A major study of the collapse of the Soviet Union—showing how Gorbachev’s misguided reforms led to its demise

Ian Buruma explores the life and death of Baruch Spinoza, the Enlightenment thinker whose belief in freedom of thought and speech resonates in our own time

Presents a controversial view of the origins of fascism, locating them in the eighteenth century with the advent of the Anti-Enlightenment, a far earlier date than most historians. This book contends that J G Herder, Edmund Burke, and Joseph de Maistre can be connected to the origins of the Anti-Enlightenment.

A reappraisal of the tumultuous Partition and how it ignited long-standing animosities between India and Pakistan

A surprising assessment of the ways that virtual worlds are entangled with human psychology Proteus, the mythical sea god who could alter his appearance at will, embodies one of the promises of online games: the ability to reinvent oneself. Yet inhabitants of virtual worlds rarely achieve this liberty, game researcher Nick Yee contends. Though online games evoke freedom and escapism, Yee shows that virtual spaces perpetuate social norms and stereotypes from the offline world, transform play i...