160,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ 

Happy Halloween!  Our Hobsonville Bookstore is open today for spooky fun and sweet treats! πŸŽƒ

Why War?

Psychoanalysis, Politics and the Return to Melanie Klein
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Why War? explores the deep psychological and cultural fascinations with war, examining figures like Margaret Thatcher and the unconscious fantasies shaping political identities. Jacqueline Rose delves into psychoanalysis, feminism, and literary criticism, addressing controversies around Melanie Klein and advocating for a new understanding of the unconscious in politics and culture. The essays cover themes from war and capital punishment to psychoanalytic theory, opening new avenues in psychopolitics.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$9799
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in psychoanalysis, feminism, cultural and political theory, and advanced literary criticism.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

* Controversial appraisal of the role of the unconscious in our political lives* Deals with the Thatcher phenomenon* Urges radical re--reading of Melanie Klein* Author enjoys celebrity for her controversial book on Sylvia Plath. .

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

What is so compelling about war? On what powers of fascination and repulsion did Margaret Thatcher draw? What part does unconscious fantasy play in the way our political identities are formed? Why has there been so much dispute over the work of Melanie Klein?

Over the past decade, psychoanalysis has been a focus of continuing controversy for feminism, and at the centre of debates in the humanities about how we read literature and culture. In these essays, Jacqueline Rose continues her engagement with these issues while arguing for a shift of attentionβ€”from an emphasis on sexuality as writing to the place of the unconscious in the furthest reaches of our cultural and political lives.

With essays on war, capital punishment, and the dispute over seduction in relation to Freud, she opens up the field of psychopolitics. Finally, in two extended essays on Melanie Klein and her critics, she suggests that it is time for a radical rereading of Klein's work.

Series: Bucknell Lectures in Literary Theory

View all
  • Why War?
    What is so compelling about war? On what powers of fascination and repulsion did Margaret Thatcher draw? What part does unconscious fantasy play in the way our political identities are formed? Why has there been so much dispute over the work of Melanie Klein? Over the past decade, psychoanalysis has been a focus of continuing controversy for feminism, and at...
    Paperback
    $9799
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Anthony Elliott of Times Higher Education Supplement praises the book for its eloquent critiques and insightful exploration of the complex interplay between gender, fantasy, feminism, and psychoanalysis, recommending it for a broad readership.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780631189244

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 October 1993

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Wiley-Blackwell

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 215.0mm

Weight: 397g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Jaqueline Rose is Professor of English at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. Her numerous publications include The Case of Peter Pan or the Impossibility of Children's Fiction (1984) and The Haunting of Sylvia Plath (1991).

Also by Jacqueline Rose

View all
  • Women in Dark Times
    Women in Dark Times begins with three remarkable women: revolutionary socialist Rosa Luxemburg; German-Jewish painter Charlotte Salomon; and film icon Marilyn Monroe. The story of these women, bound together by their struggles against iniquity, blazes a trail across some of the defining features of the twentieth century - revolution, totalitarianism and the American dream - and compels us to reckon...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • On Violence and On Violence Against Women
    Why has violence, and especially violence against women, become so much more prominent and visible across the world? To explore this question, Jacqueline Rose tracks the multiple forms of today's violenceβ€”historic and intimate, public and privateβ€”as they spread throughout our social fabric, offering a new account of violence in our time. In this provocative and incisive book, Rose casts her...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Mothers
    From one of the most important contemporary thinkers we have, a compelling, forceful tract about women and motherhood that demands immediate attention. Moving commandingly between pop cultural references such as Roald Dahl's Matilda to observations about motherhood in the ancient world, and thoughts about the stigmatization of single mothers in the UK, Mothers delivers a groundbreaking report into something so...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Education & Reference

View all
  • Revenge of the Tipping Point
    Twenty-five years after the publication of his groundbreaking first book, Malcolm Gladwell returns with a brand new volume that reframes the lessons of The Tipping Point in a startling and revealing light. What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do elite universities care so much about sports? What is...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Body Keeps the Score
    The Body Keeps the Score by Dr Bessel van der Kolk is a compelling and compassionate exploration of the deep-seated impact of trauma on the human body and mind. This groundbreaking work delves into the complex causes of trauma and paints a vivid picture of the revolutionary treatments that are enabling countless individuals to reclaim their lives filled with purpose...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    12% off
    One Last Question, Prime Minister
    From Muldoon to Luxon, untold stories from the House of Parliament Barry Soper has spent close to five decades questioning New Zealand's prime ministers.From the imposing, larger-than-life characters of Rob Muldoon and David Lange, to the golden age of Helen Clark and John Key, and the post-Covid era of Jacinda Ardern and the 'Chrises', Soper's insight and nose for a...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Song of the Birds
    A stunning and panoramic history of native birds in Aotearoa, from the bestselling author of The Meaning of Trees For millions of years, the song of the birds echoed throughout Aotearoa, with no one around to hear it. While the arrival of humans would transform their story forever - birds may have changed us even more. In this beautiful and...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Lucky You're Tough
    New Release
    Lucky You're Tough
    Lucky You're Tough chronicles the early life of helicopter pilot and NZSAS soldier Mark Law, from growing up in the rural wilds of Whangamōmona through to surviving a series of life-threatening events that would shape his life and career. After a career as a badged soldier in the NZSAS that led to an intriguing stint with the British SAS and...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Hormone Health is Mental Health
    New Release
    Hormone Health is Mental Health
    Hormone Health is Mental Health is a lifechanging guide to understanding perimenopause and midlife women's mental health - and how understanding your hormones is the first step to feeling like yourself again. This book is for women in their thirties, forties, and fifties who feel like they're falling apart. Women who feel like their brains and bodies are betraying them,...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    American Hagwon
    β€˜Profoundly generous and humane’ DOUGLAS STUARTβ€˜Engrossing … brilliantly imagined’ COLM TΓ“IBÍNβ€˜Breathtaking … I adored it’ ELIF SHAFAKβ€˜Extraordinary’ TARA WESTOVERMin Jin Lee, the acclaimed author of Pachinko, returns with a breathtaking contemporary epic that follows one family as they reckon with personal dreams and familial duty. John and Helen Koh and their three children – Bo, DH and Mido – are...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Age Code
    What if the food you eat could rewind your biological clock? 'Clear and compelling' β€” Chris van Tulleken 'Really interesting and insightful' β€” Joe Wicks 'Fascinating' β€” Tim Spector From the rising incidence of cancer in the under-50s to increased infertility rates, there are signs everywhere that growing numbers of us are ageing too quickly. Why? Many believe there’s one...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Kitchen Confidential
    The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. β€˜Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ β€” A.A. Gill β€˜Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ β€” Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Cauldron
    How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The 48 Laws Of Power
    The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a modern classic that delves into the complexities of power dynamics and strategies for gaining and maintaining power. Greene meticulously examines the principles that have driven those who wield power, from ancient rulers and military leaders to modern-day figures. The book unfolds through historical anecdotes, examining the tactics, victories, and mistakes...
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fungi of Aotearoa
    The complete introduction to finding, identifying and using mushrooms and other fungi in New Zealand. Enter and explore the fascinating world of fungi. In this practical and up-to-date guide, forager and fungus enthusiast Liv Sisson shares her top tips and takes the reader on a journey to discover the unique and diverse fungi Aotearoa has to offer. Discover how to...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 160,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.