Volume 1 Autobiography of a Restless Mind is a fascinating, exceptionally diverse collection of observations and reflections written over the past twenty-five years by one of the most innovative thinkers, writers, and leaders of the past half century. Witty and wise, playful and profound, prophetic and immensely quotable, it is a companion no thinking, caring person should be without. Written in an unforgettable style reminiscent of Aurelius, Montaigne, Lao-Tse, and Bacon, it is a classic that will be read with pleasure and profit for generations to come.

This book offers the most comprehensive account yet published of Alexis de Tocqueville's extraordinary thought and life. Peter Augustine Lawler makes clear the understanding of the human condition that is at the foundation of Tocqueville's mixed and elusive view of human liberty.

Explores the metaphysical, epistemological, and moral implications of curiosity in Augustine's writings, against the background of the classical, scriptural, and patristic traditions. In broader terms, it puts Augustine in conversation with later currents of thought, assessing how his deliberations on the curious disposition say something significant about the scope and limits of human inquiry, particularly in the context of scientific investigation.

Volume 2 Autobiography of a Restless Mind is a fascinating, exceptionally diverse collection of observations and reflections written over the past twenty-five years by one of the most innovative thinkers, writers, and leaders of the past half century. Witty and wise, playful and profound, prophetic and immensely quotable, it is a companion no thinking, caring person should be without. Written in an unforgettable style reminiscent of Aurelius, Montaigne, Lao-Tse, and Bacon, it is a classic that will be read with pleasure and profit for generations to come.

Since the publication of my initial Ramblings in 2009, this supposedly restless mind did not suddenly acquire Zen-tranquility. It continued to be what it has been for long and here is another installment of occasional thoughts, versified. I use versified not in the strictly traditional sense because it gets a bit too restrictive for the license some of us think we have or claim to have. These ramblings are mostly in a territory that is consciously kept apart from the areas of my professional interest. This territory involves governments, politics, nature, things and people -- people of faith, deep, shallow, desert-dry or fertile with pseudo-versions of Zen and Sufism. In this territory, the things that happen are often seen and considered in a somewhat different way, and the reactions felt and expressed, not always with due respect and reverence. There is no conscious attempt to organize or sequester these thoughts into groups or categories, but if one finds any trend in this tumbling out of thoughts, it may perhaps be largely attributed to some kind of chronological, evolutionary randomness. And if in these wanderings, some hills and valleys begin to look familiar to those who may know, they could well be but, I hope, seen from a different angle, tangential to a path rather less-familiar, and offering a somewhat different view. No two sunsets over a familiar hill are ever the same to an eye or a heart that is never tired of sunsets; every wave leaves behind its own set of previously unseen gifts each time it sweeps over and recedes from a well-trodden beach. Some of these ramblings have been offered before, quite extemporaneously, to informal gatherings but if anyone detects any tell-tale signs here, it would be either incidental or that my editorial revisions have not been as thorough as I had originally intended. T. Beeth November, 2013

L. A. Evans has created a diverse collection of poems, ranging from limericks to iambic pentameter; free verse to haiku and everything in between. In terms of mood they range from humour to thoughtful introspection and sadness. There is one thing they all have in common; their intent is to softly caress your heart. Read slowly through them, and give yourself time to absorb the underlying feeling, and let your emotions respond accordingly.