Sarah Bakewell

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, from the author of Humanly PossibleHow to get along with people, how to deal with violence, how to adjust to losing someone you love—such questions arise in most people’s lives. They are all versions of a bigger How do you live? This question obsessed Renaissance writers, none more than Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, considered by many to be the first truly modern individual. He wrote free-roaming explorations of his thoughts and experience, unlike anything written before. More than four hundred years later, Montaigne’s honesty and charm still draw people to him. Readers come to him in search of companionship, wisdom, and entertainment —and in search of themselves. Just as they will to this spirited and singular biography.

Paris, near the turn of 1933. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a radical new way of thinking. Pointing to his drink, he says, 'You can make philosophy out of this cocktail!'From this moment of inspiration, Sartre will create his own extraordinary philosophy of real, experienced life–of love and desire, of freedom and being, of cafés and waiters, of friendships and revolutionary fervour. It is a philosophy that will enthral Paris and sweep through the world, leaving its mark on post-war liberation movements, from the student uprisings of 1968 to civil rights pioneers.At the Existentialist Café tells the story of modern existentialism as one of passionate encounters between people, minds and ideas. From the ‘king and queen of existentialism'–Sartre and de Beauvoir–to their wider circle of friends and adversaries including Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Iris Murdoch, this book is an enjoyable and original journey through a captivating intellectual movement. Weaving biography and thought, Sarah Bakewell takes us to the heart of a philosophy about life that also changed lives, and that tackled the biggest questions of all: what we are and how we are to live.

Humanism is an expansive tradition of thought that places shared humanity, cultural vibrancy, and moral responsibility at the center of our lives. The humanistic worldview--as clear-eyed and enlightening as it is kaleidoscopic and richly ambiguous--has inspired people for centuries to make their choices by principles of freethinking, intellectual inquiry, fellow feeling, and optimism.In this sweeping new history, Sarah Bakewell, herself a lifelong humanist, illuminates the very personal, individual, and, well, human matter of humanism and takes readers on a grand intellectual adventure.Voyaging from the literary enthusiasts of the fourteenth century to the secular campaigners of our own time, from Erasmus to Esperanto, from anatomists to agnostics, from Christine de Pizan to Bertrand Russell, and from Voltaire to Zora Neale Hurston, Bakewell brings together extraordinary humanists across history. She explores their immense variety: some sought to promote scientific and rationalist ideas, others put more emphasis on moral living, and still others were concerned with the cultural and literary studies known as "the humanities." Humanly Possible asks not only what brings all these aspects of humanism together but why it has such enduring power, despite opposition from fanatics, mystics, and tyrants.A singular examination of this vital tradition as well as a dazzling contribution to its literature, this is an intoxicating, joyful celebration of the human spirit from one of our most beloved writers. And at a moment when we are all too conscious of the world's divisions, Humanly Possible--brimming with ideas, experiments in living, and respect for the deepest ethical values--serves as a recentering, a call to care for one another, and a reminder that we are all, together, only human.

This gripping nineteenth-century adventure stars Jorgen Jorgenson, a Dane who made Britain his adopted country. Restless for adventure, he came to London, and began his career by sailing to establish the new colony of Tasmania. Twists of fortune then found him captaining a ship for Napoleon before travelling with British traders to Iceland where he found his moment of ruling the country for two months after staging an outrageous coup. Much lay ahead, from imprisonment in the hulks, patronage by Joseph Banks, to travels in Europe as a British spy. But Jorgensen was dogged by his own excesses, and ended up transported as a convict to the very colony he helped to found. Here he reinvented himself again as an explorer, and, despite his sympathy for the people, was caught up in the terrible Aboriginal clearances. Using unpublished sources and letters, Sarah Bakewell tells his extraordinary tale with dazzling verve.

The Smart is a true drama of eighteenth-century life with a mercurial, mysterious heroine. Caroline is a young Irishwoman who runs off to London and slides into a glamorous life as a high-class prostitute. In the early 1770s, she becomes involved with the intriguing Perreau twins. They begin forging bonds, living in increasing luxury until everything collapses like a house of cards. A brilliantly researched and evocative history, The Smart is full of the life of London streets, and shot through with enduring themes—sex, money, death and fame.

Over 400 elegant cheesecake recipes for all occasions. Different designs and textures everything you need to make your own delicious cheesecake.

Excellent sandwich recipes with easy to follow instructions and superb quality of sandwich with this book. Sandwiches for everyone family or friends and for that special occasion including buffets and parties. whatever the occasion sandwich recipes for all.

Over 400 excellent pizza recipes with easy to follow instructions and superb quality of pizzas within this book. Pizzas for everyone family or friends and for that special occasion including buffets and parties. Whatever the occasion pizza recipes for all.

All you need for a healthy fry up. 400 easy to do recipes for everyone.

كيف تُعاش الحياة؟! سؤالٌ واحد، وعشرون محاولة للإجابة. يتناول هذا الكتاب سيرة حياة النبيل والفيلسوف، وكاتب المقالات الفرنسي في القرن السادس عشر، «ميشيل إيكيم دي مونتاني». تتتبع الكاتبة البريطانية «سارة بكويل» حياة مونتاني وفقًا للأسئلة التي طرحها على نفسه طوال حياته، وتستمد الإجابات من مقالاته. كان مونتاني واحدًا من أكثر الكتاب تأثيرًا في عصر النهضة الفرنسي، واشتهر بمقالاته التي كانت بمثابة شكلًا أدبيًا جديدًا. وفي الوقت الذي انتقد فيه عصره بشدة وشارك بعمق في أحداثه وصراعاته، اختار مونتاني أن يكتب عن نفسه، من أجل الوصول إلى بعض الحقائق المحتملة المتعلقة بالإنسان والحالة الإنسانية، في فترة الصراع الأيديولوجي والانقسام حيث بدت كل إمكانية للحقيقة وهمية وخادعة. مقالات مونتاني هي استكشافات مجانية لأفكاره وخبراته، مليئة بالحكايات والتأملات الشخصية. بعد أكثر من أربعمائة عام، لا يزال صدقه وسحره يجذبان القراء إليه بحثًا عن الرفقة والحكمة وأيضًا المتعة المطلقة. استمع الآن.