Blog Smith

Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.

Friday, June 4, 2021

HUM 111 The Western Theological Tradition

The God of Grace in Judaism and the Hebrew Bible

Overview

The vision of God in Judaism and its scriptures represents a revolutionary view of God, Who creates humans to be the recipients of His divine benefits without any expectation of entitlement. In other words, the God of the Bible is a God of grace. This understanding is expressed remarkably consistently throughout the history of covenants God makes with His chosen people. This view of God has had an important effect on our attitude toward other people and on the unique Western idea of the proper role of government.

Recommended Readings

Adam: Genesis 1
Noah: Genesis 6-9
Abraham: Genesis 12-15
Moses: Exodus 20
David: 2 Samuel 7

The God of Grace in Christianity and the New Testament

Overview

God’s covenant with David of the Hebrew Bible is fulfilled by Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The Gospel of Mark, which eloquently defends the messianic mission of Jesus Christ, argues that Christ’s suffering and death qualify Him as the fulfillment of the Davidic hope and for the central role in God’s history of salvation. Mark’s defense lays a sturdy biblical foundation for the doctrines of orthodox Christology that the church faithfully enshrined in its creeds over the course of the following centuries.

Recommended Readings

The Gospel of Mark

God and Grace in Trinitarian Controversy

Overview

The fourth century trinitarian controversy focused on the relationship between the Father and the Son, both of Whom were called God by Christian monotheists. What does it mean for one's understanding of the divine nature that the Son had taken flesh, died, and risen for the sake of humanity? The controversy is a moment of particularly intense struggle to establish a common language by which to state the mystery of faith without distortion, and in a manner that would do justice to the God of Christian worship.

Recommended Readings

Arius, Letters to Eusebius and Alexander https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/theology-101/Arius-Letters-to-Eusebius-and-Alexander.pdf
Creed of the Council of Nicaea https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/theology-101/Council-of-Nicaea.pdf
Athanasius, Orations Against the Arians, Book I https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/theology-101/Athanasius-Aagainst-the-Arians-I.pdf
Athanasius, Orations Against the Arians, Book III https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/theology-101/Athanasius-Against-the-Arians-III.pdf

The life of Grace and the Pelagian Controversy

Overview

In the fifth century, Pelagius sought to inspire moral reform among Christians. He began preaching a stoicized Christianity, in which one's freely-willed attainment of a habitual moral perfection would gain divine favor and, with it, admission to heaven. The gracious gifts by which God had made this possible were His commands and His example. On the other hand, Augustine of Hippo saw Pelagius as abandoning apostolic tradition by removing God from Christian life. Augustine argued that the path to heaven was not mere imitation of God's commands. Rather, a participation in the life of the Trinity, impossible apart from divine aid, was the God-given grace that defined Christian life and related this world to the next.

Recommended Readings

Thomas Aquinas on Nature, Grace and Life in God

Overview

In his teaching on grace, thirteenth-century theologian Thomas Aquinas reflects especially on the Christian’s participation in God’s life by the “love of God poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5). Aquinas argues that while this life of love is an activity of human nature, it occurs nonetheless by a divinely wrought transformation: a grace of healing and elevating by which grace the Christian may be said to share in a communion of love with God on His terms.

Recommended Readings

Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/theology-101/lecture-6/Aquinas-1260-1264-ScG-III-147-152-Grace.pdf

Martin Luther on Justification

Overview

The Protestant Reformation began when German theologian Martin Luther (1483-1546) nailed his 95 theses on the church door at Wittenberg. Luther believed that justification comes by faith alone. For Luther, good works do not earn a place with God, rather, good works are a natural product of the believer’s love for God.

Recommended Readings


Martin Luther, “Introduction,” Lectures on Galatians https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/theology-101/lecture-7/Luther-Lectures-On-Galatians.pdf
Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/theology-101/lecture-7/ATreatiseOnChristianLiberty.pdf

The Council of Trent on Justification

Overview

In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church convened a council at Trent in an effort to work out differences with reformers and to define Catholic doctrine clearly. Martin Luther and his followers argued that justification—a major topic of deliberation at the Council—is based on Christ’s personal righteousness alone. By contrast, the Council declared that justification also includes the righteousness Christ works in and through believers.

Recommended Readings

The Council of Trent, Fifth and Sixth Sessions https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/Council-of-Trent.pdf


Thursday, June 3, 2021

HUM 111 Athens and Sparta

Why Study the Classics?

Overview

The histories of Athens and Sparta—the most dominant cities of classical Greece—are of vital importance to understanding the story of Western Civilization. In Athens, great thinkers such as Plato examined universal philosophical questions. In Sparta, the martial virtues, including the virtue of courage, were mastered. A careful study of these two cities reveals timeless lessons about human nature and human conflict.

Life and Government in Sparta

Overview

Geographically isolated by mountain ranges and the sea, Sparta was able to become one of the two most dominant ancient Greek cities, along with Athens. Spartan government was stable, which was made possible by a system of checks and balances. Sparta fostered a way of life that demanded total dedication to the political community. These factors were essential to Sparta’s extraordinary military success.

Recommended Readings


Life and Government in Athens

Overview

In the fifth century B.C., Athens, the leading city of ancient Greece, experienced a golden age in the areas of literature, philosophy, politics, and art, among others. To a large degree, these accomplishments were made possible by a government that was based on the principle of demokratia, or rule by the people. Athenian direct democracy produced great achievements, but also often led to great injustices, as in the case of the philosopher Socrates.

Recommended Readings

Sparta and the Persian War

Overview

The first major challenge to the Spartan way of life occurred in approximately 546 B.C., when Persia, the largest empire at the time, set its sights on Greece. In a long war that led to the eventual defeat of Persia, Sparta was a decisive contributor in two major areas: leadership of the Greek resistance and military prowess, particularly at the decisive Battle of Plataea.

Recommended Readings

Athens and the Persian War

Overview

The Persian War was a conflict between two radically different civilizations. The Athenian democracy, in conjunction with several other neighboring Greek cities, was able to repel the invading Persians for two main reasons. The first was its superior naval prowess. Second and more fundamental was the statesmanship of Themistocles, who rallied the Greeks in defense of the Western ideal of freedom and against the tyrannical Persian Empire.

Recommended Readings

Sparta and the Peloponnesian War

Overview

The Greek victories against the Persians at Salamis and Plataea changed the geopolitical outlook for the small but powerful cities of Sparta and Athens. Preoccupied with ruling over a large section of the Peloponnese, Sparta stood aside reluctantly while the Athenians founded the Delian League and continued the war at sea against the Persians. As the Persian threat gradually dissipated, Athens and Sparta became enemies and fought one another in the Peloponnesian War.

Recommended Readings

Athens and the Peloponnesian War

Overview

The Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.) between Athens and Sparta was a war unparalleled in Greek history for its length and intensity. Wars in ancient Greece were typically short and fought to settle border disputes. Even the battles of the Persian War, while grand in scale, were only episodic. By the end of the Peloponnesian War, Sparta and its allies were victorious, and the Athenian Golden Age came to an end.

Recommended Readings

Sparta and Athens—Conclusions

Overview

The Spartan regime was distinguished by its extreme discipline, which was fostered by a culture of shame and by the society’s extreme regimentation. However, Spartan rule abroad—in the absence of these restraints—typically resulted in corruption and tyranny. Following its victory in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta’s attempt to establish and rule an empire led to its eventual demise.

Recommended Readings



Athens and Sparta—Conclusions

Overview

Following the defeat of the Athenian Empire by Sparta and its allies in the Peloponnesian War, Athens was ruled by tyrants. Although democracy was eventually restored, the war had weakened the Athenians’ attachment to freedom. This made them vulnerable to the kind of autocratic government that was eventually imposed on them by Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great.

Recommended Readings

Final Quiz

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

HUM 111 112 Music Fermata

Mission Statement 
Music is something a part of our every day lives, whether you are a singer, instrumentalist, or even just someone who enjoys listening to it. However, many people don't really know the intricacies of making music, or what the phrase "on-key means." 

Fermata is a musical term that means "to hold [a note or a chord] for a long time". Through our website, we hope to teach general theory music in such a way that the lessons held forever.



Fermata

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

HUM 111 Great Books 101—Ancient to Medieval

The course will introduce you to great books from antiquity to the medieval period. You will explore the writings of Homer, St. Augustine, Dante, and more. This course will challenge you to seek timeless lessons regarding human nature, virtue, self-government, and liberty in the pages of the great books.

“Literature & Liberal Arts at Hillsdale”
Overview
The word “literature” comes from the Latin word that means writing. Writing is akin to reason and speech, which are distinctively human gifts: they distinguish us from other animals on earth. The phenomenon of literature is essentially human.

A letter from John Adams to his wife Abigail, written on May 12, 1780, encapsulates this course on the Great Books. Adams writes that his task is to make a revolution and to be a statesman for the sake of something beyond himself, and to which he must be obedient, which is summed up in the phrase found in the Declaration of Independence: “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.”

Likewise, investing the time and effort in reading great literature prepares us for something beyond ourselves. Great literature invites us to think about those times and places when our honor will be tested, and when our souls will be revealed for what they are.

Discussion Questions
What does it mean to say literature is “essentially human”?
How is John Adams’ description of his task as a statesman analogous to the study of great books?
How can reading great literature help to prepare the human soul for honorable deeds?

"Homer's Iliad"
Overview
Homer’s Iliad can be best understood by examining some of its major major themes: rage, desire, delusion, deception, disaster and double-dealing, death and outrage, responsibility and evasion, and ultimately, glory. The poem tells the story of the Trojan War, and of Achilles, the greatest warrior of the Greeks.

The Iliad is a poem of rage: Rage is the first word of the poem, and Achilles’ rage is a major theme of the story. The Iliad is a poem of desire, especially the characters’ desires that make them who they are, but also lead to their destruction. The Iliad is a poem of delusion: The characters are constantly blaming the gods for their troubles instead of their own free will or choices. The Iliad is a poem of deception, perhaps most notably in the case of Achilles’ friend Patroclus, who dies in battle because of Achilles’ lie. The Iliad is a poem of disaster and double-dealing, especially the double-dealing of Achilles that leads to the disastrous death of his friend. The Iliad is a poem of death and outrage: Achilles re-enters the battle against Troy after the death of Patroclus and kills numerous Trojans, including Hector, dragging his body around the walls of Troy. This outrage turns Achilles’ glory from a high into a low point. The Iliad is a poem of responsibility and evasion: Achilles has been evading his responsibility, but at the same time he is responsible for the death of his friend. The Iliad ends when Zeus says he will bring the fighting to an end and grant Achilles his glory—a glory that Achilles wins not through battle, but by returning Hector’s body to his father. Achilles’ glory is to be free of his rage, which is the beginning of virtue.

Recommended Readings
"Illiad" - Homer https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/The-Iliad-Readings.pdf
Discussion Questions
How do the characters' desires both make them who they are, but also lead to their destruction?
Discuss the rage of Achilles. How does it make him great, but also lead to his downfall and eventual transformation?
What does the Illiad have to teach us about free will?

“Homer’s Odyssey”
Overview
Homer’s Odyssey—which tells the tale of the Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after the fall of Troy—is one of the great works of Western Civilization. With this poem, Homer establishes the context in which the great cultural and political flowering of 5th century Athens takes place.

Though the Odyssey tells a story, it is not merely entertainment: It begins by invoking the Muse, in part because it is an attempt to discern meaning in a life that can be mysterious. Many aspects of life are easy to discern but difficult to understand. It is also an appeal to memory, without which we lose our identity as individuals, nations, and civilizations.

The main character Odysseus is a man of many turnings, well-traveled, and experienced. Rhetorically clever, though never merely deceptive, he exhibits a deep understanding of human nature. His words and deeds provide lessons about human nature that are still applicable today.

The poem addresses timeless themes of Western Civilization—including home, order and disorder, hospitality, fidelity, and loyalty. A pattern of good and bad representations of each major theme runs through the entire work. For example, social order or public peace begins in marriage, as represented by the unmovable marriage bed of Odysseus and Penelope, and the best claim to glory is not war but home and family.

Recommended Readings
"The Odyssey" - Homer https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/The-Odyssey.pdf
Discussion Questions
Why does Homer begin by invoking the Muse?
How does the cleverness of Odysseus reveal timeless truths about human nature?
What are some major themes of the poem, and how are they represented by Homer?

"Sophocles, Oedipus Rex"
Overview
Oedipus Rex is a tragedy written by Sophocles in Athens in the 5th century BC. The play tells the story of Oedipus, who is prophesied at birth to kill his father and commit incest with his mother. As is characteristic of ancient Greek drama, the play shows a man caught in inescapable imperfection. The story of Oedipus is the story of human nature—we may think we are doing the best thing but in fact we are unwittingly doing the worst thing. Oedipus is a good-hearted leader, who loves his family and his city. Nevertheless, his every decision and act in his quest to find the murderer of Laius, the former king of Thebes, makes his situation worse. His relentless pursuit of justice pushes him headlong into tragedy. In this, the play displays a key feature of Western Civilization that has contributed to its greatness—the capacity to pursue the truth while at the same time being self-critical.

Recommended Readings
"Oedipus Rex" - Sophocles https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/Oedipus-Rex.pdf
Discussion Questions
What is the role of the chorus in Greek drama, and why is its role so important?
How does the virtue of Oedipus lead to his tragic downfall?
Is it possible to reconcile the concept of free will with the seemingly inevitable outcome of the play?

"Virgil, The Aeneid"
Overview
The Aeneid was written by the Roman poet Virgil in the 1st century BC and tells the story of the journey of Aeneas, legendary founder of Rome, following the fall of Troy. One major lesson of Virgil’s poem is that personal injustice has more than personal consequences. This lesson is illustrated by Aeneas’s self-indulgent dalliance with Dido, which Virgil connects to the future wars between Rome and Carthage.

Yet, if Aeneas occasionally engages in self-indulgence, he displays the vice of a man who has lost all. He is at heart a pious family man of good character, whose chief virtue is his faithfulness to his people. He leaves Dido—who subsequently commits suicide—because he has a duty to found Rome. Virgil teaches the reader the importance of doing one’s duty, even in the face of great personal cost, another major and recurring theme of the poem.

Americans today should read the Aeneid for the timeless lessons it offers. Above all, Aeneas inspires us to do our duty, to persevere in the face of opposition—from without but also from within—when we lose the things we love.

Recommended Readings
"The Aeneid" - Virgil https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/great-books-101/week-5/Week-5---Bart-GB-101-2014-Readings-copy.pdf
Discussion Questions
How does Aeneas’s romance with Dido illustrate the idea that private acts can have public consequences?
In what ways does the Aeneid show Aeneas overcoming personal loss and doing his public duty?
What lessons does the Aeneid have to teach us today?

“The David Story (1 and 2 Samuel & 2 Kings 1-2)”
Overview
David is one of the most well-known figures of the Old Testament. The story of David’s life is not only a spiritual narrative about the triumph of righteousness and tragedy of sin, but also a great literary masterpiece concerning human nature, family relationships, and the anguish of the soul. David is introduced to the reader in a humble setting—as a shepherd—an image that is very important to the narrative. Years after the shepherd boy David famously defeats Goliath, the prophet Nathan, who delivered many heavenly promises of glory and greatness to David, is sent by God to condemn David and his household for his grave sins of adultery and murder. What follows is a tragedy that ravages David’s family and kingdom, and culminates in the near-overthrow of David’s kingdom by his own son, Absalom. The story of David teaches us about the importance of living up to our potential and about the effects that our choices, even seemingly private choices, have on others.

Recommended Readings
"The David Story" https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/great-books-101/week-6/Week-6---Jackson-GB-101-2014-Readings.pdf
Discussion Questions
Why is it important to understand the David story as not only a spiritual narrative, but also a literary masterpiece?
What is the significance of the image of David as a shepherd?
Are the lessons of the David story still relevant today? Why or why not?

“The Book of Job”
Overview
The story of Job interrupts the Old Testament historical sequence found in Genesis through Esther. A literary and theological masterpiece, the Book of Job is the first of the “wisdom books.” Wisdom is a common characteristic of the righteous throughout the Old Testament, and it is a sign of God’s favor. Job is introduced as the greatest man in the East, who lives a righteous life, has great wealth, and is favored by God.

Job’s life is turned upside down in one of the most famous Biblical trials of faith. His family and property are either taken or destroyed, and he is scourged with boils from head to toe. In a show of unshakable faith, which challenges the conventional wisdom, Job does not blame God for the evils that befall him. Accused of impiety and wickedness, Job bears witness to a living Redeemer, who will be the arbiter between man and God. A careful reading of the Book of Job reveals a hope for all mankind in the emergence of a new kind of wisdom.

Recommended Readings
"The Book of Job" https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/great-books-101/week-7/Week-7---Sundahl-GB-101-2014-Readings.pdf
Discussion Questions
According to Dr. Sundahl, what is the job of the Book of Job?
How is the Book of Job connected with the wisdom of the New Testament?
What does the metaphor of the tree have to do with hope?
What can the Book of Job teach us about wisdom today?

“Saint Augustine, Confessions”
Overview
Saint Augustine’s Confessions, written over 16 centuries ago, remains one of the great books of the Western tradition. In Confessions, Augustine—a master rhetorician and diligent student of philosophy and literature—takes the reader on a prayerful journey of edifying penitence, during which he considers the nature of man and his relationship with God. Interwoven throughout Confessions is a cycle of falling away from and returning to God. This return or ascent to God is the proper end of man, and Augustine, through an examination of his own cyclical journey, exhorts the reader to fulfill the measure of his creation.

Recommended Readings
"Confessions" - Saint Augustine https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/great-books-101/week-8/Week-8---Lehman-GB-101-2014-Readings.pdf

Discussion Questions
How can Confessions help us understand the relationship between God and man?
What is the significance of the cycle of sin and repentance in Confessions?
What is the role of friendship in Augustine’s sin and later conversion?

“Dante, Inferno”
Overview
According to T.S. Eliot, only Shakespeare is the equal of the Italian poet and statesman Dante, whose most famous work is the Divine Comedy. Dante’s Inferno, the first of the Divine Comedy’s three parts, occurs just before a great crisis in Dante’s life, a crisis which would lead to his exile from Florence. Dante prods the reader to take a journey of necessity through hell for the sake of gaining self-knowledge. During this journey, Dante is struck with the realization that both love and freedom can prove to be one’s undoing.

Escaping from the inferno, Dante proceeds to Mount Purgatorio, and in so doing takes the reader to a place of beauty and virtue. He reveals a concept of God much different from the one found in the dark tragedy of the Inferno. In Purgatorio, Dante dispels the idea of God’s apathy or even hostility toward man, and God’s desire is united with human love. The kind of desire described in the Inferno is transformed—through education and experience—from an uncontrolled passion into a well-ordered love.

Recommended Readings
"Inferno" – Dante https://online.hillsdale.edu/file/great-books-101/week-9/Week-9---Smith-GB-101-2014-Readings.pdf
Discussion Questions
What is the significance of the image of dead poetry rising to life at the beginning of the Purgatorio?
How is the description of desire in the Inferno different from that found in the Purgatorio?
What role does Virgil play throughout the Divine Comedy?

No overview, recommended readings, or discussion questions.

“Chaucer, Canterbury Tales”

“Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”


Monday, May 31, 2021

HUM 111 Western Heritage - From the Book of Genesis to John Locke Summer 2018

Western Heritage Western Heritage - From the Book of Genesis to John Locke

Overview:

The Western heritage has two essential elements, represented by Athens and Jerusalem. Philosophy has its roots in ancient Greece and seeks to answer such questions as, “What is the good?” and “What is the best way for man to live?” The idea of monotheism first arose with the ancient Hebrews. These two elements together gave rise to Western Civilization and later to the American Founding.

The Hebrew Legacy

The Hebrew people are the source of a unique but vital contribution to our Western heritage.  Rather than bequeathing to their cultural heirs magnificent innovations in art, architecture, political theory, and public administration as have the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, it is the treasure of sacred literature which constitutes the Hebrew legacy.  The tradition of a monotheistic religion upon which Christianity would build, and out of which the modern world would emerge, has arguably served as the wellspring of Western civilization. 

Recommended Readings

  1. "Creation" - Selections from Genesis https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=349
  2. "Covenant  and Law" - Selections from Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=350
  3. "Kingship" - Selections from First Samuel https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=351

The Hebrews

Overview

The Western heritage begins with the Hebrew tradition. This tradition has had a great impact on the Western understanding of man, God, and the relationship between them. The Hebraic ideas of creation, covenant, and kingship are essential elements of this understanding.

Recommended Readings


The Greek Miracle

Overview
The emergence of the polis as a political form distinguished Greece from its neighbors in the ancient Near East. The polis was a small community—originally grouped around a citadel—governed by a council and a public assembly, and defended by a hoplite phalanx. Oikonomia (household management) was structured in such a way as to enable full political participation of the household in the city, through words and deeds worthy of note. The individual man who engaged in reasoned speech (logos) thus had an importance in the Greek community that was unusual compared to the other civilizations of the Near East, which were generally organized as hydraulic societies based on irrigation and public works, governed by a sacral monarchy, and administered by a bureaucratic class using the technology of syllabic script.

The Golden Age of Greece

Overview

Around the year 1200 B.C., Mycenaean civilization collapsed, which led to the creation of a new political order in Greece. The subsequent rise of the Greek city-state produced a civilization that culminated in the Golden Age of Greece. During this time, the Greeks produced great achievements in many fields, including politics, language, science, art, mathematics, war, architecture, and economics.

Recommended Readings

  1. Herodotus, "The History" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=354
  2. Thucydides - "Pericles' Funeral Oration" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=355
  3. Aristotle - "The Politics" (Excerpt One, up to Section I§3) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=356
  4. Aristotle - "The Politics" (Excerpt Two, Section III§6) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=357

The Greek Legacy

Overview

The philosophic pursuit of knowledge and the good life as exemplified by Socrates and his pupil Plato remains at the core of the Greek legacy to Western civilization. The moral and political issues that emerged from Athenian democracy and empire, and loss of freedom over the course of the Peloponnesian War, provided the context for Socrates’ questioning of the meaning of justice in relation to regimes and the individual soul.  The moral and political uncertainty of the contemporary world highlights the continued relevance of Socrates’ philosophic endeavor—to establish standards of goodness, truth, justice, and beauty for politicians no less than for individual citizens.

Recommended Readings

  1. Thucydides - "Pericles' Funeral Oration" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=355
  2. Thucydides - "Pericles' Plague Speech" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=365
  3. Plato - "The Republic" (Selection from Book VII, "The Allegory of the Cave") https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=367
  4. Plato - "The Republic" (Selections from Book VIII and IX) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=366
  5. Plato - "The Apology of Socrates" (Excerpt) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=368
Life and Government in Sparta
Paul A. Rahe
March 21, 2016
Life and Government in Athens
Victor Davis Hanson
March 28, 2016
Sparta and the Persian War
Paul A. Rahe
April 4, 2016
Athens and the Persian War
Victor Davis Hanson
April 11, 2016
Sparta and the Peloponnesian War
Paul A. Rahe
April 18, 2016
Athens and the Peloponnesian War
Victor Davis Hanson
April 25, 2016
Sparta and Athens—Conclusions
Paul A. Rahe
May 2, 2016
Athens and Sparta—Conclusions

Why Study the Classics?

Overview

The histories of Athens and Sparta—the most dominant cities of classical Greece—are of vital importance to understanding the story of Western Civilization. In Athens, great thinkers such as Plato examined universal philosophical questions. In Sparta, the martial virtues, including the virtue of courage, were mastered. A careful study of these two cities reveals timeless lessons about human nature and human conflict.

Life and Government in Sparta

Overview

Geographically isolated by mountain ranges and the sea, Sparta was able to become one of the two most dominant ancient Greek cities, along with Athens. Spartan government was stable, which was made possible by a system of checks and balances. Sparta fostered a way of life that demanded total dedication to the political community. These factors were essential to Sparta’s extraordinary military success.

Recommended Readings


Life and Government in Athens

Overview

In the fifth century B.C., Athens, the leading city of ancient Greece, experienced a golden age in the areas of literature, philosophy, politics, and art, among others. To a large degree, these accomplishments were made possible by a government that was based on the principle of demokratia, or rule by the people. Athenian direct democracy produced great achievements, but also often led to great injustices, as in the case of the philosopher Socrates.

Recommended Readings

Sparta and the Persian War

Overview

The first major challenge to the Spartan way of life occurred in approximately 546 B.C., when Persia, the largest empire at the time, set its sights on Greece. In a long war that led to the eventual defeat of Persia, Sparta was a decisive contributor in two major areas: leadership of the Greek resistance and military prowess, particularly at the decisive Battle of Plataea.

Recommended Readings

Athens and the Persian War

Overview

The Persian War was a conflict between two radically different civilizations. The Athenian democracy, in conjunction with several other neighboring Greek cities, was able to repel the invading Persians for two main reasons. The first was its superior naval prowess. Second and more fundamental was the statesmanship of Themistocles, who rallied the Greeks in defense of the Western ideal of freedom and against the tyrannical Persian Empire.

Recommended Readings

Sparta and the Peloponnesian War

Overview

The Greek victories against the Persians at Salamis and Plataea changed the geopolitical outlook for the small but powerful cities of Sparta and Athens. Preoccupied with ruling over a large section of the Peloponnese, Sparta stood aside reluctantly while the Athenians founded the Delian League and continued the war at sea against the Persians. As the Persian threat gradually dissipated, Athens and Sparta became enemies and fought one another in the Peloponnesian War.

Recommended Readings

Athens and the Peloponnesian War

Overview

The Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.) between Athens and Sparta was a war unparalleled in Greek history for its length and intensity. Wars in ancient Greece were typically short and fought to settle border disputes. Even the battles of the Persian War, while grand in scale, were only episodic. By the end of the Peloponnesian War, Sparta and its allies were victorious, and the Athenian Golden Age came to an end.

Recommended Readings

Sparta and Athens—Conclusions

Overview

The Spartan regime was distinguished by its extreme discipline, which was fostered by a culture of shame and by the society’s extreme regimentation. However, Spartan rule abroad—in the absence of these restraints—typically resulted in corruption and tyranny. Following its victory in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta’s attempt to establish and rule an empire led to its eventual demise.

Recommended Readings



Athens and Sparta—Conclusions

Overview

Following the defeat of the Athenian Empire by Sparta and its allies in the Peloponnesian War, Athens was ruled by tyrants. Although democracy was eventually restored, the war had weakened the Athenians’ attachment to freedom. This made them vulnerable to the kind of autocratic government that was eventually imposed on them by Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great.

Recommended Readings

Final Quiz



The Roman Legacy

Overview

Rome achieved its singular dominance over most of the known world in the course of a century. Polybius, a Greek historian conquered by the Romans, attributes this remarkable achievement to three principal elements of the Roman regime or way of life in his noted work, The Histories. He argues that the greatness of the Romans is due to their unique constitution or system of government, to their moral culture or mos maiorum, and to their practice of religion.  Defined most distinctly by the concept of pietas—(the duty and devotion due to the gods, ancestors, and the fatherland, a composite of love and reverence)—the Roman character lies at the heart of the Roman legacy to Western Civilization.

Recommended Readings

  1. Polybius - "The Histories" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=371
  2. Plutarch - "Marcus Cato" (Please begin with Reader page 207, line 22 through page 211, line 35.) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=372

Early Christianity

Overview

The history of early Christianity is bound intrinsically to that of the great civilizations of the Mediterranean. The Pax Romana, in addition to the infrastructure of the Roman Empire under Augustus and his immediate successors, aided the spread of Christianity, the tenets of which appealed to people of all social classes and ethnicities in the Roman Empire. These same core beliefs put Christians at odds with the religious practices, and so also the political customs, of Rome. Centuries of persecutions came to an end with the Edict of Milan in 312 A.D., when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be a legally recognized religion. His imperial interactions with the Christian Church established many precedents and controversies for relations between church and state, which lasted even into the twentieth century.

Recommended Readings

  1. The Gospel of Matthew (Selections from Western Heritage: A Reader) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=376
  2. Acts of the Apostles (Selections from Western Heritage: A Reader) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=377
  3. Tertullian, "Prescription Against Heretics" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=378
  4. Clement of Alexandria, "On Philosophy" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=379
  5. Augustine, "On Christian Doctrine" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=380

Church and State

Overview

In the wake of the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the corresponding collapse of political cohesion throughout Western Europe in the fifth century, there arose numerous small kingdoms whose rulers came to rely on bishops and other leaders of the Church to help provide regional administrative order. The growth of royal power and the close interactions of Church and state officials gave rise to two fundamental political issues of the Middle Ages, which remain relevant even today: what constitutes the appropriate relationship between secular and spiritual authority, and what is the proper relationship between government and the governed.

Readings

  1. The Investiture Controversy - Excerpts from Western Heritage: A Reader https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=382
  2. Magna Carta https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=383

Renaissance, Reformation, and Counter-Reformation

Overview

The Renaissance represents a discovery and rebirth of the glories of antiquity, as well as the dawn of the modern world.  The great universities of Paris, Bologna, and Oxford were products of the Middle Ages, and had initiated the study of Aristotle and other ancient thinkers in relation to the tenets of Christianity. The rise of humanism during the Renaissance represented a challenge to the scholastic thought of the Middle Ages: it was a strain of humanism which resulted in the Protestant Reformation.  The Catholic Church responded by convening the Council of Trent, which initiated the Counter-Reformation. 

Readings

  1. Petrarch, selections from "On His Own Ignorance" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=386
  2. Machiavelli, selections from The Prince and The Discourses https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=387
  3. John Calvin, selections from The Institutes https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=388

The Scientific Revolution

Overview

From 1543 to 1687 A.D., Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, and Isaac Newton, among others, began to weave a tapestry of modern science from the threads of the Greco-Roman intellectual tradition and the Judeo-Christian theological tradition. This period of time is referred to as the Scientific Revolution, which culminated in the publication of Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Newtonianism—the new culture of science, math, and confidence in human reason that arose subsequent to the Scientific Revolution—fueled the scientific efforts of the eighteenth century, and was a key component of the Enlightenment.

Readings

  1. Nicholas Copernicus - "The Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=390
  2. Galileo Galilei - "The Starry Messenger" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=391
  3. Isaac Newton - "Principia" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=392

From Elizabeth I to the Glorious Revolution

Overview

The 16th and 17th centuries witnessed a growing crisis in the English monarchy, which was not resolved until the Glorious Revolution. The appeal to natural law, especially as formulated by John Locke, as the standard by which to govern political society, along with the idea of the necessity of the separation of powers to guard against tyranny, influenced not only English politics, but later, American revolutionaries.

Recommended Readings

  1. "The Petition of Right" and "Denial of Parliamentary Jurisdiction" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=398
  2. Thomas Hobbes - Selections from Leviathan (NOTE: This particular selection is not included in Hillsdale's Western Heritage Reader.) https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=397
  3. John Locke - "Second Treatise of Civil Government" https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=396
  4. The English Bill of Rights https://online.hillsdale.edu/document.doc?id=399
Great Books 101—Ancient to Medieval

Literature and the Liberal Arts at Hillsdale
Larry P. Arnn

Homer, The Iliad
Stephen Smith

Homer, The Odyssey
David Whalen

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
David Whalen

Virgil, The Aeneid
Patricia Bart

The David Story (1 and 2 Samuel & 1 Kings 1-2)
Justin Jackson

The Book of Job
Daniel Sundahl

Saint Augustine, Confessions
Jeffrey Lehman

Dante, Inferno
Stephen Smith

Chaucer, Canterbury Tales
Patricia Bart

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Justin Jackson

Athens and Sparta

Why Study the Classics?
Larry P. Arnn

Life and Government in Sparta
Paul A. Rahe

Life and Government in Athens
Victor Davis Hanson

Sparta and the Persian War
Paul A. Rahe

Athens and the Persian War
Victor Davis Hanson

Sparta and the Peloponnesian War
Paul A. Rahe

Athens and the Peloponnesian War
Victor Davis Hanson

Sparta and Athens—Conclusions
Paul A. Rahe

Athens and Sparta—Conclusions
Victor Davis Hanson

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Reading since summer 2006 (some of the classics are re-reads): including magazine subscriptions

  • Abbot, Edwin A., Flatland;
  • Accelerate: Technology Driving Business Performance;
  • ACM Queue: Architecting Tomorrow's Computing;
  • Adkins, Lesley and Roy A. Adkins, Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome;
  • Ali, Ayaan Hirsi, Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations;
  • Ali, Tariq, The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads, and Modernity;
  • Allawi, Ali A., The Crisis of Islamic Civilization;
  • Alperovitz, Gar, The Decision To Use the Atomic Bomb;
  • American School & University: Shaping Facilities & Business Decisions;
  • Angelich, Jane, What's a Mother (in-Law) to Do?: 5 Essential Steps to Building a Loving Relationship with Your Son's New Wife;
  • Arad, Yitzchak, In the Shadow of the Red Banner: Soviet Jews in the War Against Nazi Germany;
  • Aristotle, Athenian Constitution. Eudemian Ethics. Virtues and Vices. (Loeb Classical Library No. 285);
  • Aristotle, Metaphysics: Books X-XIV, Oeconomica, Magna Moralia (The Loeb classical library);
  • Armstrong, Karen, A History of God;
  • Arrian: Anabasis of Alexander, Books I-IV (Loeb Classical Library No. 236);
  • Atkinson, Rick, The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (Liberation Trilogy);
  • Auletta, Ken, Googled: The End of the World As We Know It;
  • Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice;
  • Bacevich, Andrew, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism;
  • Baker, James A. III, and Lee H. Hamilton, The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward - A New Approach;
  • Barber, Benjamin R., Jihad vs. McWorld: Terrorism's Challenge to Democracy;
  • Barnett, Thomas P.M., Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating;
  • Barnett, Thomas P.M., The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century;
  • Barron, Robert, Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith;
  • Baseline: Where Leadership Meets Technology;
  • Baur, Michael, Bauer, Stephen, eds., The Beatles and Philosophy;
  • Beard, Charles Austin, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (Sony Reader);
  • Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror: Radical Islam's War Against America;
  • Bergen, Peter, The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader;
  • Berman, Paul, Terror and Liberalism;
  • Berman, Paul, The Flight of the Intellectuals: The Controversy Over Islamism and the Press;
  • Better Software: The Print Companion to StickyMinds.com;
  • Bleyer, Kevin, Me the People: One Man's Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America;
  • Boardman, Griffin, and Murray, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Roman World;
  • Bracken, Paul, The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics;
  • Bradley, James, with Ron Powers, Flags of Our Fathers;
  • Bronte, Charlotte, Jane Eyre;
  • Bronte, Emily, Wuthering Heights;
  • Brown, Ashley, War in Peace Volume 10 1974-1984: The Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia of Postwar Conflict;
  • Brown, Ashley, War in Peace Volume 8 The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of Postwar Conflict;
  • Brown, Nathan J., When Victory Is Not an Option: Islamist Movements in Arab Politics;
  • Bryce, Robert, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of "Energy Independence";
  • Bush, George W., Decision Points;
  • Bzdek, Vincent, The Kennedy Legacy: Jack, Bobby and Ted and a Family Dream Fulfilled;
  • Cahill, Thomas, Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter;
  • Campus Facility Maintenance: Promoting a Healthy & Productive Learning Environment;
  • Campus Technology: Empowering the World of Higher Education;
  • Certification: Tools and Techniques for the IT Professional;
  • Channel Advisor: Business Insights for Solution Providers;
  • Chariton, Callirhoe (Loeb Classical Library);
  • Chief Learning Officer: Solutions for Enterprise Productivity;
  • Christ, Karl, The Romans: An Introduction to Their History and Civilization;
  • Cicero, De Senectute;
  • Cicero, The Republic, The Laws;
  • Cicero, The Verrine Orations I: Against Caecilius. Against Verres, Part I; Part II, Book 1 (Loeb Classical Library);
  • Cicero, The Verrine Orations I: Against Caecilius. Against Verres, Part I; Part II, Book 2 (Loeb Classical Library);
  • CIO Decisions: Aligning I.T. and Business in the MidMarket Enterprise;
  • CIO Insight: Best Practices for IT Business Leaders;
  • CIO: Business Technology Leadership;
  • Clay, Lucius Du Bignon, Decision in Germany;
  • Cohen, William S., Dragon Fire;
  • Colacello, Bob, Ronnie and Nancy: Their Path to the White House, 1911 to 1980;
  • Coll, Steve, The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century;
  • Collins, Francis S., The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief ;
  • Colorni, Angelo, Israel for Beginners: A Field Guide for Encountering the Israelis in Their Natural Habitat;
  • Compliance & Technology;
  • Computerworld: The Voice of IT Management;
  • Connolly, Peter & Hazel Dodge, The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens & Rome;
  • Conti, Greg, Googling Security: How Much Does Google Know About You?;
  • Converge: Strategy and Leadership for Technology in Education;
  • Cowan, Ross, Roman Legionary 58 BC - AD 69;
  • Cowell, F. R., Life in Ancient Rome;
  • Creel, Richard, Religion and Doubt: Toward a Faith of Your Own;
  • Cross, Robin, General Editor, The Encyclopedia of Warfare: The Changing Nature of Warfare from Prehistory to Modern-day Armed Conflicts;
  • CSO: The Resource for Security Executives:
  • Cummins, Joseph, History's Greatest Wars: The Epic Conflicts that Shaped the Modern World;
  • D'Amato, Raffaele, Imperial Roman Naval Forces 31 BC-AD 500;
  • Dallek, Robert, An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963;
  • Daly, Dennis, Sophocles' Ajax;
  • Dando-Collins, Stephen, Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome;
  • Darwish, Nonie, Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror;
  • Davis Hanson, Victor, Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome;
  • Dawkins, Richard, The Blind Watchmaker;
  • Dawkins, Richard, The God Delusion;
  • Dawkins, Richard, The Selfish Gene;
  • de Blij, Harm, Why Geography Matters: Three Challenges Facing America, Climate Change, The Rise of China, and Global Terrorism;
  • Defense Systems: Information Technology and Net-Centric Warfare;
  • Defense Systems: Strategic Intelligence for Info Centric Operations;
  • Defense Tech Briefs: Engineering Solutions for Military and Aerospace;
  • Dennett, Daniel C., Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon;
  • Dennett, Daniel C., Consciousness Explained;
  • Dennett, Daniel C., Darwin's Dangerous Idea;
  • Devries, Kelly, et. al., Battles of the Ancient World 1285 BC - AD 451 : From Kadesh to Catalaunian Field;
  • Dickens, Charles, Great Expectations;
  • Digital Communities: Building Twenty-First Century Communities;
  • Doctorow, E.L., Homer & Langley;
  • Dodds, E. R., The Greeks and the Irrational;
  • Dostoevsky, Fyodor, The House of the Dead (Google Books, Sony e-Reader);
  • Dostoevsky, Fyodor, The Idiot;
  • Douglass, Elisha P., Rebels and Democrats: The Struggle for Equal Political Rights and Majority Role During the American Revolution;
  • Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, The Hound of the Baskervilles & The Valley of Fear;
  • Dr. Dobb's Journal: The World of Software Development;
  • Drug Discovery News: Discovery/Development/Diagnostics/Delivery;
  • DT: Defense Technology International;
  • Dunbar, Richard, Alcatraz;
  • Education Channel Partner: News, Trends, and Analysis for K-20 Sales Professionals;
  • Edwards, Aton, Preparedness Now!;
  • EGM: Electronic Gaming Monthly, the No. 1 Videogame Magazine;
  • Ehrman, Bart D., Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scriptures and the Faiths We Never Knew;
  • Ehrman, Bart D., Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why;
  • Electronic Engineering Times: The Industry Newsweekly for the Creators of Technology;
  • Ellis, Joseph J., American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson;
  • Ellis, Joseph J., His Excellency: George Washington;
  • Emergency Management: Strategy & Leadership in Critical Times;
  • Emerson, Steven, American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us;
  • Erlewine, Robert, Monotheism and Tolerance: Recovering a Religion of Reason (Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion);
  • ESD: Embedded Systems Design;
  • Everitt, Anthony, Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor;
  • Everitt, Anthony, Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician;
  • eWeek: The Enterprise Newsweekly;
  • Federal Computer Week: Powering the Business of Government;
  • Ferguson, Niall, Civilization: The West and the Rest;
  • Ferguson, Niall, Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power;
  • Ferguson, Niall, The Cash Nexus: Money and Power in the Modern World, 1700-2000;
  • Ferguson, Niall, The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Decline of the West;
  • Feuerbach, Ludwig, The Essence of Christianity (Sony eReader);
  • Fields, Nic, The Roman Army of the Principate 27 BC-AD 117;
  • Fields, Nic, The Roman Army of the Punic Wars 264-146 BC;
  • Fields, Nic, The Roman Army: the Civil Wars 88-31 BC;
  • Finkel, Caroline, Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire;
  • Fisk, Robert, The Great War For Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East;
  • Forstchen, William R., One Second After;
  • Fox, Robin Lane, The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian;
  • Frazer, James George, The Golden Bough (Volume 3): A Study in Magic and Religion (Sony eReader);
  • Freeh, Louis J., My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror;
  • Freeman, Charles, The Greek Achievement: The Foundations of the Western World;
  • Friedman, Thomas L. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century Further Updated and Expanded/Release 3.0;
  • Friedman, Thomas L., The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization;
  • Frontinus: Stratagems. Aqueducts of Rome. (Loeb Classical Library No. 174);
  • Fuller Focus: Fuller Theological Seminary;
  • Fuller, Graham E., A World Without Islam;
  • Gaubatz, P. David and Paul Sperry, Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America;
  • Ghattas, Kim, The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power;
  • Gibson, William, Neuromancer;
  • Gilmour, Michael J., Gods and Guitars: Seeking the Sacred in Post-1960s Popular Music;
  • Global Services: Strategies for Sourcing People, Processes, and Technologies;
  • Glucklich, Ariel, Dying for Heaven: Holy Pleasure and Suicide Bombers-Why the Best Qualities of Religion Are Also It's Most Dangerous;
  • Goldberg, Jonah, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning;
  • Goldin, Shmuel, Unlocking the Torah Text Vayikra (Leviticus);
  • Goldsworthy, Adrian, Caesar: Life of a Colossus;
  • Goldsworthy, Adrian, How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower;
  • Goodman, Lenn E., Creation and Evolution;
  • Goodwin, Doris Kearns, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln;
  • Gopp, Amy, et.al., Split Ticket: Independent Faith in a Time of Partisan Politics (WTF: Where's the Faith?);
  • Gordon, Michael R., and Bernard E. Trainor, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq;
  • Government Health IT: The Magazine of Public/private Health Care Convergence;
  • Government Technology's Emergency Management: Strategy & Leadership in Critical Times;
  • Government Technology: Solutions for State and Local Government in the Information Age;
  • Grant , Michael, The Climax of Rome: The Final Achievements of the Ancient World, AD 161 - 337;
  • Grant, Michael, The Classical Greeks;
  • Grumberg, Orna, and Helmut Veith, 25 Years of Model Checking: History, Achievements, Perspectives;
  • Halberstam, David, War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton, and the Generals;
  • Hammer, Reuven, Entering Torah Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, An Autumn of War: What America Learned from September 11 and the War on Terrorism;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, Between War and Peace: Lessons from Afghanistan to Iraq;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, How The Obama Administration Threatens Our National Security (Encounter Broadsides);
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, Ripples of Battle: How Wars of the Past Still Determine How We Fight, How We Live, and How We Think;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, The End of Sparta: A Novel;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, How Three Great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny;
  • Hanson, Victor Davis, Wars of the Ancient Greeks;
  • Harnack, Adolf Von, History of Dogma, Volume 3 (Sony Reader);
  • Harris, Alex, Reputation At Risk: Reputation Report;
  • Harris, Sam, Letter to a Christian Nation;
  • Harris, Sam, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason;
  • Hayek, F. A., The Road to Serfdom;
  • Heilbroner, Robert L., and Lester Thurow, Economics Explained: Everything You Need to Know About How the Economy Works and Where It's Going;
  • Hempel, Sandra, The Strange Case of The Broad Street Pump: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera;
  • Hinnells, John R., A Handbook of Ancient Religions;
  • Hitchens, Christopher, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything;
  • Hogg, Ian V., The Encyclopedia of Weaponry: The Development of Weaponry from Prehistory to 21st Century Warfare;
  • Hugo, Victor, The Hunchback of Notre Dame;
  • Humphrey, Caroline & Vitebsky, Piers, Sacred Architecture;
  • Huntington, Samuel P., The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order;
  • Info World: Information Technology News, Computer Networking & Security;
  • Information Week: Business Innovation Powered by Technology:
  • Infostor: The Leading Source for Enterprise Storage Professionals;
  • Infrastructure Insite: Bringing IT Together;
  • Insurance Technology: Business Innovation Powered by Technology;
  • Integrated Solutions: For Enterprise Content Management;
  • Intel Premier IT: Sharing Best Practices with the Information Technology Community;
  • Irwin, Robert, Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and Its Discontents;
  • Jeffrey, Grant R., The Global-Warming Deception: How a Secret Elite Plans to Bankrupt America and Steal Your Freedom;
  • Jewkes, Yvonne, and Majid Yar, Handbook of Internet Crime;
  • Johnson, Chalmers, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire;
  • Journal, The: Transforming Education Through Technology;
  • Judd, Denis, The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600-1947;
  • Kagan, Donald, The Peloponnesian War;
  • Kansas, Dave, The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street as We Know It: What You Need to Know About the Greatest Financial Crisis of Our Time--and How to Survive It;
  • Karsh, Efraim, Islamic Imperialism: A History;
  • Kasser, Rodolphe, The Gospel of Judas;
  • Katz, Solomon, The Decline of Rome and the Rise of Medieval Europe: (The Development of Western Civilization);
  • Keegan, John, Intelligence in War: The Value--and Limitations--of What the Military Can Learn About the Enemy;
  • Kenis, Leo, et. al., The Transformation of the Christian Churches in Western Europe 1945-2000 (Kadoc Studies on Religion, Culture and Society 6);
  • Kepel, Gilles, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam;
  • Kiplinger's: Personal Finance;
  • Klein, Naomi, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism;
  • KM World: Content, Document, and Knowledge Management;
  • Koestler, Arthur, Darkness at Noon: A Novel;
  • Kostova, Elizabeth, The Historian;
  • Kuttner, Robert, The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity;
  • Lake, Kirsopp, The Text of the New Testament, Sony Reader;
  • Laur, Timothy M., Encyclopedia of Modern US Military Weapons ;
  • Leffler, Melvyn P., and Jeffrey W. Legro, To Lead the World: American Strategy After the Bush Doctrine;
  • Lendon, J. E., Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity;
  • Lenin, V. I., Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism;
  • Lennon, John J., There is Absolutely No Reason to Pay Too Much for College!;
  • Lewis, Bernard, The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror;
  • Lewis, Bernard, What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East;
  • Lifton, Robert J., Greg Mitchell, Hiroshima in America;
  • Limberis, Vasiliki M., Architects of Piety: The Cappadocian Fathers and the Cult of the Martyrs;
  • Lipsett, B. Diane, Desiring Conversion: Hermas, Thecla, Aseneth;
  • Livingston, Jessica, Founders At Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days;
  • Livy, Rome and the Mediterranean: Books XXXI-XLV of the History of Rome from its Foundation (Penguin Classics);
  • Louis J., Freeh, My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror;
  • Mackay, Christopher S., Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History;
  • Majno, Guido, The Healing Hand: Man and Wound in the Ancient World;
  • Marcus, Greil,Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes;
  • Marshall-Cornwall, James, Napoleon as Military Commander;
  • Maughm, W. Somerset, Of Human Bondage;
  • McCluskey, Neal P., Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education;
  • McCullough, David, 1776;
  • McCullough, David, John Adams;
  • McCullough, David, Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt;
  • McLynn, Frank, Marcus Aurelius: A Life;
  • McManus, John, Deadly Brotherhood, The: The American Combat Soldier in World War II ;
  • McMaster, H. R., Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam;
  • McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 1: Origins and Destinies (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
  • McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 2: Persons and Groups (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
  • McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 3: Religions and Controversies (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
  • Meacham, Jon, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House;
  • Mearsheimer, John J., and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy;
  • Meier, Christian, Caesar: A Biography;
  • Menzies, Gaven, 1421: The Year China Discovered America;
  • Metaxas, Eric, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy;
  • Michael, Katina and M.G. Michael, Innovative Automatic Identification and Location-Based Services: From Barcodes to Chip Implants;
  • Migliore, Daniel L., Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology;
  • Military & Aerospace Electronics: The Magazine of Transformation in Electronic and Optical Technology;
  • Millard, Candice, Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey: The River of Doubt;
  • Mommsen, Theodor, The History of the Roman Republic, Sony Reader;
  • Muller, F. Max, Chips From A German Workshop: Volume III: Essays On Language And Literature;
  • Murray, Janet, H., Hamlet On the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace;
  • Murray, Williamson, War in the Air 1914-45;
  • Müller, F. Max, Chips From A German Workshop;
  • Nader, Ralph, Crashing the Party: Taking on the Corporate Government in an Age of Surrender;
  • Nagl, John A., Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam;
  • Napoleoni, Loretta, Terrorism and the Economy: How the War on Terror is Bankrupting the World;
  • Nature: The International Weekly Journal of Science;
  • Negus, Christopher, Fedora 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux;
  • Network Computing: For IT by IT:
  • Network World: The Leader in Network Knowledge;
  • Network-centric Security: Where Physical Security & IT Worlds Converge;
  • Newman, Paul B., Travel and Trade in the Middle Ages;
  • Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, The Nietzsche-Wagner Correspondence;
  • Nixon, Ed, The Nixons: A Family Portrait;
  • O'Brien, Johnny, Day of the Assassins: A Jack Christie Novel;
  • O'Donnell, James J., Augustine: A New Biography;
  • OH & S: Occupational Health & Safety
  • Okakura, Kakuzo, The Book of Tea;
  • Optimize: Business Strategy & Execution for CIOs;
  • Ostler, Nicholas, Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin;
  • Parry, Jay A., The Real George Washington (American Classic Series);
  • Paton, W.R., The Greek Anthology, Volume V, Loeb Classical Library, No. 86;
  • Pausanius, Guide to Greece 1: Central Greece;
  • Perrett, Bryan, Cassell Military Classics: Iron Fist: Classic Armoured Warfare;
  • Perrottet, Tony, The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Olympic Games;
  • Peters, Ralph, New Glory: Expanding America's Global Supremacy;
  • Phillips, Kevin, American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush;
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