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Ian Buruma explores the life and death of Baruch Spinoza, the Enlightenment thinker whose belief in freedom of thought and speech resonates in our own time Baruch (Benedictus) Spinoza (1632–1677) was a radical free thinker who led a life guided by strong moral principles despite his disbelief in an all-seeing God. Seen by many—Christians as well as Jews—as Satan's disciple during his lifetime, Spinoza has been regarded as a secular saint since his death. Many contradictory beliefs have been attached to his name: rationalism or metaphysics, atheism or pantheism, liberalism or despotism, Jewishness or anti-Semitism. However, there is no question that he viewed freedom of thought and speech as essential to an open and free society. In this insightful account, the award-winning author Ian Buruma stresses the importance of the time and place that shaped Spinoza, beginning with the Sephardim of Amsterdam and followed by the politics of the Dutch Republic. Though Spinoza rejected the basic assumptions of his family's faith, and was consequently expelled from his Sephardic community, Buruma argues that Spinoza did indeed lead a Jewish life: a modern Jewish life. To Heine, Hess, Marx, Freud, and no doubt many others today, Spinoza exemplified how to be Jewish without believing in Judaism. His defense of universal freedom is as important for our own time as it was in his

Prologue -- Chapter One: Paradise lost -- Chapter Two: In another country -- Chapter Three: Miracles -- Chapter Four: A low dishonest decade -- Chapter Five: Crossing the line -- Chapter Six: Beautiful stories -- Chapter Seven: The shooting party -- Chapter Eight: The end game -- Chapter Nine: Finale -- Chapter Ten: Aftermath -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.

Under the Sign of Victory -- Blood and History -- The Empire is Dead, Long Live the Empire -- The Road to Suez -- An Anglo-American Bond -- The Close Relationship -- To Europe and Back -- An Extraordinary Relationship -- Kinder, Gentler -- Too Much Conviction -- The Finest Moment -- After the Crash -- Grand Illusions.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- One · Under the Sign of Victory -- Two · Blood and History -- Three · The Empire is Dead, Long Live the Empire -- Four · The road to suez -- Five · An Anglo-American Bond -- Six · The Close Relationship -- Seven · To Europe And Back -- Eight · An Extraordinary Relationship -- Nine · Kinder, Gentler -- Ten · Too Much Conviction -- Eleven · The Finest Moment -- Twelve · After The Crash -- Thirteen · Grand Illusions -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.

"Cover" -- "Title Page" -- "Copyright Page" -- "Dedication Page" -- "Contents" -- "Don't Like The Name" -- "One: First Love" -- "Two: Going To War" -- "Three: The Long Wait" -- "Four: Safe Haven" -- "Five: The Beginning" -- "Six: The End Of The Beginning" -- "Seven: Empire" -- "Eight: The Beginning Of The End" -- "Nine: The End" -- "Epitaph" -- "Acknowledgements" -- "Also By I An Buruma" -- "Index

Many books have been written, and continue to be written, about the Second World War: military histories, histories of the Holocaust, the war in Asia, or collaboration and resistance in Europe. Few books have taken a close look at the immediate aftermath of the worldwide catastrophe

It was an emblematic crime: on a November day in Amsterdam, an angry young Muslim man shot and killed the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, iconic European provocateur, for making a movie with the anti-Islam politician Ayaan Hersi Ali. After shooting van Gogh, Mohammed Bouyeri calmly stood over the body and cut his throat with a curved machete. The murder horrified quiet, complacent Holland - a country that prides itself on being a bastion of tolerance - and sent shock waves around the world. In Murder in Amsterdam, Ian Buruma describes what he found when he returned to his native country to try

Intro -- About the Author -- Other Books by This Author -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Introduction: The Missionary and the Libertine -- Part I -- Mishima Yukio: The Suicidal Dandy -- Oshima Nagisa: Japanese Sex -- Tanizaki Junichiro: The Art of Cruelty -- Yoshimoto Banana: Pink Dreams -- Edward Seidensticker: An American in Tokyo -- Wilfred Thesiger: Wilfred of Arabia -- Baden-Powell: Boys Will Be Boys -- Louis Couperus: The Eurasians of The Dutch East Indies -- Part II -- Satyajit Ray: The Last Bengali Renaissance Man -- Nirad C. Chaudhuri: Citizen of The British Empire -- Mircea Eliade: Bengal Nights -- V. S. Naipaul's India -- Bhutto's Pakistan -- St. Cory and The Evil Rose -- The Bartered Bride -- The Seoul Olympics -- The Last Days of Hong Kong -- Part III -- Ghosts of Pearl Harbor -- The War Over The Bomb -- We Japanese -- Samurai of Swat -- Américainerie -- Wake Up, America -- Looking East -- The Nanny State of Asia -- Bibliography.

For eight years the president of the United States was a born-again Christian, backed by well-organized evangelicals who often seemed intent on erasing the church-state divide. In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some countries, particularly China, by a long history in which religion was tightly linked to the state. Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharp-eyed look at the tensions between religio

In this scintillating book, Ian Buruma peels away the myths that surround Japanese culture. With piercing analysis of cinema, theatre, television, art and legend, he shows the Japanese both 'as they imagine themselves to be, and as they would like themselves to be.' A Japanese Mirror examines samurai and gangsters, transvestites and goddesses to paint an eloquent picture of life in Japan. This is a country long shrouded in enigma and in his compelling book, Buruma reveals a culture rich in with poetry, beauty and wonder.

"For eight years the president of the United States was a born-again Christian, backed by well-organized evangelicals who often seemed intent on erasing the church-state divide. In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some countries, particularly China, by a long history in which religion was tightly linked to the state. Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharpeyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents. Drawing on many contemporary and historical examples, he argues that the violent passions inspired by religion must be tamed in order to make democracy work. Comparing the United States and Europe, Buruma asks why so many Americans - and so few Europeans - see religion as a help to democracy. Turning to China and Japan, he disputes the notion that only monotheistic religions pose problems for secular politics. Finally, he reconsiders the story of radical Islam in contemporary Europe, from the case of Salman Rushdie to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Sparing no one, Buruma exposes the follies of the current culture war between defenders of 'Western values' and 'multiculturalists, ' and explains that the creation of a democratic European Islam is not only possible, but necessary. Presenting a challenge to dogmatic believers and dogmatic secularists alike, Taming the Gods powerfully argues that religion and democracy can be compatible--but only if religious and secular authorities are kept firmly apart"--Provided by publisher.