Series: Veritas Paperbacks

“One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades.”—John Gray, New York Times Book Review "A powerful, and in many insightful, explanation as to why grandiose programs of social reform, not to mention revolution, so often end in tragedy... An important critique of visionary state planning."—Robert Heilbroner, Lingua Franca Hailed as...

One of the twentieth century’s greatest philosophers presents the results of his lifetime study of man’s cultural achievements. An Essay on Man is an original synthesis of contemporary knowledge, a unique interpretation of the intellectual crisis of our time, and a brilliant vindication of man’s ability to resolve human problems by the courageous use of his mind. In a new...

This pioneering study of the social and political lives of Muslim women has shaped a whole generation of scholarship. In Women and Gender in Islam, Leila Ahmed explores the historical roots of contemporary debates, ambitiously surveying Islamic discourse on women from Arabia during the period in which Islam was founded to Iraq during the classical age to Egypt during the...

A compelling theory on the rationale for the changing fortunes of nations

“This is a brilliant and hardheaded book. It will frighten those who prefer not to dwell on the unthinkable and infuriate those who have taken refuge in stereotypes and moral attitudinizing.”—Gordon A. Craig, New York Times Book Review "A grim but carefully reasoned and coldly analytical book. . . . One of the most frightening previews which this reviewer has...

Written by the preeminent democratic theorist of our time, this book explains the nature, value, and mechanics of democracy. In a new introduction to this Veritas edition, Ian Shapiro considers how Dahl would respond to the ongoing challenges democracy faces in the modern world. "Within the liberal democratic camp there is considerable controversy about exactly how to define democracy. Probably...

The Lonely Crowd . . . remains not only the best-selling book by a professional sociologist in American history, but arguably one that has had the widest influence on the nation at large.”—Orlando Patterson, New York Times “As accessible as it is acute, The Lonely Crowd is indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to understand American society. After half a...

A feminist classic.—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review A pivotal book, one of those after which we will never think the same again.—Carolyn G. Heilbrun, Washington Post Book World A pathbreaking book of literary criticism is now reissued with a new introduction by Lisa Appignanesi that speaks to how The Madwoman in the Attic set the groundwork for subsequent...