Social Science

Is the Bible true? For the last hundred and fifty years a war has been waged over the historical reliability of the Hebrew scriptures. Recent dramatic discoveries of biblical archaeology have cast serious doubt on the familiar account of ancient Israel and the origins of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Though the Bible credits Abraham as the first human .. more...

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Common Sense was a series of pamphlets written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Paine wrote it with editorial feedback from Benjamin Rush, who came up with the title. The document denounced British rule and, through its immense popularity, contributed to stimulating the American Revolution. The second edition was published soon thereafter. A third edition, with an accounting of the worth of the British navy, an expanded appendix, and a response to criticism by the Quakers, was published on February 14, 1776. Paine donated the copyright for Common Sense to the states, and as one biographer noted, Paine made nothing from the estimated 150,000 to 600,000 copies that were eventually printed (various sources disagree on the number of printed copies in Paine's lifetime). In fact, he had to pay for the first printing himself. [Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_%28pamphlet%29 under the terms of the GNU-FDL] more...

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Kerry Cohen’s extraordinary memoir tells it like it is—she’s a teenager like any other, dealing with parents, school, and friends, but for some reason, “standing out” seems to have become almost impossible. Boys—and men—are a different matter altogether, and young Kerry soon realizes that, with the right clothes and attitude, she can get all the male attention she wants. What she doesn’t realize is how easy it is to get more than you’re ready for. In rich, engaging detail, LOOSE GIRL discovers what it’s like to live for sex. Looking back on her girlhood, Kerry Cohen remembers how it felt to be in that desperate moment, and why it’s so important to come to terms with it—moving forward with confidence and strength. more...

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Becoming a teen is an important milestone in every boy’s life. It’s even more important to get answers and advice to the most common health issues boys face from a trusted source. The American Medical Association Boy’s Guide to Becoming a Teen is filled with invaluable advice to get you ready for the changes you will experience during puberty. more...

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Bushido, meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a Japanese code of conduct and a way of life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery and honour unto death. Born of two main influences, the violent existence of the Samurai was tempered by the wisdom and serenity of Confucianism and Buddhism. Bushido developed between the 9th to 12th centuries and numerous translated documents dating from the 12th to 16th centuries demonstrate its wide influence across the whole of Japan. According to the Japanese dictionary Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten , "Bushido is defined as a unique philosophy ( ronri ) that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi ( chusei ) period." Nitobe Inazo, in his book Bushido: The Soul of Japan , described it in this way. "...Bushido, then, is the code of moral principles which the samurai were required or instructed to observe... More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten... It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career.". Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, aspects of Bushido became formalized into Japanese Feudal Law. Translation of documents related to Bushido began in the 1970's with Dr. Carl Steenstrup who performed a lifetime of research into the ethical codes of famous Samurai clans including Hojo Soun and Imagawa Ryoshun. Steenstrup's 1977 dissertation at Harvard University was entitled "Hojo Shigetoki (1198–1261) and his Role in the History of Political and Ethical Ideas in Japan". Steenstrup holds two Phd's in Japanese History--one from Harvard in 1977 and another from The University of Copenhagen in 1979. According to the editors of Monumenta Nipponica, "Tens of thousands of documents survive from the medieval period... Only a few have been translated into English, or are likely ever to appear in translation." One of the oldest English-language ac more...

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