Oscar Zarate – illustratör

Was Marx himself a 'Marxist'? Was his visionary promise of socialism betrayed by Marxist dictatorship? Is Marxism inevitably totalitarian? What did Marx really say? "Introducing Marxism" provides a fundamental account of Karl Marx's original philosophy, its roots in 19th century European ideology, his radical economic and social criticism of capitalism that inspired vast 20th century revolutions. It assesses Marxism's Russian disciples, Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin who forged a ruthless dogmatic Communism. The book examines the alternative Marxist approaches of Gramsci, the Frankfurt School of critical theory and the structuralist Marxism of Althusser in the 1960s. It marshals postmodern interpretations of Marxism and raises the spectre of 'post-Marxism' in Derrida's confrontation with Fukuyama's 'end of history' doctrine.

'An ideal introduction [to Stephen Hawking]' - Independent'Astonishingly comprehensive - clearer than Hawking himself' - FocusStephen Hawking was a world-famous physicist with a cameo in The Simpsons on his CV, but outside of his academic field his work was little understood. To the public he was a tragic figure - a brilliant scientist and author of the 9 million-copy-selling A Brief History of Time, and yet spent the majority of his life confined to a wheelchair and almost completely paralysed.Hawking's major contribution to science was to integrate the two great theories of 20th-century physics: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.J.P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate's brilliant graphic guide explores Hawking's life, the evolution of his work from his days as a student, and his breathtaking discoveries about where these fundamental laws break down or overlap, such as on the edge of a Black Hole or at the origin of the Universe itself.

Illustrated guide to the crucial Italian philosopher and author of The Prince. 'Machiavellian' is a popular byword for treachery and opportunism. Machiavelli's classic book on statecraft, The Prince, published over 400 years ago, remains controversial to this day because of its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power. Is it a how-to manual for dictators, a cynical philosophy of 'the end justifies the means', or a more complex and subtle analysis of successful government? Machiavelli was a loyal servant of the Florentine republic. His opposition to Medici despotism led him to torture on the rack and exile, and yet he chose as his model for the Prince the most notorious tyrant, Cesare Borgia. Introducing Machiavelli traces the colourful life of this paradoxical realist whose clear-sighted patriotism made him the first truly modern political scientist. Machiavelli is seen as central to the postmodern debate on Civil Society. This book brings the creative turbulence of Renaissance Italy to life, and presents a compelling portrait of a key figure of European political history.

The ideas of psychoanalysis have permeated Western culture. It is the dominant paradigm through which we understand our emotional lives, and Freud still finds himself an iconic figure. Yet despite the constant stream of anti-Freud literature, little is known about contemporary psychoanalysis. Introducing Psychoanalysis redresses the balance. It introduces psychoanalysis as a unified 'theory of the unconscious' with a variety of different theoretical and therapeutic approaches, explains some of the strange ways in which psychoanalysts think about the mind, and is one of the few books to connect psychoanalysis to everyday life and common understanding of the world.How do psychoanalysts conceptualize the mind?Why was Freud so interested in sex?Is psychoanalysis a science?How does analysis work?In answering these questions, this book offers new insights into the nature of psychoanalytic theory and original ways of describing therapeutic practice. The theory comes alive through Oscar Zarate's insightful and daring illustrations, which enlighten the text. In demystifying and explaining psychoanalysis, this book will be of interest to students, teachers and the general public.

Illustrated guide to the crucial French philosopher who denied bring a philosopher at all. 'I am like no one else in the whole world ...' Thus begins Jean-Jacques Rousseau's defiant Confessions - an autobiography of astounding psychological insight. Musician, poet, novelist and botanist, but above all, a philosopher who firmly denied being one, Rousseau was the first to ask: "What is the value of civilization?" His answer - that civilization corrupts natural goodness and increases social inequalities - shocked his Enlightenment contemporaries and still challenges us today. Did Rousseau inspire the French Revolution? Can Romanticism, psychoanalysis and Existentialism all be traced back to him? Introducing Rousseau presents a maverick thinker whose ideas revolutionized our understanding of childhood, education, government, language and much else. Dave Robinson's clear and concise account of Rousseau's ideas, engagingly dramatized by Oscar Zarate's illustrations, guides the reader through Rousseau's turbulent life of lost innocence, persecution and paranoia.

INTRODUCING guide to the pioneering child psychoanalyst. Born in Vienna in 1882, Melanie Klein became a pioneer in child psychoanalysis and developed several ground-breaking concepts about the nature and crucial importance of the early stages of infantile development. Although she was a devoted Freudian, many of her ideas were seen within the psychoanalytic movement as highly controversial, and this led to heated conflicts, particularly with Freud's daughter, Anna. Introducing Melanie Klein brilliantly explains Klein's ideas, and shows the importance of her startling discoveries which raised such opposition at the time and are only now being recognized for their explanatory power. Her concepts of the depressive position and the paranoid-schizoid position are now in common usage and her work has to be taken seriously by psychoanalysts the world over. She is also now important in many academic fields within the human sciences.

Compact INTRODUCING guide on the debates surrounding psychoanalysis's most contested figure. Freud is universally recognised as a pivotal figure in modern culture. Yet the man and his work continually attract scandal, outrage and scientific suspicion. Was he a psychological genius or a peddler of humbug? Despite his atheism, did he invent a new religious cult? Is he to blame for disguising the prevalence of sexual abuse? Is there an Oedipus Complex? Was he a drug addict? A wittily illustrated glimpse behind the demonised myths to the heart of a red-hot debate.

Father of existentialism or the Eeyore of philosophy?Known as the first modern theologian, SørenKierkegaard was a prolific writer of the Danish 'golden age'. A philosopher,poet and social critic, his key concepts of angst, despair, and theimportance of the individual, influenced many 20th-century philosophers andliterature throughout Europe.Dave Robinson and Oscar Zarate's brilliant graphicguide explains what Kierkegaard means by 'anti-philosophy', and tells anilluminating story of the strange life and ideas of a man tortured by hisattempts to change the very priorities of Western thought.

Fresh from a night in a Miami jail, Steven lands in Guatemala City, ready for riotous road trips fuelled by booze, cocaine and passionate curiosity about people from all walks of life. His guide? Antonio, a sweet-natured, streetwise hotel concierge who shepherds Steven through colonial Antigua, the volcanic shores of Lake Atitlán and the untamed beaches of Monterrico. Danger is never far off, but neither are laughs – and there’s plenty of both when Steven accompanies Antonio on a visit to his rural home village. Then there’s Anabella, a glamourous, garrulous, middle-aged woman with whom Steven strikes up an unlikely friendship, accompanying her back to the capital with her family. There he mooches an open-ended stay in her gated community, which bristles with armed guards and famous eccentrics. Froelich’s gonzo travelogue is a darkly hilarious, unapologetic plunge into beauty and madness, privilege and privation. With a raw, witty voice, Froelich explores the absurdities of the human condition, never letting truth get in the way of a good story.

He’s back! In this second travel memoir, The Man Without a Plan lands in Belize, a country about which he knows nada. But he quickly amasses an array of new friends – some of whom can even match his penchant for being in a near-constant buzz from industrial-quantity drugs and drink.As ever, the characters with whom Steven ingratiates himself become his surrogate (dysfunctional) family. But Tracey, Devonais, Ask Bobby!, Valentino and a pack of kids led by the feral Molokai soon have Steven suspecting that his cheerfully transactional relationships are, in fact, ensnaring him in a web of scams. Will he be left for broke, stranded in this shabby paradise? Is his paranoia justifiable, or the result of continuous cocaine use? His response is to embark with the gang on a road trip along the coast, taking in shantytowns, hotels, beaches and, at a low ebb, jail.Coarse, irresponsible and wilfully uninformed, Froelich is nevertheless observant and interested. Belize is about the ways in which chaotic, complex human beings find community, no matter where they’re from or where they’re headed.

People often assume that Steven Froelich is a rock star, with his flowing blond locks and manic ‘where’s the party at!’ vibe. His Keith Richards-level consumption of narcotics and booze does nothing to dispel the impression.Froelich has now set his sights on the reputed El Dorado of ‘white gold’. Colombia: Playing with Powder is the latest instalment of his Latin American travel memoirs – a peripatetic trail of debauched cocaine use, furtive transactions in hostels, taxis and bars, and oddball characters.Froelich’s trademark illiberal rants, unfiltered stream of consciousness and indifference to social or political tensions unpeel the workings of the mind of a true addict; but equally, he yearns for a more elusive substance than cocaine: human connection