Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library is a philosophical and historical analysis of how the rise of consumerism has led to the decline of the original mission of public libraries to sustain and promote democracy through civic education. Through a reading of historical figures such as Plato, Helvetius, Rousseau, and John Stuart Mill, the book shows how democracy and even capitalism were originally believed to depend upon the moral and political education that public libraries (and other institutions of rational public discourse) could provide. But as capitalism developed in the 20th...

What is a loving person? This book attempts to answer this question in two major sections. The first part deals with the nature of loving, different conceptions of love, types of love, stroking, and a review of the ideas of Erich Fromm, Leo Buscaglia, and John Gray. The second part deals with the relationship of love to sex, marriage, friendship and death. The special quality of this volume is the combination of informative content, current research, dialogue, autobiographical material, open-ended questions and humorous incidents that are presented in a clear style of writing.