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Eros
Eros: The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality is a controversial book that lays bare the meanings Greeks gave to sex. Contrary to the romantic idealization of sex dominating our culture, the Greeks saw eros as a powerful force of nature, potentially dangerous, and in need of control by society: Eros the Destroyer, not Cupid the Insipid, fired the Greek
Decline & Fall
Once a colossus dominating the globe, Europe today is a doddering convalescent. Sluggish economic growth, high unemployment, an addiction to expensive social welfare entitlements, a dwindling birth-rate among native Europeans, and most important, an increasing Islamic immigrant population chronically underemployed yet demographically prolific--all point to a future in which Europe will be transformed beyond recognition, a shrinking museum culture riddled with ever-expanding Islamist enclaves. Decline and Fall tells the story of this decline by focusing on the larger cultural dysfunctions behind the statistics. The abandonment of the Christian tradition that created the West's most cherished ...
Democracy's Dangers & Discontents
By democracy we usually mean a government comprising popular rule, individual human rights and freedom, and a free-market economy. Yet the flaws in traditional Athenian democracy can instruct us on the weaknesses of that first element of modern democracies shared with Athens: rule by all citizens equally. In Democracy's Dangers & Discontents, Bruce Thornton discusses those criticisms first aired by ancient critics of Athenian democracy, then traces the historical process by which the Republic of the founders has evolved into something similar to ancient democracy, and finally argues for the relevance of those critiques to contemporary U.S. policy. He asserts that many of the problems we face today are the consequences of the increasing democratization of our government and that the flaws of democracy are unlikely to be corrected. He argues that these dangers and discontents do not have to end in soft despotism—that American democracy's aptitude and strength can be recovered by restoring the limited government of the founders.
Plagues of the Mind
A stirring and sobering diagnosis of the challenges that confront anyone laboring to renew America’s tradition of ordered liberty. Classicist Bruce Thornton’s Plagues of the Mind is a forceful vindication of the West’s tradition of rational, critical inquiry—a legacy now largely jettisoned in favor of a host of new deities, environmentalism, feminism, primitivism, New Age, and the cult of the therapeutic among them.
Humanities Handbook
This dictionary of key terms and concepts provides the fundamental historical, philosophical, and critical vocabulary necessary for a complete understanding of the humanities--the great works of art, literature, history, philosophy, and music of the Western tradition. Its clearly written definitions offer users a background and introduction of ideas for what may have been previously unfamiliar terms. Containing only the basics, this handy resource is uncluttered by obscure, overly technical, or professionally specific terms. For individuals looking for "a read" to facilitate their other reading, and who no longer need to ask--or proclaim--what they do not understand. d.
Greek Ways
Writing with wit and erudition, Thornton discusses in fascinating detail those areas of Greek life--sexuality and sexual roles; slavery and war; philosophy and politics--that some modern critics have made into Rcontested sites.S He also reclaims the importance of those core ideas the Greeks invented, ideas about human fate and purpose that have shaped the modern world.
The Wages of Appeasement
Wages of Appeasement explores the reasons why a powerful state gives in to aggressors. It tells the story of three historical examples of appeasement: the greek city-states of the fourth century b.c., which lost their freedom to Philip II of Macedon; England in the twenties and thirties, and the failure to stop Germany's aggression that led to World War II; and America's current war against Islamic jihad and the 30-year failure to counter Iran's attacks on the U.S. The inherent weaknesses of democracies and their bad habit of pursuing short-term interests at the expense of long-term security play a role in appeasement. But more important are the bad ideas people indulge, from idealized views of human nature to utopian notions like pacifism or disarmament. But especially important is the notion that diplomatic engagement and international institutions like the u.n. can resolve conflict and deter an aggressor––the delusion currently driving the Obama foreign policy in the middle east. Wages of Appeasement combines narrative history and cultural analysis to show how ideas can have dangerous and deadly consequences.
Bonfire of the Humanities
With humor, lucidity, and unflinching rigor, the acclaimed authors of Who Killed Homer? and Plagues of the Mind unsparingly document the degeneration of a central, if beleaguered, discipline—classics—and reveal the root causes of its decline. Hanson, Heath, and Thornton point to academics themselves—their careerist ambitions, incessant self-promotion, and overspecialized scholarship, among other things—as the progenitors of the crisis, and call for a return to “academic populism,” an approach characterized by accessible, unspecialized writing, selfless commitment to students and teaching, and respect for the legacy of freedom and democracy that the ancients bequeathed to the West.
Wide Sky People
Wide Sky People is a journey in the footsteps of the Thornton family from Galway to Sydney, over the fabled Blue Mountains and into the vast plains of Central Western New South Wales. The story starts in the 1840s when Mick, Cate Thornton and their two boys survive four months at sea to encounter false arrest, bushrangers, crooked cops, working the land and a devastating bushfire, to name just a few. Their sons take us on a journey through the gold rush and on their quest to become successful graziers and businessmen. This is a story that has been lived by many but told by few, with action, colourful characters, sadness and wry humour. It tells of the endurance of men and women who saw a wide sky full of promise and turned a colony into a country. Bruce Mitchell's debut novel is a must-read.
Descendants of Cyrus
We know the current political narrative: Iran is dangerous, full of terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. But Christopher Thornton here tells a different story: one of good food, liberal-minded people, beautiful architecture, and a country with a history spanning over seven thousand years that’s been influenced not only by the myriad cultures spanning Central Asia but also by Europe and the West. Descendants of Cyrus introduces readers to ordinary Iranians living lives far different from what is shown on Western television. Thornton takes us through the cities of Iran, where he encounters robust, barely hidden black markets filled with American movies and music; sees the women of Shi...
