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Philosophy & Critical Theory Books in this online selection represent only a sliver of what we offer in the store. If you've got a particular book in mind and want to check on its availability, call us at 415-362-8193.

1 2 3 >>>     sort list by title | author Modernism in the Streets A Life and Times in Essays Marshall Berman Both an intellectual biography and a protean collection of social criticism from the late, preeminent philosopher, urbanist and "Marxist with soul." I was skeptical when I got to his chapter on hip-hop (what could this old white man possibly have to say?) but it burned with insight and radical passion. —Recommended by Michael Whose Global Village? Rethinking How Technology Shapes Our World Ramesh Srinivasan Whose Global Village seeks to inspire professionals, activists, and scholars alike to think about technology in a way that embraces the realities of communities too often relegated to the margins. We can then start to visualize a world where technologies serve diverse communities rather than just the Western consumer. Flaneuse Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London The "flaneur" has long been explicitly gendered male, but we city women know better. Elkin delves into the history of both the term and the act itself through literature, film, cultural criticism, and her own experience, leaving no doubt that a woman walking alone in the city has been—and still is—a subversive figure.—Recommended by Erin At the Existentialist Café Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others Sarah Bakewell Paris, 1933: three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called Phenomenology. The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness Rebecca Solnit The incomparable Rebecca Solnit, author of more than a dozen acclaimed, prizewinning books of nonfiction including Men Explain Things To Me, brings the same dazzling writing to the essays in The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness. I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts Drive-by Essays on American Dread, American Dreams Mark Dery "I must not think bad thoughts. I must not think bad thoughts." These lyrics by the band X have been my mantra on many occasions as I trudged my way here and there. Lucky for us that Mark Dery goes deep into the territories that many of us shun, illuminating the absurdity, humor and truths found on the dark side. —Recommended by Stacey, City Lights Nan Dòmi An Initiate's Journey into Haitian Vodou Mimerose Beaubrun The first and only insider's account of Vodou's private, mystical, interior practice, a compelling story of initiation and transformation. The Grey Album On the Blackness of Blackness Kevin Young Taking its title from Danger Mouse's pioneering mashup of Jay-Z's The Black Album and the Beatles' The White Album, Kevin Young’s encyclopedic book combines essay, cultural criticism, and lyrical chorus to illustrate the African American tradition of... A Little History of the World E. H. Gombrich In 1935, with a doctorate in art history and no prospect of a job, the 26-year-old Ernst Gombrich was invited by a publishing acquaintance to attempt a history of the world for younger readers. Amazingly, he completed the task in an intense six weeks... Nobody's Home Essays Dubravka Ugresic "Every day and age has its rules. Currently, good behavior dictates that we be politically correct, evade conflicts, espouse tolerance, and make no hasty judgments. To be judgmental is viewed as one of the most reprehensible human traits. People are... The Gift of Death, Second Edition & Literature in Secret Jacques Derrida The Gift of Death, Jacques Derrida's most sustained consideration of religion, explores questions first introduced in his book Given Time about the limits of the rational and responsible that one reaches in granting or accepting death, whether by... Existentialism Is a Humanism Jean Paul Sartre It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Sartre accepted an invitation to speak on October 29, 1945, at the Club Maintenant in Paris. The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to... Aesthetics and Politics Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Bertolt Brecht, Georg Lukacs An intense and lively debate on literature and art between thinkers who became some of the great figures of twentieth-century philosophy and literature. No other country and no other period has produced a tradition of major aesthetic debate to... The Absence of Myth Writings on Surrealism Georges Bataille Georges Bataille was one of the most provocative and controversial writers of his time. These essays, the result of profound reflection in the wake of World War II, comprise his most incisive study of surrealism, insisting on its importance as a... 1 2 3 >>>