Catalog All books
Pascal Picq
And at the Beginning there was Man...
In forty years, the genealogical tree of human evolution has grown so extensively that it now spans six million years. But fossils, the tree of evolution and the story they tell openly challenge all prevailing ideas about evolution; and though they have been shaken, these ideas have barely begun to change. In this book, Pascal Picq examines concrete, existing proof of our origins and then goes on to offer a new view of the human position in the evolutionary process. Pascal Picq is a senior lecturer in paleo-anthropology and prehistory at the Collège de France.
François Ladame
Eternal Adolescents How to Become an Adult
Problems of identity also concern fully developed adults or, more accurately, those apparently developed adults who have failed to leave their childhood behind and have been unable to become autonomous. In an age which prefers to break down rather than uphold limits between genders, generations, even between life and death how can the construction of ones personal identity be enhanced? What can be done to develop a powerful sense of existing in ones own right, independently of inner changes and circumstances? How can children be helped to find their place in the world and to remain themselves in the midst of others? François Ladame is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
Jean-Paul Betbèze
The Ten Commandments of Finance
Contemporary finance is driven by a quest for a high rate of profitability. According to Jean-Paul Betbèze, this quest is ruled by ten commandments, ranging from "Thou shalt always seek a 15% return on Equity" to "Thou shalt not allow the whole system to explode". He examines how this has upset the old form of capitalism, and in his lively, clear style, the author recounts the unprecedented changes that are now taking place and that will determine our future. Jean-Paul Betbèze teaches at the University of Paris Panthéon-Assas.
Herbert Lottman
The Committed Writer and his Ambivalences From Chateaubriand to Malraux
By definition, a committed writer is a well-known one who puts the respect and admiration his name has accrued in the service of a cause. But is it really that simple? Is political commitment only a matter of principles? Isnt it also driven by a quest for celebrity? Described here are the stratagems adopted by some of the greatest figures in the French literary pantheon of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as they faltered between a quest for purity and the desire for personal glory. Herbert Lottman is a renowned biographer.
Fareed Zakaria
The Future of Freedom
Is it really so that more democracy leads automatically to more freedom ? Why, in the four corners of the world, are we now seeing an increased capacity for religion to mobilise the people ? Why, in Europe as in the United States, do we have minorities and oligarchies reigning in the name of the people ? Why has there been an increase in the number of regimes which are born from the polling booth, yet which exalt fanaticism, repression and war ? A dazzling world tour of the geo-political horizon, and also a lesson in modern and contemporary history, which we lead us to reexamine our own prejudices. Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International and was formerly the managing director of the review Foreign Affairs.
Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, François Heisbourg
Strategic and Military Yearbook 2003
The war in Iraq - what are the origins of the conflict and the consequences for the Middle East and Europe ? Al-Qaeda, Iran, Syria, North Korea - where are the potential conflicts and those already underway ? Europe, the United States - what place does American supremacy leave its former allies in the Cold War ? What choices can Europe make in the face of this mounting danger ? This book provides an up-to-date, concise and accurate survey of the major trends and strategic challenges facing the world today and tomorrow.
Michel Cassé, Edgar Morin
Children of the Sky Between Nothingness, Light and Matter
What is the universe, which we regard as "ours" not only because we live in it but because it produced us? This book is in the form of a dialogue on cosmology between the astrophysicist Michel Cassé and the philosopher Edgar Morin. It is a profound work which revels in the joy of knowledge and restores us to the universe that is in all of us, as it celebrates the "anthropo-cosmos". Michel Cassé is an astrophysicist at the Atomic Energy Commission. Edgar Morin is an internationally renowned writer and thinker.
Marie-France Le Heuzey
The Hyperactive Child
What causes hyperactivity? Who to blame: society, parents, genetics? How should Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(AD/HD) be treated? Is AD/HD a genetic or a family problem? Should children suffering from AD/HD be medicated? With its numerous case studies, pertinent advice and accessible scientific explanations, this book is bound to become the basic reference work on AD/HD for the general reader. Marie-France Le Heuzey is a medical psychiatrist.
Janine Thibault
The Air We Breathe
What is air? What is pollution? Whether with regard to the atmosphere, the effects of pollutants, or the weather, teachers will find in this book elementary theoretical information on air, and the essential foundation needed to instruct their pupils with a civic-minded, and preventive attitude to the air they breathe.
Bernard Lechevalier
Mozart's Brain
In this book, the author uses episodes from Mozarts life which illustrate a specific aspect of musical perception. He explores the mechanisms of musical memory - how is it mentally possible to memorise a fifteen-minute musical composition for nine voices, in two choirs? Is this ability due to a listening technique? To an emotionally-based one? What mental operations are at work in musical memory, in general? Bernard Lechevalier is a neurologist specialising in neuropsychology, and a professor of neurology and medicine in teaching hospitals.
Stéphanie Hahusseau
How to Stop Yourself Spoiling Your Life
Our lives are governed by patterns and beliefs which we have inherited from childhood and which, without our knowledge, make us repeat the same mistakes and relive the same distress. Stéphanie Hahusseau breaks down such patterns in this concise self-help book, which aims to help us change our lives. Illustrated with numerous case studies, the advice offered here is always concrete and specific. It should help us embark on a journey of self-discovery and to put an end to what makes us suffer. Stéphanie Hahusseau is a psychiatrist practising in Toulouse.
Luc Ferry, Xavier Darcos, Claudie Haigneré
A letter to all those who like school To explain the current reforms
Our education system was and still is today one of the best in the world. However, it is now experiencing new problems, which have been consistently denied as a result of both political point scoring and a lack of courage. Dare we suggest that the true reasons for these indisputable difficulties actually come, for the most part, from the school itself ? What is the solution ? How can teachers be helped to do their best so that their pupils perform better ?" Luc Ferry
Élisabeth Badinter
The Wrong Road
Badinters new book is a candid review of 15 years of feminist discussion and polemics. From womens point of view, what real progress has been accomplished in the last 15 years? Do the feminist voices that are most often heard today express the concerns of the majority of women? What image of women and men are these feminist voices trying to promote? What model of sexuality do they wish to impose? Are we witnessing the return of the old male and female stereotypes, at womens expense?
Jean-Marie Bourre
The Dietetics of the Brain
How should you eat to improve how you think? This book sounds the death knell of repressive rules of nutrition and celebrates the joys of the food-loving, gourmet brain. What is the greatest nutritional risk? An unbalanced diet. By providing the keys to proper nutrition, this book shows the way to greater mental awareness, energy, health and fulfilment, while respecting the real needs of both the body and the brain that most crucial organ. Throughout the book, pleasure (adapted to every budget) remains one of the authors main concerns. Jean-Marie Bourre heads a research team specialising in the chemistry of the brain, at INSERM.
