The Stone Reader

A timeless volume to be read and treasured, The Stone Reader provides an unparalleled overview of contemporary philosophy. Once solely the province of ivory-tower professors and college classrooms, contemporary philosophy was finally emancipated from its academic closet in 2010, when The Stone was launched in The New York Times. First appearing as an online series, the column quickly attracted millions of readers through its accessible examination of universal topics like the nature of science, consciousness and morality, while also probing more contemporary issues such as the morality of drones, gun control and the gender divide. Now collected for the first time in this handsomely designed volume, The Stone Reader presents 133 meaningful and influential essays from the series, placing nearly the entirety of modern philosophical discourse at a reader’s grasp. The book, divided into four broad sections—Philosophy, Science, Religion and Morals, and Society—opens with a series of questions about the scope, history and identity of philosophy: What are the practical uses of philosophy? Does the discipline, begun in the West in ancient Greece with Socrates, favor men and exclude women? Does the history and study of philosophy betray a racial bias against non-white thinkers, or geographical bias toward the West? These questions and others form a foundation for readers as the book moves to the second section, Science, where some of our most urgent contemporary philosophical debates are taking place. Will artificial intelligence compromise our morality? Does neuroscience undermine our free will? Is there is a legitimate place for the humanities in a world where science and technology appear to rule? Should the evidence for global warming change the way we live, or die? In the book’s third section, Religion and Morals, we find philosophy where it is often at its best, sharpest and most disturbing—working through the arguments provoked by competing moral theories in the face of real-life issues and rigorously addressing familiar ethical dilemmas in a new light. Can we have a true moral life without belief in God? What are the dangers of moral relativism? In its final part, Society, The Stone Reader returns to its origins as a forum to encourage philosophers who are willing to engage closely, critically and analytically with the affairs of the day, including economic inequality, technology and racial discrimination. In directly confronting events like the September 11 attacks, the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Sandy Hook School massacre, the essays here reveal the power of philosophy to help shape our viewpoints on nearly every issue we face today. With an introduction by Peter Catapano that details the column’s founding and distinct editorial process at The New York Times, and prefatory notes to each section by Simon Critchley, The Stone Reader promises to become not only an intellectual landmark but also a confirmation that philosophy is, indeed, for everyone.

A timeless volume to be read and treasured, The Stone Reader provides an unparalleled overview of contemporary philosophy.

From the editors of the widely influential The Stone Reader comes the most thorough and engaging guide to modern ethical thought available. Since 2010, The Stone— an enormously popular column in the New York Times— has interpreted and reinterpreted age-old inquires that speak to our contemporary condition. Having done for modern ethics what The Stone Reader did for modern philosophy, this portable volume features an assortment of essays culled from the archives of an online Times series that has attracted millions of readers through accessible examinations of longstanding topics like consciousness, religious belief, and morality. Presenting the most thorough and accessible guide to modern ethical thought available, New York Times editor Peter Catapano and best-selling philosopher Simon Critchley curate a fascinating culture of debate and deliberation that would have otherwise gone undiscovered. From questions of gun control and drone warfare to the morals of vegetarianism and marriage, this book emancipates ethics from the province of ivory-tower classrooms to become a centerpiece of discussions for years to come.

The Stone Girl is a riveting tale of deception, vengeance, and power set against the haunting beauty of the Adirondack wilderness. Deep in the Adirondack Mountains lies a speck of a town called Rangeley. There isn’t much to this tiny town, but it is at the crossroads of serene fishing streams off the Mink River, pristine hunting grounds in the surrounding mountains, and vast estates of the extremely rich. It is also the gateway to the Mohawk Club, which houses the Lost Boys, an exclusive group of wealthy and powerful men with global influence and a taste for depravity. Raised wild and poor in the shadows of the Mohawk Club, Evie Quimby was a teenager when she first fell victim to the Lost Boys. Seventeen years later, she is now a world-renowned art restorer famous for repairing even the most-broken statues. After spending half her life in Paris, establishing her reputation and raising her daughter Chloé, Evie has come a long way from the girl who left Rangeley behind. But when Chloé receives a visit from an elegant stranger who claims to be an old friend of her mother’s, the ghosts of Evie’s past return in full force, pulling her back to the North Country of her girlhood and into the tangled, intricate web of the Lost Boys. Evie bands together with her formidable mother and an embattled heiress, both victims of the Lost Boys, in pursuit of an unusual and heart-stopping vengeance.

A tale spanning three decades in the life of Dawes Williams depicts his growth from precocious boy to town eccentric as it reflects the experience of growing up in Iowa farm country during the 1950s.

This anthology includes some of the most important and influential essays in feminist education theory since the late 70s. Contributors are drawn from traditional liberal feminists, radical postmodern theorists, and those with psychological, philosophical and political agendas.

This Reader presents a diverse and ecumenical cross-section of ecclesiological statements from across the twenty centuries of the church's existence. It builds on the foundations of early Christian writings, illustrates significant medieval, reformation, and modern developments, and provides a representative look at the robust attention to ecclesiology that characterizes the contemporary period. This collection of readings offers an impressive overview of the multiple ways Christians have understood the church to be both the 'body of Christ' and, at the same time, an imperfect, social and historical institution, constantly subject to change, and reflective of the cultures in which it is found. This comprehensive survey of historical ecclesiologies is helpful in pointing readers to the remarkable number of images and metaphors that Christians have relied upon in describing the church and to the various tensions that have characterized reflection on the church as both united and diverse, community and institution, visible and invisible, triumphant and militant, global and local, one and many. Students, clergy and all interested in Christianity and the church will find this collection an invaluable resource.

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance and bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

The film adaptation of Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel, starring acclaimed actresses Ellen Burstyn and Ellen Page, and introducing Christine Horne, opens in theatres May 9, 2008. This special fortieth-anniversary edition of Margaret Laurence’s most celebrated novel will introduce readers again to one of the most memorable characters in Canadian fiction. Hagar Shipley is stubborn, querulous, self-reliant, and, at ninety, with her life nearly behind her, she makes a bold last step towards freedom and independence. As her story unfolds, we are drawn into her past. We meet Hagar as a young girl growing up in a black prairie town; as the wife of a virile but unsuccessful farmer with whom her marriage was stormy; as a mother who dominates her younger son; and, finally, as an old woman isolated by an uncompromising pride and by the stern virtues she has inherited from her pioneer ancestors. Vivid, evocative, moving, The Stone Angel celebrates the triumph of the spirit, and reveals Margaret Laurence at the height of her powers as a writer of extraordinary craft and profound insight into the workings of the human heart. From the Trade Paperback edition.

A collection of articles originally printed in Rolling Stone magazine.

This fascinating and gripping portrayal is the only book-length account ever written about the illicit career of Clarence Ray Allen, one of the most sinister criminal masterminds and mass murderers in American history. Even hardened detectives were shaken by the scene at Fran's Market in rural Fresno County that night in 1980: four young people lay on the market's concrete floor, bloodily murdered by a killer without mercy or remorse. Then a grim investigation became even grimmer when the evidence led to the prime suspect--a convicted murderer already behind the stone walls of Folsom. A true crime story that reads like an intricately woven mystery, the book depicts the chilling scenes of murder, a dogged investigation, and the true story behind the Fran's Market murders and their psychopathic mastermind. Written by former prosecutor James Ardaiz, who was one of the first investigators on the scene at Fran's Market, ""Hands Through Stone"" provides an insider's view of the tortuous, multiyear investigation that brought a killer to justice.

A strange glowing stone picked up on a sea voyage captivates a ship's crew and has a terrible transforming effect on them.

The #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography of the guitarist, songwriter, singer, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Ladies and gentlemen: Keith Richards. With The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the songs that roused the world, and he lived the original rock and roll life. Now, at last, the man himself tells his story of life in the crossfire hurricane. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones's first fame and the notorious drug busts that led to his enduring image as an outlaw folk hero. Creating immortal riffs like the ones in "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Honky Tonk Women." His relationship with Anita Pallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the U.S., isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Marriage, family, solo albums and Xpensive Winos, and the road that goes on forever. With his trademark disarming honesty, Keith Richard brings us the story of a life we have all longed to know more of, unfettered, fearless, and true.

In Saigon during the waning days of the Vietnam War, a small-time journalist named John Converse thinks he'll find action - and profit - by getting involved in a big-time drug deal. But back in the States, things go horribly wrong for him. Dog Soldiers perfectly captures the underground mood of America in the 1970s, when amateur drug dealers and hippies encountered profiteering cops and professional killers—and the price of survival was dangerously high.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Features behind-the-scenes bonus material from the film—including photos, excerpts from the script, and favorite recipes from on the set Millions of readers around the world have fallen in love with the small town of Big Stone Gap, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and the story of its self-proclaimed spinster, Ave Maria Mulligan. In the series’ enchanting debut, Ave Maria reaches her thirty-fifth year and resigns herself to the single life, filling her days with hard work, fun friends, and good books. Then, one fateful day, Ave Maria’s past opens wide with the revelation of a long-buried secret that will alter the course of her life. Before she knows it, Ave Maria is fielding marriage proposals, trying to claim her rightful inheritance, and planning the trip of a lifetime to Italy—one that will change her view of the world and her own place in it forever. Full of wit and wonder, hilarity and heart, Big Stone Gap is a gem of a book, and one that you will share with friends and family for years to come. Praise for Big Stone Gap “Charming . . . Readers would do well to fall into the nearest easy chair and savor the story.”—USA Today “Delightfully quirky . . . chock-full of engaging, oddball characters and unexpected plot twists.”—People “[A] heartfelt tale . . . In an anecdotal style reminiscent of Fannie Flagg, Adriana Trigiani engagingly captures a slice of small-town America.”—San Jose Mercury News

The stunning sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Dear Martin. Incarcerated teen Quan writes letters to Justyce about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas. In the highly anticipated sequel to her New York Times bestseller, Nic Stone delivers an unflinching look into the flawed practices and silenced voices in the American juvenile justice system. Vernell LaQuan Banks and Justyce McAllister grew up a block apart in the Southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Wynwood Heights. Years later, though, Justyce walks the illustrious halls of Yale University . . . and Quan sits behind bars at the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center. Through a series of flashbacks, vignettes, and letters to Justyce--the protagonist of Dear Martin--Quan's story takes form. Troubles at home and misunderstandings at school give rise to police encounters and tough decisions. But then there's a dead cop and a weapon with Quan's prints on it. What leads a bright kid down a road to a murder charge? Not even Quan is sure. "A powerful, raw, must-read told through the lens of a Black boy ensnared by our broken criminal justice system." -Kirkus, Starred Review

Starting from the premise that philosophers' deaths have been as interesting as their lives, Simon Critchley looks at the strange circumstances in which some philosophers have died and then confronts the big themes - in this case, what 'a good death' means and how to live with the knowledge of death. The book consists of short entries on various philosophers, cataloguing the manner of their demises and linking this to their central ideas, from the Pre-Socratics to Rousseau, Kant and Nietzsche among many others. The book concludes with Critchley's thoughts on the ideal of the philosophical death as a way of denouncing contemporary delusions and sophistries, what Francis Bacon saw as the Idols of the Tribe, the Den, the Market-Place and the Theatre (incidentally, Bacon died in a particularly cold winter in London in 1626 from a cold contracted after trying to stuff a chicken with snow as an experiment in refrigeration).

THE #1 AMAZON HORROR BESTSELLER! "THE STONE MAN is a novel that intrigues, enthralls, horrifies, thrills, and hits the reader with an emotional resonance as only the best stories can."-Ain't It Cool News Nobody knew where it came from. Nobody knew why it came. Even so, for two-bit (and antisocial) reporter Andy Pointer, the appearance in his city of a man made of moving stone meant the scoop of a lifetime. He would soon learn that The Stone Man was much more - and much worse - than that. This is Andy's account of everything that came afterwards, and the people that were lost along the way; of the terrible price that he, and the rest of his country, had to pay.The destruction. The visions. The dying. PRAISE FOR 'THE STONE MAN': "Once again believable characters and a mind blowing story, and when Luke Smitherd is recognised as the great writer he is he is bound to be compared to the likes of James Herbert and Stephen King."-Scrooby1, Amazon UK Review "Tremendous. I was looking for something completely original and different, this nailed it spot on. Highly recommended."-Neil Novita, Amazon USA Review "I have owned a Kindle for about 2 years and downloaded some excellent books for very little cost but Luke Smitherd's works beat the lot"-Silversmith, Amazon UK Review "This ebook was fantastic and totally different from any other sci-fi thriller I've ever read...I kept thinking 'What if...what if...'-Carl Law, Amazon US Review "It was one of those books where you tell yourself you will read just one more page, then look at the clock and realise that it's 2 hours later , I would thoroughly recommend it"-Elaine Hosegood, Amazon UK Review "As soon as I started reading I was completely sucked in, which very rarely happens for me. I couldn't wait to get home and read it each night. I laughed. I cried. I did actual real life gasps of horror."-Katie, Amazon UK Review "Fantastically written characters who make you care about them right from the off, an unfathomable villain who defies all understanding and a supporting cast that flesh out the story beautifully."-Andy Pettifer, Goodreads Review "I spend a lot of time trawling through the kindle book store looking for cheap books, relying on reviews to make my purchases. I have come across some less than average books using this method, but also some real gems. This book definitely falls into the latter category. It had me gripped from page one right through to the Alternative Ending Synopsis at the end. The other reviews leave me little to say other than thanks Luke."-Steve Sut, Amazon UK Review "So good the first thing I did after I put it down was to download his other two books."-Miss H. L. Smith, Amazon UK Review "This book starts with a bang and doesn't let up. I read this in two sittings. Recommended."-Dickydavis, Goodreads review "A very enjoyable read and cracking value at the price.Do not be put off by Science Fiction or Horror in the title if they are not your bag, this is an inteligent and thought provoking read. Highly recommended."-Dave Osborn, Amazon UK Review "I literally found this hard to stop reading,I wanted to know the answers.I have been around a good while so have read all of Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury etc. and I would genuinely put this author in the same class as these class acts."-K Murphy, Amazon UK Review "...so my 5-star review? That's five stars in comparison to REAL books; not just the stuff you'll find self-published on Kindle. The Stone Man is the sort of book that, if I'd splashed ten quid on in an airport or train station, bookstore, I'd have considered it money well-spent." Militant Ginger, Amazon USA Review A full-length novel. 140,000 words. FROM THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PHYSICS OF THE DEAD' AND 'THE BLACK ROOM' SERIES, ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE KINDLE STORE.

Motivating four-level course for young learners that integrates reading, grammar, writing.Bright Star Readers provide extensive reading, graded by level, and supported by illustrations. Questions at the end of each book develop language skills.

John Reynolds Gardiner's classic action-packed adventure story about a thrilling dogsled race has captivated readers for more than thirty years. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom. Based on a Rocky Mountain legend, Stone Fox tells the story of Little Willy, who lives with his grandfather in Wyoming. When Grandfather falls ill, he is no longer able to work the farm, which is in danger of foreclosure. Little Willy is determined to win the National Dogsled Race—the prize money would save the farm and his grandfather. But he isn't the only one who desperately wants to win. Willy and his brave dog Searchlight must face off against experienced racers, including a Native American man named Stone Fox, who has never lost a race. Exciting and heartwarming, this novel has sold millions of copies and was named a New York Times Outstanding Children's Book.