Millions of people have been inspired by The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand's story of architect Howard Roark and his epic struggle for creative freedom. Yet inspiration is not enough: you need a blueprint for turning that vision into a flourishing life of joy and reason and meaning. The Tao of Roark provides that blueprint. It builds the foundation for greater freedom, dignity, depth, and beauty in life. It reveals the hidden connections between serenity and enthusiasm, passion and wisdom, independence and security, idealism and maturity, practicality and commitment. It shows the true harmony of...

The best life is a happy life, and a happy life is easy to achieve: all you need is to understand what is natural and needful for human beings (such as health, serenity, and companionship), and to avoid destructive emotions like anger and envy along with groundless desires for fame, power, honor, wealth, and immortality. So argued the Greek philosopher Epicurus. Although he lived over 2300 years ago, the ideas and practices that Epicurus recommended are still compelling today. Letters on Happiness explores Epicureanism through a modern, down-to-earth dialogue between two young friends (and...

A collection of poetry translations and original poems, containing a generous helping of Sappho and Horace as well as classically-infused reflections on contemporary life.

Traditional dictionaries of philosophy provide a great deal of detailed information and define a large number of uncommon terms. By contrast, The Ism Book is more of a "field guide" that cuts to the essence of key concepts in the history of ideas. The longest-running dictionary of philosophy on the Internet (continually maintained since 1996), The Ism Book is finally available in paperback and ebook formats for convenient reference. Naturally, the online version is still available at ismbook.com.

Henry David Thoreau was fascinated by the endless cycle of the seasons, by the endless pursuit of self-improvement, and by parallels between the two. For Thoreau, the phenomena of the seasons were symbolical of human life: just as plants go through stages such as bud, leaf, flower, and fruit, or seed, seedling, and tree; just as agriculture persuades nature to yield its bounty through planting, cultivating, and harvesting, and delivers that bounty by storing it and bringing it to market; just as all things grow in spring, flourish in summer, ripen in autumn, and go dormant in winter; so,...

Henry David Thoreau, both naturalist and transcendentalist, always perceived the possibility of living a better life - some employment on your higher ground, which he called your upland farm. His writings encourage you to live deliberately, to pursue a path you can walk with love and reverence, to advance confidently in the direction of your dreams. Although Thoreau is often thought of as a mountain man or noble savage, in fact he favored a blending of civilization and wildness - and he still has much to teach us about the balance between work and leisure, society and solitude, nature and...