The Apostles of Beauty

Tzvetan Todorov

Although they may sound strange today, Dostoevsky’s famous words were once taken at face value. In the wake of 19th century Romanticism, several generations of writers did believe that through their l…

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The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality

André Comte-Sponville

In all Western traditions, be it Jewish, Muslim or Christian, God has become synonymous with spirituality. In this remarkable essay, André Comte-Sponville argues that a demanding personal ethic does n…

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Conquering the Impossible

Mike Horn

Mike Horn had an idea, he wanted to attempt the impossible: to circumnavigate the 20 000 kilometres of the artic circle, alone, against the winds and the currents, without using any motorised transpor…

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Baghdad Journal

Steve Mumford

“It’s refreshing to get this dispatch told, from the perspective not of a journalist or a photographer, but of an artist… written in a lucid and reflective style that perfectly matches these quiet spa…

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Living in Fire

Marina Tsvetaeva

Paradoxically, in this unique editorial adventure, it would almost be better to forget the name of the author: the Russian poet, Marina Tsvetaeva, a muse to both Pasternak and Rilke, who in 1941 commi…

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Letting go

Marcel Rufo

During the nine months spent in the womb, a baby experiences a vital period of union with its mother, which enables the infant to draw the strength and sustenance that it needs. But once born the baby…

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From St. Sulpice and the Louvre

Frédéric Lenoir and Marie-France Etchegoin

Translated into more than 35 languages worldwide and with over 8 million copies in print, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is a worldwide publishing phenomenon. The extraordinary success of this politico…

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Official Silence

Eric Laurent

In the summer of 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks delivered its long-awaited report to the US public. Many reviews were written, the book-version of the report became a strong best-s…

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The Caged Virgin

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and grew up in a Muslim family. At the age of 22 she was promised in marriage to a distant nephew. With the help of a friend she defied her family and escaped. Arri…

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Portrait of an Unknown Gentleman

Alexandra Lapierre

In 1624, a mysterious Englishman orchestrated the plundering of the relics of the Golden Gate of Constantinople – a marvel of Greco-Roman history. This titanic pillage was the first of many such excav…

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