New Releases by Peter BAKER

In recent philosophical discourse, there has been a proliferation of work in the field of philosophy of religion, and in particular at the intersection between epistemology and philosophy of religion. Much of that interest has centred on the emergence of what has come to be known as ''Reformed Epistemology''. The central claim of Reformed epistemologists is that belief in God is properly basic. The purpose of the arguments offered by Reformed epistemologists is to oppose what Plantinga calls the ''de jure'' objection to theistic belief - the idea that it is somehow irrational, a dereliction of epistemic duty, or in some other sense epistemically unacceptable, to believe in God. This objection is distinct from what Plantinga labels the ''de facto'' objection - the objection that, whatever the rational status of belief in God, it is, in fact, a false belief. The primary goal of Reformed epistemology, then, is to defend Christian belief against the de jure objection, thereby showing that everything really depends on the truth of Christian belief. This book demonstrates the feasibility of combining the Reformed epistemologist''s position with an argument for theism that the author draws from Charles Taylor''s work. In it, he shows the value that would be added to the Reformed epistemologist''s position by such a combination.

In the tradition of Hedrick Smith''s The Russians, Robert G. Kaiser''s Russia: The People and the Power, and David Remnick''s Lenin''s Tomb comes an eloquent and eye-opening chronicle of Vladimir Putin''s Russia, from this generation''s leading Moscow correspondents. With the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia launched itself on a fitful transition to Western-style democracy. But a decade later, Boris Yeltsin''s handpicked successor, Vladimir Putin, a childhood hooligan turned KGB officer who rose from nowhere determined to restore the order of the Soviet past, resolved to bring an end to the revolution. Kremlin Rising goes behind the scenes of contemporary Russia to reveal the culmination of Project Putin, the secret plot to reconsolidate power in the Kremlin. During their four years as Moscow bureau chiefs for The Washington Post, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser witnessed firsthand the methodical campaign to reverse the post-Soviet revolution and transform Russia back into an authoritarian state. Their gripping narrative moves from the unlikely rise of Putin through the key moments of his tenure that re-centralized power into his hands, from his decision to take over Russia''s only independent television network to the Moscow theater siege of 2002 to the "managed democracy" elections of 2003 and 2004 to the horrific slaughter of Beslan''s schoolchildren in 2004, recounting a four-year period that has changed the direction of modern Russia. But the authors also go beyond the politics to draw a moving and vivid portrait of the Russian people they encountered -- both those who have prospered and those barely surviving -- and show how the political flux has shaped individual lives. Opening a window to a country on the brink, where behind the gleaming new shopping malls all things Soviet are chic again and even high school students wonder if Lenin was right after all, Kremlin Rising features the personal stories of Russians at all levels of society, including frightened army deserters, an imprisoned oil billionaire, Chechen villagers, a trendy Moscow restaurant king, a reluctant underwear salesman, and anguished AIDS patients in Siberia. With shrewd reporting and unprecedented access to Putin''s insiders, Kremlin Rising offers both unsettling new revelations about Russia''s leader and a compelling inside look at life in the land that he is building. As the first major book on Russia in years, it is an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the country and promises to shape the debate about Russia, its uncertain future, and its relationship with the United States.

Feel better immediately, and stay that way all your life--a longer, happier life! An encyclopediac collection of tips, techniques, and charts, and troubleshooting lists explains what to do to bring quick changes for more energy during the day, more relaxation after work, and deeper sleep during the night. Answer any question and solve any health problem by following the simple, practical advice on every page. You''ll see that it''s just as easy to live a healthy life as one where you''re out of condition. Handy sections offer workout programs, nutritious eating plans, ways to unhook addictions, ideas for improving your relationships and a more enjoyable sex life, as well as preventive maintenance to avoid heart disease, cancer, and other life-shorteners.

The Washington Post reporter who first broke the Monica Lewinsky story offers his own perspective on the ensuing scandal, impeachment, and media coverage. 125,000 first printing.

Attempts to bridge the gap between contemporary neuropsychology and peoples common sense understanding of themselves.

This practical, down-to-earth guide to the minefield of being a man in the 1990s includes advice on sex, relationships, emotions, work, violence, health and fatherhood.

Onward: Contemporary Poetry and Poetics is an anthology of statements on poetics by twenty contemporary North American poets, along with selections from their poetry. The poets collected here represent the forefront of engaged, experimental poetic practice and their statements vary from the extended essay form to collage assemblages of various prose and poetically charged forms. These explorations of poetics lead to intersections of thought and practice, both among themselves, and with other recently published poetry anthologies.

Working from a broad knowledge of modern poetry, Baker proposes an original interpretation of the long poem based on the notion of exteriority. Readers of the 20th-century long poem must discard the traditional idea of a lyric speaker, or Romantic I, he argues. Modern and postmodern poetry turns outward, toward the experience of others, and deliberately de-emphasizes an inner or personal life.

This book attempts to develop a generative criticism of poetic practice. The order of presentation follows a certain model for how the poem comes into being. Poetic practice as it is actualized in the work of the creative imagination stems from: memory as the place where the poem arises among the conflicts of the imagination; absence or the loss which weighs on the utterance and gives it urgency; desire as the force structuring the poem according to the subject''s need; knowing or how the subject''s experience of the world and other people finds expression; and style or how the poem exemplifies a compassionate understanding. Poets whose work is examined include Hardy, Mallarme, Williams, Ungaretti, Apollinaire, Saint-John Perse, John Ashbery, and Frank O''Hara."