Gegensatz Press

Publisher info

"Gegensatz," pronounced "GAY-gun-ZAHTS," is German for "opposition" or "alternative state of affairs."

Eric v.d. Luft, Ph.D., M.L.S., a professional scholar, educator, librarian, and philosopher, founded Gegensatz Press in 1996 to bring durable, high-quality nonfiction works to the public in a way that is (1) hassle-free for the author, (2) economical for the buyer, (3) preservation-conscious for the librarian, and (4) edifying for the reader.

In 2004 Gegensatz Press published its first full-length book, God, Evil, and Ethics: A Primer in the Philosophy of Religion. A sturdy Smyth-sewn paperback costing only $14.95, we intend it to compete with many higher-priced anthologies and introductions to the philosophy of religion. We believe that its content and organization are equal or superior to any of them.

Gegensatz Press publishes philosophy, general nonfiction, popular culture, poetry, humor, and games.

Where to find Gegensatz Press online

Poetic Imagination and Insanity
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 12,310. Language: English. Published: December 27, 2023 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Psychology » Mental illness, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Aesthetics
In 1886, in a speech to a group of military physicians, the prominent German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) rejected the traditional connection between artistic genius and inspired insanity. Here is an English translation of this speech, together with an extensive commentary.
A Few of My Lives
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 25,330. Language: English. Published: November 10, 2023 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Autobiographies & Memoirs
Four lighthearted autobiographical essays: My Life as a Sports Fan. A Boyhood in North Bay, Ontario. My Life as a Bridge Player. How I Became a Librarian.
Bring Your Own Pencil! The Making of a Teacher
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 63,050. Language: English. Published: September 18, 2021 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Autobiographies & Memoirs, Nonfiction » Education & Study Guides » Secondary
High school English and theatre teacher Buddy Lee Walter's fictionalized autobiography, Bring Your Own Pencil! The Making of a Teacher, will keep you in stitches while satirizing frustrated teachers, bumbling administrations, stupid bureaucracies, crazy students, troubled students, cool students, and the social conditions which produced all this.
Critique's Quarrel with Church and State
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 152,630. Language: English. Published: July 16, 2019 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Political, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Religion & politics
Irreverent political philosophy from the 1840s in a brash, accessible, sarcastic, no-holds-barred style, sometimes anarchist, social democratic, democratic socialist, communist, or libertarian, but thoroughly revolutionary.
Hit: A Critical Edition of the Polemical Autobiography of America's First Woman Surgeon
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 58,070. Language: English. Published: February 20, 2019 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Physicians & medical professionals, Nonfiction » Social Science » Feminism & Feminist Theory
Autobiography of the first American woman surgeon, the only woman to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor, and an early radical equity feminist.
The Essence of Ancient Tragedy: Presented in Lectures on Aesthetics Concerning the Two Oedipus Plays of Sophocles in General and the Antigone in Particular
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 36,210. Language: English. Published: August 9, 2017 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Aesthetics, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Movements / Idealism
An elaboration of Hegel's interpretation of Sophocles' Antigone by one of Hegel's own students, first published in German in 1827.
An Imaginary Conversation with Muhammad Ali
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 14,860. Language: English. Published: September 19, 2016 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Cultural heritage, Nonfiction » Social Science » Discrimination & Race Relations
Social, political, literary, and cultural criticism and commentary, presented as if it were a humorous conversation between the author and Muhammad Ali.
Letters from the War: The Civil War Letters of a Union Sergeant from the Front to His Home in Walton, New York, and Related Letters, 1862-1864
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 19,360. Language: English. Published: April 11, 2016 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » History » North America » USA, Nonfiction » Biography » Military biography
Twenty-seven letters written home by Union enlisted men in the American Civil War, with maps and annotations.
The Broken Jug: A Dramatic Comedy About Thwarted Rape
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 26,330. Language: English. Published: March 7, 2016 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Plays » European / German, Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
A new translation of the only comedy by one of the most important German Romantics.
The Socialist Reader
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 133,340. Language: English. Published: September 25, 2015 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Political
Key texts in the history of socialist theory and practice. The 28 selections show the spectrum of socialism from democratic liberalism to just short of communism, but do not extend into either mainstream liberalism (the center left) or communism itself (the extreme left).
On Hegel
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 108,180. Language: English. Published: July 31, 2015 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Movements / Idealism
Fifteen important papers about Hegel covering forty-five years of work by one of America's most prominent Hegel scholars.
You Guys are Good - for Girls! One Woman's Musical Breakthrough in a Male-Dominated World
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 55,290. Language: English. Published: April 3, 2015 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Autobiographies & Memoirs, Nonfiction » Music » Individual Composer & Musician
The autobiography of the leader of several all-woman electric bands in the 1960s and 1970s.
Un Manifiesto Socialista
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 23,120. Language: Spanish. Published: November 29, 2014 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Politics & Current Affairs » Communism & socialism, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Political
Manifiesto de 23 puntos de la revolución socialista no violenta, basándose en el legado del Sentido Común de Thomas Paine y otras importantes declaraciones de propósito izquierdistas.
I Wanna Do Everything! An Essay on Dissipation, Arrogance, and the Life of the Mind
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 42,690. Language: English. Published: July 30, 2014 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Psychology » Creative ability, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Essays
A lighthearted but serious look at how it feels to be overwhelmed.
The Organs of the Brain: a farce in three acts, translated by Eric v.d. Luft, with an introduction, an essay, and an extensive bibliography of the first decade of phrenology
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 35,830. Language: English. Published: February 27, 2014 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Plays » European / German, Fiction » Humor & comedy » Satire
A rollicking contemporary satire of the phrenology of Franz Joseph Gall, with the most extensive bibliography of the first decade of phrenology yet published.
Sequins and Scandals: Reflections on Figure Skating, Culture, and the Philosophy of Sport
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 35,770. Language: English. Published: February 4, 2014 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Sports & outdoor recreation » Sociology of Sports, Nonfiction » Sports & outdoor recreation » Snow sports » Ice & figure skating
Is figure skating sport or art? Is the judging corrupt? Why has figure skating's popularity gone into a death spiral? These beautiful essays address these questions and more. Informed by the author's training in philosophy and her familiarity with the work of noted dance critics, this book will help you glide effortlessly to a deeper understanding of the mysterious world of figure skating.
Burke on the Sublime: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful with an Introductory Discourse Concerning Taste: A New Edition
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 63,850. Language: English. Published: December 29, 2013 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Aesthetics, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Movements / Empiricism
This new edition provides an inexpensive, reliable, and textually rigorous digital version of this seminal text in the philosophy of art, Burke's essay on the sublime, which heretofore has been unavailable as an e-book. It includes corrections, expansions, accurate citations, a 6350-word historical/philosophical introduction, bibliographies, and English translations of foreign language quotations.
Hegel's Shorter Logic: An Introduction and Commentary
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 83,750. Language: English. Published: November 27, 2013 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Movements / Idealism, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Logic
Eric v.d. Luft's revision and expansion of John Grier Hibben's classic work on Hegel's Logic.
Ruminations: Selected Philosophical, Historical, and Ideological Papers, Volume 2, Dawns and Departures
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 90,160. Language: English. Published: March 21, 2013 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Movements / Humanism, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Essays
The second volume of the epitome of Eric v.d. Luft's short works.
The Value of Suicide
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 110,550. Language: English. Published: December 4, 2012 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Ethics & moral philosophy, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Movements / Humanism
The main point is to argue that suicide ought not automatically to be seen as an expression of despair, but that some people have non-despondent, creative, altruistic, unselfish, or advantageous reasons for doing themselves in. The ancients knew this. Our culture has lost this insight in the meantime. Luft wants to recover it.
Diary of Doses
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 15,730. Language: English. Published: November 10, 2012 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Psychology » Addiction, Poetry » Contemporary Poetry
Brutal, filthy, no-holds-barred imagist poems that use sarcastic honesty, existential tension, and occasional humor to paint stark portraits of the hypocrisy, desperation, loneliness, delusion, and squalor of the substance abuse world.
Widespread Zombification in the 21st Century and the Wars of the Zombie Masters: DRUGS: For Kids - and the Occasional Interested Parent
Price: $8.99 USD. Words: 43,670. Language: English. Published: January 7, 2012 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Psychology » Addiction
An informative, entertaining book for kids about addictive drugs, written by a medical doctor with years of addiction treatment experience.
A Socialist Manifesto
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 21,560. Language: English. Published: January 5, 2012 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Politics & Current Affairs » Communism & socialism
A 23-point manifesto of nonviolent socialist revolution, building on the legacy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense and other important leftist statements of purpose.
When Fears Frustrate Contentment: Activate the Brain's Ability to Overcome Useless Fears: A Professionally Established Method
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 57,990. Language: English. Published: January 2, 2012 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Emotional healing
Self-help for conquering stress, anxiety, and fear. "The Desensitization Hierarchy Method, described in this book, is a tool for managing change, but its users will always be in charge of deciding both what changes they want to make, and how much they want to do at any one time. The method is a bit like an automobile, a means of travel, the driver deciding where to go, and at what speed."
Rolling Stoned
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 181,750. Language: English. Published: August 26, 2011 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Autobiographies & Memoirs
Andrew Loog Oldham was the original manager of the Rolling Stones, created their image, and made Mick Jagger and Keith Richards into songwriters. Without Andrew Loog Oldham, the Rolling Stones would not have become "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World." This is his story.
A New Financial You in 28 Days! A 37-Day Plan
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 28,560. Language: English. Published: July 7, 2011 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Business & Economics » Personal finance
"There are few books that will both revolutionize your life and also make you laugh so hard that you will nearly choke to death on a peanut while flying from Boston to Cleveland. This is one of those books." -- Jay Wexler, author of Holy Hullabaloos: A Road Trip to the Battlegrounds of the Church/State Wars (2009).
Into the Cool: The Collected Poems of David Saxton, 1992 through 2007
Price: $5.99 USD. Words: 30,010. Language: English. Published: April 6, 2011 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Poetry » American poetry
Saxton's bittersweet reflections immerse the reader in the natural drama of Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist thought, human loneliness, and deep ecology.
Sow: Poems by Tanya Rucosky Noakes
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 6,360. Language: English. Published: April 3, 2011 by Gegensatz Press. Categories: Poetry » American poetry
Gentle, thoughtful poetry from an American expatriate in rural Australia.

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