Philosophy:

Deconstruction For Beginners

Written by Jim Powell
Illustrated by Joe Lee

Format: Trade Paperback, 168 pages
On Sale: January 8, 2008
Price: $14.95

Deconstruction is so labyrinthine that it has become the monster that murdered philosophy. When Jacques Derrida, the father of deconstruction, uses buzzwords such as “phallogocentrism” and “transcendental signified,” humanities students and aspiring philosophers may get weak in the knees.
Following the success of his For Beginners title Derrida, Jim Powell’s Deconstruction... Read more >

Derrida For Beginners

Written by Jim Powell
Illustrated by Van Howell

Format: Trade Paperback, 192 pages
On Sale: August 21, 2007
Price: $14.95

Derrida is one of those annoying geniuses you can take a class on, read half-a-dozen books by and still have no idea what he’s talking about. Derrida’s ‘writing’ is definitely confusing (it’s like he’s pulling the rug out from under the rug that he pulled out from under philosophy). But beneath... Read more >

Foucault For Beginners

Written by Lydia Alix Fillingham
Illustrated by Moshe Susser

Format: Trade Paperback, 160 pages
On Sale: August 21, 2007
Price: $14.95

Michel Foucault’s work has profoundly affected the teaching of such diverse disciplines as literary criticism, criminology, and gender studies. Arguing that definitions of abnormal behavior are culturally constructed, Foucault explored the unfair divisions between those who meet and those who deviate from social norms. In Foucault For Beginners, the reader will... Read more >

Heidegger For Beginners

Written by Eric Charles Lemay and Jennifer A. Pitts
Illustrated by Paul Gordon

Format: Trade Paperback, 128 pages
On Sale: August 21, 2007
Price: $14.95

The ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger have been described as an intellectual time bomb, as some of the most revolutionary thought in western history. Despite the enormous amount of secondary scholarship available on Heidegger, it is–due to the complexity of his thought and the density of his writing–difficult for... Read more >

Kierkegaard For Beginners

Written by Donald D. Palmer
Illustrated by Donald D. Palmer

Format: Trade Paperback, 160 pages
On Sale: August 21, 2007
Price: $14.95

Philosophically, Søren Kierkegaard was the “bridge” that led from Hegel to Existentialism. Kierkegaard abhorred Hegel’s abstract, know-it-all idealism that tried to capture reality in a few words. Kierkegaard’s attack on social and religious complacency and his single-handed assault on traditional Western philosophy generated a crisis that produced a radically new way... Read more >

Nietzsche For Beginners

Written by Marc Sautet
Illustrated by Patrick Boussignac

Format: Trade Paperback, 192 pages
On Sale: August 21, 2007
Price: $14.95

The unorthodox life and ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche come alive in this documentary history. Here is a clear picture of the time in which this revolutionary philosopher lived and worked. We meet the luminaries of the age: Richard Wagner, Bismark, Freud and Darwin. We learn of Nietzsche’s famous love affairs, his... Read more >

Sartre for Beginners

Written by Donald D. Palmer
Illustrated by Donald D. Palmer

Format: Trade Paperback, 216 pages
On Sale: August 21, 2007
Price: $14.95

Sartre For Beginners is an accessible, yet sophisticated introduction to the life and works of the famous French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre. Sartre was a member the French underground during World War II, a novelist, a playwright, and a major influence in French political and intellectual life. The book opens with... Read more >