Mortals and others : American essays 1931-1935 / Bertrand Russell ; edited by Harry Ruja ; with a new introduction by John G. Slater.

Selection of essays contributed to the New York American, 1931-1935.

Originally published as: Mortals and others : Bertrand Russell's American essays 1931-1935, volume 1. London : Allen and Unwin, 1975.

On Jealousy -- Sex and Happiness -- Tourists: We Lose Our Charm Away from Home -- The Menace of Old Age -- In Praise of Artificiality -- Who May Use Lipstick? -- The Lessons of Experience -- Hope and Fear -- Are Criminals Worse than Other People? -- The Advantages of Cowardice -- The Decay of Meditation -- Marriage -- On Being Good -- Who Gets Our Savings? -- Children -- On Politicians -- Keeping Pace? -- On Snobbery -- Whose Admiration Do You Desire? -- On National Greatness -- Is the World Going Mad? -- Are We Too Passive? -- Why We Enjoy Mishaps -- Does Education Do Harm? -- Are Men of Science Scientific? -- Flight from Reality -- Illegal? -- On Optimism -- As Others See Us -- Taking Long Views -- On Mental Differences Between Boys and Girls -- On the Fierceness of Vegetarians -- Furniture and the Ego -- Why Are We Discontented? -- On Locomotion -- Of Co-operation -- Our Woman Haters -- The Influence of Fathers -- On Societies -- On Being Edifying --

On Sales Resistance -- Should Children Be Happy? -- Dangers of Feminism -- On Expected Emotions -- On Modern Uncertainty -- On Imitating Heroes -- On Vicarious Asceticism -- On Labelling People -- On Smiling -- Do Governments Desire War? -- On Corporal Punishment -- If Animals Could Talk -- On Insularity -- On Astrologers -- On Protecting Children from Reality -- The Decay of Intellectual Standards -- Pride in Illness -- On Charity -- On Reverence -- On Proverbs -- On Clothes -- Should Socialists Smoke Good Cigars? -- A Sense of Humour -- Love and Money -- Interest in Crime -- How to Become a Man of Genius -- On Old Friends -- Success and Failure -- On Feeling Ashamed -- On Economic Security -- On Tact -- Changing Fashions in Reserve -- On Honour -- The Consolations of History -- Is Progress Assured? -- Right and Might -- Prosperity and Public Expenditure -- Public and Private Interests.

From 1931 to 1935 Bertrand Russell was one of the regular contributors to the literary pages of the New York American, together with other distinguished authors such as Aldous Huxley and Vita Sackville-West. Mortals and Others presents a selection of his essays, ranging from the politically correct to the perfectly obscure: from Is the World Going Mad? to Should Socialists Smoke Good Cigars?

Even though written in the politically heated climate of the 1930s, these essays are surprisingly topical and engaging for the present-day reader. Mortals and Others serves as a splendid, fresh introduction to the compassionate eclecticism of Bertrand Russell's mind.