The political systems of the Roman Republic were based almost entirely on tradition, "the way of the ancestors", rather than on a written constitution. While the founders of the American Republic looked to ancient Rome as a primary model for their enterprise, nevertheless, in line with the rationalist spirit of their age, the American founders attempted to create a rational set of rules that would guide the conduct of American politics, namely, the US Constitution. These two examples offer a striking case of the ideal types, famously delineated by Michael Oakeshott in "Rationalism in Politics" and elsewhere, between politics as a practice grounded in tradition and politics as a system based on principles flowing from abstract reasoning. This book explores how the histories of the two republics can help us to understand Oakeshott's claims about rational versus traditional politics. Through examining such issues we may come to understand better not only Oakeshott's critique of rationalism, but also modern constitutional theory, issues in the design of the European Union, and aspects of the revival of republicanism.
.Morris had so little of himself to give me because so much of him was desperately battling with his own demons, but I always knew, even if maybe he didn't, that he needed me to be there with him, that I was his lifeline to the rest of the world. Incorporating realism, science fiction, fantasy, and Joycean wordplay, PUCK expresses the universal theme of the ways in which an encounter with the central mysteries of existence can leave one's life profoundly altered. Weaving motifs from Egyptian, Irish, Greek, Tibetan, and Norse mythology into his narrative, author Gene Callahan draws us into the journeys of Dr. Morris Fitzmaurice, a brilliant chemist who is tormented by demons that may or may not be his own. After discovering the cure for psychosis, Dr. Fitzmaurice is nervous and uncomfortable with all the attention he receives. As he feels increasingly isolated by his status, his drug and alcohol consumption also increases, further deteriorating his mental stability. Tracing a pattern as complex and rich as our inner lives, Callahan's unique and evocative tale follows Dr. Fitzmaurice as he encounters one bizarre phenomenon after another, inviting you on a dizzying ride that is alternately comic, tragic, enlightening, and mystifying.
For more than 20 years, Gene Amole's columns have been delighting readers of the "Rocky Mountain News". This book features a selection of those well-loved columns--his first new collection in more than ten years.
New Mexico rancher and lawman Dee (Daniel R.) Harkey describes himself as having “been shot at more times than any man in the world not engaged in war.” Mean as Hell, originally published in 1948 when Harkey was 83, is his detailed, witty autobiography about his youth in San Saba County of west Texas, where in 1882 he learned from his brother Joe, the sheriff, to “be damned sure you don’t get killed, but don’t kill anybody unless you have to” and his adult life in Eddy County after moving to Karlsbad (then Eddy) in 1890. Harkey served as a New Mexico peace officer from 1893 until 1911. Among the many cattle rustlers, train robbers, and other outlaws he confronted were Jim Miller, whom Harkey fingers as Pat Garrett’s real killer, and the Dalton Gang. Harkey observes that, in 1948, “cattle stealing has gone out of fashion. We’ve gotten civilized. Instead..., we now have statesman who practice nepotism, pad the public payrolls and graft as much as they think they can get away with (in an honorable way, of course) just like the folks back east.” Readers interested in many aspects of the territorial and outlaw West will enjoy Dee Harkey’s lively stories.
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