Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Existence
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails
by Sarah Bakewell
An exploration of the key ideas of existentialism and its impact on today's society.
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 ... (Goodreads)
Sophie's World
by Jostein Gaarder
A journey of philosophical discovery told through a young girl's exploration of the world.
Sophie Amundsen is a 14-year-old girl who lives in Lillesand , Norway. The book begins with Sophie receiving two messages in her mailbox and a postcard addressed to Hilde Møller Knag. Afterwards, she ... (Wikipedia)
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking
Exploring the depths of time and space and the emergence of the universe.
In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold ... (Goodreads)
The Order of Time
by Carlo Rovelli
Investigation into the nature of time, exploring its mysteries and infinite possibilities.
Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long explored its meaning while scientists have found that its structure is different from the simple ... (Goodreads)
Discourse on Method
by René Descartes
Philosophical exploration of the power of human reason and the nature of reality.
By far the most widely used translation in North American college classrooms, Donald A. Cress's translation from the French of the Adam and Tannery critical edition is prized for its accuracy, ... (Goodreads)
Cosmos
by Carl Sagan
Voyage through the vastness of space, unlocking the mysteries of the universe.
Cosmos has 13 heavily illustrated chapters, corresponding to the 13 episodes of the Cosmos television series. In the book, Sagan explores 15 billion years of cosmic evolution and the development of ... (Goodreads)
Pensées
by Blaise Pascal
Reflections on faith, reason and the human condition, presenting a defense of Christianity.
Blaise Pascal, the precociously brilliant contemporary of Descartes, was a gifted mathematician and physicist, but it is his unfinished apologia for the Christian religion upon which his reputation ... (Goodreads)
Phaedo
by Plato
Philosophical dialogue on the nature of death, the immortality of the soul, and the afterlife.
The Phaedo is acknowledged to be one of Plato's masterpieces, showing him both as a philosopher and as a dramatist at the height of his powers. For its moving account of the execution of Socrates, ... (Goodreads)
The Symposium
by Plato
A philosophical dialogue among ancient Greeks about the nature of love.
A fascinating discussion on sex, gender, and human instincts, as relevant today as ever. In the course of a lively drinking party, a group of Athenian intellectuals exchange views on eros, or desire. ... (Goodreads)
Critique of Pure Reason
by Immanuel Kant
Exploration of the limits of human reason and its limitations in understanding nature.
'The purpose of this critique of pure speculative reason consists in the attempt to change the old procedure of metaphysics and to bring about a complete revolution', Kant's Critique of Pure Reason ... (Goodreads)
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
by Sam Kean
Fascinating tales of discovery and exploration of the elements of the periodic table.
Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, ... (Goodreads)
The Way Things Are
by Lucretius
A poetic exploration of the nature of reality, life, and the universe.
..". [captures] the relentless urgency of Lucretius' didacticism, his passionate conviction and proselytizing fervour.' –The Classical Review ... (Goodreads)
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
An interstellar journey of exploration, confronting humanity's place in the universe.
A mysterious alien civilization uses a tool with the appearance of a large crystalline monolith to investigate worlds across the galaxy and, if possible, to encourage the development of intelligent ... (Wikipedia)
Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro
A dystopian story about a group of people who were cloned for organ harvesting.
The story begins with Kathy H., who describes herself as a carer, talking about looking after organ donors. She has been a carer for almost twelve years at the time of narration, and she often ... (Wikipedia)
Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
by Tom Robbins
A journey of enlightenment, exploring the depths of human spirituality and consciousness.
A paperback original, which describes a bizarre weekend through the eyes of a young broker who has just experienced a stockmarket crash. From the author of EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES. ... (Goodreads)
Jitterbug Perfume
by Tom Robbins
A journey through time and space, exploring the mysteries of life, death, and the pursuit of immortality.
A powerful and chiseled 8th-century king named Alobar narrowly escapes regicide at the hands of his own subjects, from a custom of killing the leader at the first sign of aging. After fleeing, no ... (Wikipedia)
Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo
by Plato
Classic dialogues exploring the nature of morality, justice, knowledge, and death.
The second edition of Five Dialogues presents G. M. A. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for Plato, Complete Works (Hacket, 1997). Cooper has also contributed a number of ... (Goodreads)
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
by Neil deGrasse Tyson
An accessible exploration of the universe and its mysteries.
Over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and more than a million copies sold. The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist. What is the nature of space and ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Grand Design
by Stephen Hawking
Exploring the origins of the universe and the laws of nature that govern its operation.
THE FIRST MAJOR WORK IN NEARLY A DECADE BY ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT THINKERS—A MARVELOUSLY CONCISE BOOK WITH NEW ANSWERS TO THE ULTIMATE QUESTIONS OF LIFE When and how did the universe begin? Why are ... (Goodreads)
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
by Annie Dillard
A reflective journey through nature, exploring the mysteries of the natural world.
An exhilarating meditation on nature and its seasons—a personal narrative highlighting one year's exploration on foot in the author's own neighborhood in Tinker Creek, Virginia. In the summer, ... (Goodreads)
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
by Mary Roach
Exploring the science, technology and culture of human space travel.
The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. From the Space Shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new ... (Goodreads)
Death By Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries
by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Exploring the science of the universe, from the edge of a black hole to the big bang.
A vibrant collection of essays on the cosmos from the nation's best-known astrophysicist. "One of today's best popularizers of science." ,—Kirkus Reviews., Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" ... (Goodreads)
Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe
by Simon Singh
A comprehensive exploration of the Big Bang Theory, from its earliest beginnings to its implications today.
A half century ago, a shocking Washington Post headline claimed that the world began in five cataclysmic minutes rather than having existed for all time; a skeptical scientist dubbed the maverick ... (Goodreads)
Meditations on First Philosophy
by René Descartes
Reflection on the nature of reality and human knowledge.
Descartes's Meditations on First Philosophy , the fundamental and originating work of the modern era in Western philosophy, is presented here in Donald Cress's completely revised edition of his ... (Goodreads)
Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy
by René Descartes
Philosophical treatise on the nature of knowledge and reality, examining the limits of human understanding.
La figura de Descartes como filósofo no ha sido objeto de unánime interpretación. Sobre todo en la actualidad se juzga y pondera su obra. no menos que su personalidad, de manera diferente. Para ... (Goodreads)
The Nine Billion Names of God
by Arthur C. Clarke
A group of Tibetan monks hire Western computer experts to help them finish their mission of listing all the names of God.
In a Tibetan lamasery , the monks seek to list all of the names of God . They believe the Universe was created for this purpose, and that once this naming is completed, God will bring the Universe to ... (Wikipedia)
Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics
by Gary Zukav
An exploration of the emergent theories of quantum physics, and their implications for our understanding of reality.
Gary Zukav has written "the Bible" for those who are curious about the mind-expanding discoveries of advanced physics, but who have no scientific background. Like a Wu Li Master who would teach us ... (Goodreads)
الروح والجسد
by مصطفى محمود
الروح والجسد.. طرفان نقيضان يتصارعان وبينهما يعيش الإنسان في كبد تحلق به الروح في علياء المعاني السامية ويقيده الجسد الفاني باغلال محكمة من شهوات ورغبات.. هذا الصراع الذي تكلم فيه رجال الدين ... (Goodreads)
Les Thanatonautes
by Bernard Werber
Bernard Werber nous entraîne à la découverte du continent ultime, au-delà de notre imaginaire. En suivant les Thanatonautes, vous connaîtrez des rêves et des terreurs insondables, vous subirez les ... (Goodreads)
The Anti-Christ
by Friedrich Nietzsche
An exploration of morality and its relationship to religion, with a focus on the concept of nihilism.
The reference to the Antichrist is not intended to refer to the biblical Antichrist but is rather an attack on the "slave morality" and apathy of Western Christianity. Nietzsche's basic claim is that ... (Goodreads)
Slowness
by Milan Kundera
A philosophical exploration of the effects of modern life on the individual.
The novel is a meditation on the effects of modernity upon the individual's perception of the world. It is told through a number of plot lines that slowly weave together until they are all united at ... (Wikipedia)
Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays
by Stephen Hawking
A collection of essays exploring the mysteries of the universe and its implications for humanity.
NY Times bestseller. 13 extraordinary essays shed new light on the mysteries of the universe & on one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time. In his phenomenal bestseller A Brief History of Time ... (Goodreads)
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter
by Richard P. Feynman
Exploring the wave-particle duality of light and matter, and their implications for our understanding of the universe.
Famous the world over for the creative brilliance of his insights into the physical world, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman also possessed an extraordinary talent for explaining ... (Goodreads)
In Search of Schrödinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
by John Gribbin
Exploring the mysterious implications of quantum physics and its potential for understanding the universe.
It is so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no nuclear power ... (Goodreads)
Another Roadside Attraction
by Tom Robbins
A quest for the meaning of life, exploring the boundaries between reality and fantasy.
The novel follows the adventures of John Paul Ziller and his wife Amanda—lovable prophetess and promiscuous earth mother, inarguably the central protagonist—who open "Captain Kendrick's Memorial Hot ... (Wikipedia)
The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe
by Stephen Hawking
Examining the laws of the universe and the search for a unifying theory.
Stephen Hawking is widely believed to be one of the world’s greatest minds, a brilliant theoretical physicist whose work helped reconfigure models of the universe and define what’s in it. Imagine ... (Barnes & Noble)
Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity
by Carlo Rovelli
A journey through the physical world and its underlying reality, from the macro to the micro.
From the best-selling author of, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, comes a new book about the mind-bending nature of the universe What are time and space made of? Where does matter come from? And what ... (Goodreads)
What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches
by Erwin Schrödinger
A physicist's exploration of the nature of life, bridging the gap between physics and biology. Includes autobiographical sketches.
What Is Life? is a 1944 non-fiction science book written for the lay reader by physicist Erwin Schrödinger. The book was based on a course of public lectures delivered by Schrödinger in February 1943 ... (Goodreads)
On the Heights of Despair
by Emil M. Cioran
A philosophical exploration of the human condition, despair, and the meaninglessness of existence.
Born of a terrible insomnia—"a dizzying lucidity which would turn even paradise into hell"—this book presents the youthful Emil Cioran, a self-described "Nietzsche still complete with his ... (Goodreads)
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