1.

Reflections on a Marine Venus: A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes מאת Lawrence Durrell Reflections on a Marine Venus explores life on a magical and enchanting island (Rhodes) right after World War II. It is about Greece when it was a demi-paradise. But it is also about the distillation of life and experience, the savoring of all the exquisite pleasures, physical, sensual and intellect...

2.

The Age of Reason: (1700-1789) מאת Harold Nicolson This is a study of the 18th century. Nicolson called his book a gallery of portraits, e.g. Saint Simon, elegant, a social climber; the dashing Prince Potemkin; Count Cagliostro, practitioner of black arts; Thomas Paine, inflamer of the masses; Jacques Casanova, lover, pornographer, and con man. This...

3.

Nonsense: Red Herrings, Straw Men and Sacred Cows: How We Abuse Logic in Our Everyday Language מאת Robert J. Gula Nonsense is the best compilation and study of verbal logical fallacies available anywhere. It is a handbook of the myriad ways we go about being illogical--how we deceive others and ourselves, how we think and argue in ways that are disorderly, disorganized, or irrelevant. Nonsense is also a short c...

4.

Good Behavior: Being a Study of Certain Types of Civility מאת Harold Nicolson Do we want to be persons of culture, civility, and manners? Even in the contemporary world, where this question is not much asked, most people would respond with a resounding YES. Well, if you want to be cultured, civil, and mannered, not just another everyday barbarian, it will take some work, some...

5.

Cavafy: 166 Poems: Translated with an Introduction by Alan L. Boegehold מאת Constantine P. Cavafy Constantine Cavafy is considered the greatest of modern Greek poets. His poems treat historical, philosophical, and erotic themes, sometimes altogether, and share a unique voice.This volume includes a fresh translation by noted classical scholar Alan Boegehold, a translation that captures the style ...

6.

Epicureans and Stoics מאת Axios Institute This little book contains some of the greatest wisdom literature of the ages. Everyone, and especially young people, should be familiar with it. Both Epicureanism and Stoicism taught that if we want to be happy and productive, we must strengthen and train our willful and wayward minds. There are ech...

7.

The Wisdom of the Sufis מאת Kenneth Cragg In his introduction to the anthology The Wisdom of the Sufis, Kenneth Cragg offers the Western reader valuable insight into the religion and richly poetic literature of the Middle East, and the esoteric, deeply experiential inner tradition of Islam. Bishop Cragg's selections of prayers and legends c...

8.

The Big Spenders: The Epic Story of the Rich Rich, the Grandees of America and the Magnificoes, and How They Spent Their Fortunes מאת Lucius Beebe The Big Spenders was Lucius Beebe's last and many think his best book. In it he describes the consumption of the Gilded Age. Beebe enjoys it all immensely, and so do we his readers, whether it is James Gordon Bennett buying a Monte Carlo restaurant because he was refused a seat by the window, or Spe...

9.

Mr. Market Miscalculates: The Bubble Years and Beyond מאת James Grant Why is America in financial crisis today? This book, better than any to date, explains it all-how we got here and where we are going. The how we got here is brilliantly described in a collection of pieces from Grant's Interest Rate Observer, the Wall Street insider's Bible. The where we are going is...

10.

Escape to the Mountain: A Family's Adventures in the Wilderness מאת Marcia Bonta This book describes the joy of family life on a very remote mountaintop farm. There is moon-lit sledding, fall garden harvesting, a world of birds and wild animals, all punctuated by the father's long daily commute to a real world job. Values of simplicity, self-sufficiency, and being a part of natu...

11.

Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts מאת Hunter Lewis When the world financial system failed in 2008, world governments intervened decisively. Guided by economics teams with impeccable credentials, they intended not only to "stimulate" the economy, but to "jolt" it back to borrowing and spending as usual. All of these actions were taken from a playbook...

12.

I've Seen the Best of It מאת Joseph W. Alsop A fixture in Washington society, Joseph Alsop knew intimately everyone who mattered in American politics, including all the presidents of his day, but was especially close to John and Jacqueline Kennedy.He also visited Churchill in London, de Gaulle in Paris, Adenauer in Bonn, and writes entertainin...

13.

The Gita: A New Translation of Hindu Sacred Scripture מאת Irina Gajjar The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure of world religious, philosophical, and ethical literature. Part of the larger Mahabharata cycle, it is the most famous part of that great Indian epic.This book was Gandhi's personal bible. His life exemplified its ideal of spiritual detachment in the very midst of int...

14.

Children of the Sun: A Narrative of Decadence in England After 1918 מאת Martin Green Children of the Sun is a story of brilliant and later famous young people who deliberately chose decadence as an alternative lifestyle. The setting is England between World War I and World War II. The cast of characters includes Evelyn Waugh, Randolph Churchill, W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, a...

15.

Gandhi: Voice of a New Age Revolution מאת Martin B. Green The name of Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most widely recognized in the world. His Autobiography has been translated into all major languages. The film Gandhi remains popular.Yet many mysteries surround this man, especially about his inner life and personal relationships. This book covers these topic...