This week at The Institute of Noetic Sciences’ 14th annual conference, Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science, a re-released book published by Cosimo, will be presented. This book compliments the conference topics as a primer on psychic research, life’s purpose, and the meaning of the universe. Originally published in 1974, this book is a landmark anthology of nearly thirty chapters on every area of psychic research. It is finally available again.

This conference will feature many interesting speakers including Edgar Mitchell, apollo 14 astronaut and creator of this book. Additionally, alternative medicine guru Deepak Chopra, IONS President and CEO Marilyn Schlitz, Rupert Sheldrake biologist and author of Morphic Resonance, Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy, Brian Swimme graduate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Rachel Naomi Remen clinician, master storyteller, and bestselling author, and University of Colorado Professor of Nursing Jean Watson.

Join these knowledgeable speakers from Wednesday July 20 to Saturday July 24 on Westin Market Street in San Francisco, CA, as they present an interesting array of topics. Enjoy the musical celebrations and the supportive community as you’re introduced to a fresh perspective on the world. There is so much to gain, not only from attending this insightful conference but also from reading Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science.

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Sometimes simpler is better. When things are simple, uncomplicated, easy to figure out, your brain can remain relaxed and at ease. There is nothing wrong with a challenge that forces your brain into overdrive, but when shopping for a book series, that’s not usually the goal.

Shopping for book series, when they’re not already compiled, can be disastrously complicated. Imagine, for instance, that you’re searching the web to find a series, but you can only find books three and seven of a ten-volume set. Or maybe, you actually find the whole series, but all the books are from different publishers, with different covers, different sizes, and different editions. It can be stupendously frustrating. But it doesn’t have to be.

Cosimo Books is currently offering a special on book series. We’ve made it simple to find dozens of popular classic series at discounted prices with FREE SHIPPING! Just go to Cosimo Books Collections and Series, and you’ll see the work is already done. The series have been compiled, with uniform covers, for your shopping ease. You can find everything from Arabian Nights, Curiosities of Natural History, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, and The Works of Thomas Jefferson. So, save the arduous thinking for something that actually merits it and keep your book shopping simple.

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The month has changed and it is now May. For many, this means delight in warmer weather, time for a new seasonal wardrobe, beautiful flowers as nature reemerges, and switching to iced coffee. For Cosimo, that means a new book of the month! And this month’s exciting choice is Stanley Lane-Poole’s The Story of the Moors in Spain. This book is a part of Cosimo’s new Middle Eastern Classics collection, which is meant to bring Middle Eastern history, religion, and literature to a whole new generation of readers, whether recently interested in the Middle East or more experienced academics.

This book is a rare non-Christian history from the nineteenth century, telling the history of the Moorish Empire in Andalusia from 711 to 1492. Many different aspects of this empire are discussed, including the architecture, art, religion, industry, and science established during the Muslim regime in Spain. The book’s illustrations only add to its interesting and historical story.

The Islamic State, as described in this book, was a shining example of an empire whose strength in war was only matched by its excellence in the arts and sciences. Learn how at the best of times the empire flourished, and how, after it’s downfall, Spain lost its luster and prestige for a period. The Story of the Moors in Spain is the story of a superior empire.

Born in 1854 in London, England, Stanley Lane-Poole was a British historian, Orientalist, and archaeologist. Lane-Poole worked in the British Museum from 1874 to 1892, thereafter researching Egyptian archeology in Egypt. From 1897 to 1904 he was a professor of Arabic studies at Dublin University. Before his death in 1931, Lane-Poole authored dozens of books, including the first book of the Arabic-English Lexicon started by his uncle, E.W. Lane coming soon from Cosimo Classics.

Also by E.W. Lane from Cosimo Classics: HISTORY OF INDIA, Vol. III & Vol. IV–Mediaeval India Mohammedan Conquest to the Reign of Akbar the Great and his translation of his uncle E.W. Lane’s Stories from the Thousand and One Nights, Vol. XVI in the 51-volume series The Five Foot Shelf of Classics.

Be sure to stay tuned for more information on this exciting new series in the coming months!

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The Broadway show “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” a play modeled after the book of the same name by George Bernard Shaw, opened in New York on Sunday October 3 at the American Airlines Theater. It was on Broadway more than 100 years ago, for one night, before the “filthy product” was banned by Anothony Comstock of the Society for the Suppression of Vice. The New York Times reported this in 1905. This year the Times had more pleasant news to report, in a “glowing” review of the play.

As anyone knows, if the play or movie is good, the book must be even better. Shaw wrote a social commentary that was largely considered taboo for his time, yet his message pervaded–women are strong, deserve to be treated with respect, can have their own opinions and ideas. And while we in the U.S. don’t really condone prostitution as viable career even today (and actually, neither did Shaw-go read it!), we can still take away the idea that women are capable and intelligent and all around impressive. Good for Shaw, sticking up for the ladies!

UPDATE: Interestingly, it has come to my attention that Anthony Comstock, the writer of the original tirade against George Bernard Shaw and his work, also wrote some books to further his cause of the suppression of vice. The books, Frauds Exposed, or How the People are Deceived and Robbed and Youth are Corrupted and Traps for the Young contain “warnings, restraints, guidance and sympathy” that “alone” might “save the youth” from vileness and corruption, and compulsively itemizes the “traps” that were seducing American youngsters into lives of debauchery and vice, including “pernicious literature,” gambling, “free love,” “lewd art,” and more (from the back cover). Delightfully, Cosimo offers both of these hard-to-find editions, available in our bookstore.

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Dictionary Day is celebrated every year in October — on October 16, to be precise, the anniversary of the birth of Noah Webster — to commemorate the organizational wonder that is the dictionary. Since Webster’s day, dictionaries have expanded way beyond basic collections of words to encompass all fields of study, and serve not only as immensely useful learning tools but also as powerful guides for arranging areas of thought and study. Here are a few classic examples of the specialized dictionary.

A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language: This 1901 volume completely updates the classic reference work first published in 1882, providing a staggering number of words, including those most frequently used in everyday speech and those most prominent in literature. They appear along with their definitions, their language of origin, their roots, and their derivatives. Those who are fascinated with the English language will find much to explore here and many overlooked but interesting tidbits and treasures of an ever-evolving language.

Illustrated Bible Dictionary: “The fruit of many years of loving labor,” Scottish Presbyterian minister Matthew George Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary has become a classic reference for those studying the Bible. Originally published in 1897, three years after Easton’s death, it contains almost 4,000 entries and dozens of illustrations and maps. Readers will find definitions of terms ranging from Alpha to Zuzims. In between they’ll find entries both obscure and common, such as Emims (a warlike tribe of giants), Hagar (Sarah’s handmaid), immortality, meekness, Pentecost (the feast of harvest), seventy weeks (a prophetic period of time before the coming of the Messiah), sling (what David used to slay the giant), and Zorah (Samson’s birthplace).

A Dictionary of Theosophy: Here, in one concise volume first published in 1926, is a glossary of the language of theosophy, or “the essential truth underlying all religious, ethical, philosophical, and other teaching,” from Abhava (”Non-being, non-existence, negation”) to Zarathushtra (”The name given to one of the Servers”). Steeped in the spirituality of ancient India and fueled by the occult fads of the early 20th century, this is a fascinating, highly browsable guide to a forerunner of today’s wide-ranging, metaphysically encompassing New Age thought.

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Cosimo celebrates Halloween with a selection of spooky tales to creep you out on this scary day.

The Wyvern Mystery: The foremost teller of scary stories in his day and a profound influence on both the novelists and filmmakers of the 20th century, Anglo-Irish author Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873) has, sadly, fallen out of scholarly and popular favor, and unfairly so. To this day, contemporary readers who happen across his works praise his talent for weaving a tense literary atmosphere tinged by the supernatural and bolstered by hints of ambiguous magic. An exceptional example of the “sensation novel”—a genre that was wildly popular in the Victorian era, with its focus on lurid crime invading previously cheerful, ordinary, and domestic places—this 1869 classic gives us a rural estate in 1820s England, a happy new bride, and an ancient myth of a “wyvern” dragon to spoil the tranquility. Or perhaps there’s a more rational—and yet more sinister—explanation for the distress afflicting poor Alice Fairfield, née Maybell, lady of Carwell Grange? Redolent of future works including the tales of Sherlock Holmes and the thrillers of Stephen King, The Wyvern Mystery continues to enthrall 21st-century readers. With a series of new editions of Le Fanu’s works, Cosimo is proud to reintroduce modern book lovers to the writings of the early master of suspense fiction who pioneered the concept of “psychological horror.”

In a Glass Darkly: First published in 1872, this collection of Le Fanu’s short fiction includes: “Green Tea,” “The Familiar,” “Mr. Justice Harbottle,” “The Room in the Dragon Volant,” and “Carmilla.”

The House by the Churchyard: Though his best-known works were horror tales, Le Fanu’s first novels were historical in nature. This one, originally published in 1863, bridges the author’s early work and his later experiments in Gothic horror, and is said to have inspired James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. A rambling tale of the charming Irish town of Chapelizod in 1767, it sees men of the Royal Irish Artillery stationed in the village and disrupting the quiet life there… though the brooding Mr. Mervyn and his coffin and the mysterious newcomer Mr. Dangerfield lend elements of the unknown as well.

The Evil Guest: A wonderful example of the Victorian haunted-house tale, this is one of Le Fanu’s almost-forgotten works, yet one that is still hugely enjoyable for today’s readers. Indeed, it calls to mind later books it clearly inspired, from the mysteries of Agatha Christie to the tales of Stephen King.

Wagner, The Wehr-Wolf: Fans of horror and students of the history of pulp fiction will be enthralled by this little-remembered early novel of werewolf fantasy, a “penny dreadful” first published in 1846–7 and written by British author George William Macarthur Reynolds (1814–1879). The veritable Stephen King of his day—his lurid stories were more widely read than Dickens’ work—Reynolds here gives us the strange exploits of Wagner, a 16th-century German peasant who made a pact with the devil for immortality, and hence was cursed to become a werewolf on a disturbingly regular basis. With his beautiful but wicked companion Nisida, he roams a world of Gothic nightmares, of horrifying intrigue, murder, and strange supernatural doings. Cosimo is proud to present this new edition of a forgotten classic, reproduced here in a charming replica of an 1865 edition, complete with the original illustrations.

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The International Red Cross was founded on this day in 1863. In honor of this important event in modern medicine, we present works that cover the full history of medical knowledge.

Notes on Nursing: First published in 1860, this short work was developed by nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale for use at her training school in England, but it is meant for anyone entrusted with the well-being of another and offers commonsense suggestions for all caregivers charged with looking after the sick and injured. While some of the information is dated, there remains a wealth of timeless advice, as well as an intimate peek into a moment in medical history.

How to Live: Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science: Irving Fisher’s interest in public health was the result of a bout with tuberculosis, after which he wrote this work. Here is info on the air, food, poisons, activities, and general hygiene, followed by sections dealing with being overweight or underweight, alcohol, posture, and tobacco — and even how to avoid colds. Irving Fisher was a top American economist in the early 20th century who earned the first Ph.D. in economics awarded by Yale University, where he also taught political economy. He was an accomplished mathematician and an engaging and talented writer on even the most technical of subjects whose investigations ranged beyond economics to encompass astronomy, health and hygiene, mechanics, philosophy, poetry, science, and myriad public policy issues. Dr. Eugene Lyman Fisk was the chairman of the Life Extension Institute, under whose auspices this book was published.

Medical Astrology: The Egyptians and Greeks of old purported to understand the secrets of medical diagnosis and treatment via the stars, the author reminds us, but much knowledge has been lost to time. Reconstructing this ancient lore and presenting it for modern use, this 19th-century work explains which sun signs rules which part of the human body, how the planets affect health and temperament, how the stars align to produce illness, and more. Dating from before the discovery of Pluto, this historical oddity will intrigue astrology buffs and medical students and practitioners.

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The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded recently — one of the recipients was the first woman to receive the prize. As The New York Times notes, Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University:

is a political scientist, not an economist, and in honoring her, the judges seemed to suggest that economics should be thought of as an interdisciplinary field rather than a pure science governed by mathematics.

Ideas about what, precisely, economics entails are always changing. These Cosimo Classics explore the history of the discipline from multiple intriguing perspectives.

Elementary Principles of Economics: From America’s first celebrated economist comes this 1912 textbook with a succinct yet highly informative introduction to economics as it was understood and practiced in the early 20th century. Irving Fisher (1867-1947) provides in-depth discussions of basic topics including: wealth, property, and income; credit and debt; currency, prices, and monetary systems; supply and demand; capital and labor; poverty; and more.

Elements of Economics of Industry: Being the First Volume of Elements of Economics: British economist Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) was one of the most prominent thinkers of his age on the philosophy of finance, and his groundbreaking Principles of Economics (1890) was for years the standard text on the subject. Here, in Elements of Economics of Industry, he adapts his classic text for students. First published in 1892, it still serves as an excellent primer on such topics as: economics as part of the study of humanity; the development of economic laws from the beginning of civilization; how capital yields income; how consumer demand creates markets; land, labor, capital, and organization as agents of production; the balance of supply and demand; the interplay of labor and earnings; the impact of trade unions; and much more.

Principles of Economics: Abridged Edition: This is Marshall’s standard text, considered the greatest work. First published in 1890, this is an abridged version of the 1920 eighth edition, and it serves as an excellent primer on such topics as: basic economic laws; the purpose of economic studies; fundamental concepts including wealth, production, consumption, labor, income, capital, and others; understanding consumer demand; an introduction to market studies; and much more.

Principles of Economics, Volume 1 and Volume 2: Economics is more than simply the cost of a gallon of milk. Economics is also the science of society, the basis upon which a civilization functions at its most basic level. Productivity, commerce, and value all are essential elements that define and affect a community deeply. Eminent American economist Frank William Taussig (1859-1940) brings the complex and sometimes intimidating subject to light in Principles of Economics (first published in 1911) by writing for the specialist as well as those with a simple educated curiosity about economics and its relevance to every member of a community.

The Economics of Welfare, Volume I and Volume II: Welfare economics is a branch of economics using microeconomic techniques to simultaneously determine the efficiency of the overall economy and the income distribution consequences associated with it. A British economist best known for his work in many fields and particularly in welfare economics, Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877–1959), asserts that individuals are the best judges of their own welfare, that people will prefer greater welfare to less welfare, and that welfare can be adequately measured either in monetary terms or as a relative preference. Scholars and students of both economics and welfare policy will find Pigou’s work a significant contribution to current debates on welfare policy directions.

Women and Economics: Startling in its observations and radical in its conclusions, this classic of women’s rights literature, this work — by pioneering American feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) — was a phenomenon when it was first published in 1898, and was eventually translated into in seven languages and reprinted around the world. From her characterization of women as virtual economic, social, and sexual slaves, dependent on men for everything from food to friendship to protection, to her call for women to free themselves from these shackles, Women and Economics electrified Victorian readers. It remains a foundational work of feminist theory, essential reading for anyone wishing to understand women’s struggle for full and self-determined personhood.

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There’s been a lot of hot air expended on the Web over the recently released study that purports to break down the 237 reasons why women have sex. (I like Tanya Gold’s snarky take at the Guardian.) Of course, pondering human sexuality is nothing new… as these Cosimo Classics demonstrate.

Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex: Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a pioneer in the study of human sexuality and the impact of sexual desire on human behavior, and this 1905 work is considered among his most important contributions to the field. This is the source of such concepts as penis envy, castration anxiety, and the Oedipus complex that we take for granted as fundamental to understanding human psychology. In the three essays here — “The Sexual Aberrations,” “Infantile Sexuality,” and “The Transformations of Puberty” — Freud sets out a theory of human sexuality that continues to influence us today.

Sex as Symbol: The Ancient Light in Modern Psychology: How does gender and the sex drive manifest itself across human cultures? How is the dual nature of humanity — male and female, spiritual and physical, animal and divine — expressed in the tangible world? Alvin Boyd Kuhn (1880–1963), a prominent proponent of the early 20th-century doctrine of theosophy, which sought to find the universal truths that underlie all human religions, here explores the hidden connections across cultures that unify rites and customs found around the globe: circumcision, the secondary status of women, myths about communion with deities, and more. In fluid prose that approaches a stream-of-consciousness reverie, this 1945 treatise seeks to uncover a fundamental basis for human ideas about sex, gender, and love.

Sane Sex Life and Sane Sex Living: Despite its rather staid subtitle — “Some Things That All Sane People Ought to Know About Sex Nature and Sex Functioning; Its Place in the Economy of Life, Its Proper Training and Righteous Exercise” — this 1919 volume may well be one of the most forthright books about human sexuality written in the pre-Joy of Sex era. Actively campaigning against societally sanctioned ignorance, medical doctor Harland William Long (b. 1869) uses clinical yet passionate language in his call for men and women alike to be fully educated about their own bodies as well as those of their lovers. This straightforward work is still startling today in its advocacy of detailed explanation not just of the physical act of sex but of the emotional art of lovemaking, its advocacy of masturbation, and its insistence on celebrating the uniquely spiritual, though not necessarily religious, aspects of love and marriage. This is must-reading for anyone who believes that frank and honest sex education is an invention of the 1960s — and for anyone who wishes to contest that misbelief.

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October is National Reading Group Month, promoting book groups for bringing people together via great books. Here are some classic works that celebrate the power of the written word.

In Praise of Books: With suggestions from influential thinkers and authors, this work can help those who are developing a personal library or reading list. Ralph Waldo Emerson contributed an Atlantic Monthly essay to this volume, in which he recommended his favorite writers and texts. He named Homer, Shakespeare, Herodotus, Dante, Spenser, Bacon, Dickens, and Thackeray as among his most cherished authors. Emerson also listed his three criteria for selecting a book: never read a book that is less than a year old, always read well-known books, and always read topics that one enjoys. Sir John Lubbock also shared his love of books — “How thankful we ought to be for these inestimable blessings, for this numberless host of friends who never weary, betray, or forsake us!” he wrote — before recommending the works of Confucius, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Darwin, Goethe, Eliot, and many more. Also included are quotes about reading and books from Socrates (”Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings; so you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for”), Niccolo Machiavelli (”I forget every vexation” when reading), Alexander Pope (”At this day, as much company as I have kept, and as much as I love it, I love reading better”), Henry Fielding (”We are as liable to be corrupted by books as by companions”), David Hume (”[I] was seized very early with a passion for literature, which as been the ruling passion of my life”), and other avid readers.

The Love of Books: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury: British writer and bishop Richard Aungerville (1287–1345), aka Richard de Bury, was a royal tutor and a player in court intrigue, and is today perhaps the most famous book lover of the medieval world. Owner of an immense personal library, the bishop penned this valentine to the wisdom of books and the joy of collecting them, most likely completing it just before his death. (This, considered the definition English edition, was translated by Oxford scholar Ernest C. Thomas and first published in 1888.) Delightfully expansive in its bibliomania, the Philobiblon waxes rhapsodic about: “The Degree of Affection That Is Properly Due to Books,” “Why We Have Not Wholly Neglected the Fables of the Poets,” “Who Ought to Be Special Lovers of Books,” “The Advantages of the Love of Books,” and much more.

Bibliography of Forbidden Books - Volume I: In this first volume of the 1877 work that established him as England’s leading authority on pornography, Henry Spencer Ashbee describes scores of “curious, uncommon and erotic books” that were banned or otherwise prohibited from legitimate sale during the Victorian era… and some even until the 1960s. Included in this far-reaching volume are such “gentlemen only” titles as Exhibition of Female Flagellants, The Battles of Venus, and A Cabinet of Amorous Curiosities. This catalog of mostly forgotten works is an invaluable-and highly entertaining-resource for bibliophiles, students of erotica, and collectors of Victoriana. Also avaiable: Volume II and Volume III.

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