Best Books

In this international bestseller, originally published in 1959, Jacques Barzun, acclaimed author of 'From Dawn to Decadence, takes on the whole intellectual -- or pseudo-intellectual -- world, attacking it for its betrayal of Intellect. 'Intellect is despised and neglected,' Barzun says, 'yet intellectuals are well paid and riding high.' He details this great betrayal in such areas as public administrations, communications, conversation and home life, education, business, and scholarship. In this edition's new Preface, Jacques Barzun discussess the intense -- and controversial -- reaction the world had to 'The House of Intellect.'

Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, is the classic manual on the art of living, and one of the wonders of the world. In eighty-one brief chapters, the Tao Te Ching looks at the basic predicament of being alive and gives advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit. This book is about wisdom in action. It teaches how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao (the basic principle of the universe) and applies equally to good government and sexual love; to child rearing, business, and ecology. Stephen Mitchell's bestselling version has been widely acclaimed as a gift to contemporary culture.