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When one thinks of the classic adventure-story authors of t ... Read more

When one thinks of the classic adventure-story authors of the pulp fiction era, H. Rider Haggard, Talbot Mundy and Rafael Sabatini may come first to mind. But Arthur O. Friel's stellar contributions - particularly his stories featuring Lourenco and Pedro, two workers on a rubber-tree plantation in the Amazon Jungle. Their adventures in the Amazon's mysterious back-country certainly deserve honorable mention. Here are tales of peril and last-minute rescue, brutal savages and men of honor, snake-worshipping armies and half-ape Lost Races-and many more! For in the shadows of the rain-forest, many evils lurk... human and otherwise! Features a new introduction by Darrell Schweitzer, eight short stories and The Jararaca, a complete novel. Minimize

Candace Slater takes us on a journey into the Amazon that w ... Read more

Candace Slater takes us on a journey into the Amazon that will forever change our ideas about one of the most written-about, filmed, and fought-over areas in the world. In this book she deftly traces a rich and marvelous legacy of stories and images of the Amazon that reflects the influence of widely different groups of people--conquistadors, corporate executives, subsistence farmers --over the centuries. A careful, passionate consideration of one of the most powerful environmental icons of our time, Entangled Edens makes clear that we cannot defend the Amazon's dazzling array of plants and animals without comprehending its equally astonishing human and cultural diversity. Early explorers describe encounters with fearsome warrior women and tell of golden cities complete with twenty-four-carat kings. Contemporary miners talk about a living, breathing gold. TV documentaries decry deforestation and mercury poisoning. How do these disparate visions of the Amazon relate to one another? As she fits the pieces of the puzzle together, Slater shows how today's widespread portrayal of the region as a fragile rain forest on the brink of annihilation is every bit as likely as earlier depictions to obscure important aspects of this immense and complicated region. In this book, Slater draws on her fifteen years of experience collecting stories and oral histories among many different groups of people in the Amazon. Throughout Entangled Edens, the voices of contemporary Amazonians mingle with the analyses of such writers as Claude Lévi-Strauss, Theodore Roosevelt, and nineteenth-century naturalist Henry Walter Bates. Slater convinces us that these stories and ideas, together with an understanding of their origins and ongoing impact, are as critical as scientific analyses in the fight to preserve the rain forest. Minimize

If you are in business to sell consumer goods -- or you wan ... Read more

If you are in business to sell consumer goods -- or you want to be -- you should be on Amazon.com.More than 90 million customers shop at Amazon. As its global business booms, Amazon is inviting all sorts of independent sellers -- large and small businesses, individuals, and mom-and-pop shops -- to sell their merchandise right on Amazon.Whether you're just starting or already in business, you can boost your sales and profits by showing your wares on Amazon, the world's biggest store. Everything you need to start converting your items into cash is in this book by Steve Weber, one of the most successful and highly rated sellers in Amazon history:How to set up shop on Amazon and generate worldwide sales volume with no up-front cost, risk or advertising.Run your Amazon store from home, a warehouse or a walk-in store-or outsource everything to Amazon's fulfillment center.Find bargain inventory; target niche markets for big profits.Get tax deductions and write-offs for business use of your home.Use Amazon as a stand-alone business or a lead generator for an existing busines.Pay lower sales commissions on Amazon.Sell your inventions, crafts or intellectual property on Amazon.Guard against scammers and rip-off artists.Automate your business with easy-to-use toolsFROM THE TABLE OF CONTENTS:GET STARTED ON AMAZONSEE THE FOUR DEGREES OF AMAZONLIST AN ITEM ON MARKETPLACEDESCRIBE YOUR ITEM'S CONDITIONRATE YOUR ITEMS' CONDITIONSET YOUR PRICESET SHIPPING LOCATIONS, OTHER OPTIONSSET QUANTITY AND SKUTAKE AMAZON PAYMENTSPAY FEES AND COMMISSIONSIDENTIFY YOUR PRODUCTSMANAGE INVENTORYSEARCH AND SORT YOUR LISTINGS REPRICE YOUR LISTINGSQ&A: HOW OFTEN SHOULD I REPRICE?EDIT YOUR LISTINGSRELIST YOUR ITEMSMANAGE INVENTORY THE SMART WAYRECONCILE YOUR INVENTORYUPLOAD INVENTORY FILES TO AMAZONUSE SKUSSECURE YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNTBEST PRACTICESVIEW AND SEARCH YOUR ORDERSCREATE A PRODUCT DETAIL PAGEAMAZON VELOCITY LIMITSBEST PRACTICESCONTACT AMAZON.COMGET HELP FROM OTHER SELLERSSTAY ON THE LAW'S RIGHT SIDEYOUR BUSINESS'S LEGAL STRUCTURELOCAL ORDINANCESSTAY ON AMAZON'S GOOD SIDEPROHIBITED ITEMSLISTING RULESPRODUCT DETAIL PAGE OFFENSESCONTENT PROHIBITED ON DETAIL PAGESSOFTWARE SALESAMAZON PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTCONDITION GUIDELINESKICK IT UP A NOTCHAUTOMATIONGET EFFICIENT WITH FULFILLMENT SOFTWAREDO-IT-YOURSELF BULK LISTINGWORKING WITH SPREADSHEETSREFINE YOUR TEMPLATEA WORD ABOUT SKUSA WORD ABOUT ISBNSSOURCE USED ITEMS FOR RESALELIVE AUCTIONSGET MERCHANDISE ON CONSIGNMENTEXPLORE SELLER CENTRALUSE SELLER CENTRALCUSTOMER COMMUNICATION GUIDELINESINDIRECT COMMUNICATIONSELLER DESKTOPUPLOAD PRODUCTS TO AMAZONAMAZON PRODUCT INFORMATIONHANDLE YOUR FULFILLMENTOTHER SHIPPING RESOURCESCHOOSE A SHIPPING COMPANYSHIPPING MATERIALSSHIPPING TIMEFRAMESBEST PRACTICESQ&A: IS DELIVERY CONFIRMATION WORTH IT?OUTSOURCE YOUR FULFILLMENTGET A LEG UP ON COMPETITIONTYPICAL COSTS OF FULFILLMENT BY AMAZONUSE FBA 'BASIC FULFILLMENT'COMPETING WITH FBADRAWBACKS OF FULFILLMENT BY AMAZONLOST OR DAMAGED FBA ITEMSFULFILLMENT BY AMAZON FACTSBEST PRACTICESSMART FBA SHIPPINGAMAZON EASYSELLUSE AMAZON AS A DROP-SHIPPERIMPORTS AND EXPORTSEXPORT ITEMSPREPARE ITEMS FOR SHIPMENTCOMPETE WITH FEEDBACKFEEDBACK GROUND RULESKEEP A HIGH FEEDBACK AVERAGESELLER PERFORMANCE TARGETSFEEDBACK REMOVALRESPOND TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACKQ&A: SHOULD I REFUND MY IRATE CUSTOMER?SEE YOUR FEEDBACK SUMMARYRETURNS AND RESTOCKING FEESQ&A: DO CANCELED ORDERS HURT SELLERS?CHARGEBACKS AND A-TO-Z CLAIMSQ&A: SHOULD I ASK BUYERS FOR FEEDBACK?EXPLORE THE SOCIAL JUNGLEGET CRAZY WITH LISTSSO YOU'D LIKE TO . . . GUIDESWRITE PRODUCT REVIEWSGET CREDIBLE WITH PEERSAMAZON TAGSTAG-BASED MARKETINGMAKE FRIENDS AT THE RIVERADVANCED AMAZON TOOLSBUY X, GET YPAY-PER-CLICK ADVERTISINGGOOGLE ADWORDSCLICKRIVER/AMAZON PRODUCT ADSAMAZON PRODUCT ADSYOUR OWN WEB SITEWEBSTORE FEATURESMANAGE YOUR WEBSTOREOTHER E-COMMERCE HOSTSAMAZON ASTORESAMAZON ADVANTAGEADVANTAGE VS. FULFILLMENT BY AMAZONMANAGE THE DETAILSADVANTAGE PROFESSIONAL Minimize

Over thousands of years, a range of cultural traditions dev ... Read more

Over thousands of years, a range of cultural traditions developed within the Amazonian rainforest. This richly illustrated collection of twelve papers, accompanying an exhibition of the same name at the British Museum, looks at the evidence for these native populations whilst exploring the inevitable link between nature and culture and stressing the need to preserve this unique environment. Divided into four parts, the volume examines economy and subsistence, archaeology and society, ideology and encounters by explorers and ethnologists. Minimize

Every family has its own story to tell. Be it tragic, heart ... Read more

Every family has its own story to tell. Be it tragic, heartbreaking, or triumphant, each tale forms part of a clan's history and defines its identity. Author John Schissler, Jr. started with an autobiographical essay in his history class in 1964, but didn't really give it much thought. Recently, through his brother's urging, he felt somewhat obliged to reveal their storied past. After a painstaking research, he now comes up with a book that narrates the fascinating history of his family entitled Passage: The Making of an American Family.What started as a school requirement now developed into a detailed memoir of a family's story that impacts the lives of many. Passage chronicles the humble beginnings of John Schissler's family and its struggles to weather the storms of life. Thinking he already had the skeleton of the story, Schissler looked for ways to make the pieces of the tale fall into place. Through the help of his parents, relatives, and friends, he looked for connections, photos, and other evidences to corroborate the existing story he already had. Author Schissler traces his family's roots and finds out that their relatives came from Donaueschingen. Germany, where there are two streams that come together to form the source of the Donau (Danube) river. He believes it is only fitting that his family, who were Donauschwaben, eventually ended up in Wisconsin, which in Native American language means "gathering" or "meeting of the waters."Passage is not merely a story of a clan who survived the horrors of the world war against the innocent; it also serves as a memorial to all the forgotten souls and unsung heroes murdered by Stalin, victims of the "final solution", and other nameless ones who were dumped indiscriminately into mass graves.Accompany John Schissler, Jr. as he revisits family's and his own unforgettable voyage to survival in this remarkable, imagery-filled memoir. Follow their exploits as they sought refuge in a foreign soil that embraced them as if they were its own. Join them as they celebrate diversity in their newfound land, their new home called Amerca. Witness the bonds they formed, the friendships and families they built, the failures that brought forth success, and life's challenges that made them what they are today.According to author Schissler, "War crimes don't necessarily end with the war. This is a true story about an ordinary, World War II European family, who was forced to embark on an extraordinary odyssey fraught with danger, disease, and death to reach the shores of the 'Promised Land'. Shot at by British planes, imprisoned by the Russians, and forced to work in the peat bogs of East Germany, we finally escaped to West Germany where we found temporary asylem until we completed our pilgrimage to Ellis Island. The saga continues with my family's physical, emotional, and social struggles to get a piece of that American Dream and our eventual assimilatinon into that cultural diversity of that melting pot which is America." Minimize

Laura Antoniou's modern classic of BDSM-themed fiction retu ... Read more

Laura Antoniou's modern classic of BDSM-themed fiction returns to print. In The Marketplace, the first book of the series, follow the trials and tribulations of four aspiring slaves as they undergo training hoping to be accepted into the secret underground society of masters and slaves known as the Marketplace. Under the firm hand of Grendel, the sharp eye of Alexandra, and the painful leather strap in the hands of Chris, these men and women will find some of their hardest challenges come from within themselves. They embark on a sensual and erotic journey, and yet nothing is quite as they expect in their quest to serve. Minimize

Ever since the visions of H.P. Lovecraft began to haunt the ... Read more

Ever since the visions of H.P. Lovecraft began to haunt the world, people from all walks of life have celebrated various interpretations of these musings. We are shown a world shroud in darkness that has been materialized by primordial malignant gods who fought one another for control of the Universe and for the worship of the humans who brought to them sacrifices and abominable litanies. But as many have already assumed, this Necronomicon tradition was indeed the product of Lovecraft's imagination, and it only much later became known as the Cthulhu-mythos, a haven for horror-fantasy genre authors. For nearly a century thereafer, the Necronomicon remained a fictional product of dark fantasy until the famous "Simon" folio was presented to the world in 1977. While many readers superimposed the Lovecraftian lore into their interpretation verbatim, this new document did not present rituals by which the malignant Ancient Ones would be unleashed into this world - in fact, it suggested the exact opposite: beneath the foundation of the esoteric mysteries exists a secret and sacred tradition to fight against this very act! As an unfortunate move by its contemporary readership, the "Simonomicon" came under attack as being no more authentic than Lovecraft's own stories. More serious practitioners came to a more educated conclusion: the magickal notebook (or grimoire) was incomplete at best, alluding not to the Enlilite traditions common to the "Sumerians", but rather to a Mardukite tradition that was raised by the "Babylonians" in honor of Marduk, firstborn son of Enki. Then, after the completion of the ARCANUM anthology in 2008, Joshua Free took on the role of "Nabu Maerdechai" and organized a occult research team in dedication to these mysteries called the Mardukite Chamberlains, which set out to uncover the truth behind the veils of centuries of misinformation about the backwaters of human consciousness including very specifically the role of the Anunaki or Sky Gods who appear at the heart of every ancient pantheon. The range of the Mardukite work included lengthy discourses with other related published researchers, unceasing hours in abandoned corners of old libraries and museums, participation in sessions with other practicing occults and even a visit to the "tablet collections" at the University of Pennsylvania. The culminating results were nothing like anyone would have expected: an authentic and verifiable version of the Necronomicon salvaged from the shifting desert sands of time in the Middle East and Egypt, unparalleled by anything already available to True Seekers. It appeared to be the most complete collection of ancient writings on the planet that formed the very foundation of all the human traditions and beliefs that would emerge thereafter. Given this, we concluded that being the ancient source of our modern traditions that have had the meaning washed out of them, this path was the most perfect, complete and logical example we currently have to pursue on this planet! This present edition of the Necronomicon edited by Joshua Free, is not Lovecraftian or Simonian (while it could serve to offer validity to materials from both sources for those who seek it), neither is it "dangerous" or a "hoax" (though those who fear the revelation of these truths for the world will think it the former and label it the later). This edition of the Necronomicon is the single most ancient and pure unaltered lore concerning the hottest topics of our time and all times, including divinity, creation, human origins, aliens, religion, pantheistic magickal traditions, alternate dimensions, portals and the afterlife. In this new millennium of uncertainties, it is most likely that the uncovering of the past will reveal our future. Minimize

Speculations ESSAYS ON HUMANISM AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF ART B ... Read more

Speculations ESSAYS ON HUMANISM AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF ART By T. E. IIULME Edited by HERBERT READ With a Frontispiece and Foreword by JACOB EPSTEIN LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER CO., LTD. NEW YORK HARCOURT, BRACE COMPANY, INC. 1936 T. K. HULME From n Bronze by Jacob Epstein. CONTENTS Frontispiece Portrait of the Author from a Bronze by Jacob Epstein PAGE FOREWORD . . . . vii INTRODUCTION . . . ix AUTHORS PREFACE .... xvi HUMANISM AND THE RELIGIOUS ATTITUDE I MODERN ART AND ITS PHILOSOPHY . . 73 ROMANTICISM AND CLASSICISM . . Ill BERGSONS THEORY OF ART . . .141 THE PHILOSOPHY OF INTENSIVE MANIFOLDS I I CINDERS ..... 215 APPENDICES A. REFLECTIONS ON VIOLENCE . . 249 B. PLAN FOR A WORK ON MODERN THEORIES OF ART . . . .261 C. THE COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF T. E. HULME .... 265 INDEX ...... 269 FOREWORD HUI. ME was my very great friend, and what I can say about him is entirely personal. What appealed to me particularly in him was the vigour and sincerity of his thought. He was capable of kicking a theory as well as a man downstairs when the occasion de manded. I always felt him to be my chief bulwark against malicious criticism. He was a man who had no regard for personal fame or notoriety, and he considered that his work lay entirely in the future. His whole life was a preparation for the task of interpre tation which he had set himself. He would make reckless sacrifices to possess works of art which he could not really afford he bought not only my own works, but also those of Gaudier-Brzeska and this long before Gaudier was well known. Hulme was a terror to fumistes and charlatans of all kinds. His passion for the truth was uncontrolled. I recall dozens of little personal things characteristic of the man but particularly our first meeting. I was at work on the Wilde monument. Hulme immediately put his own construction on my work turned it vii SPECULATIONS into some theory of projectiles. My sculp ture only served to start the train of his thought. Abstract art had an extraordinary attraction for him his own brain worked in that way. At one time, in company with a group of imagists, he composed some short poems with which, had he gone on, he would have made what would be called a literary success. But this seemed to him too facile. lyike Plato and Socrates, he drew the intellectual youth of his time around him. We have no one quite like him in England to-day. JACOB EPSTEIN. Vlli INTRODUCTION THOMAS ERNEST HUI ME was born on the i6th September 1883, at Gratton Hall, Endon, North Staffordshire. He was educated at the High School, Newcastle-under-L, yme, and at St Johns College, Cambridge. In March 1904 he was sent down from Cambridge, along with other undergraduates, for indulging in a brawl. He spent the next two years in L, ondon, studying in accordance witli his own inclinations. In July 1906 he went to Canada, where he stayed three months. He returned to England for a few weeks, and early in 1907 he went to Brussels, where for seven months he taught English and learned French and German. When he came back to London he began definitely to study those subjects on which his interest was settling. In April 1911 he attended the Philosophical Congress at Bologna and stayed in Italy travelling for about three months. Early in 1912 he sought to return to Cambridge, and he was readmitted largely through the intervention of Professor Bergson, whose letter of recommendation on that occasion is some indication of the impres sion Hulme was already creating ix SPECULATIONS Je me fais un plaisir de certifier que je considere Mr T. E. Hulme comme un esprit dune grande valeur. II apporte, a retude des questions philosophiques , de rares qualities de finesse, de vigueur, et de penetration. Ou je me trompe beaucoup, ou il est destine d produire des ceuvres inter essantes et importantes dans le doni aine de la philosophie en general, et plus particulicrement peut-etre dans celui de la philosophie de Vart... Minimize

When reckless choices, and impulsive decisions, born out of ... Read more

When reckless choices, and impulsive decisions, born out of rage, impact the lives of several commuters on the over-crowded roads during a Monday morning rush hour, their destinies become irreversibly intertwined during the span of five fateful days. Tempers flare and the stakes are raised as the competition each driver engages in becomes increasingly elevated until the dangerous game they play spirals out of control. Officer Berry's job becomes progressively more difficult as he foresees the path of apparent random altercations on the road, which seems to be heading toward an inevitable clash. The unanswered question remains as to what changes an otherwise honest hard-working person into a vessel of anger and torment once they are behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. Destruction and tragedy appears to be the only recourse for the people he is trying to stop before a deadly game plays out in its entirety.Ken, who prides himself on being a hard-working man who takes care of his family, suddenly starts to realize his life is unraveling at the seams. His family has been experiencing deep-rooted issues for quite some time, and now every problem seems to be boiling to the surface, pulling him in every direction possible. Being on the verge of losing everything he has worked so hard for, Ken finds that even the material possessions in his life are failing him now as well. Becoming more emotionally unstable as the days pass, he no longer uses good judgment in harnessing his anger in the simplest of situations. Chris, a successful business man who can hardly think of anything other than his career, mistakenly becomes the target of an over-zealous driver after a simple indiscretion turns into a twisted game where pride rules over all involved, and the prize is the domination of the other player. Chris, who never allows himself to lose at anything or show weakness to anyone, becomes his own victim by falling into illegal actions to stay ahead of a stranger.As the road games continue, Ken and Chris unexpectedly bring Fred and Darren along for the ride, each of who have their own unique anger issues to combat. Fred, a young man who thinks that everyone is out to get him, believes his generation is being held back by an authoritative society and he feels the need to be heard and show the world he is a force to be reckoned with. Darren only has two things on his mind! His car and his girlfriend! Always on edge and feeling threatened, Darren believes men at every turn are plotting to take his "girls" away from him. If there were a fight to be had for the honor of either of his ladies, he would gladly enter into it and take no prisoners.The streets are no longer big enough for all of them, and they endanger several innocent bystanders with their careless driving. Once things come to a head, and it seems like there is no way the situation can get any worse, Chris tries to alter the outcome by changing his ways. However, fate won't allow him out of the game that easily. With time ticking away, Officer Berry tries his best to prevent an ultimate tragedy from occurring on the Colorado roads, but, another player, driven by righteous fury, enters the game, and changes the course of all of their lives in an instant. Unfortunately, the lesson learned comes too late, and the consequences that are paid for their pride and anger are not worth the lingering repercussions. Minimize

It's a Silicon Valley Bonfire of the Vanities. What's it l ... Read more

It's a Silicon Valley Bonfire of the Vanities. What's it like inside the next Google? Or Facebook? Or Apple? No, even better, what's it like to launch the next Google, Facebook, or Apple? And then have the guys who launched the original Google, Facebook, and Apple decide you are public enemy number one. In this laugh-out-loud-funny novel, a global band of rebel hackers and underemployed "surgeon-class" coders load beyond-state-of-the-art capabilities, including working eyes, ears, GPS, spy software, and a wiseass personality, into a bunch of old Furby toys, rechristened "Grumbys," network them together, sell millions, go public, become rich and famous, change the world (for better or worse), and make sometime allies, sometime enemies of not only the biggest names in tech (though the Woz seems to actually want to help) but Congress, Goldman Sachs, the CIA, Microsoft, Oakley, and Mossad, not to mention the NCAA, the NBA, and the NFL. (Grumbys are shrewd handicappers.) Andy Kessler morphed from a super-successful millionaire, hi-tech hedge fund honcho (cashing out moments before the tech wreck) into a New York Times best-selling author with nonfiction triumphs such as Running Money and Wall Street Meat. The Wall Street Journal said, "He gets it all down with Jack Kerouac-like authenticity." Now Kessler goes beyond yesterday's news to a novel of tomorrow (or maybe ten minutes from now) that tells more than any newshound could about the new true global elite, the newborn aristocracy of tech: brilliant, bold, and leading us where no man has gone before, but also spoiled, petulant, cutthroat conspiratorial, and willing to do just about anything to preserve their precarious position to keep from being replaced by the next big thing. Underlying a hilarious adventure that rockets from Silicon Valley to the Concrete Canyons of New York, from the new industrial heartland of Shanghai to the ancient fortunes of Europe's greatest and most secretive families are some serious questions about democracy, capitalism and competition, privacy, and what happens when we decide our machines are smarter than we are and that's OK. Like a modern-day Jules Verne, ultimately Kessler is throwing down a challenge to each and every hero-in-his-own-mind hacker: the proto-Jobs, the would-be-Gates, the wannabe Zuckerberg: Can it be done? Is Grumby the future? And who will get us there first? Praise for Andy Kessler's Books "He gets it all down with Jack Kerouac-like authenticity." --William Tucker, Wall Street Journal "Deliciously naughty. . . I finished it in a gulp, perfectly astonished." --Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short and The Blind Side "So engaging, and the stories come so fast." --Paul Brown, New York Times "A joyful read, full of sass and irreverence." --Rich Karlgaard, Forbes "Sarcastic, cynical, and sometimes hung over." --Kerry Hannon, USA Today "A born storyteller." --Jay Palmer, Barron's "A hoot." --Jim Cramer, CNBC Minimize

Volcanic eruptions are the clear and dramatic expression of ... Read more

Volcanic eruptions are the clear and dramatic expression of dynamic processes in planet Earth. The author, one of the most profound specialists in the field of volcanology, explains in a concise and easy to understand manner the basics and most recent findings in the field. Based on over 300 color figures and the model of plate tectonics, the book offers insight into the generation of magmas and the occurrence and origin of volcanoes. The analysis and description of volcanic structures is followed by process oriented chapters discussing the role of magmatic gases as well as explosive mechanisms and sedimentation of volcanic material. The final chapters deal with the forecast of eruptions and their influence on climate. Students and scientists of a broad range of fields will use this book as an interesting and attractive source of information. Laypeople will find it a highly accessible and graphically beautiful way to acquire a state-of-the-art foundation in this fascinating field. "Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schmincke has photos of the best quality I have ever seen in a text on the subject… In addition, the schematic figures in their wide range of styles are clear, colorful, and simplified to emphasize the most important factors while including all significant features… "I have really enjoyed reading and rereading Schmincke’s book. It fills a great gap in texts available for teaching any basic course in volcanology. No other book I know of has the depth and breadth of Volcanism… I have shared Volcanism with my colleagues to their significant benefit, and I am more convinced of its value for a broad range of Earth and planetary scientists. Undoubtedly, I will use Volcanism for my upcoming courses in volcanology. I will never hesitate to recommend it to others. Many geoscientists from very different subdisciplines will benefit from adding the book to their personal libraries. Schmincke has done us all a great service by undertaking the grueling task of writing the book – and it is much better that he alone wrote it." Stanley N. Williams, ASU Tempe, AZ (Physics Today, April 2005)   "Schmincke is a German volcanologist with an international reputation, and he has done us all a great favour because he sensibly channelled his fascination with volcanoes into writing this beautifully illustrated book... [he] tackles the entire geological setting of volcanoes within the earth and the processes that form them... And, with more than 400 colour illustrations, including a huge number of really excellent new diagrams, cutaway models and maps, plus a rich glossary and references, this book is accessible to anyone with an interest in the subject."  New Scientist (March 2004) "The science of volcanology has made tremendous progress over the past 40 years, primarily because of technological advances and because each tragic eruption has led researchers to recognize the processes behind such serious hazards. Yet scientists are still learning a great deal because of photographs that either capture those processes in action or show us the critical factors left behind in the rock record.Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schmincke has photos of the best quality I have ever seen in a text on the subject. I found myself wishing that I had had the photo of Nicaragua’s Masaya volcano, which was the subject of my dissertation, but it was Schmincke who was able to include it in his book. In addition, the schematic figures in their wide range of styles are clear, colorful, and simplified to emphasize the most important factors while including all significant features. The book’s paper is of such high quality that at times I felt I had turned two pages rather than one. I have really enjoyed reading and rereading Schmincke’s book. It fills a great gap in texts available for teaching any basic course in volcanology. No other book I know of has the depth and breadth of Volcanism. I was disappointed that the text did not arrive on my desk until last Aug Minimize

(Gay / Anthology / Collections / Contemporary / The Arts / ... Read more

(Gay / Anthology / Collections / Contemporary / The Arts / Exhibitionism / Public Places / Series) Best-selling gay fiction author J. M. Snyder invites you into the glittery and glamorous world of celebrities who seek real love among the stars. Previously available only in electronic format, these steamy novellas have now been combined for a paperback edition! Included are the stories......Beautiful Liar (At fifteen, JT Pierce was the star of a hit TV show and had the world in his hands. Every teenybopper magazine had his face on it; every teenage girl had his poster on her wall. But then the show went on hiatus, and JT wouldn't lower himself to bit parts or commercials. Slowly, his star faded from view. Seven years later, JT is Johnny Thomas, who hopes to jumpstart his career by hiring his former manager, Lou Merrin. He wants to do serious movies, a huge blockbuster or two, and claim one of those coveted Oscars for himself. But Lou cautions Johnny about the paparazzi, who can make or break a star, and he's heard rumors of Johnny's sexuality that might prevent him from landing those desired leading roles. Still, Johnny's nothing if not persistent, and he swears he'll play it straight. Until he meets Brett, a photographer who turns his life--and his heart--upside down. Suddenly the celebrity gossip website Z-23 seems to have exclusive pictures of Johnny, and someone close to him leaks information about an audition that was supposed to be kept quiet. When the photographs surface that Johnny thought were taken in confidence, he realizes he must choose between the career path Lou offers him and the love he wants to share with Brett.)......Beautiful Disaster (Twenty-year-old Corey Evans is one-half of 2ICE, the biggest musical duo on the radio. Pronounced 'twice,' they're number one on the Billboard charts this week with their latest single. To hear their manager tell it, they're number one in download sales, with two albums that have already gone platinum, and currently on their second U.S. tour, which has sold out stadiums across the nation. Despite this, there's an emptiness inside him that Corey can't seem to fill, no matter how many groupies he takes to his bed. He sees this same emptiness mirrored in the eyes of his band-mate, Ian Coltraine, who drowns his evenings after each show with a bottle of whiskey. Ian's the one Corey turns to when he wakes beside an unknown fan, still asleep in his bed and needs help evicting her. He's Corey best friend, the only person on the tour he can confide in, who he really trusts...the one, Corey finally realizes, with whom he is madly, deeply, terribly in love. And he suspects Ian might feel the same. But Corey's recent string of one-night stands makes Ian cautious about his friend's true feelings. He's wanted Corey for so long, and has watched him go through countless fans in search of...what? Ian doesn't know. And he doesn't yet believe Corey when he says Ian might be it. Ian hopes so, but can't bring himself to believe Corey's fickle desire won't be gone in the morning. Can these two young men somehow move beyond Corey's past and Ian's pain to embrace a love they both so desperately desire?) Minimize

"This book can take its place on the shelf beside Henry Nas ... Read more

"This book can take its place on the shelf beside Henry Nash Smith's Virgin Land and Leo Marx's The Machine in the Garden."—Choice"[Gilmore] demonstrates the profound, sustained, engagement with society embodied in the works of Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau and Melville. In effect, he relocates the American Renaissance where it properly belongs, at the centre of a broad social, economic, and ideological movement from the Jacksonian era to the Civil War. Basically, Gilmore's argument concerns the writers' participation in what Thoreau called 'the curse of trade.' He details their mixed resistance to and complicity in the burgeoning literary marketplace and, by extension, the entire ' economic revolution' which between 1830 and 1860 'transformed the United States into a market society'. . . ."The result is a model of literary-historical revisionism. Gilmore's opening chapters on Emerson and Thoreau show that 'transcendental' thought and language can come fully alive when understood within the material processes and ideological constraints of their time. . . . The remaining five chapters, on Hawthorne and Melville, contain some of the most penetrating recent commentaries on the aesthetic strategies of American Romantic fiction, presented within and through some of the most astute, thoughtful considerations I know of commodification and the 'democratic public' in mid-nineteenth-century America. . . . Practically and methodologically, American Romanticism and the Marketplace has a significant place in the movement towards a new American literary history. It places Gilmore at the forefront of a new generation of critics who are not just reinterpreting familiar texts or discovering new texts to interpret, but reshaping our ways of thinking about literature and culture."—Sacvan Bercovitch, Times Literary Supplement"Gilmore writes with energy, clarity, and wit. The reader is enriched by this book." William H. Shurr, American Literature Minimize

Willa By Mary Katherine Arensberg * Set in 1860"s * ... Read more

Willa By Mary Katherine Arensberg * Set in 1860"s * Rural Ohio, Chicago, The southern battlefields of William Sheridan, the Eastern Theater of war, Washington City. * Characters are: Wilhelmina Rolf(Willa), Spinster daughter who inherits the family farm. Louie Rolf, younger brother to Willa. Seamus Rhyce, family friend and newspaperman, proposes marriage to Willa. Annie Coates, former teacher and confident of Willa. Joseph Finney, stable hand and friend to Louie. Amelia Butler, socialite, nemesis to Willa. Matthew Allison, artist, war correspondent, proposes marriage to Willa. Doc McCann, veterinarian, proposes marriage to Willa. Mother Bickerdyke heads up nursing school in Chicago. Thomas Revelle, furniture maker, a black businessman and his wife Odessa. Clara Spencer traps Mathew Allison into marriage. Little Louie, Clara's son, real father killed in battle before he was born or parents were married. Dr. Longworth, physician at Camp Chase. * Spinster Willa Roth inherits the family farm at her tyrannical father's death; this causes quite a stir in the local community as the son (Louie Rolf) usually inherits land. Her only friends are a rescued border collie named Poseidon, and two large Percheron draft horses named Bea and Rollie. Always bound to the farm, Willa must go in to town to settle her father's affairs, the trip is terrifying for her, but she seeks out Seamus Rhyce. Her father's friend to give him his bequest. They become friends of a sort he a teacher and she an apt student of the world outside her farm; at one point he offers marriage to 'protect her'. She refuses. Annie Coates, once her childhood teacher, becomes her confident and social guide to life in the bustling town of Columbus, Ohio. Louie Rolf, Willa's much younger brothers makes friends with the livery boy, Joseph Finney, a hapless lad who is always breaking one bone or another. Amelia Butler is a vicious local beauty who pours out her hatred and frustration on Willa. Thomas and Odessa Revelle are friends of her fathers, he is a furniture maker, they are black. The rumor of cessation sparks a heated political contest and both Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln come to town to debate the issue; giving her the opportunity to meet the future president. The outbreak of the Civil War marks the opening of a military camp within two of Willa's farm and the daily news of the battles come right to Willa's front door. It is at the camp that she meets many important men destined to greatness in later life. She also meets the charming and urbane war correspondent and artist Matthew Allison, who falls for her on first sight. He must return to the Washington City and they agree to exchange letters. Much troubled by the young men she sees being inducted she gives thanks to God that her brother is too young to fight. Louie and his friend Joseph Finney use a visit to relatives to secretly enlist, both falsifying their age and are sent south to Arkansas before Willa even knows about their deception. From here the story is told from three different experiences, Willa at home, Louie marching to Atlanta with General Sherman and Matthew Allison as he sketches the battlefields in the east. * Willa becomes restless at the farm. Matthew Allison passes through for a visit. Seamus and Annie, bitter adversaries, unite in a truce to help their friend cope with Louie leaving. Willa joins the Ladies Aid Society and knits and sews for the 'boys at the front'. On an outing to her farm to pick blackberries, Amelia encounters a fearsome danger and is saved by Willa; a strained understanding is born in that moment. The impending birth of Bea's and Rollie's colt brings Doc McCann, the local vet to the farm. Trying to reassure her, he tells an ancient Scottish tale and then suggests they might make a good match. Once again she refuses to marry. An act of hatred is perpetrated against the Revelle's, Minimize

Do you have a second grader, or a seven or eight year old, ... Read more

Do you have a second grader, or a seven or eight year old, who wants to learn more complex reading skills? Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Second Grade makes it easy for you as a parent to spend time with your child developing their reading abilities and have fun together. Becoming a confident reader is a highlight in any child s learning process. Your kids are the heroes let them shine as readers! Did we say have fun?! Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Second Grade is based on research, approved by the Children's Reading Foundation and designed in conjunction with leading educators, renowned authors and most important, parents. Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Second Grade features more complex stories and use of helper words. Each unit concludes with a storybook specially written to support the skills your child has learned so far in the program and this is a book they can read to you proudly, on their own! Each lesson takes only about 20 minutes a day. Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Second Grade covers long vowels, r-controlled vowels, y at the end of a word, two-syllable words, diphthongs, complex consonant blends, wr- and kn-, and soft c and g. Learn to Read Second Grade includes: 6 original storybooks that feature an exciting range of beautifully illustrated stories2 storybooks by the award-winning children's book authors and illustrators, Michelle Knudsen and Carolyn Crimi2 reading workbooks that will guide you and your child through all of the lessons and many fun activities2 DVDs filled with music videos and engaging, animated introductions to each lesson, where letters come to life2 sets of stickers so a child can proudly mark their progress in the workbooks and celebrate their successQuick Start Guides1 bonus Reading Rainbow DVD, The Adventures of Taxi Dog, exclusive to Amazon customers Now featuring a free online Learn to Read experience - In addition to what is in the box, Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Second Grade now offers unique online components to deliver a rich, multisensory learning experience for your child. Each level of Learn to Read comes with a serial number that lets you sign up for free online content. Simply register and you will be able to access online games, downloadable content, printables, and custom book recommendations. You will also be able to track your child's progress on their own personalized learning path. Online Games - Simple and engaging online games designed specifically to reinforce the subject matter your child has just completed in the lesson. Printables - Fun activity sheets you can download and print. Each activity is designed to reinforce the lesson your child has just completed. Customized book recommendations specifically tailored to reinforce the unit your child has just completed. All are available for purchase on Amazon.com. Minimize

This book, from the previously unpublished manuscript in th ... Read more

This book, from the previously unpublished manuscript in the National Library of Ireland, is a valuable and deeply detailed edition of the diary kept by Casement during his journey into the South American rainforests. He had been sent by the British government to report on atrocities against tribal people while being forced to collect rubber in the Putumayo region in the north-west Amazon. Genocide among the Amazon Indians has continued, but external investigations of this kind have been rare. The way in which Roger Casement carried out his work is still relevant to all kinds of humanitarian and whistle-blowing activities. It is also a key text charting Casement's transition from observer to anti-imperial revolutionary and Irish independence leader, culminating in his execution by the British government in August 1916 after the Easter Rising. Minimize

Big Mouth is about modern Amazonia. It is also about the i ... Read more

Big Mouth is about modern Amazonia. It is also about the intense and frequently fetishistic and myth-ridden coverage which Amazonia has received in recent years. University of London lecturer Stephen Nugent first went to Amazonia in 1975 and has returned many times since. His interest is in the real Amazonia, not the unspoiled nature preserve of first-world poseurs nor the bottomless well of natural resources dreamt of by urban Brazilians. It's a place where people live trapped between a neo-colonial present and a post-colonial future where only high-minded outsiders know what is best for them. Nugent is also the author of Amazonian Caboclo Society: An Essay on Invisibility and Peasant economy (Berg, 1993) and - with Charlie Gillette - Rock Almanac (Doubleday, 1978). Minimize

The Amazon Indian is an icon that straddles the world betwe ... Read more

The Amazon Indian is an icon that straddles the world between the professional anthropologist and the popular media. Presented alternately as the noble primitive, the savior of the environment, and as a savage, dissolute, cannibalistic half-human, it is an image well worth examining. Stephen Nugent does just that, critiquing the claims of authoritativeness inherent in visual images presented by anthropologists of Amazon life in the early 20th century and comparing them with the images found in popular books, movies, and posters. The book depicts the field of anthropology as its own form of culture industry and contrasts it to other similar industries, past and present. For visual anthropologists, ethnographers, Amazon specialists, and popular culture researchers, Nugent's book will be enlightening, entertaining reading. Minimize

There is a new phenomenon hitting the world of the Internet ... Read more

There is a new phenomenon hitting the world of the Internet marketplace. PowerSellers who have made a fortune on eBay are moving their merchandise over to Amazon. After all, the benefits of selling on Amazon are legion-sellers have found that they can charge more for their merchandise, avoid upfront fees, and deal with less-demanding customers. The opportunities for selling are endless-Amazon now sells products in more than 40 categories and is the web's number one retailer with more than 81 million customers. As the authors of the popular book eBay PowerSeller Secrets, Debra and Brad Schepp are experts at making big money selling products on the web. Now, in Amazon Top Seller Secrets, they show readers why Amazon is the marketplace that will bring them more cash and more customers. Sellers will discover everything they need to: • navigate the Amazon marketplace • set the right price for merchandise • drive more traffic to their product pages • achieve consistently high feedback ratings • become an Amazon Pro Merchant • open more than one Amazon WebStore • source the best products • and more Minimize

Amazon Cloud Computing With Java provides A comprehensive l ... Read more

Amazon Cloud Computing With Java provides A comprehensive look at the emerging Amazon Web Services Platform and a peep into the emerging paradigm of cloud computing from the perspective of the leading Cloud vendors offerings. It will enable you to plan migration efforts from enterprise softwares to ones operating from the cloud. The book is technical in nature and walks the reader through development of tools and programs which work with AWS. The book is accompanied by the complete source code to the excercises covered in the book, which can be downloaded from the authors website. 'A no fluff just stuff' approach to utilizing AWS. Amazon Cloud Computing With Java covers - EC2 - CloudWatch - Elastic LoadBalancing - AutoScaling - S3 - Virtual Private Cloud - SimpleDB - RDS - CloudFront - SQS - Elastic MapReduce - Agile Continous Integration with AWS - Using Eclipse For AWS Development Minimize

Can you remember back to the first time you read something ... Read more

Can you remember back to the first time you read something all by yourself instead of your parents reading to you? When your child is four to six years old or whenever they are ready to learn the building blocks to reading--Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten makes it easy for you as a parent to play a role in helping your child become a confident reader. There are so many firsts at this time of a child's life, including getting used to going to school on their own! Here is a chance for you to be part of one of the most important learning processes learning to read. Hooked on Phonics makes it easy for you and fun for your kids! Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten is based on research, approved by the Children s Reading Foundation and designed in conjunction with leading educators, renowned authors and most important, parents. Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten uses engaging phonics-based activities, music videos, and online games to help your child become a confident reader. Each unit concludes with a storybook specially written to support the skills your child has learned so far in the program and this is a book they can read to you proudly, on their own! Each lesson takes only about 20 minutes a day. Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten covers letter names, letter sounds, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and blending sounds. Learn to Read Kindergarten includes: 12 original storybooks that feature an exciting range of beautifully illustrated stories2 storybooks by the award-winning children s book authors and illustrators, David Ezra Stein and Rosemary Wells2 reading workbooks that will guide you and your child through all of the lessons and many fun activities2 DVDs filled with music videos and engaging, animated introductions to each lesson, where letters come to life2 sets of stickers so a child can proudly mark their progress in the workbooks and celebrate their successQuick Start Guides1 bonus Hooked on Phonics DVD, FUNtastic Animals, exclusive to Amazon customersNow featuring a free online Learn to Read experience - In addition to what's in the box, Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Kindergarten now offers unique online components to deliver a rich, multisensory learning experience for your child. Each level of Learn to Read comes with a serial number that lets you sign up for free online content. Simply register and you will be able to access online games, downloadable content, printables, and custom book recommendations. You will also be able to track your child's progress on their own personalized learning path. Online Games - Simple and engaging online games designed specifically to reinforce the subject matter your child has just completed in the lesson. Printables - Fun activity sheets you can download and print. Each activity is designed to reinforce the lesson your child has just completed. Custom Book Recommendations specifically tailored to reinforce the unit your child has just completed. All are available for purchase on Amazon.com. Minimize

This publication is the teacher's edition. Through a commun ... Read more

This publication is the teacher's edition. Through a community-based publishing project, students in grades 3-–5 learn how economics works through a series of cross-curricula activities such as: -Researching their community and forming a publishing business - Writing and producing a book about the community -• Marketing and selling the book - Analyzing business results With background materials and student handouts, the Teacher Resource Manual includes 33 lessons that cover scarcity, opportunity cost, productivity, incentives, markets and prices, and supply and demand. Also available is a Student Activity Book containing 30 high-involvement student activities along with maps, charts, and exercises in math and language arts designed to help students plan, analyze, organize, and record their experiences in The Community Publishing Company.Also Available:Exploring the marketplace series: The International News Journal, inc. : teacher resource manual - ISBN 1561833991The Council for Economic Education envisions a world in which people are empowered through economic and financial literacy to make informed and responsible choices throughout their lives as consumers, savers, investors, workers, citizens, and participants in our global economy. Some of the areas in K-12 education we publish in include: - Establishing and building credit - Managing personal finances - Understanding economics on a local, national, and global level - Using economics in other subject areas: Social Studies, Geography, History, etc. Minimize

Against the backdrop of one of the great transformations of ... Read more

Against the backdrop of one of the great transformations of our century, the sudden and unexpected fall of communism as a ruling system, Charles Maier recounts the history and demise of East Germany. Dissolution is his poignant, analytically provocative account of the decline and fall of the late German Democratic Republic.This book explains the powerful causes for the disintegration of German communism as it constructs the complex history of the GDR. Maier looks at the turning points in East Germany's forty-year history and at the mix of coercion and consent by which the regime functioned. He analyzes the GDR as it evolved from the purges of the 1950s to the peace movements and emerging youth culture of the 1980s, and then turns his attention to charges of Stasi collaboration that surfaced after 1989. In the context of describing the larger collapse of communism, Maier analyzes German elements that had counterparts throughout the Soviet bloc, including its systemic and eventually terminal economic crisis, corruption and privilege in the SED, the influence of the Stasi and the plight of intellectuals and writers, and the slow loss of confidence on the part of the ruling elite. He then discusses the mass protests and proliferation of dissident groups in 1989, the collapse of the ruling party, and the troubled aftermath of unification.Dissolution is the first book that spans the communist collapse and the ensuing process of unification, and that draws on newly available archival documents from the last phases of the GDR, including Stasi reports, transcripts of Politburo and Central Committee debates, and papers from the Economic Planning Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the office files of key party officials. This book is further bolstered by Maier's extensive knowledge of European history and the Cold War, his personal observations and conversations with East Germans during the country's dramatic transition, and memoirs and other eyewitness accounts published during the four-decade history of the GDR. Minimize

Relive your childhood memories with this spectacular tome o ... Read more

Relive your childhood memories with this spectacular tome of Tonka history. On the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Minneapolis, three men created Mound Metalcraft in an old schoolhouse in the late 1940s and set out to make tie racks and garden utensils. Sales weren't as abundant as expected, so the group decided to produce sturdy construction toys crafted from the leftover materials. Tonka - named after the nearby lake - was born and the company changed the face of the toy industry forever.Tonka takes you through the early days of the company, to its purchase by Hasbro in 1991. Through the years, there were many ups and downs, but a few things remained constant: the rugged quality, realism, and durability of the toys. The employees were an integral part of the company, and profiles of a handful of former employees help bring a personal level to the story of the company that drove its way to the top of the toy truck industry. Each epoch of Tonka history is covered and accompanied by 150 color and 25 archival images.The Tonka story itself is one of an incredible journey. From the humble confines of a small schoolhouse, to a giant corporation that sold toys everywhere, Tonka remains a household word for strength and durability and is synonymous with toys that could withstand anything a child could do with them.br>Author bio:Dennis David is an automobile journalist and writes for many antique car enthusiast magazines. He collects antique automobiles, is a member of the Society of Automotive Historians, is the technical editor for the National DeSoto Club, and is an automobile appraiser. This is his third book. David lives in northwestern Connecticut with his wife, Susan, and son, Christopher.Lloyd Laumann worked at Tonka for almost 30 years. He held various positions from August 1955 through September 1984, and the last position he held was vice president of manufacturing. He retired in 1984 and has been collecting Tonka memorabilia ever since. Laumann has been writing articles for collector magazines since 1987 and currently lives in Waconia, Minnesota, with his wife, Jean. Minimize

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American original-a lumi ... Read more

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American original-a luminous literary theorist, an erratic genius, and an analyst par excellence of human obsession and compulsion. The scope of his literary achievements and the dramatic character of Poe's life have drawn readers and critics to him in droves. And yet, upon his death, one obituary penned by a literary enemy in the New York Daily Tribune cascaded into a lasting stain on Poe's character, leaving a historic misunderstanding. Many remember Poe as a difficult, self-pitying, troubled drunkard often incapable of caring for himself. Poe reclaims the Baltimore and Virginia writer's reputation and power, retracing Poe's life and career. Biographer and critic James M. Hutchisson captures the boisterous worlds of literary New York and Philadelphia in the 1800s to understand why Poe wrote the way he did and why his achievement was so important to American literature. The biography presents a critical overview of Poe's major works and his main themes, techniques, and imaginative preoccupations. This portrait of the writer emphasizes Poe's southern identity; his existence as a workaday journalist in the burgeoning magazine era; his authority as a literary critic and cultural arbiter; his courtly demeanor and sense of social propriety; his advocacy of women writers; his adaptation of art forms as diverse as the so-called "gutter press" and the haunting rhythms of African American spirituals; his borrowing of imagery from such popular social movements as temperance and freemasonry; and his far-reaching, posthumous influence. James M. Hutchisson, Charleston, South Carolina, is a professor of American literature and southern studies at The Citadel. Minimize

From meditation and fasting to celibacy and anchoritism, th ... Read more

From meditation and fasting to celibacy and anchoritism, the ascetic impulse has been an enduring and complex phenomenon throughout history. Offering a sweeping view of this elusive and controversial aspect of religious life and culture, Asceticism looks at the ascetic impulse from a unique vantage point. Cross-cultural, cross-religious, and multidisciplinary in nature, these essays provide a broad historical and comparative perspective on asceticism--a subject rarely studied outside the context of individual religious traditions. The work represents the input of more than forty preeminent scholars in a wide range of fields and disciplines, and analyzes asceticism from antiquity to the present in European, Near Eastern, African, Asian, and North American settings. Asceticism is organized around four major themes that cut across religious traditions: origins and meanings of asceticism, which explores the motivations and impulses behind ascetic behaviors; hermeneutics of asceticism, which looks at texts and rhetorics and their presuppositions; aesthetics of asceticism, which documents responses evoked by ascetic impulses and practices, as well as the arts of ascetic practices themselves; and politics of asceticism, which analyzes the power dynamics of asceticism, especially as regards gender, cultural, and ethnic differences. Critical responses to the major papers ensure the focus upon the themes and unify the discussion. Two general addresses on broad philosophical and historical-interpretive issues suggest the importance of the subject of asceticism for wide-ranging but serious cultural-critical discussions. An Appendix, Ascetica Miscellanea, includes six short papers on provocative topics not related to the four major themes, and a panel discussion on the practices and meanings of asceticism in contemporary religious life and culture. A selected bibliography and an index are also included. The only comprehensive reference work on asceticism with a multicultural, multireligious, and multidisciplinary perspective, Asceticism offers a model not only for an understanding of a most important dimension of religious life, but also for future interdisciplinary study in general. Minimize

Chyna Shepherd is a twenty-six-year-old woman whose deeply ... Read more

Chyna Shepherd is a twenty-six-year-old woman whose deeply troubled childhood taught her the hard rules of survival, and whose adult life has been an unrelenting struggle for self-respect and safety. Now rare trust has blossomed for Chyna into friendship with the woman whose family home she is visiting for the weekend: a farm in the Napa Valley surrounded by vineyards and hills, which Chyna can see from the guest-room window where she sits at one o'clock in the morning, fully dressed, unable to sleep. Suspicions she learned in childhood still make her uneasy in unfamiliar houses--even this one, where her closest friend is sound asleep down the hall. And in this case her most disturbing instincts prove reliable. A man has entered the house, a man who lives for one purpose: to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immerse himself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse, or limits--to live with intensity.His name is Edgler Foreman Vess. He likes to make words with the letters from his name--GOD, DEMON, SAVE, RAGE, ANGER, FEAR, FOREVER, are just a few of them--and then makes sentences with the words. One of his favorites, GOD FEARS ME, is sometimes the last thing he whispers to his victims. Edgler Vess is a self-proclaimed "homicidal adventurer": On this night, his adventure--murdering everyone in the house--becomes Chyna's long nightmare.Trapped in Vess's deadly orbit, Chyna thinks only of getting out alive. But when she inadvertently learns the identity of Vess's intended next victim, waiting for him far from Napa Valley, Chyna is gripped with concern for this other person, who is as innocent as Chyna, and as endangered. Driven now by a sense of responsibility for another, by a purpose and meaning beyond mere self-preservation, Chyna rises to unexpected heights of courage and daring--her only hope as the threat of Edgler Foreman Vess closes in and grows more horrifying moment by moment.Intensity unfolds over the course of just twenty-four hours, but within that brief time frame, Dean Koontz gives us what is perhaps his most inventive, emotionally intricate, and terrifyingly suspenseful novel yet.From the Hardcover edition. Minimize

"Shardik is a powerful work, dipping deep into old forms-al ... Read more

"Shardik is a powerful work, dipping deep into old forms-allegory, epic, myth-resonating in the caverns of the readers' unconscious . . . It is an exciting story, the adventures compelling." (Los Angeles Times) "Grips with suspense, haunts with mystery . . . a memorable work, not to be read once only but to be reread as loved books are . . . a human saga." (The Wall Street Journal) Richard Adams's Watership Down was a number one bestseller, a stunning work of the imagination, and an acknowledged modern classic. In Shardik Adams sets a different yet equally compelling tale in a far-off fantasy world. Shardik is a fantasy of tragic character, centered on the long-awaited reincarnation of the gigantic bear Shardik and his appearance among the half-barbaric Ortelgan people. Mighty, ferocious, and unpredictable, Shardik changes the life of every person in the story. His advent commences a momentous chain of events. Kelderek the hunter, who loves and trusts the great bear, is swept on by destiny to become first devotee and then prophet, then victorious soldier, then ruler of an empire and priest-king of Lord Shardik-Messenger of God-only to discover ever-deeper layers of meaning implicit in his passionate belief in the bear's divinity. A gripping tale of war, adventure, horror and romance, Shardik, on a deeper level, is a remarkable exploration of mankind's universal desire for divine incarnation. Minimize

"It is remarkable how people's lives intertwine. People mov ... Read more

"It is remarkable how people's lives intertwine. People move in and out of our world, affecting us as we affect them, and we often don't know it until we look back on what has happened. What amazes me is the exquisite timing of these moves, which help shape our growth and the course of our lives."When I think of the people I've known and the events I've experienced, I often wonder, What if? What if I had not been at a certain place at a certain time? What if I had met this person earlier or later, or under different circumstances? It's the same when I think of Jamie Panui. I wonder how things might have been if we had met a few years earlier, and I marvel that things happened as they did."This is the quiet beginning to a story that will show you the power of literacy and its role in enriching a child's life. It is a human story, and you will find much in the narrative that moves you. The implications will encourage you to reflect on your own teaching practice and on your ideas of what literacy means for all learners. Jamie, a child with spinal muscular atrophy, was Diane Parker's student from kindergarten through second grade. In those three years Jamie's school experiences and her family's growing involvement with her learning supported the developing literacy that helped her cope with her increasingly critical handicap.There are many participants here; their voices and perspectives are represented in Jamie's own writings and especially in the unique parent-child reading journal that contributed so much to her social and academic growth. The story goes on to relate the unanticipated turn of events in Jamie's third grade year, and how her literacy enabled her to deal with those events and to influence others as well.Jamie brings you inside a classroom in which reflective teaching practice unquestionably empowered both the teacher and the students. Jamie's story touches on a host of critical educational issues--parent involvement, inclusion, assessment, curriculum reform, equity and justice for all learners. It will not be forgotten. Minimize