Böcker utgivna av Prometheus Books

Most books on the Roman and Greek Empires deal with famous figures or events, but Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants focuses on things that seldom appear in history books: myths and magic, barbers and birth control, fine wine and the daily grind. This book, based on questions Roman historian Garrett Ryan, PhD gets most often on Quora and the popular Reddit forum, AskHistorians, reveals the nitty gritty details on how Romans and Greeks lived in a series of short and engaging essays, organized into six categories: Daily Life, Society, Beliefs, Sports and Leisure, and Legacies

An astrophysicist presents an in-depth yet accessible tour of the universe for lay readers, while conveying the excitement of astronomy--

Actions have consequences--and the ability to learn from them revolutionized life on earth. While it's easy enough to see that consequences are important (where would we be without positive reinforcement?), few have heard there's a science of consequences, with principles that affect us every day. Despite their variety, consequences appear to follow a common set of scientific principles and share some similar effects in the brain--such as the "e;pleasure centers."e; Nature and nurture always work together, and scientists have demonstrated that learning from consequences predictably activates genes and restructures the brain. Applications are everywhere--at home, at work, and at school, and that's just for starters. Individually and societally, for example, self-control pits short-term against long-term consequences. Ten years in the making, this award-winning booktells a tale ranging from genetics to neurotransmitters, from emotion to language, from parenting to politics, taking an inclusive interdisciplinary approach to show how something so deceptively simple can help make sense of so much.

Represents Mead's philosophy of experience, so central to his outlook. The present as unique experience is the focus of this analysis of the basic structure of temporality and consciousness. Mead emphasises the novel character of both the present and the past.

Featuring cutting-edge research and in-depth reporting, this paradigm-shifting book shows us how to skillfully confront the unexpected and unknown, and how to seek not-knowing in the service of curiosity, wisdom, and discovery.

Many people grapple with destructive thought processes or a "e;critical inner voice"e; that directs their behavior and, to varying degrees, limits their lives. Using deeply personal and very human stories based on his own clinical practice, noted psychologist Robert W. Firestone illustrates the struggles of his clients to give words to this "e;enemy within,"e; and in the process overcome its damaging influence. These revealing and captivating stories offer glimpses into the uniquely human relationship that develops in the therapeutic encounter and demonstrate the powerful impact that the experience has on both client and therapist. Dr. Firestone is the originator of a therapeutic method called "e;Voice Therapy,"e; by which clients learn to identify the language of the defense system and eventually separate their own point of view from its harmful effects. Each story provides an intimate look into one person's life, illuminates aspects of his or her "e;dark side,"e; and highlights an important insight into the therapeutic process. This sensitively written book will evoke emotional responses in readers, and inspire them to take action to challenge the dictates of their own inner critic. Taken together, these stories underscore the distinctive merits and continuing relevance of the therapeutic process, especially in our distracted, technological world increasingly detached from feeling.

This book reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "e;happy"e; leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which make getting out of our own way extremely difficult. Author David DiSalvo presents evidence from evolutionary and social psychology, cognitive science, neurology, and even marketing and economics. And he interviews many of the top thinkers in psychology and neuroscience today. From this research-based platform, DiSalvo draws out insights that we can use to identify our brains' foibles and turn our awareness into edifying action. Ultimately, he argues, the research does not serve up ready-made answers, but provides us with actionable clues for overcoming the plight of our advanced brains and, consequently, living more fulfilled lives.

Comparing the lived world with the ideal world, noted American philosophical naturalist, poet, and literary critic George Santayana (1863-1952) seeks in this influential compilation of his earlier works to outline the ancient ideal of a well-ordered life, one in which reason is the organizing force that recognizes the need to allocate science, religion, art, social concerns, and practical wisdom their proper role and appropriate emphasis within the fully developed human experience.

Includes an insightful critique that helps immunize readers against the wiles of cultists, religious and political zealots, conspiracy theorists, and various other nutcases by clearly setting out the tricks of the trade by which such insidious belief systems are created and sustained.

Includes 100 people who range from former slaves such as Crispus Attucks and Phillis Wheatley to more contemporary individuals such as Amiri Baraka and Toni Morrison. This book summarizes the person's life, work, and importance. It is accompanied by a black-and-white photograph or illustration.

Bigfoot - huge, hairy, foul smelling, this legendary apelike animal has captivated the public's imagination. This book tells the story of Roger Patterson of Yakima, Washington. A part-time rodeo rider, chronically unemployed and dying of cancer, Patterson propelled himself into short-lived fame by exploiting his obsession with the Bigfoot subject.

Proclaims that ethics needs to be liberated from its philosophical bondage and developed as a distinct branch of sociology.

Published in 1933, at a time of widespread unemployment and bank failures. By 'revolutionary interpretation', this book meant quite literally that Marx's main objective was to stimulate revolutionary opposition to class society. It also describes Marx as a thinker and a fighter for freedom.

Why are some of us male and others female? What makes us short or tall, blond or brunette, light-skinned or dark? What causes defects in our biochemistry that lead to debilitating illnesses and physical or other handicaps? The answer is genetics. This title provides readers with an overview of this complex area of science.

Presenting a history of science, this book chronicles the intrepid explorations of scientists and adventurers who studied the transits of Venus in the quest for scientific understanding.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has shown the world the critical importance of whether and how to punish heads of state, heads of government, and sundry strong men when accused of crimes of aggression, genocide, war crimes, and other crimes against humanity. In The End of Immunity, former President of the International Criminal Court, Chile Eboe-Osuji, probes the history and theory of the concept of immunity for heads of state, underscoring tribunal achievements, pointing out gaps in the existing framework of accountability and the hypocrisies that produced them, and offering workable solutions to the loopholes that government leaders still use to escape consequences today.Eboe-Osuji traces the development of international law from the pre-World War I era that left wars of aggression as the prerogative of sovereigns able to wage them through the peacetime conferences of the Hauge at the turn of the 20th century, the momentous Article 227 of the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919, which communicated the resolve of the Allies and Associated Powers to prosecute German Emperor and King of Prussia Kaiser Wilhelm II before an international tribunal, how the legal norms applied in the post-WWII Nuremberg trial transformed the norms of modern international law, how 1990's Africa breathed new life into arguments against immunity for heads of state, and how modern-day Russia flouts those laws with Putin's war of aggression on Ukraine. Going as far back as the Middle Ages and the ancient doctrine of the divine right of kings, and concluding with a fresh new proposal for the ways in which international law can be shored up to prosecute those leaders who wage wars of aggression, Eboe-Osuji investigates the journey of international law's rejection of immunity for anyone - including heads of state in particular - when they are suspected or accused of atrocities that international law has proscribed as crimes. The result is the definitive account of a profoundly vital principle for international relations and global humanity.

Two leading physicists discuss the importance of the Higgs Boson, the future of particle physics, and the mysteries of the universe yet to be unraveled. On July 4, 2012, the long-sought Higgs Boson--aka "the God Particle"--was discovered at the world's largest particle accelerator, the LHC, in Geneva, Switzerland. On March 14, 2013, physicists at CERN confirmed it. This elusive subatomic particle forms a field that permeates the entire universe, creating the masses of the elementary particles that are the basic building blocks of everything in the known world--from viruses to elephants, from atoms to quasars. Starting where Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman's bestseller The God Particle left off, this incisive new book explains what's next. Lederman and Hill discuss key questions that will occupy physicists for years to come: * Why were scientists convinced that something like the "God Particle" had to exist?* What new particles, forces, and laws of physics lie beyond the "God Particle"?* What powerful new accelerators are now needed for the US to recapture a leadership role in science and to reach "beyond the God Particle," such as Fermilab's planned Project-X and the Muon Collider? Using thoughtful, witty, everyday language, the authors show how all of these intriguing questions are leading scientists ever deeper into the fabric of nature. Readers of The God Particle will not want to miss this important sequel.

In this compilation of expert articles, internationally recognized homicide investigators, most of them pioneers in developing the science and the art of profiling, share their insights gained from years of experience tracking the perpetrators of some of the most notorious crimes. Among the subjects discussed are: dealing with hostage situations, child abduction and murder in the David Meirhofer case, interviewing Jeffrey Dahmer, autoerotic murder, the challenges of creating psychological profiles, the use of forensic linguistics to track the Unabomber, assaultative eye injury ("enucleation"), and geographic profiling.A must for readers of true crime, forensic investigations, and murder mysteries, this unique collection of revealing articles offers a chilling and unparalleled glimpse into the workings of the criminal mind.

Quantum theory is the bedrock of contemporary physics and the basis of understanding matter in its tiniest dimensions and the vast universe as a whole. But for many, the theory remains an impenetrable enigma. Now, two physicists seek to remedy this situation by both drawing on their scientific expertise and their talent for communicating science to the general reader. In this lucid, informative book, designed for the curious, they make the seemingly daunting subject of quantum physics accessible, appealing, and exciting. Their story is partly historical, covering the many "Eureka" moments when great scientists-Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, and others-struggled to come to grips with the bizarre realities that quantum research revealed. Although their findings were indisputably proven in experiments, they were so strange and counterintuitive that Einstein refused to accept quantum theory, despite its great success. The authors explain the many strange and even eerie aspects of quantum reality at the subatomic level, from "particles" that can be many places simultaneously and sometimes act more like waves, to the effect that a human can have on their movements by just observing them! Finally, the authors delve into quantum physics' latest and perhaps most breathtaking offshoots-field theory and string theory. The intricacies and ramifications of these two theories will give the reader much to ponder. In addition, the authors describe the diverse applications of quantum theory in its almost countless forms of modern technology throughout the world. Using eloquent analogies and illustrative examples, this book renders even the most profound reaches of quantum theory understandable and something for us all to savor.

When the U.S. Capitol was stormed in 2021, it was an attack on the very idea of America as a pluralist democracy. It was also a reminder that the worst threat to the United States today doesn't come from any foreign despot, but from domestic racism. In The White Storm, the journalist and author Martin Gelin looks back at two decades as a political correspondent and three centuries of American history to understand this moment of crisis. In the vein of Alexis de Tocqueville or Tony Judt, fellow Europeans who travelled America searching for answers to its political contradictions, this is a journey across time and space, from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello to the slave plantations of Louisiana, from mass prisons in rural Arizona to memorials for lynching victims in Alabama. The book reveals how every step forward for Black Americans is met with a fierce backlash from white Americans, taking two recurring forms: violent extremism and a flight from the commons. The white backlash always grows in proportion to the black advances. After Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, a Black man at a polling station in Detroit said: "We used to pick cotton, now we pick presidents." It is precisely this Black agency that white nationalists refuse to accept. The White Storm reveals how racism has permeated almost every significant conflict in America's past. Now it threatens American democracy itself.

The new millennium. The Year 2000. Beyond Mayan prophecies, a more immediate danger loomed: Two-digit year date fields had been used by software programmers to conserve expensive computer storage space for decades. As a consequence, legacy systems reading "00" on January 1, 2000 would most probably interpret the date as 1900. Infrastructurescritical to civilization--including heat, electricity, water and sanitation--were at risk, all complete unknowns. There was fear of an accidental nuclear arms deployment. There was fear of monetary systems being jeopardized, infrastructure collapse, internet securities failures, and lapse of government-provided social programs. Banks experienced runs and law firms worked overtime to develop never-before-seen litigation plans. Year 2000: The Inside Story of Y2K Panic shares the untold story of the actors operating on the global stage responsible for managing computer hardware and software for Year 2000 compliance, thus keeping national infrastructures, finance, and commerce functioning. It turned out that the world did not end January 1, 2000. In fact, most people rang in the new year with the perception that nothing happened at all. This positive outcome was not a stroke of luck, nor was it because people overestimated or exaggerated Y2K risk. It was only possible because people across industries, from legal clerks to programmers to President Bill Clinton himself, worked tirelessly to offset disaster. But the millennium did not pass by completely harmlessly: it turns out that the United States, for a brief period, lost all satellite reconnaissance at 7:00 PM EST, midnight GMT, December 31, 1999.As a leading consultant and speaker on the challenges of Y2K during the lead-up to the new millennium, author Nancy P. James was directly involved in planning for Y2K on the local and global stage. Using first-person experience, primary source documents outlining Y2K fears, and the actions, influences, opinions, and strategies of those involved, James reveals the untold story of the behind-the-scenes scrambling that made Y2K - seemingly - come and go, and offers stark lessons on how the global community can unite to face problems that challenge our world at large.

J. Craig Wheeler, a leading astrophysicist and former president of the American Astronomical Society, argues that we must take charge of our technology now, before we lose the ability to control it, which many estimate will happen around 2040, if not sooner. He reviews today's technology in crucial areas that will have the greatest impact on our futures -- artificial intelligence, robotics, brain/computer interfaces, and genetic engineering -- and shows us how these technologies are interrelated and where they are heading. We are developing autonomous self-evolving machines that are already vastly smarter and faster than we are in many ways -- able to strategize and perhaps even potentially capable of becoming sentient mind-readers. Our understanding of the structure and function of DNA and proteins along with new techniques like CRISPR give us unprecedented power to manipulate our own biology, to cure disease, and maybe to control our own evolution, producing designer babies, lab-grown brains, and artificial life. He describes how all technology is developing at an increasingly swift pace that makes these issues more urgent than ever. There is likely to be a tipping point when change occurs at a pace so rapid that humans are not able to adjust, either individually or as a society. He then outlines the disruptions to our social, economic, and democratic systems these advances are likely to cause. Will there be jobs for those willing to work? Will social media companies manipulate us so cleverly that we lose our free will? Will AI nudge us to vote in certain ways, or even vote for us? If many people mentally connect, will a possible outcome be a single shared mind where our individuality dissolves, and we become a single entity? Have humans outgrown Earth's resources? Must we limit the population? If we solve the ageing problem, what do we do with the new babies? What are the prospects of migrating to space?To maintain control, Wheeler argues that we must be informed. Only by understanding this era of accelerating change and its implications -- both promising and frightening -- will we gain the ability to control the technological developments that will dominate our lives. Throughout, he stresses the ethical and moral challenges that the new technology poses. Finally, he offers advice on what we must do to avoid a fate akin to a frog in a warming pot. On a personal level, we must cultivate an awareness mindset -- to stay consciously aware of the onrush of technology. Building on that collective awareness, he offers clear and practical ways in which we can take control -- if we start now.

Behind Bars is filled with stories both ancient and urgent of what happens when alcohol meets crime, from illicit stills in the Scottish Highlands to moonshine in the USA, rum smuggled by Caribbean pirates, the roaring times of Prohibition, to current-day gangs selling millions of dollars' worth of fake Bordeaux and the often-unsolved cases of people walking into a liquor store, stealing whiskey bottles worth tens of thousands of dollars, and walking out, never to be seen again.Award-winning travel and drinks writer Mike Gerrard takes readers on a centuries-long journey highlighting the most bizarre - and expensive - alcohol-related crimes all while revealing the inside world of booze: how it has been distilled, legislated, imbibed, and infused into culture and society for hundreds of years. Discover the evolution of the world-leading whiskey industry in Scotland; how the war in Ukraine has impacted illicit vodka rings; how Southern smugglers laid the foundation for NASCAR; and the machinations behind the Whiskey Ring Scandal, a White-House Prohibition conspiracy involving high-ranking American officials under President Grant.These crimes have not died with Prohibition. In 2018 at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre scientists used radiocarbon-dating techniques to examine fifty-five bottles of rare and expensive Scotch whiskies. Twenty-one of them were found to be fake. Gerrard interviews today's leading experts that employ cutting-edge testing techniques to investigate suspect bottles of rare and high-priced alcohol. Fake booze goes back even further than that. Archaeologists excavating around Pompeii in Campania, Italy, a region whose wine was much sought-after and expensive, have uncovered evidence that local wine merchants were filling amphorae with wine from other parts of Italy and passing it off as the real thing. Behind Bars smartly and swiftly shows that the link between alcohol and crime is a never-ending story.

Steady, Calm, and Brave is a practical guidebook for life's most difficult moments. Meditation teacher Kimberly Brown shows you how to meet unexpected circumstances--a serious health crisis, a looming natural disaster, a terrifying accident--with patience, clarity, and kindness. You'll learn how to support yourself and others with simple mindfulness exercises and compassion techniques drawn from the Buddhist tradition. These transformative practices will help you manage anxiety and cope with loss. You'll discover you can truly engage with your struggles and create a sense of ease and peace and resilience even in the worst moments. With relatable stories and beneficial Buddhist teachings, Steady, Calm, and Brave offers soothing support for anyone facing extraordinary challenges. It's a path to self-compassion and comfort in the midst of uncertainty, that illuminates how to survive a crisis without falling apart, running away, or losing your mind. With insightful reflections and exercises, you'll develop the wisdom and understanding you need to face intense difficulty, and the confidence to recognize you have all the tools you need to survive--and even thrive--in a crisis and beyond.

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is not only an assault on the body--it is also an assault on the mind and spirit. In addition to imposing a significantly higher rate of conditions like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual exploitation, intimate partner violence, suicidality, and substance abuse, the most devastating consequences of childhood sexual abuse is shame. Freedom at Last will help former victims recover from all aspects of this extreme shame and its damaging after-effects. In this groundbreaking book, leading psychotherapist Beverly Engel reveals the truth about how shame affects victims, explains the nuances behind the emotion of shame, and teaches readers how to develop more self-awareness about how shame has manifested in their lives, along with powerful and effective shame-reduction strategies. Not only does shame from CSA cause a multitude of problems, this very same shame stands in the way of a victim's ability to recover and heal..Freedom at Last offers effective strategies for not only healing the negative effects of abuse-related shame, but also the emotional barriers to disclosing abuse and seeking help due to difficulties trusting others and self-blame. Using cutting-edge research along with her thirty-five years of experience working with victims of child sexual abuse, Engel provides a blueprint for readers to overcome the debilitating effects of shame, including strategies for emotional release, disclosing the abuse, practicing self-forgiveness, eliminating shame-causing behaviors, including sexual compulsions and addictions.

From the Black Lives Matter movement to the health and economic disparities exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have been forced to reckon with our country's fraught history - and present - of racial bias and inequality. Now that we have scratched the surface on courageous conversations about race, many are wondering: what is the next step towards healing and justice? Lies About Black People: How to Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why it Matters is designed for anyone who wants to examine their own biases and behaviors with a deeper critical lens in order to take action, make change, and engage positively in the fight for racial equality. In this honest and welcoming book, diversity and inclusion expert, professor, and award-winning speaker Dr. Omekongo Dibinga argues that we must embark on a massive undertaking to re-educate ourselves on the stereotypes that have proven harmful, and too often deadly, to the Black community. Through personal anecdotes, nuanced historical inquiry, and engaging analysis of modern-day events and their historical context and implications, this invaluable guide will break down some of the most powerful lies told about Black people. Whether those lies are pernicious, like the idea that "most black people are criminals," or seemingly innocuous, like the notion that "black people can't swim," all of the lies and stereotypes combatted in this book are rooted in hate and continue to undermine not only Black people in America, but our society as a whole. Beyond combatting these harmful lies, Dr. Dibinga also provides readers with powerful insights on our racial vocabulary, reflective hands-on exercises that will allow readers to confront and change their own biases, and an honest discussion about how to move beyond misplaced shame and use privilege to serve others. Featuring personal surveys alongside real-life interviews with those who have been affected by racial biases first-hand, this open and thoughtful guide will lead readers on a path to understanding, action, and change.

Did the ancient Greeks and Romans have conspiracy theories? Did they come close to an industrial revolution? Did they drink beer?In a series of fast-paced essays, this book answers forty questions that ancient historian Garrett Ryan has been asked in the classroom and through his popular YouTube channel ToldinStone. As in Dr. Ryan's previous book. Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants, the emphasis is on the fascinating details of daily life in the classical world.Discover the answers to: Did the ancient Greeks and Romans have tattoos?Did they practice Buddhism?Did they know when the Pyramids were built?Did a tsunami inspire the story of Atlantis?How deadly was the eruption that destroyed Pompeii?What was it like to live through the fall of the Roman Empire?Why are ancient cities buried?What happened to the treasures of the Roman emperors?How much was lost when the Library of Alexandria burned?

At the turn of the twentieth century, a 1901 decree ordered the exhumation and relocation of over 150,000 graves in San Francisco- the only major metropolitan city in America to order a complete eviction of its dead. City of the Dead uncovers this fascinating and forgotten section of American history.