Western Tradition

This incisive history upends the complacency that confines anti-Judaism to the ideological extremes in the Western tradition. With deep learning and elegance, David Nirenberg shows how foundational anti-Judaism is to the history of the West. Questions of how we are Jewish and, more critically, how and why we are not have been churning within the Western imagination throughout its history. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans; Christians and Muslims of every period; even the secularists of modernity have used Judaism in constructing their visions of the world.

The question of how seriously to take literature has vexed philosophers throughout the centuries. Are the stories we write merely noble lies told to hold society together? A means of comic detachment from a tragic world? Mimicry of transcendent truths? Potent acts of self-realization? From the...

A New York Times Bestseller The definitive history of Ukraine from antiquity to today. “An admirable new history.... In his elegant and careful exposition of Ukraine’s past, Mr. Plokhy has also provided some signposts to the future.” ―Economist As Ukraine is embroiled in an ongoing...

Embark on a Captivating Journey through the Epochs of Human History.

A concise survey of the music of Western popular and classical traditions. The origins and interactions of blues, jazz, and rock are covered under the heading of popular music. However, the evolution of the classical tradition within Western culture is the primary focus of the book. The most important composers and their best known works are examined within the context of the times in which they lived. 

Hear the funny, inspirational papers that were spoken at annual meetings of the legendary Texas Folklore Society (TFS). These collections put the listener in the audience to hear Society members talking up a Texas tempest on the state's wide-ranging folk and lore. The East Texas String Ensemble...

More wise and witty talks on Texas folk and lore from members of the legendary Texas Folklore Society. Thirteen Texas Folklore Society members offer spoken word performances, introduced by award-winning western writer Elmer Kelton with music by the East Texas String Ensemble. Subjects include...

Recorded for the first time ever, here are ten of the wise and witty spoken word presentations at the 90th annual meeting of the legendary Texas Folklore Society featuring a special tribute to teacher, writer, and Pecos cowboy Paul Patterson by Elmer Kelton and two others. Subjects include early...

Bloomsbury presents Being Jewish Today written and read by Tony Bayfield. 'A deeply humane, learned and personal reflection on Jewish identity' – Rowan Williams 'This inspiring book has made me a better Jew, one who understands more, who knows more' – Daniel Finkelstein ‘This remarkable...