Optimism PDF Download

Author: Helen Keller
Publisher: The Floating Press
ISBN: 1775562271
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
Stuck in a rut? Need an attitude adjustment? This inspirational classic from American author Helen Keller is bound to fit the bill. Rendered deaf and blind by scarlet fever in her infancy in a time when the disabled were often shunned and ignored, Keller managed to learn to read, write, and speak, not in only in her native English, but in several other languages, as well. Keller regards optimism as "the faith that leads to achievement," and this treatise lays out her views on making the best of even the direst of circumstances.

Author: Walter Laqueur
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351501453
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
"This new collection by Walter Laqueur, one of the most distinguished historians and political commentators of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, vividly brings to life his perspective on fifty years of political life. The essays in this volume deal with events ranging from more than seventy years ago to some that have not yet happened, but may in years to come. Laqueur divides his writings into five main areas: optimism in politics, the topic that unites this volume; Europe; the Arab Spring; Israel and Jewish affairs; and recollections of the past.This volume addresses an increasingly important question: How much optimism do we need in politics? Some neuroscientists believe that many of our assessments rest on an excess of optimism amounting to a dangerous bias. Another school of cognitive scientists sees the main danger in being influenced too much by negative conclusions. Although these competing perspectives have been only rarely investigated, Laqueur argues that such psychological factors play a decisive role in the assessment of political trends, and they should.Laqueur also reminds readers that there is a connection between writing history and commenting on current affairs, but it is not remotely as close and simple as often thought. The idea that the historian is somehow better qualified than others to interpret the present, let alone predict the future, is certainly not borne out by the evidence. Some great historians have been good and reliable political commentators, others have been miserable failures. Laqueur definitely falls in the former camp, as these reflections attest."

Author: Martin E. P. Seligman
Publisher: Human Kinetics 1
ISBN: 9781890151263
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 462

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Book Description
Optimism and hope are not random feelings; they can be conscious choices. Martin E.P. Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the world's leading authorities on learned helplessness and its relation to optimism and hope. In recognition of his contribution to the field, the John Templeton Foundation hosted a symposium to honor his work and to document its tremendous influence on the world of psychological research. This volume brings together eminent psychologists and professionals whose work has been greatly influenced by Seligman's innovative approach. The contributors focus on several concepts related to optimism and hope including expectancies, explantatory style, goal setting, future mindedness, control, and choice. They address the areas of optimism and well-being in individuals, neurobiology of optimism, psychological resilience, physical health, promoting optimism and hope, and optimism in families, faith, and cutlures. - Back cover.

Author: David Coggins
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982152516
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The perfect fly fishing book for today's novice, enthusiastic amateur, as well as the devoted angler is part narration of the author's own angling obsessions and adventures, part practical how-to, and part meditation on a connection to the natural world.

Author: Zadie Smith
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698178882
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 535

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Book Description
Winner of the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism A New York Times Notable Book From Zadie Smith, one of the most beloved authors of her generation, a new collection of essays Since she burst spectacularly into view with her debut novel almost two decades ago, Zadie Smith has established herself not just as one of the world's preeminent fiction writers, but also a brilliant and singular essayist. She contributes regularly to The New Yorker and the New York Review of Books on a range of subjects, and each piece of hers is a literary event in its own right. Arranged into five sections--In the World, In the Audience, In the Gallery, On the Bookshelf, and Feel Free--this new collection poses questions we immediately recognize. What is The Social Network--and Facebook itself--really about? "It's a cruel portrait of us: 500 million sentient people entrapped in the recent careless thoughts of a Harvard sophomore." Why do we love libraries? "Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay." What will we tell our granddaughters about our collective failure to address global warming? "So I might say to her, look: the thing you have to appreciate is that we'd just been through a century of relativism and deconstruction, in which we were informed that most of our fondest-held principles were either uncertain or simple wishful thinking, and in many areas of our lives we had already been asked to accept that nothing is essential and everything changes--and this had taken the fight out of us somewhat." Gathering in one place for the first time previously unpublished work, as well as already classic essays, such as, "Joy," and, "Find Your Beach," Feel Free offers a survey of important recent events in culture and politics, as well as Smith's own life. Equally at home in the world of good books and bad politics, Brooklyn-born rappers and the work of Swiss novelists, she is by turns wry, heartfelt, indignant, and incisive--and never any less than perfect company. This is literary journalism at its zenith. Zadie Smith's new book, Grand Union, is on sale 10/8/2019.

Author: Helen Keller
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486140598
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
These poetic, inspiring essays offer remarkable insights into the world of a gifted woman who was deaf and blind. Keller relates her impressions, perceived through the senses and imagination, of the world's beauty and promise.

Author: Helen Keller
Publisher: American Roots
ISBN: 9781429096102
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Rendered deaf and blind by scarlet fever at the age of a year and a half, Helen Keller--with the help of Anne Sullivan, other teachers, and her own determination--learned to read, write, and speak several languages. Keller became an advocate for people with disabilities and fought for human rights her entire life. In 1903, while attending Radcliffe College -- she was the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree -- she wrote "Optimism Within." "If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life, if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing." This short work is part of Applewood's "American Roots" series, tactile mementos of American passions by some of America's most famous writers and thinkers.

Author: Howard Zinn
Publisher: South End Press
ISBN: 9780896086760
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
A selection of Howard Zinn's most popular and accessible essays on history and politics. In this lively collection of essays, now with a new afterword, Zinn discusses a wide range of historical and political topics, from the role of the Supreme Court in U.S. history to the nature of higher education today.

Author: Frank S. Robinson
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 1412815819
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
The Case for Rational Optimism tackles a host of challenging subjects in an engaging, accessible, down-to-earth style. It is intellectually serious, ceaselessly intriguing, and devoid of banalities. While other books in this genre tend to be oriented toward self-help, this volume brings evolutionary biology, neuroscience, psychology, sociology, economics, and a keen sense of history to the topic. Robinson begins with three goals: making the case for feeling good about oneself, about humanity in general, and about the global situation. He addresses such seemingly disparate subjects as selfi shness versus altruism, mind and free will, human nature, and issues relating to economics, technology, the environment, and more. Unifying these ideas into a coherent philosophical whole are central concepts: evolution has endowed our species with more good qualities than bad, and why; those qualities, and our use of reason, are the foundations of civilization, and how; and, consistent with our nature, we make a better world by valuing human life therefore enabling others to fl ourish in ways they freely choose. The Case for Rational Optimism argues that the highly challenging conditions confronting early man created a Darwinian selective pressure for cooperation, even altruism, among members of a tribe. Th e author fi nds evidence for this in the way our brains work, and in observable human behavior. He argues against existential despair over the human condition. Even though there probably is no grand celestial design investing life with meaning, he considers this liberating, giving every person the freedom to craft their own meaning. To Robinson, whether sentient beings experience suff ering or joy is the only thing that matters; without emotive highs and lows, the Universe would hardly matter.

Author: Irene O'Garden
Publisher: Mango Media Inc.
ISBN: 1642502472
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
An inspiring collection of reflections on the daily beauties and bounties of human life that show us how we may see the joy in anything. In a world so often filled with distressing news and bewildering violence, being “human” often gets a bad rap. Rejoice in everyday reasons to smile, think positively, and enjoy the gift of life . . . In Glad To Be Human: Adventures in Optimism, award-winning writer Irene O’Garden reminds us of the radiance of human existence. From kitchens to gardens to busy city streets, all around, in your everyday life, you can find plenty of reasons to feel gratitude and hope, peace and joy. With this collection of essays, O’Garden explores a wide range of practical reasons to celebrate life?just look closely around you. In one essay, she describes the simple pleasure that comes from clearing clutter off a desk?in another, the thrill of visiting the Statue of Liberty. The book’s grand finale is the Pushcart Prize-winning essay, “Glad To Be Human.” Through contemplation, meditation and with literary style, Glad To Be Human invites readers to view life through a positive lens. From small, daily activities to journeys overseas, O’Garden has a knack for finding beauty and meaning in all life’s adventures?even in our deepest pain and suffering?helping all of us feel glad to be human. Perfect for readers of Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Anne Lamott, or books like Risking the Rapids, The Book of Joy, The Book of Delights, and The Gratitude Diaries. Praise for Glad to Be Human “For many years now, the poet, playwright, and memoirist Irene O’Garden has been a hero to me. I think of her as a walking, writing, beam of light. It is my hope that with the release of ‘Glad to be Human’ numberless others will come to know her gifts and, most of all, her captivating talent for wonder and marvel.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, #1 New York Times bestselling author of City of Girls and Big Magic “A field guide to embracing the creativity and spontaneity that bring joy to the business of being human. With an artist’s eye and a poet’s soul, Irene O’Garden shines her light on the bliss that surrounds us. Each of her essays turns the eye toward love and possibility. I am changed by these now dog-eared pages, and I will return to them again and again for inspiration.” —Annabel Monaghan, author of The Digit Series, columnist for The Week and The Huffington Post