This chilling passage is from Ellen McLaughlin's new adaptation of The Persians by Aeschylus, the earliest surviving play in Western literature, an elegy for a fallen civi-lization and a warning to its new conqueror. As Margo Jefferson wrote in the New York Times, ''the play is a true classic: we see the present and the future right there, inside the past. And when writers give us a 'new version' (a translation or adaptation) of a classic, they both serve and use it. They serve the playwright's gifts by refusing to simplify. But they can't just imitate. Every age has its own rhythms and drives. The classic must make us feel the new acutely. Ellen McLaughlin serves and uses The Persians with true power and grace.''

Although frequently vilified, Iran is a nation of great intellectual variety and depth, and one of the oldest continuing civilizations in the world. Its political impact has been tremendous, not only on its neighbors in the Middle East but also throughout the world. From the time of the prophet Zoroaster, to the powerful ancient Persian Empires, to the revolution of 1979, the hostage crisis, and the current standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions, Michael Axworthy vividly narrates the nation's rich history. He explains clearly and carefully both the complex succession of dynasties that ruled ancient Iran and the surprising ethnic diversity of the modern country, held together by a common culture. With Iran again the focus of the world's attention, A History of Iran is an essential guide to understanding this volatile nation.

In 1877, a young Freud met an established physician named Josef Breuer and they began a collaboration that would lead to the publication of the classic work, Studies on Hysteria. But by the time it released, Freud was moving to establish himself as a major figure in the treatment of mentally ill patients, and would let no one stand in his way. He consequently minimized Breuer's contributions, betraying his former mentor and benefactor.In A Dream of Undying Fame, renowned psychologist Louis Breger narrates the story behind the creation of Studies as well as the case of Anna O., which helped contribute to Freud's definition of ''neurosis.'' Breger reveals that Freud's own self-mythologizing and history not only affected everything he did in life, but also helped shape his emerging beliefs about psychoanalysis. Illustrating the importance of personality and social context behind an intellectual breakthrough, Breger provides an in-depth look at a field that reshaped our understanding of what it means to be human.

Theodore Kaczynski saw violent collapse as the only way to bring down the techno-industrial system, and in more than a decade of mail bomb terror he killed three people and injured 23 others. One does not need to support the actions that landed Kaczynski in supermax prison to see the value of his essays disabusing the notion of heroic technology while revealing the manner in which it is destroying the planet. For the first time, readers will have an uncensored personal account of his anti-technology philosophy, including a corrected version of the notorious ''Unabomber Manifesto,''Kaczynski, s critique of anarcho-primitivism, and essays regarding ''the Coming Revolution.''

In the era of Kennedy and Khrushchev, power was expressed in terms of nuclear missiles, industrial capacity, numbers of men under arms, and tanks lined up ready to cross the plains of Eastern Europe. By 2010, none of these factors confer power in the same way: industrial capacity seems an almost Victorian virtue, and cyber threats are wielded by non-state actors. Politics changed, and the nature of power-defined as the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes you want-had changed dramatically. Power is not static; its story is of shifts and innovations, technologies and relationships.Joseph Nye is a long-time analyst of power and a hands-on practitioner in government. Many of his ideas have been at the heart of recent debates over the role America should play in the world: his concept of "soft power" has been adopted by leaders from Britain to China; "smart power" has been adopted as the bumper-sticker for the Obama Administration's foreign policy. This book is the summation of his work, as relevant to general readers as to foreign policy specialists. It is a vivid narrative that delves behind the elusive faces of power to discover its enduring nature in the cyber age.

"Three brothers, a war and secrets. Some years later, a niece and nephew come looking for answers. It is time for revelations"--Publisher description.

Zen Buddhism distinguishes itself by brilliant flashes of insight and its terseness of expression. The haiku verse form is a superb means of studying Zen modes of thought and expression, for its seventeen syllables impose a rigorous limitation that confines the poet to vital experience. Here haiku by Matsuo Basho (1644-94) - the greatest Japanese haiku poet - are translated by Robert Aitken, with commentary that provides a new and deeper understanding of Basho's work than ever before. In presenting themes from the haiku and from Zen literature that open the doors both to the poems and to Zen itself, Aitken has produced the first book about the relationship between Zen and haiku. His readers are certain to find it invaluable for the remarkable revelations it offers.

Food and socializing go together like peas and carrots - and now, a lively new cookbook tells readers how to formalize that arrangement by creating a fun and enriching cooking club. Much like a book club, cooking clubs combine an activity that most are already doing - cooking - with something most wish they did more of - meeting up with friends....

Widely praised in hardcover as a fascinating and important addition to religious and cultural studies, Sacred Matters reveals the remarkable ways that religious practices permeate American cultural life.In a country where references to God are as normal as proclaiming love of country, support for the military, or security for the nation's children, religion scholar Gary Laderman casts his eye over our deeply hidden spiritual landscape, questioning whether our conventional views even begin to capture the rich and strange diversity of religious life in America. A compelling read, Sacred Matters shows that genuinely religious practices and experiences can be found in the unlikeliest of places-in science laboratories and movie theaters, at the Super Bowl and Star Trek conventions, and in Americans' obsession with prescription drugs and pornography. When devoted fans make a pilgrimage to Graceland because of their love for Elvis, Laderman argues, their behavior doesn't just seem religious, it is religious-enacting a well-known ritual pattern toward saints in the history of Christianity. In a dramatic reframing of what is holy and secular, Sacred Matters makes a powerful and illuminating case that religion is everywhere-and that we have barely begun to reckon with its hold on our cultural life.

The only complete guide to every aspect of raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder in Australia. The Australian Autism Handbook offers guidance, expert advice and above all support to parents and health professionals from the early signs and symptoms of ASD through diagnosis, the intervention programs, medical theories and schooling. It also contains the most comprehensive state - by - state guide to the resources available for ASD families in Australia.