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Jacques Blamont

Introduction au siècle des menaces

Although the confrontation between rich and poor is universal, it can be heightened by various factors. According to Jacques Blamont, the widening technological gap between the poor and rich nations is one such aggravating factor. The revolution in information technology has been largely responsible, because it has helped to concentrate more and more power and wealth in the hands of the few - particularly in the United States. Blamont lists various potentially threatening situations that are converging to create an explosion such as the world has never seen before. These include: the demographic growth of the very poor, the ageing population in the developed countries, new climatic risks that are endangering the environment, the spread of new epidemics as a result of globalisation, and the limited effects of the military strategies adopted by the most powerful nations. Step by step, the author deconstructs the hellish machine that our children will inherit from us - because we put too much faith in technological progress. Jacques Blamont is a member of the French Academy of Science and a professor at the University of Paris-VI. He is one of the fathers of the French space programme and was formerly the scientific director of the CNES. He is most notably the author of Vénus dévoilée and Le Chiffre et le Songe.

Gilles Tétart

The Blood of Poets

“The first and constant motive of my scientific life has always been the blood, and its formation, diseases and mutations. During the day, I studied corpuscles and serums. In the evening I read or reread poetry. Sometimes I came across blood once again. An intuition, an allusion of a poet came to clarify my clinical or biological reflections of the next day. These kind of exchanges have inspired this book, which constitutes a personal anthology. It is the same blood which runs in the veins of Iphigenis before the planned sacrifice, as wriggles under our gaze using the microscope, and as draws our eyes to the lips it colours… The present anthology bears witness to this unity and this diversity of the blood.” Jean Bernard Jean Bernard is a member of the Acadamié française

Jacques Lecomte

Cured of Childhood

How does a child whom life has hurt become resilient? Jacques Lecomte examines every aspect of a child's environment that can help him or her overcome misfortune. He stresses the crucial need for markers in the reconstruction of the child's personality, and on the importance of finding meaning in suffering. This is a thorough study of resilience, its foundations and how it works. It is also a polemical work which questions the role played by psychotherapists in building resilience. Jacques Lecomte argues that they are not the only ones who can do this - and that sometimes psychotherapists can do more harm than good. The author suggests specific plans of action, for families and children, so that those who are suffering and in pain may learn to become resilient and happy. This book offers a powerful message of hope - happiness, says the author, lies in acquiring a better understanding of resilience. Jacques Lecomte is a doctor in psychology and a lecturer at the University of Paris-X. He specialises in training professionals who work with children and is secretary general of the International Observatory on Resilience, presided by Boris Cyrulnik.

Robert Boyer

General Theory of Capitalism is it possible?

Robert Boyer is a leading figure of the “regulationist” school of economics, which believes that capitalism requires external, political, monetary and social regulations, and that the capitalist economy cannot be reduced to the self-regulating laws of the market. In this book, he proposes a general theory of capitalism, from two angles. First of all, he argues that there are several models of capitalism - not just one. America's ultra-liberal capitalism is unlike German capitalism, which is characterised by the fusion between banks and businesses, just as it is unlike French state-interventionist capitalism and Japan's capitalism of consensus. Secondly, in order to understand how capitalism works, every aspect has to be considered - not just the market but also political and social institutions (the State, central banks, unions, etc.) and the conventions they create among themselves (salary agreements, etc.). Robert Boyer is a research fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, a director of studies at the Ecole des Haute Etudes en Sciences Sociales and a member of the French prime minister's Council for Economic Analysis.

Bernard Chemouny

The Guide to Homeopathy New, revised edition

This is the revised third edition of the highly successful guide to homeopathy, which was first published seven years ago. Besides bringing up to date all the facts, figures, tables, prices and addresses, the new edition has been revised to account for the following: o Lower health insurance coverage, following recent French legislation which came into effect on 1st January 2004. o The French Ministry of Health's recommendation to limit the use of antibiotics (especially for minor ailments such as sore throats). “A reference work on [homeopathy], which is used by one out of three French people,” Le Figaro Bernard Chemouny is a homeopathic physician and acupuncturist. He teaches homeopathy at Hôpital Saint-Jacques, in Paris.

Denis Stora

Guide to the Main Medications and Their Generic Equivalents

Since October 2003, France's health-care system has required users to purchase generic medications, when these exist, if they wish their medical prescriptions to be covered. Physicians have agreed that 75% of all prescriptions will be for generic medications, and pharmacists are committed to making the necessary substitutions. Physicians, pharmacists and users will thus be utilising an increased volume of generic medications. Presented here in alphabetical order are the 150 molecules contained in approximately 1600 medications that are on the market today. More than a list of generic equivalents, this is an “intelligent” guide to medications. Each molecule listed is described with its pharmacological activity, therapeutic indications and contra-indications, dosages and major recommendations. This is a highly useful pedagogical guide, since brand names will gradually disappear in favour of their chemical names (paracetamol instead of Doliprane, fluoxetine instead of Prozac). Denis Stora, the holder of a doctorate in pharmaceutical studies, has been a licensed pharmacist for twelve years. He is a teacher and the author of numerous practical books for nurses and pharmacists.

Alain Boureau

Satan, the Heretic History of demonology in Medieval Europe, 1260-1350

Alain Boureau is one of the most original French medievalists. In his earlier, best-selling book on the “droit du seigneur”, he showed that such a custom had never actually existed. The present work is not about Satan and Satanism, but about the birth of demonology, i.e. about the demons that inhabit Satan's Court - a fascinating topic for a medievalist. Before the end of the thirteenth century, theology had shown little interest in demons, according to Boureau. But Saint Thomas Aquinas' “Treatise on Evil”, written in 1272, changed all this. Boureau tries to find an explanation. He is not concerned with why people believe in demons - he has not written a social history of demonology. Instead, he sets out to understand why theologians became interested in the subject - for this is a history of theological ideas about demons. The author summarises his explanation as follows: “I propose that the date of the invention of demonology be moved forward by more than a century, not because a new doctrine was established and enforced then, as was the case in the fifteenth century, but because of the considerable procedural changes that assimilated witchcraft and invocations of the devil with the crime of heresy, which in turn led to new legal developments and more revelations. In addition, the injection of doctrinal content into the ancient theme of the devil's pact explained demoniac activity in the world.” The issue that lies at the heart of these discussions about a pact with the devil, evil and evidence is obviously the emergence of our legal system. Alain Boureau is a director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.

Gérard Macqueron, Stéphane Roy

Shyness

Everyone experiences some form of shyness. Who can honestly say that they have never been intimidated? In this book, the authors offer a step-by-step programme to help readers understand their own shyness and learn to overcome it, by identifying and acting on problem situations, emotions, behaviour and thoughts. Numerous tools can serve to make communication easier: knowing how to listen, learning to make conversation, and learning to assert oneself. In addition, there is a section devoted to shyness among children and teenagers. The method of self-therapy described here has been scientifically tested and shown to be particularly effective in overcoming shyness. Gérard Macqueron is a psychiatrist at Hôpital Sainte-Anne, in Paris, and at the Clinique du Château, in Garches, near Paris. He is a consultant in career-stress management with Patrick Légeron, at Stimulus. Stéphane Roy is a psychologist and psychotherapist at the medical-psychiatric centre in Garches.