In his near-contemporary account of Greek tragedy, Aristotle examines the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to produce pity and fear in the audience, and asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Taking examples from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, The Poetics introduces into literary criticism such central concepts as mimesis ('imitation'), hamartia ('error'), and katharsis...

Describes how the translation of Aristotle's work in the 12th century and its spread through Europe sparked a conflict between faith and reason that continues to haunt western society today. --From publisher description.

Peter Evans's biography of Aristotle Onassis, Ari, metwith great acclaim when it was published in 1986. Ariprovided the world with an unprecedented glimpse of theGreek shipping magnate's orbit of dizzying wealth, twistedintrigues, and questionable mores. Not long after the bookappeared, however, Onassis's daughter Christina and hislongtime business partner Yannis Georgakis hinted toEvans that he had missed the "real story" -- one that provedOnassis's...

No matter how you view philosophy, regardless of what you think it is, this series from The Independent will give you a strong sense of the life and work of the very best thinkers in the philosophical neighbourhood, dealing carefully and rationally with the most human of questions, the hardest questions, the questions which matter most. William James, in his last great work Some Problems of Philosophy, wrote that philosophy 'sees the familiar as...

Portrays the life of the former First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy in the aftermath of the assassination of her husband, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as she becomes Jackie O. in life after Camelot. Also portrays the lives of the other Kennedy family members dealing with the conflicts and tragedies in their lives.