Paul Hyland Knihy

The Isle of Purbeck

The Black Heart is a celebration and a critique of present-day Zaire in the best tradition of literary travel writing, counter-pointed by the experiences in 1890 of three great writer-adventurers: Joseph Conrad, Polish novelist, went upriver on a "tin pot steamer" to the "Heart of Darkness"; Roger Casement, Irish nationalist, exposed Congo Free State atrocities in his "Congo Report"; and Dan Crawford, Scottish missionary-explorer, and Hyland's great-uncle, at nineteen walked from the west coast into Katanga, completing Livingstone's last journey. Their books, letters, journals, and especially Casement's "black diaries, gave Hyland the map for his own journey.

The Enlightenment brings together the work of major Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes, Rousseau, Diderot and Kant, to illustrate the full importance and achievements of this period in history. Extracts are gathered thematically into sections on such aspects of the Enlightenment as:political theory religion and belief art and nature. All essays are introduced, and a final section on 'critical reflections' provides a selection of modern critical opinions on the period by writers including Foucault, Habermas, and Lyotard.Containing illustrations from the work of artists such as Hogarth and Gainsborough, a chronology of the Enlightenment, and a detailed bibliography, The Enlightenment is a rich source of information and inspiration for all those studying this great period of change.

Set against the backdrop of political and religious upheaval at the turn of the eighteenth century, the narrative offers a compelling glimpse into the life of a physician navigating the challenges of his profession and the societal changes surrounding him. Through the lens of his experiences, readers gain insight into the complexities of medicine and the impact of historical events on personal and professional life.