The revival of historical sociology in recent decades has largely neglected the contributions of Max Weber. Yet Weber's writings offer a fundamental resource for analyzing problems of comparative historical development. Stephen Kalberg rejects the view that Weber's historical writings consist of an ambiguous mixture of fragmented ideal types on the one hand and the charting of vast processes of rationalization and bureaucracy on the other.
From Iceland to India, from prehistoric cave paintings and fertility figurines to such modern-day "myths" as the invisible hand, the Oedipal conflict and Schrodinger's cat, Leeming's intriguing treatise on comparative mythology covers a lot of ground. Out of this enormous variety of information, Leeming, a professor of comparative literature and author of The World of Myth, discerns a coherent, distinctive European mythical tradition. He traces it back to the encounter, starting in the 3rd millennium B.C., between a sedentary, agricultural "Old Europe" and nomadic, pastoral Indo-European invaders.
Ritual and Deference: Extending Chinese Philosophy in a Comparative Context
Addresses an important methodological issue in contemporary Asian and comparative thought by surveying, drawing on, and adding to recent scholarship. Moreover, he has taken the next step by enthusiastically implementing concrete projects relating to Chinese wisdom for the benefit of contemporary life throughout the globe. It is rare to read an academic work that can elicit joyous laughter in response to the author's sage yet delightfully presented thoughts.
High pressure biology is an old, fascinating and stimulating field of research. One of the major reasons for the interest in studying high pressure is that this environmental factor also plays an important role in thermodynamics and consequently in biology. Pressure, from a biological perspective, has a bearing on all living creatures. The book presents a panoramic view of this subject from molecules to the overall organism, via the cells and unicellular species, invertebrates and vertebrates, ectotherms and endotherms.
Curbing Bailouts: Bank Crises and Democratic Accountability in Comparative Perspective
"Rosas's compelling theory and wide-ranging empirical evidence yield a persuasive but surprising conclusion in light of the financial meltdown of 2008–9. In the event of banking crises, not only do elected governments treat taxpayers better and force bankers and their creditors to pay more for their mistakes, but bankers in democracies are more prudent as a consequence . . . essential reading for all interested in the political economy of crisis and in the future of banking regulation."
