At the head of "The Colbert Report, " one of the most popular shows on television, Stephen Colbert is a pop culture phenomenon. More than one million people backed his fake candidacy in the 2008 U.S. presidential election on Facebook, a testament to the particularly rich set of issues and emotions Colbert brings to mind. "Stephen Colbert and Philosophy" is crammed with thoughtful and amusing chapters, each written by a philosopher and all focused on Colbert's inimitable reality -- from his word creations (truthiness, wikiality, freem, and others) to his position as a faux-pundit who openly mocks Fox News and CNN. Although most of the discussion is centered around "The Colbert Report, " this collection does not neglect either his best-selling book, "I Am America (And So Can You!), " or his public performances, including his incendiary 2006 White House Press Correspondents' Dinner speech.

Much like in the present day, building a house in the sixteenth century involved masons, carpenters and glaziers, among others, and in many cities such trades had separate companies to govern their own affairs. In Edinburgh, however, they banded together in a single body - the Edinburgh Incorporation of Mary's Chapel. Building Early Modern Edinburgh traces the history of the organisation, which sought to control the capital's building trades and defend their privileges. By utilising a range of previously missing charters and archival documents, the author offers a new perspective on the prestigious and important craft guild in its 543 years of existence. Developing a crucial theme of 'composite corporatism', and using the concepts of 'family' and 'household' to approach an urban institution, this book is a valuable resource of comparative material for the study of craft guilds and urban history in a global context.

To be a "poet" or not to be, that is the question I ask my mind all the time. "My Poetic Mind" is a new collection of poems by up and coming poet/author Aaron Allen. Here again, he has written his dramatic life and mind into a poetic prose as each poem speaks to one issue at a time.

Much like in the present day, building a house in the sixteenth century involved masons, carpenters and glaziers, among others, and in many cities such trades had separate companies to govern their own affairs. In Edinburgh, however, they banded together in a single body - the Edinburgh Incorporation of Mary's Chapel. Building Early Modern Edinburgh traces the history of the organisation, which sought to control the capital's building trades and defend their privileges. By utilising a range of previously missing charters and archival documents, the author offers a new perspective on the prestigious and important craft guild in its 543 years of existence. Developing a crucial theme of 'composite corporatism', and using the concepts of 'family' and 'household' to approach an urban institution, this book is a valuable resource of comparative material for the study of craft guilds and urban history in a global context.