Hailed as our era's most profound theorist of literary influence, Harold Bloom's own influence on the landscape of literary criticism has been decisive. His wide-ranging critical writings have plumbed the depths of Romanticism, explored the anxiety caused by the influence of one generation of poets on another, wrestled with the idea of a literary canon, and examined the relationship between religion and literature. --

This book explores the distinction between selflessness and self-interestedness, between acting for one's own advantage and acting, even when disadvantageous, for reasons of duty or conscience. This apparently straightforward contrast (exemplified in the difference between rational-choice models in economics and holistic models in social anthropology) is a source of confusion. This is so, F. G. Bailey argues, because people polarize and essentialize both actors and actions and uphold one or the other side of the contrast as concrete reality, as the truth about how the social world works. The task of The Saving Lie is to show that both versions are convenient fictions, with instrumental rather than ontological significance: they are not about truth but about power. At best they are tools that enable us to make sense of our experience; at the same time they are weapons we deploy to define situations and thus exercise control. Bailey says that both models fail the test of empiricism: they can be at once immensely elegant and quite remote from anyone's experience in the real world. And since both models are "saving lies," we should accept them as necessities, but only to the extent they are useful, and we should constantly remind ourselves of their limitations. The wrong course, according to Bailey, is to promote one model to the total exclusion of the other. Instead, we should take care to examine systematically the rhetoric used to promote these models not only in intellectual discourse but also in defining situations in everyday life. The book strongly and directly advocates a point of view that combines skepticism with a determination to anchor abstract argument in evidence. It is argumentative; it invites confrontation; yet it leaves many doors open for further thought.

The Sparrow and the Crow is and will be an epic journey, deep within your wildest imagination. It takes you in places that light cannot exist, but love does. It makes you fear what you don't believe and except what you can't conceive. Christ was a flower, a perfect flower, taken into the eye of the sparrow. Hatred, rage, anger became justice, caught within the heart of the crow. The power of Christ has traveled through the ages, searching for two people, a man and a woman, who are not perfect before God; but their hearts are pure and one with creation. They are the chosen ones. Two people willing to die for each other, for no other reason than to preserve a single burning light within a darkened night. A candlelight, burning within the Eye of the Sparrow. His promise to Adam and Eve becomes the Omen of the Crow. That he who seeks the rose shall inherit the Heavens and Earth forever more.

Technology is breaking politics – what can be done about it? Artificially intelligent “bot” accounts attack politicians and public figures on social media. Conspiracy theorists publish junk news sites to promote their outlandish beliefs. Campaigners create fake dating profiles to attract young voters. We live in a world of technologies that misdirect our attention, poison our political conversations, and jeopardize our democracies. With massive amounts of social media and public polling data, and in depth interviews with political consultants, bot writers, and journalists, Philip N. Howard offers ways to take these “lie machines” apart. Lie Machines is full of riveting behind the scenes stories from the world’s biggest and most damagingly successful misinformation initiatives—including those used in Brexit and U.S. elections. Howard not only shows how these campaigns evolved from older propaganda operations but also exposes their new powers, gives us insight into their effectiveness, and shows us how to shut them down.

Little fixes for life's BIG faux pas Figuring out which salad fork to use is a relative no-brainer, but what's the protocol for using a lockless bathroom or getting caught regifting? Saving Face daringly examines dozens of our worst-case social scenarios. Using helpful illustrations and a "toolbox" of general techniques and technologies, you'll learn what to do if caught: Arriving without a gift Forgetting a name Being served horrible food Starting or ending a workplace romance Sitting next to your boss on a plane Mistakenly thinking someone's coming on to you Clogging someone else's toilet Getting rid of guests Leaving a bad phone message From the office to the dining room to the appearance of freeloading cousins at your doorstep, you'll confidently turn snafus into saves and finesse those social situations once destined for disaster.

Erick and Veronica, young married ministers, just entered the Tribulation Period. Veronica wants to know if Christians can lose their salvation. Join her on her quest to find the truth.