Taking Sigmund Freud's theories as a point of departure, Jean-Michel Rabaté's book explores the intriguing ties between psychoanalysis and literature.

The first anthology of Jewish mythology in English, Tree of Souls reveals a mythical tradition as rich and as fascinating as any in the world. Drawing from the Bible, the Pseudepigrapha, the Talmud and Midrash, the kabbalistic literature, medieval folklore, Hasidic texts, and oral lore collected in the modern era, Schwartz has gathered together nearly 700 of the key Jewish myths. The myths themselves are marvelous. We read of Adams diamond and the Land of Eretz (where it is always dark), the fall of Lucifer and the quarrel of the sun and the moon, the Treasury of Souls and the Divine Chariot. We discover new tales about the great figures of the Hebrew Bible, from Adam to Moses; stories about God's Bride, the Shekhinah, and the evil temptress, Lilith; plus many tales about angels and demons, spirits and vampires, giant beasts and the Golem. Equally important, Schwartz provides a wealth of additional information. For each myth, he includes extensive commentary, revealing the source of the myth and explaining how it relates to other Jewish myths as well as to world literature (for instance, comparing Eves release of evil into the world with Pandoras). For ease of use, Schwartz divides the volume into ten books, Myths of God, Myths of Creation, Myths of Heaven, Myths of Hell, Myths of the Holy Word, Myths of the Holy Time, Myths of the Holy People, Myths of the Holy Land, Myths of Exile, and Myths of the Messiah.

In this close analysis of 'The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan', a sixth-century commentary on the Mishnah-tractyate 'The Fathers' (Avot), Jacob Neusner considers the way in which the story, as a distinctive type of narrative, entered the canonical writings of Judaism. The final installment in Neusner's cycle of analyses of the major texts of the Judaic canon, 'Judaism and Story' shows that stories about sages exist in far greater proportion in 'The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan' than in any of the other principal writings in the canon of Judaism of late antiquity. Neusner's detailed comparison of 'The Fathers' and 'The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan' demonstrates the transmission and elaboration of these stories and shows how these processes incorporated the newer view of the sage as a supernatural figure and of the eschatological character of Judaic teleology. These distinctions, as Neusner describes them, mark a shift in Jewish orientation to world history. 'Judaism and Story' documents a chapter of rabbinic tradition that explored the possibility of historical orientation by means of stories. As Neusner demonstrates, this experiment with narrative went beyond argumentation focused on the explication of the Torah. The sage story moved in the direction of biography, but without allowing biography to emerge. This development, in Neusner's account, parallels the movement from epistle to Gospel in early Christianity and thus has broad implications for the history of religions.

Just after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., there lived a poor and ugly nail-maker who was also, for a time, the leading rabbi of his generation. His name was Joshua ben Hananiah, and he helped give us the Judaism we know--the complicated, word-filled tradition of debates, multiple viewpoints, and endless questions. Through his humanity, humility, and occasional audacity, Joshua helped set Judaism on its course towards becoming the decentralized, multi-opinionated, exile-surviving, other-religion-respecting, pragmatic-yet-altruistic, wounded-yet-hopeful religion that it is at its best. And yet, inside and outside the Jewish community, few people know about him. This book wants to change that. In these pages, people of all faiths or backgrounds will find accessible and vivid translations of some of the most stunning stories in the Talmud and in Midrash. Rabbi Maurice Harris is a friendly guide through the texts and dramas of early rabbinic Judaism, providing general audiences with clear and compelling explanations of complex narratives, legal issues, and historical contexts. Venture inside this book and discover Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, one of the bravest and humblest heroes you'll ever meet in sacred literature.

The book features an appendix including the original Hebrew/Aramaic texts for the reader's reference.

Chinese (mainland and Taiwan), European, Japanese, Canadian, and North American scholars address a subject of increasing interest in modern Chinese and world history: the emergence of a modern citizenry. While much attention has focused to date on the rise of the modern Chinese nation, little or none has been directed at the important concomitant element of a politically active "citizenry" and what that might mean in a Chinese context. After a detailed introduction by the editors on this theme in Western and East Asian theory and practice, each essay examines a thinker or group of thinkers from the crucial transition period in modern China, 1890-1920, and assesses their views on how China might forge a modern society with a participatory political citizenry.