|Abstract||This collection of essays and stories by Bertrand
Russell, the influential modern philosopher, is divided into
four distinct parts. The first part is devoted to six essays on
the books that influenced him in youth, broadly speaking from
the age of 15 to the age of 21. For Russell, this was a time
when each book was an adventure and enormously important to him
when first exploring the world and trying to determine his
attitude towards it. The writers whom he selects for discussion
are Shelley, Turgenev, Ibsen, Milton, certain historians
(especially Gibbon) and the great mathematical writers. The
second part of the book is devoted to essays on politics and
education. The third part consists of divertissements, parables,
nightmares and dreams, the dreams being recorded exactly as
dreamt and in no way decorated or improved. The final section of
the book contains 11 essays and addresses on peace and war,
which include some of Russell's famous public pronouncements on
nuclear warfare and international te