Catalog All books
Michel Cassé
The Genealogy of Matter
Atoms originate in the stars. There is no real separation between the Earth and the sky, and matter forms one great whole, based on a series of nuclear reactions. Written in a lyrical, poetic style, this is a concise, clearly illustrated account of the birth of matter, aimed at the general reader. Michel Cassé is an astrophysicist and researcher at the CEA and the Institut Astrophysique, in Paris. He is the author of Du Vide et de la Création and La Petite Etoile.
Thierry Vincent
Anorexia
Why are more and more young girls and women becoming anorexic ? Today it is a real social problem. The trend of diets, and the multiplication of magazines about losing weight are no longer enough to explain this phenomenon. Thierry Vincent poses fundamental questions in this book in order to understand how anorexica works. Perhaps the search for new ways of treating anorexia should depart from an examination of these questions. Thierry Vincent, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, is the medical director of the university health centre Georges Dumas, in La Tronche, near Grenoble, where high school and university students suffering from eating disorders are treated.
Nicole Le Douarin
Dreams, Clones and Genes
This book affirms that we are at the dawn of a new type of medicine which will no longer be concerned only with palliative measures and repairs, but will also be capable of regenerating diseased tissues via the introduction of embryonic cells. This major upheaval will oblige us to reconsider the meaning of the individual and of life itself. Nicole Ledouarin teaches at the Collège de France.
Nathalie Blanc
Animals in an Urban Environment
Those of you who live in an urban centre, do you think the rightful place of the animal is in the countryside ? Do you think that dogs are simply kept at the whim of lonely citizens ? That cats should not be allowed to roam the streets ? That there should be no more cockroaches to invade homes ? Yet, do you really want a city without nature ? Without green areas, but also without animals ? A sterilised city in other words.. Nathalie Blanc analyses here the role of the animal, and thus the living, in our urban societies. Nathalie Blanc is a researcher specialising in urban geography, at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
Jacques Andréani
America and Us
Discussions about the U.S. tend to be heated, both in France and within America itself. To see this issue clearly, it is necessary to move away from a stereotypical vision, created by prejudice. What we notice immediately is the image of success and power, but also continuing tensions, unresolved dilemmas, and a problem in cooperating with the rest of the world. Politics, economy, religion, relations between individuals and communities, the law and the role of the judiciary, social and racial fragmentation : these are all themes dealt with in this book, with a view to ending misconceptions and to take us beyond the old Franco-American misunderstandings. Jacques Andréani was Frances ambassador to the United States from 1989 to 1995.
Jerome Kagan
Three Seductive Ideas
Do the first two years of a childs life really determine his or her future development? Are human beings, like other primates, solely motivated by the pursuit of pleasure? What can be concluded today about the notion of temperament? Is it stable and unchanging throughout life? This book is the culmination of a lifetime of research. Jerome Kagan, one of the founders of modern development psychology, is known the world over for the precision and originality of his work, as well as for his overall examination of the methods and meaning of psychology. Jerome Kagan teaches at Harvard University. He is the author of several works on psychology that are regarded as classics.
Claude Olievenstein
Drugs, Thirty Years Onwards
Thirty years after the publication of Il n'y a pas de Drogués Heureux, Claude Olievenstein recounts his exceptional career and summarises his current views on a number of social issues that have been his prime concern for many years: drugs, teenagers and the problems of the underprivileged living in housing projects. This is a frank survey of society in state of crisis. Claude Olievenstein is the head doctor at the Centre Médical Marmottan, in Paris, and a world-renowned specialist in the treatment of substance addiction.
Juliette Grange
Auguste Comte - Politics and Science
The writings of Auguste Comte are often reduced to a few excerpts and stereotypes, and as a result the judgement of "positivism" is quickly reached. Yet, industrial politics, the organisation of research, and the influence of the exact sciences on the way we regard politics, all eminently modern themes, lie at the heart of his thought. Therefore, this book, by one of the best French specialists, offers an original rereading of Comte and ultimately opens the way for a more personal reflection on the nature of the relations between science and politics as they exist today. Juliette Grange is a professor at the University of Nancy-II
George W. Bush
By the Grace of God
George W. Bush is the new President of the United States. Who is the real man behind the publicity ? What are his values ? What are his ideas for the future of America and the world in general ? This book not only represents a true reflection of the man himself, it is also an invaluable source of information on modern day America.
Monique Dagnaud
The State and the Media
Can the control of television broadcasting be justified? Should a broadcasting policy that favours cultural diversity be defended? What are the ties between media bosses and politicians or administrators? Can it be said that the content of programming is governed by an elitist plot? How is French media control different from that of other countries? How did it develop and how can it be applied to on-line media? Is there a French model of broadcasting? How has it evolved? Who will win the battle that is now being waged: the citizens or the giant global groups? Monique Dagnaud is a sociologist
Daniel C. Dennett
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life
In this book, he confronts this approach with the ideas of Charles Darwin and Darwinism, and addresses the question of evolution. What are the implications of the theory of evolution by natural selection? Why is evolution such a disturbing idea, not only for religious believers but also for philosophers and even for some biologists? How does it affect the concept of mind? In the midst of the current neo-Darwinian wave, this book offers a timely dialogue between the ideas of an important contemporary philosopher and those of the greatest nineteenth-century biologist. Daniel C. Dennett teaches cognitive sciences at Tufts University.
