Societal issues All books
Barbara Polla
A Woman First
A unique, personal and passionate approach to a fundamental question: the position of the two sexes, face to face and in the world.
Paul Milliez
My Hopes
How does a traditionally-educated Catholic become a committed doctor? How do the resistance, the fight for abortion and against all forms of intolerance, intimate relationships with world leaders from General de Gaulle to the Shah of Iran and travels from Liban to Saudi Arabia, combine to create an extraordinary personality? A worldwide specialist in arterial hypertension, Paul Milliez (1912-1994) was the honorary dean of faculty at Broussais Hotel-Dieu.
Pierre-André deChalendar
For a City That Is Desirable Once Again Cities are our future: what can be done so they will ultimately be desirable again?
Should we leave cities? The subject is very timely, and this book, which argues that we shouldn’t, deals with it intelligently, and without being overly-technical, which is rather rare in the realm of urbanism.
Catherine Bonnet
A Gesture of Love Giving birth anonymously
Why do some women give birth anonymously so that their child is instantly adopted? A pedopsychoanalyst, Catherine Bonnet recounts the heart-breaking testimonies of these suffering women whose single gesture of love is to protect their child from the violence within themselves. A fresh look at the foundations of maternity and of filiation. Catherine Bonnet is a pedopsychoanalyst.
Alain Bentolila
All about scholl
This is a brilliant, clearly argued demonstration of how the inability of the school system to evolve and develop a critical spirit may lead to the general failure of our entire society.
Raymond Boudon
Why intellectual peoples don't like liberalism
Given the intellectual force of liberalism, its political appeal, its economic effectiveness and its historical significance, why is it so unpopular among French intellectuals? Why does it elicit so little serious discussion? And why is it the object of so much confusion, so many clichés and misunderstandings? Is it simply out of resentment, because intellectuals feel that the market does not afford them the material and symbolic rewards that they believe they deserve? Is it just because they prefer to play a critical role in a society where capitalism is triumphant? Perhaps, but these reasons do not explain everything and they certainly dont explain the systematic rejection of liberal thought in France. A sociologist of knowledge rather than of social determinism, and a specialist in belief systems, Raymond Boudon ruthlessly analyses the cognitive mechanisms that make liberalism so hateful in the eyes of French intellectuals. The result is a keen, detailed review of the clichés that have encumbered discussions for more than thirty years. Raymond Boudon, a professor at the University of Paris-IV, is a member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. He us the author of numerous works, most notably LInégalité des chances, La logique du social, LIdéologie ou lorigine des idées reçues, LArt de se persuader, Le Sens des valeurs and Déclin de la morale? Déclin des valeurs. He is the co-author, with R. Leroux, of Y a-t-il encore une sociologie?
Raphaël Hadas-Lebel
The Future of France’s Fifth Republic and Its Institutions in 18 Questions
Should France abandon the five-year presidential term? Should it proscribe political cohabitation (following the failure of the presidential party to acquire a parliamentary majority)? Is a second chamber necessary? How can the Constitutional Council be made to evolve?
Alex Türk
Society Under Surveillance
An advocate of democratic vigilance, Alex Türq calls for a wide-ranging discussion on all these issues.
Jean-Charles Nayebi
Preparing, Protecting and Educating Children and Adolescents for Life in a Digital World
An educational and psychological aspect: the author explains how each of the sites accessed (game, chat rooms) can affect or even alter behaviour and lead to addiction.
Michel Schneider
Big Mother The Psychopathology of Political Life
Listening, closeness, emergencies, love - politicians today play up to the mother. Leaders dare not lead, the citizens are now so child-like that they simply wait to be told what to do by the State : the Leisure State behaves like those mothers who cannot stand to think that their children can play by themselves, and insist on keeping them busy. Where are the fathers ? Is this the end of the paternal reference and the symbolic order of things ? A psychoanalyst, Michel Schneider was formerly a director of music and dance at the Ministry of Culture.
Fatma Bouvet de la Maisonneuve
Women's choice
woman physician-psychiatrist appraises the condition of women in today’s society.
Dominique Servant
How Not to Crack Up at Work
What can be done, in a concrete fashion, to overcome work-related problems and to obtain professional satisfaction and fulfilment?
Alain Ehrenberg
Tired of Yourself Depression and Society
Examining the changes that have occurred since the 19th century in both psychiatry and society at large, this book shows how the internal collapse that is depression is the ultimate symbol of our culture of powerlessness. The depressed person cannot rise above the demands imposed on him or that he imposes on himself. He has no recourse but fatigue, inhibition, and indecision. But what does it mean to learn to be oneself? Is our society merely creating huge numbers of hypochondriacs? Can we any longer draw a line between the small unhappinesses and frustrations of daily life, and pathological suffering? Alain Ehrenberg is a sociologist.
Philippe deBaleine
Conversations on the Sky
What are the origins of the universe? Besides human beings, are there other conscious living creatures in the universe? If there are, do they resemble humans? Could their appearance be entirely different? If Christian teachings are true, could they also apply to such extraterrestrial creatures? What are Good and Evil? What is Gods role? How did nature take on the forms it has? In a relaxed, conversational tone, Philippe de Baleine addresses some of the major metaphysical, theological and cosmological issues that are being asked today. Philippe de Baleine is a journalist, essayist and novelist.
Jean-Michel Fourgous
Academic Success in the Digital Era
Parents and teachers can help children achieve personal and academic success. This book shows them how.
Christian Stoffaës
Public Services A Question of the Future
French public services need to be modernised. In their present position, they incarnate the Welfare State and its grand projects. They are now being challenged by the opening up of the market, the fall of the controlled economy, deregulation, and privatisations. An open economy now rules the network industries, such as energy, transport, telecommunications, and collective services. Can we really just leave isolated and without a future this cornerstone of our society which represents all at once the infrastructure of the competitive economy, great technical achievements, the republican conception of social equality and the cohesion of the country ? A result of the reflections of the Network Plan 2010 group, led by Christian Stoffaës, the director of the company Elecricité de France, this work identifies the currents of change, assesses the situation in other countries, and traces an outline of a significant project to reform the State. In co-edition with La Documentation française.
Nicolas Bouzou, Luc Ferry
Youth Today
Reflections on youth today and on how to improve its future, by two major experts