David Wootton guides us through four centuries of Western thought to show how new ideas about politics, ethics, and economics stepped into a gap opened up by religious conflict and the Scientific Revolution. As ideas about godliness and Aristotelian virtue faded, theories about the rational pursuit of power, pleasure, and profit moved to the fore.

Drawing on an international range of examples, from Che Guevarra to "The Crying Game," Profit and Pleasure leads the discussion of sexuality to a consideration of material reality and the substance of men and women's everyday lives.

David Wootton guides us through four centuries of Western thought to show how new ideas about politics, ethics, and economics stepped into a gap opened up by religious conflict and the Scientific Revolution. As ideas about godliness and Aristotelian virtue faded, theories about the rational pursuit of power, pleasure, and profit moved to the fore.

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature. In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum. Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.

We cannot overestimate the importance of a thorough familiarity with the Bible. I try to lose no opportunity of urging people by every means in my power to the constant study of this wonderful Book. If through the pages that follow, I can reach still others and rouse them to read their Bibles, not at random but with a plan and purpose, I shall be indeed thankful. - Preface.

Millions of people worldwide dream of making a "good" living, of attaining great wealth, and having an extraordinary and fortunate life. However, they haven’t yet found a way of attaining it, and they fear that they can only do so at the expense of others—perhaps by compromising their higher spiritual values and virtuous nature. Some people who outwardly acknowledge their desire for great wealth feel inwardly guilty about acquiring it, and their illusive conflict blocks or dissipates their potential fortunes. Other people say they just want to be comfortable and secure rather than vastly fortunate. These individuals also hold themselves back from breaking through to new levels of financial freedom, and actually living their most cherished and inspiring dreams. In addition to their conflicting spiritual and material natures, some people have an additional internal struggle between their desires to give and receive. How to Make One Hell of a Profit and Still Get to Heaven was written to help you (if you happen to be like most people) dissolve these apparent conflicts. It can assist you in making your financial dreams come true while shedding light on an entirely new way of looking at, understanding, and appreciating the true nature of Earthly profits and heavenly wealth. If you read and apply the principles and methodologies that are laid out in these pages, your relationship with, and ability to master, your spiritual wealth and material finances as well as other vital areas of your life will undergo an amazing transformation.

Presents unabridged works and substantive abridgments in preeminent translations, along with balanced, lucid, sophisticated introductions. This book includes a wide and balanced selection of many of the more important texts of modern political thought. To its great credit, it provides pertinent excerpts from frequently neglected authors, such as Calvin and Hume, which it nicely juxtaposes appear to be good, and the introductions to each section help to situate the writers in their historical and intellectual context and to alert students to some of the central issues that arise in the texts. This book offers an economical and useful approach to modern political thought.