The Value Of Victory

This book investigates the cosmological context of Pindar’s victory odes, and how it influences his presentation of praise. The study first focuses on gnomai as a reflection of cosmology, using these sayings to establish the views the poems reveal on matters such as the divine, the human condition and man in society. This overview is complemented by detailed literary analyses demonstrating how cosmology functions in individual odes. They show that Pindar shapes the poet persona to emphasize different aspects of the traditional world view or represent varying viewpoints so that he can praise each victor according to his particular circumstances. By focusing on cosmology the book highlights a neglected dimension of Pindar’s odes and challenges some traditional views on this poet.

In the months leading up to the 1997 Singapore General Election, many observers were already billing it in terms of a "watershed" election that would chart the course of Singapore politics well into the 21st century. The ruling People's Action Party had seen its popular vote slide in the previous three successive elections and was determined to stem, if not decisively reverse, that slide. On the other hand, the opposition parties were determined to hand the ruling party a fourth successive reduction in its vote and, through that, establish a long-term trend in decline in support for the PAP. The outcome of the election, which was bitterly fought, will indeed have major implications for Singapore politics well into the new millennium. This book analyses the significant aspects of the election campaign, provides a host of interpretations for the election results, sets out alternative explanations to certain political phenomena given by other observers, and details some of the key implications the outcome of the elections will have for the Singapore body politic, in particular, and society at large, in general.

In the vein of Taylor Branch’s classic Parting of the Waters, Supreme Court lawyer and political pundit Linda Hirshman delivers the enthralling, groundbreaking story of the gay rights movement, revealing how a dedicated and resourceful minority changed America forever. When the modern struggle for gay rights erupted in the summer of 1969, forty-nine states outlawed sex between people of the same gender. Four decades later, in 2011, New York legalized gay marriage and the armed services stopped enforcing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Successful social movements are always extraordinary, but these advances seem like something of a miracle. Linda Hirshman recounts the long roads that led to these victories, detailing the remarkable and revolutionary story of the movement that has blurred rigid gender lines, altered the shared culture, and broadened our definitions of family. Written in vivid prose, at once emotional and erudite, Victory is an utterly vibrant work of reportage and eyewitness accounts and demonstrates how, in a matter of decades, a focused group of activists forged a classic campaign for cultural change that will serve as a model for all future political movements. “Remarkable for its emotional punch as for its historical insight.”—New York Times Book Review

Axel Heyst, a dreamer and a restless drifter, believes he can avoid suffering by cutting himself off from others. Then he becomes involved in the operation of a coal company on a remote island in the Malay Archipelago, and when it fails he turns his back on humanity once more. But his life alters when he rescues a young English girl, Lena, from Zangiacomo's Ladies' Orchestra and the evil innkeeper Schomberg, taking her to his island retreat. The affair between Heyst and Lena begins with her release, but the relationship shifts as Lena struggles to save Heyst from the detachment and isolation that have inhibited and influenced his life. Marked by a violent and tragic conclusion, Victory is both a tale of rescue and adventure and a perceptive study of a complex relationship and of the power of love.

It’s Time to Live a Victorious Life This book is about victory. You can win right now. The choice is yours. Overcoming obstacles from sexual abuse to social injustices, Cynthia Garrett rose to influence in Hollywood. Yet it wasn’t until she realized what the war against victimization is really about that she found the freedom, victory, and peace she sought. She wants you to experience it, too. Through faith and personal examples, Garrett shows you how to confront the victim mindset, quit playing the blame game, defeat fear, and address pride and power. You’ll learn how to navigate the war zones—personal, spiritual, and political—of daily life. In the midst of all life throws at you, there are two constants: God’s unconditional love and the ability it gives you to live a victorious life. I Choose Victory will: challenge your thought patterns; encourage spiritual and personal growth; and equip you to win.

Committing one's country to war is a grave decision. Governments often have to make tough calls, but none are quite so painful as those that involve sending soldiers into harm's way, to kill and be killed. The idea of 'just war' informs how we approach and reflect on these decisions. It signifies the belief that while war is always a wretched enterprise it may in certain circumstances, and subject to certain restrictions, be justified. Boasting a long history that is usually traced back to the sunset of the Roman Empire, it has coalesced over time into a series of principles and moral categories—e.g., just cause, last resort, proportionality, etc.—that will be familiar to anyone who has ever entered a discussion about the rights and wrongs of war. Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Just War focuses both on how this particular tradition of thought has evolved over time and how it has informed the practice of states and the legal architecture of international society. This book examines the vexed position that the concept of victory occupies within this framework.