Kirjahaku

What is the role of the traditional Judeo-Christian concept of otherness in a secularized, high-tech society such as our own? In a world governed by the extensions of man—television, the telephone, the automobile, and the Internet—what happens to cultural values once held to be spiritual? In Leopards in the Temple: Selected Essays 1990-2000, Steven Carter explores the myriad ways in which technology and its "muses"—media entertainment and advertising, the so-called culture of electronics plus capitalism—are in the process of recycling metaphysical values in postmodern American life.

The essence of life in an oligarchy like George Orwell presents in '1984' is that freedom of choice is virtually non-existent. But what happens when so many trivial and meaningless choices inundate a culture such as our own and freedom itself becomes devalued? In 'A Do-It-Yourself Dystopia', through a variety of essays, Steven Carter addresses this and other issues in a wide-ranging search for hidden oligarchies of the American self.

In an era when many scholars and critics can't seem to see the forest of literature for the trees of theory, objective readings of texts are few and far between. In Devotions to the Text, Steven Carter seeks to counter this trend by demonstrating that Samuel Johnson's admonition to "empty your mind of cant" is still sage advice for today's readers, both private and professional. Devotions to the Text constitutes a bold act of rebellion against those who would transform texts into mirrors that reflect only their own ideas and/or ideologies.

The Nothing That Is and the Nothing That Is Not is the final volume in a trilogy on interpretations of otherness in the postmodern era. The first two volumes are A Do-It-Yourself Dystopia: The Americanization of Big Brother (University Press of America, 2002) and Leopards in the Temple: Selected Essays 1990-2000 (University Press of America, 2001).

How is terrorism transformed into media entertainment? What is the connection between affirmative action and narcissism? Why has pathos become an endangered-perhaps an extinct-species in the contemporary American psyche? In American Affect in the Postmodern Era: A Primer, Steven Carter addresses these and other questions that have helped to define American popular culture since the nineteen-sixties. Cover painting: Kyle Margiotta, Baja, 1999. Oil on canvas.

222: Aphorisms & Reflections is an attempt to breathe new life into the art of the aphorism and the brief reflection (or meditation), brought to near-perfection in Western culture over the last five centuries by Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, Lichtenberg, Nietzsche, Kafka, E.M. Cioran, Karl Kraus, Fernando Pessoa, and many others. About four in ten of the entries in 222 consist of "conversations" between Steven Carter and aphorists of the past, including many of the above. In publishing this initial volume of a projected multi-volume work, Carter hopes to join the ranks of current aphorists and anthologists—James Richardson and James Geary, to name two—whose recent works help to further the grand tradition of the aphorism, which began in ancient Greece with Hippocrates, the West's first known aphorist. While 222 is primarily intended for a general college-educated audience, everyone can enjoy a good aphorism-as the Americans Josh Billings, Will Rogers, and especially Mark Twain have shown.

The second installment of Steven Carter's multi-volume series 222: Aphorisms & Reflections features 222 additional entries, including a generous sampling of "meetings of the minds"—dialogues between the author and aphorists and thinkers of the past.

The third installment of Steven Carter's multi-volume series 222: Aphorisms & Reflections features 222 additional entries, including a generous sampling of "meetings of the minds"—dialogues between the author and aphorists and thinkers of the past.

New Aphorisms & Reflections, the fourth volume of a major work in progress, features nearly 500 entries, some of which are autobiographical. Like its predecessors, New Aphorisms & Reflections includes a sampling of "meetings of the minds"—dialogues between the author and aphorists and thinkers of the past.

New Aphorisms & Reflections: Second Series, the fifth volume of a major work in progress, features more than 400 entries, some of which are autobiographical. Like its predecessors, New Aphorisms & Reflections includes a sampling of "meetings of the minds"—dialogues between the author and aphorists and thinkers of the past.

In The Judgment of the Crows: Parables & Fables, Steven Carter breathes new life into two of the world's oldest art forms. At times hilarious, poignant, and profound, the entries in The Judgment of the Crows are certain to instruct and entertain a diverse modern audience. The volume concludes with a handful of "improvisations" on Aesop's fables.

New Aphorisms & Reflections: Third Series, the sixth volume in a sequence which began with 222: Aphorisms & Reflections, features more than 450 entries, some of which are autobiographical. Like its predecessors, New Aphorisms & Reflections includes a sampling of "meetings of the minds"-dialogues between the author and aphorists and thinkers of the past. Cover image: Allison O'Donnell, Mostly Underground, 2008. Acrylic and graphite on board.

Eschewing old clunkers like "military intelligence" and "student-athlete," this volume features well over 200 fresh and original oxymorons with commentaries-all with a satirical twist. As a satire, Little House of Oxymorons complements Steven Carter's The New Devil's Dictionary, a two-volume "sequel" to Ambrose Bierce's notorious The Devil's Dictionary of a century ago. Cover image: Allison O'Donnell, Resist, 2008. Acrylic and graphite painting on rag board.

In After Aesop: Improvisations on Aesop's Fables, Steven Carter adds parody to his wide-ranging repertoire of literary genres. Aesop, perhaps the world's best-known author, produced hundreds of fables that have been re-told countless times, but rarely parodied on a one-to-one basis. By turns hilarious, poignant, and profound, the more than 200 entries in After Aesop are certain to instruct and entertain a diverse modern audience.

In The Upside-Down Buddha: Parables & Fables, Steven Carter continues to breathe new life into two of the world's oldest art forms. By turns hilarious, poignant, and profound, the entries in The Upside-Down Buddha are certain to instruct and entertain a diverse modern audience.

This is the third volume in a trilogy of fables (and parables) by Steven Carter. Carter's butterflies are naive, worldly, sarcastic, philosophical, and very funny—in short, perfectly human!

Look around you. The world is more homogenous than you think. Far too often, distinctions among people, places, and things are matters of degree rather than kind. Many are illusory. As satire, Little House of Imaginary Distinctions is meant to complement Steven Carter's previous book, Little House of Oxymorons, published by Hamilton Books in 2010.

Getting to Commitment offers understanding, inspiration, and a concrete plan of action for any woman, man, or couple who is ready to tackle the eight most destructive demons that make people run from loving relationships.

Some relationships thrive -- the partners start off loving and hopeful, and they continue that way. Strong, healthy, resilient bonds develop and both partners feel satisfied and connected. What do the men and women in these relationships know? What do they do that is different? What keeps these connections so vital? Perhaps 'love' itself -- its origins, and its power -- will always be a mystery. Why a relationship works or doesn't work, however, is not a total mystery. It is only a challenge that you can easily meet if you have the tools. This is How Love Works provides those tools -- it provides the fuel that can keep a relationship energised, on the right track, and constantly moving forward in the right direction. It creates a simple framework for what we all want most -- lasting, loving partnership. The 9 Essential Secrets offered here are not ephemeral or ungraspable. They are not exhausting, intimidating, or hopelessly complex. To the contrary, they are easily understood, and easily put into daily practice. You may be following some of them naturally right now, without fully understanding why; others can be incorporated with little effort. Awareness is the key. And that is what this book is all about.