This version of Nature is an 1843 revision to the popular essay written and published in 1836. In the original essay, Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism, and suggested that reality can be understood by studying nature. Within the essay, Emerson divides nature into four usages: Commodity, Beauty, Language and Discipline. These distinctions define how humans use nature for their basic needs, their desire for delight, their communication...

Born on June 28, 1712, the Genevan philosopher, novelist and essayist Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most prominent and definitive minds of the Enlightenment. Self-taught, Rousseau dabbled in many fields, keeping journals of his interests in science, mathematics, music, astronomy, botany, music, literature, and philosophy. He achieved sudden success and subsequent fame with his "A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences", a work that cemented his...

One of the rare English-language works on the Italian unification of the 19th century, this is also a remarkable historical work for the proud bias of its author, English historian GEORGE MACAULAY TREVELYAN (1876-1962). Of the three books he wrote devoted to the Italian national hero Giuseppe Garibaldi-this is the first-Trevelyan later acknowledged, "Without bias, I should never have written them at all. For I was moved to write them by a poetical...

"Pretentiousness is for anyone who has braved being different, whether that's making a stand against artistic consensus or running the gauntlet of the last bus home dressed differently from everyone else. It's an essential ingredient in pop music and high art. Why do we choose accusations of elitism over open-mindedness? What do our anxieties about "pretending" say about us? Co-editor of Frieze, Europe's foremost magazine of contemporary art and culture,...

Well-received on initial publication, The Mind Tree is truly an enthralling read. Although he is severely autistic and nearly nonverbal, Tito's ability to communicate through his extraordinary writing is astonishing. At the age of three, Tito was diagnosed with severe autism. But his mother, with boundless hope and determination, read to him and taught him to write in English. She also challenged him to write his own stories. The result of their efforts...

"When he's apprised at the last minute of a mandatory meeting abroad, Stone Barrington rushes off to Europe for a whirlwind tour of business and, of course, pleasure. But from the start the trip seems to be cursed, plagued by suspicious 'accidents' and unfortunate events, and some of Stone's plans go up in flames--literally. Not a believer in coincidence, Stone sets out to learn the true source of his curious misfortune and finds that what appeared...