A reprint of Larry Arnhart's essay Darwinian Conservatism with comment and criticism from a variety of contributors.

Is good fortune just a matter of luck? Or being born under the right star? In this compelling book, Murdo MacLeod shows how you can load the dice in your own favour. Murdo MacLeod's easy-to-follow programme demonstrates how to harness the power within you in order to achieve:material wealthperfect healthpersonal charmthe conquest of anxietyFirst published in 1932, How to Achieve Good Fortune is strikingly modern in its approach, not just in its promotion of the 'power of positive thinking', but also in the method of picturing what it is that you desire. Many of the ideas that Murdo MacLeod proposed have since been taken up in New Age philosophy, particularly the concept of 'Cosmic Mind'.

Walking around Lee-on-the-Solent provides tantalising glimpses into its past - whether it's the balconied Victorian buildings in Pier Street, the Art Deco frontages above the shops in Marine Parade West, the airfield with its gliders soaring peacefully overhead, the hovercraft museum, the sight of yachts on the sparkling waters of the Solent, or the lengthy list of names on the War Memorial. And perhaps you remember, or have heard talk of, the Tower with its ballroom and cinema, the Pier Hotel in its heyday, and the outdoor swimming pool?But what's the real story behind the history of Lee-on-the-Solent? Whether you are a resident or a visitor, you are bound to discover something new in this fascinating account. Why would Isle of Wight monks build a windmill at Lee? Why would you have needed the help of the baker's boy if you wanted to get a train at Elmore Halt? What was on offer at Bulson's Stores and Pleasure Retreat? Why was a rainstorm so popular at the Anglican church? Why did the last two Englishmen to fight a duel choose Browndown as the venue? What made prefabs the envy of many residents? And why was a patch of grass in the wildgrounds always tended in the shape of a cross? You'll find the answer to these questions and many more in Exploring the History of Lee-on-the-Solent.Best of all, you'll discover why you should raise a glass to John Robinson, the Victorian entrepreneur without whom Lee-on-the-Solent would surely not exist.

In Church-going, Going, Gone! Michael Horan argues that although the Christian church in Britain may be in terminal decline, that is not to be equated with a national decline in spiritual values. Most if not all people have some level of awareness of what he calls the 'Other-than-oneself', even though they have rejected, or never accepted, the church's now outdated teaching. Church-going, Going, Gone! is concerned less with teaching than with learning. The book provides atheists, agnostics and believers-in-exile, as well as those who have given little thought to belief, with a framework for collaborating as learners, working toward equality, peace and reconciliation, and dedicated to unselfish and imaginative social action. A new movement of the human spirit is beginning.

Wormwood Scrubs is Britain's most 'media-soaked' prison. Its celebrity inmates have provided the tabloids with many good stories, from Rolling Stone Keith Richards - banged up for drugs offences - to notorious spy George Blake, whose escape enthralled the country. It has entertained the Master of the Queen's music, Sir Michael Tippett, socialist scrapper Fred Copeman, rebellious soul Pete Doherty, influential writer Joe Orton, lifetime litigant Lord Alfred Douglas, fraudster John Stonehouse and professional con Charles Bronson.In this book, you'll read about the forgotten, as well as the famous; the plain as well as the extraordinary. It is an enthralling gallery of rogues, liars, spies, mountebanks, lovers of courtroom strife and general, all-round villains who did anything to get rich.

John Green's family moved to Lee-on-the-Solent just in time for the outbreak of war in 1939. For a seven-year-old, war sounded like an exciting adventure, but as he sheltered with his mother and sister under the stairs during an air-raid, someone said they thought they heard machine-gun fire. They all held their breath and listened, but the noise turned out to be the rhythmic rat-a-tat of his mother's trembling knee knocking against the panelling. In this delightful memoir, John W Green describes what it was like to grow up in a 'village of two halves', with the western end inhabited by well-to-do families, and the eastern end by the people who served them. It was commonly thought that the shopkeepers reserved the better-quality groceries and nicer cuts of meat for the west-enders and for the officers' hoity-toity wives.He vividly describes how he became a rebellious child, going bird-nesting, running wild in Court Barn, scrumping apples, collecting ammunition, scavenging on the Ranges, and 'borrowing' a boat to row on the Alver. As he grew up, his hang-outs changed and he met his friends 'up the Tower', at the Bluebird Cafe or in the amusement arcade. Despite his reputation for being a rebel, John followed in his father's footsteps by joining the RAF before becoming a 'Marconi man' in the merchant navy, sailing to every corner of the world.

In the 1880s, George Grossmith was the dazzling comic star of Gilbert and Sullivan's immensely popular Savoy operas. London theatregoers waited excitedly for the next production, knowing that George would be cast in the lead role of the 'patter man'. He was also many other things in his life, including Bow Street court reporter, piano entertainer for high society, and in the 1890s, with his brother Weedon, the author of the humorous classic work of fiction, The Diary of a Nobody, which has never been out of print and continues to inspire other writers.In this fascinating book, Stephen Wade tells the story of Grossmith's life, from Penny Reading entertainer to self-styled 'society clown.' A Victorian Somebody places him firmly in context, recalls the many friends and colleagues who worked with George, and puts him once again centre stage, exactly where he should be.

Tino Balio, in his book The American Film Industry, said that the Production Code meant that American films could not deal with political or social issues 'in an honest and truthful fashion'. This incisive essay tests out the legitimacy of Balio's claims, using The Lost Weekend (directed by Billy Wilder, 1945) as an example of the Hollywood 'problem film'. Rather than treating the film as being an entity with a single, unchanging meaning, it is put into its historical and social context, in particular the commercial context within which the studios were working. The commercial imperatives hardly sat well with the reality of a social problem such as alcoholism and this essay reminds us that the prime aim of the industry was to entertain: many of these 'problem films', therefore, were as honest and truthful within these confines as it was possible to be.

Liberal education used to command wide political support. Radicals disagreed with conservatives on whether the best culture could be appreciated by everyone, and they disagreed, too, on whether the barriers to understanding it were mainly social and economic, but there was no dispute that any worthwhile education ought to hand on the best that has been thought and said. That consensus has vanished since the 1960s. The book examines why social radicals supported liberal education, why they have moved away from it, and what the implications are for the future of an intellectually stimulating and culturally literate education.

Alone in the Crowd discusses the identity of nineteenth-century Paris, one of the most widely imaged cities in the modern world, whose most enduring attribute is that of a city of spectacle - a city of the pleasure of looking and being looked at simultaneously. Did Haussmann's re-figuring of the city, with its unrelenting straight boulevards, stirring vistas and uniform buildings, create a 'mass produced' image of Paris? If so, who benefited - and who lost out - in the construction of this new identity? Did the boulevards represent dystopia as well as utopia?

Plan for six weeks of learning covering all six areas of learning and development of the EYFS through the topic of the twelve days of Christmas. The Planning for Learning series is a series of topic books written around the Early Years Foundation Stage designed to make planning easy. This book takes you through 12 days of activities on the theme of the 12 days of Christmas. Each activity is linked to a specific Early Learning Goal, and the book contains a skills overview so that practitioners can keep track of which areas of learning and development they are promoting. This book also includes a photocopiable page to give to parents with ideas for them to get involved with their children's topic, as well as ideas for bringing the six weeks of learning together. The weekly themes in this book include: ideas for advent, the Christmas story, Christmas cards and decorations, and organising your very own Christmas party.

This volume represents the combination of two special issues of the Journal of Consciousness Studies on the topic of the technological singularity. Could artificial intelligence really out-think us, and what would be the likely repercussions if it could? Leading authors contribute to the debate, which takes the form of a target chapter by philosopher David Chalmers, plus commentaries from the likes of Daniel Dennett, Nick Bostrom, Ray Kurzweil, Ben Goertzel, Frank Tipler, among many others. Chalmers then responds to the commentators to round off the discussion.

At first glance, issues like economic inequality, healthcare, climate change, and abortion seem unrelated. However, when thinking and talking about them, people reliably fall into two camps: conservative and liberal. What explains this divide? Why do conservatives and liberals hold the positions they do? And what is the conceptual nature of those who decide elections, commonly called the "e;political middle"e;?The answers are profound. They have to do with how our minds and brains work. Political attitudes are the product of what cognitive scientists call Embodied Cognition - the grounding of abstract thought in everyday world experience. Clashing beliefs about how to run nations largely arise from conflicting beliefs about family life: conservatives endorse a strict father and liberals a nurturant parent model. So-called "e;middle"e; voters are not in the middle at all. They are morally biconceptual, divided between both models, and as a result highly susceptible to moral political persuasion.In this brief introduction, Lakoff and Wehling reveal how cognitive science research has advanced our understanding of political thought and language, forcing us to revise common folk theories about the rational voter.

Anne Glyn-Jones opens up the secret world of the interceptors of German Morse Code signals during World War II. Leaving her girls' boarding school with romantic ideas about joining the navy as a Wren, Anne had no idea that she would be working for the mysterious 'Station X', which we now know to be Bletchley Park. Round the clock shifts, bed bugs, rats and poor diet took its toll, as well as the ongoing lack of recognition from the Navy hierarchy. Morse Code Wrens of Station X is a very personal memoir of a young woman's experiences of war time service, as well as providing fascinating insights into the daily realities of the battle for military intelligence superiority.

Shy boy Amadeo reigns supreme at table football in his local cafe. Taking on all comers he is one of "e;the unbeatables"e; with his loyal team of tiny foosballers. But there's another "e;unbeatable"e; in town. Aggrieved by his only ever defeat at the hands of Amadeo in a foosball match when they were kids, Flash the town bully returns to seek revenge. Not only does he destroy the foosball table, but he challenges Amadeo to a game of actual football. Amadeo has never played real football - and Flash, with his insatiable quest for glory, has subsequently risen to become the world's most famous soccer star. With the future of the village at stake and his foosballers scattered, the situation looks hopeless for Amadeo. Unless he can recruit the help of his eccentric fellow villagers and the girl he loves, Lara, to take on the world's best football team captained by his nemesis Flash. And unless the foossballers can be reunited. "e;It'll be like Barcelona against a non-league team with an injury crisis,"e; predicts Lara. What nobody predicts, however, is how Amadeo's foosballers will affect the game... The Unbeatables novel is the ultimate fantasy football story. Expanding upon the original movie, the novel includes additional adventures and characters. Written for young adults (and not so young adults), the book is a scintillating, action-packed 90 minutes of end-to-end incident, comedic flair, goalmouth scrambles and dubious off the ball challenges on the ethos of the modern game. Praise for The Unbeatables: "e;The witty dialogue and banter makes for some very funny moments, while the digs at the excesses of modern footballers will ring true to followers of the Beautiful Game."e; - Radio Times"e;The Unbeatables is great fun for young and old."e; - Daily Express"e;Nice jokes at the expense of FIFA, overpaid prima donna footballers and slimy agents."e; - Daily Mail"e;Lively and consistently funny."e; - Irish Times"e;An utterly charming gem. Deft one-liners. Back of the net!"e; - Irish Independent

Kyoto, the ancient former capital of Japan, breathes history and mystery. Its temples, gardens and palaces are testimony to many centuries of aristocratic and religious grandeur. Under the veneer of modernity, the city remains filled with countless reminders of a proud past. John Dougill explores this most venerable of Japanese cities, revealing the spirit of place and the individuals that have shaped its often dramatic history. Courtiers and courtesans, poets and priests, samurai and geisha people the pages of his account. Covering twelve centuries in all, the book not only provides a historical overview but brings to life the cultural magnificence of the city of "e;Purple Hills and Crystal Streams"e;. City of Power: The seat of aristocrats and warriors; military might and spiritual authority; unification and the transition to modernity. City of Ritual: Buddhist sects and Shinto festivals; tea ceremony; the role of the geisha; the influence of Zen. City of Arts: Poetry and fiction; architecture and garden design; Heian verse and Noh theatre; art and handicrafts; the Japanese Hollywood.

Elderly British men display a variety of annoying habits. They write letters to the newspapers; they drink too much; they reminisce about the old days; they make lewd comments to younger women; they shout at the television screen; and they go for long walks and get lost. Jeremy Cameron chose the last of these options. Trying to emulate Patrick Leigh Fermor's feat of 1933, he walked from Hook of Holland to Istanbul. Leigh Fermor was a legendary figure. Scholar, multilinguist, beautiful prose stylist, war hero, tough guy, charmer and famous lover: Cameron is none of these things and he also suffers from a heart condition. Rest assured that there will be no tedious details of operations or stoicism in this book. Nor will there be descriptions of understated generosity, quiet irony or British phlegm. The main point of travel is to recognise the virtues of staying at home. When at home, it is not possible to get bogged down in Alpine snow, fall over on one's face on Kosovan tarmac or suffer a comprehensive mugging on deserted roads in Greece. Nor does one have to speak foreign languages, eat foreign food or, above all, drink terrible tea. It is about two thousand miles from Hook of Holland to Istanbul. Thirteen countries lie in wait for the walker. They have many wonderful sights and much fascinating history. Readers will not find them in this book. They will, however, find a number of stories of varying authenticity and some very dubious observations about life. By the time Turkey arrived, Cameron was utterly and completely fed up with the whole process. Never again would he do anything quite so stupid. He is currently walking round all the places in England beginning with the letter Q.

In July 1936 insurgent Spanish troops organized a military coup to oust the elected Republican government in Madrid. The rebel generals expected to force a quick, clean regime change but they failed. The botched uprising turned into a bloody civil war. Hundreds of thousands died in a bitter conflict which tore the country apart and rapidly turned into the prelude for an even greater conflict yet to come--the Second World War. The siege of Madrid was the key battle of the war. The world watched and waited for the city to surrender as General Franco's Nationalist army, backed by Hitler and Mussolini, closed in on the Spanish capital. But Madrid did not fall. Madrilenos fought tooth and nail to defend their city. Helped by volunteers from fifty other countries--the International Brigades--they held out against all the odds until the end of the conflict in 1939. Despite its central role in twentieth-century history, the siege of Madrid is an episode largely hidden from today's visitor. There is no guide to the war sites and few clues for the inquisitive traveller who wants to know more. Frontline Madrid fills that gap. This unique guide book explains what life was like in the city under siege and what happened in the battlefield dramas. The simple to follow maps and diagrams make it easy to visit the frontline sites. The vividly written descriptions bring events and people compellingly to life. The role of prominent individuals, British and American--Orwell, Hemingway, John Cornford is explored. Off the beaten track, from the University district in the city centre to the mountains of Guadarrama less than an hour away, the remains of the war in Madrid can still be found--gun emplacements, bunkers, trenches and occasional debris. Frontline Madrid retraces the footsteps of those who lived through the conflict to take the reader on a tour in time. The usual tourist traps are left far behind to enter the gripping world of a war which shaped modern European history.

A collection of the three volumes by Yannis Andricopoulos on ancient Greek wisdom applied to modern culture and society, including:- Volume 1: In Bed with Madness- Volume 2: The Greek Inheritance- Volume 3: The Future of the PastIn Bed with MadnessGlobalism endowed us with McDonald's, 'the world's local bank', English football teams without English players and an irrepressible desire for more as enough is never good enough - the blanket is always too short. Our personal world as much as our social and political realities seem to have blithely surrendered to the madness of a civilization which views anything from corporate greed and global warming to military adventures and religious fundamentalism as normal as a door banging in the wind. The destructive capabilities of our age have run too far ahead of our wisdom. However, the process is not irreversible if our thinking can postpone its retirement. In Bed with Madness is 'a well-argued, powerful and profound indictment of contemporary culture', stylishly written - a reviewer said he would have bought it just for its humour!The Greek InheritanceThe culture of ancient Greece, a culture of joy, was replaced by the Judaeo-Christian culture of faith and then by the capitalist culture of profit. Yet it is the only culture worth fighting for if we want a world run by humans rather than theocracies, nanotechnologies or private equity funds. Yannis Andricopoulos views the Greek culture as the front line of the battle against individualism, materialism, authoritarianism and religious extremism. In a world turned into the corporations' playground, this is also the battle for human values, civic virtues and an ethical society. The Greek Inheritance traces the conflict between Greek values and those of the repressive, religious or capitalist order throughout the millennia. The book is challenging and well-written with a light, humorous touch.The Future of the PastUniversalism in its old forms has, just like door-to-door milkmen, gone for good. But the search for some universally accepted ethical standards cannot be abandoned - values are not colourless as the wind and odourless as thoughts. Looking into our world from the classical Greek point of view, Yannis Andricopoulos wonders whether we cannot place Justice again at the heart of our morality, look forward to the happiness of the individual rather than the upgrading of his or her consumer fantasies, and endeavour to create, not more wealth, but a just and honourable world. The Future of the Past is written in 'a lively, challenging style guaranteeing to stimulate debate on the most pressing issues of our time'.

Illusionism is the view that phenomenal consciousness (in the philosophers' sense) is an illusion. This book is a reprint of a special issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies devoted to this topic. It takes the form of a target paper by the editor, followed by commentaries from various thinkers, including leading defenders of the theory such as Daniel Dennett, Nicholas Humphrey, Derk Pereboom and Georges Rey. A number of disciplines are represented and different viewpoints are discussed and defended. The colleciton is tied together with a response to the commentaries from the editor.

This book tells the incredible story of the cross-correspondence automatic writings, described by one leading scholar of the field, Alan Gauld, 'as undoubtedly the most extensive, the most complex and the most puzzling of all ostensible attempts by deceased persons to manifest purpose, and in so doing to fulfil their overriding purpose of proving their survival'. It is an intensely personal and passionate story on so many levels: May Lyttelton trying to convince her lover Arthur Balfour of her continued existence; Myers with indomitable persistence trying to produce evidence to prove survival generally; Gurney and Francis Balfour striving from beyond the grave to influence the birth of children who would work for world peace; Gerald Balfour and his lover Winifred Coombe-Tennant believing that their child, Henry, would be the Messianic leader of this group of children.