(Encyclopedia) Ponzi, Charles or Carlo, 1882–1949), Italian-American swindler. He came to the United States from his native Italy in 1903, then went in 1907 to Canada, where he was convicted of check…
(Encyclopedia) Abelard, PeterAbelard, Peterăbˈəlärd [key], Fr. Pierre AbélardAbelard, Peterpyĕr äbālärˈ [key], 1079–1142, French philosopher and teacher, b. Le Pallet, near Nantes.
A theological…
(Encyclopedia) Clausewitz, Karl vonClausewitz, Karl vonkärl fən klouˈzəvĭts [key], 1780–1831, Prussian general and military strategist. Clausewitz was an original thinker most influenced by the…
(Encyclopedia) idealism, the attitude that places special value on ideas and ideals as products of the mind, in comparison with the world as perceived through the senses. In art idealism is the…
(Encyclopedia) Houellebecq, MichelHouellebecq, Michelmēshĕlˈ wĕlˈbĕk [key], b. 1958– or 1956–, French author, perhaps France's best-known contemporary novelist, b. Réunion as Michel Thomas. A…
(Encyclopedia) Medieval Latin literature, literary works written in the Latin language during the Middle Ages.
Many literary genres were already being taken over by writing in the vernacular,…
Elia Kazan—Genius or Informant? Half a century after McCarthyism, the Academy Award-winning director is again under fire for naming names by Rachael Stark Fifty years after the blacklisting of…
