With so many areas of human existence now in turmoil no single literary form can fully embrace the breadth of today’s issues, and so we include in the New Humanism Series titles in both fiction and nonfiction spanning a variety of genres. The unifying thread is that each addresses some facet of a growing interest in humanizing both individual and social life in today’s world.

These books are intended to inspire spirited discourse about what an authentic universal humanism must encompass – what would it mean to truly place human beings first, ahead of money, power, or any secondary factors such as racial, political, religious, sexual, ethnic, or other differences?

With four key titles and seven more forthcoming from four outstanding Latin American and European authors, these books offer you important new perspectives and are fast becoming sought-after perennials. They have sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide, demonstrating universal and timely appeal in an increasingly connected world. In these confusing times the titles in this series suggest in diverse ways viable visions of the future as well as intriguing tools for combining personal and social change in a coherent way.

Latitude Press is committed to publishing these important books and applies the net income from these titles to efforts to build a human and nonviolent society.

Letters to My Friends: On Social and Personal Crisis in Today’s World by Silo

"I ... refer all who are interested in the ideas of contemporary humanism to Silo’s Letters to My Friends: On Social and Personal Crisis in Today’s World.... He and I share very similar views on the current crisis facing both society and the individual." —Mikhail Gorbachev

Where are today’s accelerating economic and technological changes taking us – is everything falling apart or coalescing into a heartless world empire? Are we entering a better time for all or on the brink of the end of times? How can we act coherently amid such swiftly changing values and behavior?

In ten provocative letters Silo masterfully articulates the approach of a new and universal Humanism – libertarian, pluralistic, and engaged – to the central questions and paradoxes of our time. With keen irony the author strips away the conventional wisdom, revealing that the "emperor’s new clothes" of today’s unprincipled pragmatism are indeed no more than that, a hollow shell of decaying myths that can no longer conceal the horrendous workings of an inhuman social and economic system long overdue for honest criticism and profound transformation.

Combines a comprehensive description of current events with specific approaches readers can follow emphasizing local actions. Current Affairs/Ethics/Humanism, 160 pgs, Softcover, $8.95, ISBN 1-878977-23-7.

Tales for Heart and Mind: The Guided Experiences, A Storybook for Grownups by Silo

This collection of twenty-one sage and lively tales invites the reader into a playful theater of life. Timeless yet contemporary, this illustrated large-format storybook for grownups is of dual interest, both entertaining and personally useful.

Publishers Weekly comments that these stories "...speak meaningfully to our daily predicaments..." Clar’n, Buenos Aires’ largest newspaper said that "...underlying these apparently simple stories are deeper meanings fed by psychological insights and literary roots ranging from Lewis Carroll to Jung, Dante, Shakespeare, the Tarot, and the Popol-Vuh...overcoming the way in which competition and compartmentalization in today’s world separate us from ourselves."

These tales are written to be read aloud so that you can rediscover the timeless literary and human experience of reading to one another. Illustrated with over 40 original drawings by Joseph Berry. Coming in unabridged audio with original music. Fiction / Storytelling, 160 pp, Illustrated Hardcover Gift Edition, $18, ISBN 1-878977-15-6.

The first volume of the complete works of Silo, one of the most profound and provocative authors of our time. Five unabridged works in the original Spanish. Literatura / Filosof’a / Mitolog’a, 504 pp, Softcover, $16.95, ISBN 1-878977-24-5.

Historical Interpretations of Humanism by Salvatore Puledda

A concise yet comprehensive treatment of humanism shedding light on the modern confusion in this term and outlining major historical events and changing interpretations of humanism throughout history. Shows the breadth of humanism by highlighting the contributions of non-Western cultures. Covers Renaissance humanism with its accompanying rediscovery of classical civilization, new image of humankind and new image of the world, and the spread of this humanist movement. Descriptions of more recent interpretations of humanism: Marxist humanism, Christian humanism, and existentialist humanism, along with Heidegger and his critique of metaphysical humanism. Events of recent years, the need for a new and universal humanism in today’s world, and New Humanism. History / Humanism. 160 pp, Softcover, $10.95, ISBN 1-878977-18-0.

Self Liberation by Luis Ammann

The original 1981 edition of this classic title explains in clear language a body of thought that makes human behavior and one’s own life understandable amid the tumultuous changes in today’s world. This book is unusual because it closely integrates clear, simple ideas with practical exercises that can help one understand and change one’s life. An accessible work on human behavior applied to personal and social change. This original out-of-print edition is available only from Latitude Press. Revised edition forthcoming. Psychology, 176 pages, Softcover, $8.95 including Epilogue to revised edition. Epilogue only available for $2.75 postpaid.

These titles and audio releases are forthcoming in the New Humanism Series for 1995 and 1996:

Day of the Winged Lion and Other Stories by Silo

Imaginative, ironic, and powerful stories in Silo’s spare, contemporary prose. In marked contrast to what is usual for the fantastic genre, rather than carrying us off to the world of dreams, these stories subtly confront us with the important things in life. From short stories such as the disconcerting "Transit Terminal" to the poetic "The Great Silence" and the whimsical "Type the Answer," to the longer writings of "Software and Hardware," and "Day of the Winged Lion," which revolves around the future UNESCO Committee for the Defense of the Delicate Nervous System, Silo’s stories never fail to illuminate, amuse, and provoke the reader’s thinking in fresh directions. Fantasy / Science Fiction.

Two philosophical essays, the first on the human mind, how thought is represented within it, and the role of the image, and the second on how time and history are an intrinsic part of human existence. Philosophy.

A gripping multi-level story – both in the book itself and in the role it may have played in averting nuclear war in the 80s. A thrilling and provocative story, prescient in its predictions of what is now taking place in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Follows the protagonist, Yuri Tokarev, on an exotic journey through India, Tibet, the South American Andes and other locales as he attempts to track down the source of the strange mental phenomena that are growing increasingly intense in the populations of many countries, and for which official science can offer no coherent rational explanations. Fantasy / Science Fiction.

This beautiful and profound book expresses in simple poetic prose a humanist approach to life that is finding increasing resonance in today’s world. Ranges broadly from the larger questions of human existence to the particulars of daily life in today’s world. Philosophy / Literature.

Universal Root Myths by Silo

An intriguing and thorough compilation of the universal myths that recur across various cultures. Based entirely on the original texts, faithfully and skillfully completed where gaps exist preserving the voice of the original. Bestselling new title at last year’s Argentine Book Fair in Buenos Aires. Mythology

Morphology: Symbols, Allegories and Signs by JosŽ Caballero

An accessible work for non-specialists analyzing the principal signs and symbols of human history and many cultures. Helps readers become aware of the many important but habitually overlooked roles such forms play in their lives not only through signs and conventions, but also through symbols and allegories.

Morphology / Art / Psychology

About the Authors

Mario Luis Rodriguez, pen name Silo, was born in Argentina in 1938. In October of 1993 he received an honorary doctorate from the Russian National Academy of Sciences for the contributions his writings have made to Russia as it struggles with the dramatic changes in today’s world. His works form an important voice for contemporary humanism and have gone through multiple editions in the major languages of Europe, the Americas, and Asia with hundreds of thousands of copies in print. He is a provocative presence on the literary, political, and philosophical scenes, and his constructive efforts against violence in a dehumanized society and coherent proposals to combine personal and social change have influenced organizations with a humanist, nonviolent, and environmental approach to social change. He lives with his wife and two sons outside the city of Mendoza, Argentina, far from the country’s capital and near the snow-capped Andes.

Salvatore Puledda, Ph.D. was born in Rome in 1943. He received a degree in chemistry from the University of Rome, a masters from the University of California, San Diego, and doctorate from the University of Rome. Strongly attracted to the social ramifications of science, he studied with Professor Herbert Marcuse at UCSD and then returned to the study of environmental problems, a field that had then only just begun. Since 1973 he has done research on environmental health and is the author of approximately fifty scientific papers on atmospheric pollution and environmental health. In addition to his technical research, he has maintained a strong interest in the social consequences of the applications of science and technology and is a member of international professional organizations against nuclear war and a founding member of the environmental organization Green Future, which works on behalf of social ecology in numerous countries of the world.

Luis Ammann was born of Swiss descent in Argentina in 1942. After studying law and psychology at the National University of Cordoba he graduated in modern literature with an emphasis in linguistics in 1973. Since his youth he has alternated periods of study with the practice of journalism, writing, and studies in contemporary humanism. In 1969 he joined the research group forming around the writings of Silo and participated in the team that gave shape to the Self Liberation system and still other unpublished works that form a considerable contribution to the science of psychology and an interesting alternative to traditional lines of thought. He is one of the founders of the Humanist Party in Argentina and continues to work to develop effective expressions of contemporary humanism that combine personal and social change.

JosŽ Caballero was born in Spain in 1952. Following his education, he developed his talents as an illustrator and graphic artist. He has dedicated his considerable abilities to a study for more than a decade of the many aspects of morphology, from an analysis of the principal signs and symbols used throughout humanity’s history to extensive documentation of the meaning, interpretation, and function of the symbols employed in diverse human cultures and the life of the individual.

New Humanism Series books are available at fine bookstores or directly from the publisher.

Latitude Press, P.O. Box 231516, Encinitas, CA 92023-1516

800-LATITUDE (800-528-4883) • FAX 619-632-6359

Email 73250.574@compuserve.com

Simply call or send us the quantity of books you want, title, your name and address, and send payment as check, money order, or credit card (Visa or Mastercard). Prices are as follows:

Letters to My Friends by Silo 8.95

On Letters to My Friends: A Talk by the Author (Dec.) 2.75

Tales for Heart and Mind by Silo (Illus. Hardcover) 18.00

Silo: Obras Completas, Vol. I 16.95

Self Liberation by L. A. Ammann 8.95

Booklets / Chapbooks (price includes shipping):

Document of New Humanism 2.75

On Letters to My Friends: A Talk by the Author 2.75

Toward Universal Humanism 2.75

Epilogue to Self Liberation (includes shipping) 2.75

CA orders add 7% sales tax

Shipping and Handling: US $3.50 first book (Canada & Mex. $5) plus $2 per additional book.

Other countries: $10 plus $6 per additional book for Air Shipping. Prices for Booklets / Chapbooks include shipping. Please contact us for information on quantity discounts. Information subject to change.