.

In Eradicating Ecocide, international environment lawyer and Ecocide law expert Polly Higgins sets out to demonstrate how our planet is fast being destroyed by the activities of corporations and governments, facilitated by ‘compromise’ laws that offer insufficient deterrence. She offers a solution that is radical yet pragmatic, and, as she explains, necessary. This is the first book to examine the power of law to change everything. Higgins provides context by presenting examples of laws in other countries and in earlier times in history which have succeeded in curtailing the power of governments, corporations and banks, and have triggered change. Eradicating Ecocide is a crash course on what laws work, what doesn’t and what else is required to prevent the ever escalating destruction. Eradicating Ecocide provides a comprehensive overview of what is required in law in order to prevent ecocide. It is a book unlike any other; based on the principle of ‘first do no harm’, it applies equally to global as well as smaller communities and anyone who is involved in decision-making.

Few have given much thought to how a state of freedom and justice should be organized. This book is the result of the author’s 35-year odyssey in search of an answer. He has taken a multi-disciplinary approach, reading widely over many years in the realms of Politics and Economics, Sociology and Philosophy, History and Law. This approach has led to some fresh insights which do not fit into the current left wing/right wing political analysis straitjacket. Comparing the consensus theory of the origin of the state, popularized by Rousseau, with the less well-known conflict theory as expounded by Franz Oppenheimer, the author argues that most states have arisen from the conquest of one class over another, or one tribe over another. Thus the modern state is characterized by a ruling class exercising the coercive power of the state, denying freedom and justice to the rest in varying degrees. Thus the state can be our greatest enemy – the 20th century provides plenty of evidence for that. To counter the abuse of power, the author follows the work of Frederic Bastiat in describing a minimal state, limited to the defence of the territory and to maintaining law and order.

When Dominic Sandbrook quoted Samuel Smiles extensively in his TV series on nineteenth-century work and leisure; when Ian Hislop flourished a copy of Smiles's Self-Help ("the book that launched the genre") in his programme on 'Workers or Shirkers?'; when Andy Burnham reflected publicly on "lack of aspiration" as a main cause of Britain's north-south divide - all were testifying to the intense topicality of the work and ideas of Samuel Smiles. This is the first full biography of the man who, in the industrial on-rush of the 19th century, gave the world the idea of self-help as a go-to strategy in an age of frenzied change. Using Smiles's unpublished correspondence with family, friends and publishers, and drawing extensively on his writing, The Spirit of Self-Help tells the very human story of how Samuel Smiles came from a small-town, small-time family in Scotland to become, by turn and sometimes together, medical doctor, campaigning journalist, railway executive, best-selling author, and global celebrity. This is both a biography and a reflection on themes of success and failure, the individual and society, moral and material worth, and the relationships between these sets of ideas.Driven by its subject, The Spirit of Self-Help revolves around the oldest idea of all - the possibility of happiness, for everyone, in all possible circumstances. In that sense, though set in the 19th century, this is an intensely topical book.

Society is in a state of chaos, causing great suffering for people all over the world. Yet almost all life stresses are human-made. Our species is literally making itself sick. In A World in Two Minds, Kenny Jamieson considers the two complex adaptive systems behind the chaos - the individual mind and the global mind - and how the latter emerges, in the form of culture, from the former. He explores how conflict results from the opposing operating modes of the two brain hemispheres. We have a global cognitive imbalance due to the dominance of the mechanistic worldview of scientific materialism, which is strongly rooted in the left mind and Western culture. Over centuries, this bias has gradually dissociated us from the right mind, lowering consciousness, denaturing the human condition and negatively impacting our health. However, in more recent times a distinctly organic worldview has emerged, shifting attitudes towards human rights, gender equality and environmentalism, while undermining scientific materialism. In doing so it has pushed global society to the `edge of chaos', as our human system seeks to rebalance itself and make our species whole again. Our global crisis is no more than the result of competing worldviews and their associated cultures clashing. Today, life offers the human race both opportunity and danger. Our global mind could evolve to a higher cognitive plane where harmony, health and happiness prevail, but it could just as easily disintegrate, leading to catastrophic conflict. Our future is unknown but whatever we bring forth will be the output of the global mind we collectively create. Critically, everyone has a role to play. Any one of us could be the final catalyst which tips our whole human system into a new era. Elevated personal consciousness and greater civic engagement are pre-requisites, and increasing the influence of women could potentially fast-track us forward. We must change our thinking to change our future, but whether we are smart enough to do so remains the great unknown. All will be revealed in the 21st century.

This book charts the author's long journey of healing from the trauma caused by having to go into hiding as a child and having to deny that she was Jewish. It is not intended as an autobiography or a clinical paper on the healing process but as an account of a very personal inner journey. Marika Henriques records in words and images how she was shaped and her profession determined by historical events. She was born in Budapest in 1935. During the Holocaust in 1944, separated from her family, she became a hidden child. She was nine years old and those dark times had a profound and lasting effect on her. That being a Jew was shameful and had to be hidden remained deeply etched into her being for decades. Fascism was followed by communism after the war. Persecuted once more, now for her middle class background, she escaped, at the age of twenty-one, in 1956 during the Hungarian uprising. She crossed the border on foot amongst mine fields in temperatures of minus 25 degrees centigrade. Eventually she arrived as a refugee in England and in 1961 she married a Swedish Jew.In due course she found her vocation and became a Jungian psychotherapist. In doing, so she had to undergo psychoanalysis, during which the drawings and poems poured out of her as part of the healing process. Jung's ideas were an integral part of the process of understanding herself and her images. The drawings the drawings emerged unbidden and were drawn quickly, without fully understanding what they signified, but over the years she has stitched 19 of them as tapestries. The gentler pace of stitching was all a part of the healing process, and they are woven together with the drawings and poems in the book as she unfolds her story, the story of wounding and healing, herself and others. The culmination was a painstaking journey to return to her tradition and people. It started with a major surgery and ended twenty years later on the pulpit, the bimah, of a synagogue.

When the Romans settled in Britain in 43 CE they could hardly have imagined that the small agricultural settlement of Londinium on the Thames would eventually become one of the biggest cities in the world. Its people worshipped then in small buildings like the Mithraeum, but over the next two thousand years cathedrals, synagogues, churches, mosques and temples changed the city skyline. Destroyed many times - by fire, disease, internal revolution and foreign powers - London has always rebuilt itself, stronger than ever in its determination to over-come all the difficulties put in its path. Gradually new forms of worship from beyond these islands came to influence the capital city, bringing with them other faiths, with their own prayers, scriptures and music. As the different tribes and communities have intermingled, they have left their mark on the city, adding architectural richness to it. For religion plays a vital part in any city's life. This is the first time that the history of London's faiths and beliefs has been recounted. This is not a book for academics, though it is deeply researched and may throw light on matters not always understood. It is a readable history for those who enjoy exploring the world about them, coming to understand other Gods and the ways in which belief and prayer can differ. It will appeal to those interested in how historical development can alter the lives of a people and how religious affiliation changes history. From earliest times, when the Romans built their temple to Mithras, now reborn in the Bloomberg building near the Thames, the story follows religious changes in the city when monasteries were destroyed, a great cathedral burned, new churches were built and London almost disappeared under enemy bombardment. Ancient religions from the East have latterly made their home here. Modern ideas have taken root, and today London has a vibrant multi-faith community, its first woman Bishop, and beautiful buildings for worship in a multitude of different ways.