{"product_id":"9780231539050","title":"Harmattan: A Philosophical Fiction","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe all suffer qualms and anxieties when we move from the known to the unknown. Though our fulfillment in life may depend on testing limits, our faintheartedness is a reminder of our need for security and our awareness of the risks of venturing into alien worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRich with the reflections of a renowned scholar who has worked extensively in many cultures and countries,  \u003ci\u003eHarmattan\u003c\/i\u003e creatively imagines the experience of embracing the unknown. Celebrating the life-giving potential of people, places, and powers that lie beyond our established worlds,  \u003ci\u003eHarmattan\u003c\/i\u003e connects existential vitality to the act of resisting prescribed customs and questioning received notions of truth. At the heart of the book is the fictional story of Tom Lannon, a graduate student from Cambridge University, who remains ambivalent about pursuing a conventional life. After traveling to Sierra Leone in the aftermath of the country's devastating civil war, Tom meets a writer who helps him explore the possibilities of renewal. Illustrating the fact that certain aspects of human existence are common to all people regardless of their culture and history,  \u003ci\u003eHarmattan\u003c\/i\u003e remakes the distinction between home and world and the relationship between knowledge and life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47107108339952,"sku":"9780231539050","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780231539050_p0.jpg?v=1763679030","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780231539050","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}