Corliss Lamont Bookshelf

  

JPEG image of Corliss Lamont.

My books are all written in simple, readable prose and deal with important issues in philosophy, politics, economics, international relations, and culture in general. They can be read by the average high school student. The problems analyzed and discussed by me are just as relevant in the 1990s [and beyond] as in the earlier decades when my books were first published.

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For more than half a century Dr. Corliss Lamont was a leading and controversial figure in American intellectual and political life. He helped spark the debate over "secular humanism" (he preferred "naturalistic humanism") in his classic The Philosophy of Humanism. There he argued that “the chief aim of human life is to work for the happiness of all humanity” and that the world's abundant material, cultural and political assets should be available to everyone.

Bertrand Russell wrote that, “Every friend of freedom ought to lay to heart what Corliss Lamont has to say.” For new readers, especially students, who are witnessing history being rapidly rewritten in ways that will fundamentally touch their lives, Russell's advice remains as timely and vital as ever.

Aside from The Philosophy of Humanism, which was and continues to be his most popular and important work, eight other titles stand out from his extensive corpus. Presented here are descriptions of those titles, several of which, as indicated below, are still currently in-print and available in new editions directly from Amazon.com. And while you're at Amazon.com, be sure to visit Amazon's Corliss Lamont Author Page.

On this page:


The Illusion of Immortality

THE ILLUSION OF IMMORTALITY

In clear and unflinching language, Lamont states the case for human mortality — the finality of death. But, he argues, the illusion of immortality is an affirmative vision, not a negative one. By recognizing human mortality, he writes, people will realize they must “develop their possibilities, win happiness for themselves and others, and take their stand . . . here and now.”

Extraordinarily complete and well-informed . . . worthy of the serious attention of all thoughtful persons.
   —John Dewey

The Illusion of Immortality
Fifth Edition 1990 (Previous editions: 1965, 1959, 1956, 1935)
Introduction by John Dewey
Includes Prefaces, Notes
Indexed
303 pages
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 65-25140 (Fifth Edition)
ISBN 0-8044-6377-8 (Fifth Edition)
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com

Note: The Illusion of Immortality was originally published in 1932 as Issues of Immortality: A Study in Implications


Freedom Is As Freedom Does: Civil Liberties in America - Fourth Edition, 1990

FREEDOM IS AS FREEDOM DOES: CIVIL LIBERTIES IN AMERICA

Lamont surveys significant developments in the field of civil liberties over the past half century, including details of his own landmark court battles against censorship and invasion of privacy.
As a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1932 until 1954, Lamont was one of the nation's foremost defenders of the Bill of Rights.

An important contribution . . . Few have fought for civil liberties as unflinchingly, or with such devotion to principle . . .
   —Thomas I. Emerson, Yale Law School

Freedom Is As Freedom Does: Civil Liberties in America
Fourth Edition 1990 (Previous editions: 1981, 1972, 1956)
Foreword by Bertrand Russell
Introduction by H. H. Wilson
Includes Author's Preface, Notes, Selected Bibliography, Epilogue
Indexed
326 pages
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 56-7820 (Fourth Edition)
ISBN 0-8264-0475-8 (Fourth Edition)
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com

Freedom Is As Freedom Does: Civil Liberties in America - Third Printing, 1981

Freedom Is As Freedom Does: Civil Liberties in America
Third Printing, 1981 (Previous editions: 1972, 1956)
Foreword by Bertrand Russell
Introduction by H. H. Wilson
Includes Author's Preface, Notes, Selected Bibliography, New Epilogue by the Author (February 1981)
Indexed
326 pages
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 56-7820 (Third Printing)
ISBN 0-8180-0350-2 (Third Printing)
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com


Freedom of Choice Affirmed (Third Revised Edition, 1990)

FREEDOM OF CHOICE AFFIRMED

Lamont, using Humanist philosophy as his touchstone, convincingly argues the case for the existence of freedom of choice. Brilliantly reasoned and richly documented, Freedom of Choice Affirmed draws upon science, literature, and religion as well as the work of Einstein, Erich Fromm, William James, Spinoza, Luther, and Melville, among others.

I have been thinking about the question of freedom of choice and determination for more than forty years, ever since I began my professional study of philosophy at Columbia University in 1926.

In Freedom of Choice Affirmed I have tried to write a book that will not only prove useful to professional philosophers, especially in college teaching, but that also can be understood by the average reader.
   —from the Introduction by Corliss Lamont

Freedom of Choice Affirmed
Third Revised Edition 1990 (Previous editions: 1969, 1967)
Includes Prefaces, Guide to Meanings, Reference Notes, Selected Bibliography
Indexed
214 pages
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 67-27793 (Third Revised Edition)
ISBN 0-8264-0476-6 (Third Revised Edition)
Status: Out-Of-Print
Available from third-party sellers on Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com

Freedom of Choice Affirmed (Second Edition, 1969)

Freedom of Choice Affirmed
Second Edition 1969 (Previous edition: 1967)
Includes Preface, Foreword, Guide to Meanings, Reference Notes, Selected Bibliography
Indexed
214 pages
ISBN 0-8180-1329-X (Second Edition)
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com


Yes To Life: Memoirs of Corliss Lamont

YES TO LIFE:
MEMOIRS OF CORLISS LAMONT

Lamont vividly recounts a lifetime devoted to Humanism, civil liberties, and international peace. Included are accounts of his famous court battles against Senator Joseph McCarthy and the CIA and memories of such persons as Bertrand Russell, George Santayana, John Dewey, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and Katharine Hepburn.

Few people have more right or reason to say yes to life than Corliss Lamont. This superb autobiography tells you why.
   —Paul M. Sweezy

Yes To Life: Memoirs of Corliss Lamont
Revised Edition 1991 (Previous edition: 1981)
Includes Preface, Foreword, Reference Notes
Illustrated with 20 photographs
Indexed
275 pages
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 91-4430
ISBN 0-8264-0477-4
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com


Remembering John Masefield - 1971 Edition         Remembering John Masefield - Revised 1991 Edition

REMEMBERING JOHN MASEFIELD

Corliss Lamont was a personal friend of Poet Laureate John Masefield (1878-1976), one of the great English poets of the twentieth century.

In this book, Lamont has skillfully assembled and edited forty years worth of the poet's letters to produce an intimate and detailed portrait of both the public and private man.

I heard him giving advice to a young poet, going over his poem line by line and showing him how to improve it. There was one line about "The marching Stars," and he said that stars had been marched to death. “Always remember that a strong writer makes the fantastic real. A weak writer makes the real fantastic.”
   —From the Introduction by Judith Masefield

Remembering John Masefield
Revised Edition 1991 (Previous edition: 1971)
Introduction by Judith Masefield
Includes Bibliographical Note
Illustrated with photographs
Indexed
128 pages
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 91-4429
ISBN 0-8264-0478-2
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com


Lover's Credo: Poems of Love (First Edition 1972)  Lover's Credo: Poems of Love (Third Edition 1994)

LOVER'S CREDO: POEMS OF LOVE

Lover's Credo: Poems of Love celebrates lyrically the varying moods and aspects of love between a man and a woman, often set against the background of the natural world.

Thirty-one poems, a lover's credo . . . commemorate what philosopher Lamont describes as eroto-aesthetic sensitivity. The bliss of sexual and spiritual love, the beauty of the loved one and of nature, the loneliness and ironies of lost romance are gracefully conveyed in these meticulously structured poems.
   —The Booklist
       American Library Association

Corliss Lamont, bored with pornography and four-letter words, has shown that one can speak candidly of the delight of tenderness, passion, exaltation and lasting comradeship of two people in love without resorting to coarseness. The title poem, "Lover's Credo" is especially appealing . . . This little volume should please lovers of all ages.
   —The Atlantic Journal

Poems celebrating the intellectual and spiritual as well as the romantic and physical aspects of love between man and woman . . . illustrated with photographs as sensuous as the poems. The subjects and language of the poems are ageless.
   —The Churchman

Corliss Lamont announces a personal credo of love in his preface. The poems which follow constitute a set of variations on the theme. The tempo varies as well as the tone — there are occasional notes of humor, as in "On a Warm Day in Spring" — but the leitmotif remains true to the title of the book.
   —Louis Untermeyer

Lover's Credo: Poems of Love
Third Edition 1994 (Previous editions: 1983, 1972)
Foreword by Bernard Grebanier
Includes Preface and Acknowledgments
Illustrated with photographs
71 pages (Third Edition)
63 pages (First Edition)
Binding: Trade Paperback (Third Edition)
Binding: Hard Cover with Dust Jacket (First Edition)
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 82-13909 (Third Edition)
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 74-39345 (First Edition)
ISBN 0-87233-114-8 (Third Edition)
ISBN 0-498-01135-6 (First Edition)
Status: Out-Of-Print
Available from third-party sellers on Amazon.com.   Get it at Amazon.com


The full text of the 1994 Third Edition of Lover's Credo: Poems of Love is also available online on this Web site. Those using a browser which doesn't support frames should use this link.


A Humanist Wedding Service

A HUMANIST WEDDING SERVICE

Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience and an adventure in the most intimate of human relations. It is the joyous uniting of two persons whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered into romance.

This wedding service in the Humanist spirit celebrates the joy and the beauty of life.

A Humanist Wedding Service
Third Revised Edition 1981 (Previous editions: 1972, 1970)
29 pages
ISBN 0-87975-000-6
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.com
Also available on the Amazon Kindle.
Get it at Amazon.com

A Humanist Funeral Service - 3rd Edition

A HUMANIST FUNERAL SERVICE

A Humanist Funeral Service offers an alternative ceremony for those who do not wish to use traditional religious forms. It provides meditations and eloquent passages of prose and poetry to express appreciation, grief, and farewell when a friend or loved one dies. One may choose, according to individual preference, the text and music felt to be most appropriate.

The service is dignified and reminiscent of past relationships with the deceased, stressing love, the beauty of life, man's kinship with nature, and the naturalness of death.

In the quest for solace at a time of grief, one can turn to this nontheistic service for security, comfort, and purpose in accepting the finality of the loss of a loved one.

A Humanist Funeral Service
Third Revised Edition 1985 (Previous editions: 1977, 1954)
48 pages
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 77-76001
ISBN 0-87975-090-1
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.com
Also available on the Amazon Kindle.
Get it at Amazon.com

A Humanist Funeral Service and Celebration - 4th Edition

A Humanist Funeral Service and Celebration
Fourth Revised Edition 2011 (Previous editions: 1985, 1977, 1954)
66 pages
Revised title: A Humanist Funeral Service and Celebration
Revised by: Beth K. Lamont and J. Sierra Oliva
ISBN 978-1-61614-409-8 (paperback)
Status: In-Print
Available new directly from Amazon.comGet it at Amazon.com


 Be sure to visit 
Pamphlets by Corliss Lamont Visit the Pamphlets by Corliss Lamont Web page.
 for additional information on the works of 
 Corliss Lamont. 


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