Search results for ""Author Kind"

April 2009 will see the publication of the new edition of "Western Grit". The original award-wining (Outdoor Writers' Guild "Guidebook of the Year") version was published in 2003, to widespread acclaim. It was reported to have redefined what made a popular cliff, with many venues that had been sadly neglected being brought back into the limelight. The new edition will be bigger and better with a complete new set of action and crag shots, expanded coverage of many venues and the "Western Grit" will be the new 'must have' climbing guidebook for anyone interested in the huge variety of cliffs that are scattered up the western side of the Peak and Pennines. Staffordshire area includes: Back Forest, The Roaches, Hen Cloud, Ramshaw Rocks, Newstones and Baldstones. Windgather area includes Wingather, Castle Naze, and New Mills Tor. Kinder includes Upper Edale Rocks, The Pagoda, Crowden Towers, Crowden Clough Face, Upper Tor, Nether Tor, Chinese Wall, Misty Wall, Ashop Edge and The Downfall. Bleaklow includes Shining Clough, Laddow, Tintwhistle and Hobson Moor Quarry. Chew Valley includes Wimberry, Rob's Rocks, Charnel Stones, Dovestones, Ravenstones, Standing Stones, Upperwood Quarry, Alderman, Running Hill Pits and Den Lane Quarry. Lanchire includes Wilton 1, 2 and 3, Brownstones, Anglezarke, Denham, Summit Quarry, Blackstone Edge, Cow's Mouth Quarry, Egerton Quarry, Hoghton Quarry, Troy Quarry, Cadshaw Castle Rocks and Witches Quarry. Cheshire includes Helsby, Frodsham and Pex Hill.

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“No one has written with more penetrating skepticism about the history of human rights.”—Adam Kirsch, Wall Street Journal“Moyn breaks new ground in examining the relationship between human rights and economic fairness.”—George SorosThe age of human rights has been kindest to the rich. While state violations of political rights have garnered unprecedented attention in recent decades, a commitment to material equality has quietly disappeared. In its place, economic liberalization has emerged as the dominant force. In this provocative book, Samuel Moyn considers how and why we chose to make human rights our highest ideals while simultaneously neglecting the demands of broader social and economic justice.Moyn places the human rights movement in relation to this disturbing shift and explores why the rise of human rights has occurred alongside exploding inequality.“Moyn asks whether human-rights theorists and advocates, in the quest to make the world better for all, have actually helped to make things worse… Sure to provoke a wider discussion.”—Adam Kirsch, Wall Street Journal“A sharpening interrogation of the liberal order and the institutions of global governance created by, and arguably for, Pax Americana… Consistently bracing.”—Pankaj Mishra, London Review of Books“Moyn suggests that our current vocabularies of global justice—above all our belief in the emancipatory potential of human rights—need to be discarded if we are work to make our vastly unequal world more equal… [A] tour de force.”—Los Angeles Review of Books

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Six Sessions of Teachings for Integrating Spirituality into Work, Love, and Life How does spiritual awakening take root in our lives? Does it happen on the meditation cushion, in the yoga studio, or on long retreats? “Our inner work plants the seeds of insight,” teaches Thomas Hübl, “yet lasting transformation emerges as we take our practice into the world of love, work, and culture—what I call the relational field.” On The Power of We, he presents a compelling vision of what fully engaged spiritual practice can be, with in-depth guidance into the fundamental competencies you’ll need to sustain awakening in the fast-placed “marketplace” of our modern world. Tools and Insights for Awakening in the Relational Field The relational field is more than the sum of our interactions with our friends, family, and intimate partners. As Thomas explains, we exist in relationship to every aspect of life—to our social environment, the past and the future, the wisdom of our chosen spiritual path, and our own potential. In this six-session course, you’ll develop a greater awareness for each relationship that shapes your life—and how to kindle your own evolution through practices such as transparent communication, attuning to subtle energy, illuminating shadow material, and much more. “For awakening to flourish, it must become our first priority,” says Thomas Hübl. “It must infuse and inform our work and play, our love and conflict, and every relationship in our lives.” Join this fresh and dynamic teacher for a journey that will revolutionize the way you practice spirituality in every moment with The Power of We. Highlights: Movement and stillness—the “core competencies” of spiritual practice for expressing ourselves completely in the world • The relational field—how the real work of our awakening takes place in our dynamic interactions with the people and experiences in our lives • Why be on a spiritual path? The challenges, responsibilities, and joys entailed in a committed practice • Intimate partnership—practical guidance for meeting the opportunities and pitfalls of spiritual growth in our most important relationships • Shadow work—how the unwanted aspects of our consciousness reveal themselves in relationship, and how we can process and integrate them • Creativity as the pathway to finding our life’s purpose and evolving towards our potential • Meditation, contemplation, and prayer—which practices are most valuable in the challenging context of modern life • Mystical principles—opening yourself to the language of creation and evolution as you deepen your relationship with divine consciousness • Contributing to a greater awakening—grounded and optimistic insights on the role each of us play in global evolution • More than seven hours of penetrating insights, accessible wisdom, and practical tools for expanding your spiritual practice into the relational field, with emerging teacher Thomas Hübl

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We probably went to school for what felt like a very long time. We probably took care with our homework. Along the way we surely learnt intriguing things about equations, the erosion of glaciers, the history of the Middle Ages, and the tenses of foreign languages. But why, despite all the lessons we sat through, were we never taught the really important things that dominate and trouble our lives: who to start a relationship with, how to trust people, how to understand one’s psyche, how to move on from sorrow or betrayal, and how to cope with anxiety and shame? The School of Life is an organisation dedicated to teaching a range of emotional lessons that we need in order to lead fulfilled and happy lives – and that schools routinely forget to teach us. This book is a collection of our most essential lessons, delivered with directness and humanity, covering topics from love to career, childhood trauma to loneliness. To read the book is to be invited to lead kinder, richer and more authentic lives – and to complete an education we began but still badly need to finish. This is homework to help us make the most of the rest of our lives.

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Da die erste Auflage dieses Buches bereits nach wenigen Monaten vergriffen war, drucken wir eine unveränderte 2. Auflage. Martin Hengels erste Studie "Petrus der Fels, Paulus und die Evangelientradition" geht von Matthäus 16,17-19 aus und fragt nach den Gründen, warum Petrus hier eine so einzigartige, alle anderen Apostel überragende Bedeutung im Urchristentum erhält. Nicht nur im ersten Evangelium, sondern auch in den anderen Evangelien, der Apostelgeschichte und selbst bei Paulus erweist er sich als "die apostolische Grundgestalt der Kirche". Schon das Evangelium des Petrusschülers Markus ist davon geprägt. Diese Bedeutung erstreckt sich über sein ganzes Wirken bis hin zum Märtyrertod in Rom. Der galiläische Fischer wird zum "Felsenmann" auf Grund seiner einzigartigen Wirksamkeit als theologischer Lehrer und Missionar, der souverän über Jesusüberlieferung verfügt, aber auch ein charismatischer Organisator gewesen sein muss. Daher erscheint er neben Paulus als die wichtigste Autorität für die apostolische Tradition. Seine Einmaligkeit verbietet es, von einer Fortführung des "Petrusamtes" in der Kirche zu sprechen.Die zweite Studie "Die Familie des Petrus und andere apostolische Familien" geht von der Tatsache aus, dass Petrus und andere Apostel verheiratet waren, und Familien für die urchristliche Mission entscheidende Bedeutung besaßen. Auffallend ist, dass trotz des Vordringens eines ehefeindlichen Enkratismus im 2. Jh. eine ganze Reihe von legendären Nachrichten über die Ehe und Kinder des Petrus überliefert sind."Das Buch legt niemand aus der Hand, ohne umfassend und kompetent belehrt, ja ein wenig besser gebildet zu sein. [...] Hengel bildet die Einzigartigkeit des Petrus heraus."Thomas Söding in Christ in der Gegenwart 58 (2006), S. 438

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Long-buried secrets are being unearthed. And they're very close to home...Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire returns yet again to her hometown to investigate a spine-chilling case in THE KILLING HOUSE, the sixth novel in Claire McGowan's series. The Paula Maguire series is the perfect read for fans of Michael Connelly and Peter May.'A delicious spookiness is added to McGowan's customary mix of complex characterisation and sweat-inducing excitement, offering a new level of chilling thrills' - Sunday Mirror When a puzzling missing persons' case opens up in her hometown, forensic psychologist Paula Maguire can't help but return once more.Renovations at an abandoned farm have uncovered two bodies: a man known to be an IRA member missing since the nineties, and a young girl whose identity remains a mystery.As Paula attempts to discover who the girl is and why no one is looking for her, an anonymous tip-off claims that her own long-lost mother is also buried on the farm.When another girl is kidnapped, Paula must find the person responsible before more lives are destroyed. But there are explosive secrets still to surface. And even Paula can't predict that the investigation will strike at the heart of all she holds dear.What readers are saying about the Paula Maguire series:'I have loved every single book. It's the characters and their own personal lives that really stand out in Claire McGowan's novels''Claire McGowan knows how to pull us in. Her future releases are always lined up on my kindle way ahead of time!''McGowan keeps developing her characters to be more rounded and complex. I've really fallen in love with the character of Paula Maguire and I can't wait to read more about her'

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NOW A MAJOR SERIES 'GENIUS' ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, PRODUCED BY RON HOWARD AND STARRING GEOFFREY RUSHEinstein is the great icon of our age: the kindly refugee from oppression whose wild halo of hair, twinkling eyes, engaging humanity and extraordinary brilliance made his face a symbol and his name a synonym for genius. He was a rebel and nonconformist from boyhood days. His character, creativity and imagination were related, and they drove both his life and his science. In this marvellously clear and accessible narrative, Walter Isaacson explains how his mind worked and the mysteries of the universe that he discovered. Einstein's success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marvelling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a worldview based on respect for free spirits and free individuals. All of which helped make Einstein into a rebel but with a reverence for the harmony of nature, one with just the right blend of imagination and wisdom to transform our understanding of the universe. This new biography, the first since all of Einstein's papers have become available, is the fullest picture yet of one of the key figures of the twentieth century. This is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available -- a fully realised portrait of this extraordinary human being, and great genius.Praise for EINSTEIN by Walter Isaacson:- 'YOU REALLY MUST READ THIS.' Sunday Times 'As pithy as Einstein himself.’ New Scientist ‘[A] brilliant biography, rich with newly available archival material.’ Literary Review ‘Beautifully written, it renders the physics understandable.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Isaacson is excellent at explaining the science. ' Daily Express

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A young boy goes on a journey to meet the Sun and discovers his inner light, in this wondrous picture book debut from the NYT-Bestselling graphic novelist of Not Funny Ha-Ha.A Marginalian Favorite Book of 2023!“A boy befriends the sun in a story that will fill readers with the deep warmth emanating from its two lead characters. I wasn’t prepared for this book and the affecting warmth of its wisdom.” —Cartoonist and illustrator R. Kikuo Johnson"A beautiful exploration of the inner light in all of us." —Cartoonist and animator Dash ShawHis mother says it's too far away. His dad says it's too hot. And his brother says he has more important things to do. But none of this discourages a young boy from pursuing his plan: to fly up into the sky to touch the Sun, whose light always feels so nice on his skin. And so, off he goes, all by himself.Warm and kindly, the Sun shows the boy the world from her perspective: her friends the clouds, the beaches upon which she shines down, the trees she's grown, the rainbows she creates. In return, the boy shares with her some of his dreams, fears, hopes, and uncertainties—complexities of the human condition that the Sun, as a cosmic force of constant light, has never experienced. In this way, the boy begins to understand something about the pattern of light and shadow that makes up every human life. And when it's time to part ways, the boy returns home to his family changed, with an inner light that reminds him that the cosmic force of the sun is in him, too, always, though darkness falls, though he sleeps and dreams, though doubts and fears and gloominess come, too.

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'Lorraine Mace has done it again. Crime fiction at its absolute finest' MARION TODD'What an opening! Lorraine certainly knows how to write a gripping thriller. A chilling read' KAREN KINGIF HE WANTS YOU . . . THERE'S NO ESCAPE.A brutal murder . . .Responding to a tip-off, newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Paolo Sterling arrives at an apartment block to find the dismembered body of a young woman. And with no indication of a break-in, all signs suggest the killer was known to her.An abduction in plain sight . . . Then the victim's friend is snatched with no witnesses and the unanswered questions mount up.At the same time, Sterling's team are leading the surveillance of a local club, thought to be involved in a drug operation. But when one of his colleagues ends up in hospital close to death, Paolo begins to lose his grip.A detective on the edge . . .With the odds stacked against him, and time running out, can DCI Sterling uncover the truth before it's too late? Or will this case finally tip him over the edge?Lorraine Mace returns with the fifth instalment in her dark, gritty and unflinching DI Sterling series. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, M. J. Arlidge and Karin Slaughter.LOVE FOR LORRAINE MACE'S WRITING:'I. Am. Not. Okay. That ending - mind blown!!!! Rage and Retribution deserves ALL the stars! It is AMAZING!' 5* Reader Review'Wow, just wow is all I can say. The whole series is just too good to miss.' 5* Reader Review'I am an absolutely massive fan of this series . . . the books are just getting better and better' 5* Reader Review'I am blown away by this story and LOVE everything about it. I cannot wait for the next instalment.' 5* Reader Review'OMG! That opening scene' 5* Reader Review'I could not put my kindle down while reading this!' 5* Reader Review

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Perfect for fans of The Salt Path and The Outrun, this book is a life-affirming exploration of wild landscapes, what it means to be different and, above all, how we can all learn to make peace within our own unquiet minds.'A windswept tale, beautifully told' Raynor Winn - The Salt Path 'A manifesto for the value of difficult people. I loved it' Amy Liptrot - The OutrunIn August 2015, Katherine May set out to walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path. She wanted to understand why she had stopped coping with everyday life; why motherhood had been so overwhelming and isolating, and why the world felt full of inundation and expectations she can't meet. Setting her feet down on the rugged and difficult path by the sea, the answer begins to unfold. It's a chance encounter with a voice on the radio that sparks a realisation that she has Asperger's Syndrome. The Electricity of Every Living Thing tells the story of the year in which Katherine comes to terms with her diagnosis. It leads to a re-evaluation of her life so far - a kinder one, which finally allows her to be different rather than simply awkward, arrogant or unfeeling. The physical and psychological journeys become inextricably entwined, and as Katherine finds her way across the untameable coast, she also finds the way to herself.What readers are saying about The Electricity of Every Living Thing:'This book showed a realistic view of how autism feels to some people, and it's explained so well''The astonishing sensitivity and awareness in her writing, both about the beautiful landscapes and nature around on her walks, and in relation to her family, friends and self put paid to many outdated myths about what it is like to be autistic''Compelling and transformative'

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Anknüpfend an geschichts- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien zur räumlichen Mobilität von Menschen untersucht Bettina Severin-Barboutie Praktiken und Taktiken des Kommens, Gehens und Bleibens vom Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs bis in die 1980er Jahre, wobei auch Protestformen wie Hungerstreiks zur Sprache kommen. Als Beispiele dienen die Städte Stuttgart und Lyon, die einerseits Gemeinsamkeiten aufweisen, die sie gut vergleichbar machen, andererseits aber auch für die Fragestellung produktive Unterschiede besitzen. Für beide Städte werden Männer, Frauen und Kinder italienischer Staatsangehörigkeit analysiert, für Stuttgart ferner türkische Staatsangehörige und für Lyon in Algerien geborene Menschen muslimischer Religion und ihre Nachkommen.Die Autorin wirft neues Licht auf das Mobilitätsgeschehen nach 1945. Zum einen verabschiedet sie sich von der Vorstellung von Migration als Bewegung von A nach B und lotet unterschiedliche Formen, Richtungen, Funktionen und Deutungen menschlicher Bewegung durch den Raum aus. Beispielsweise beleuchtet sie Pendelbewegungen und verschiedene Arten und Semantiken der Rückkehr. Zum anderen gewährt sie Einblicke in Beziehungen zwischen unterschiedlichen Mobilitätsformen wie Arbeitskräftewanderungen und Urlaubsreisen und beleuchtet zugleich Wechselwirkungen zwischen Mobilität und Immobilität. Dadurch veranschaulicht sie nicht nur, dass menschliche Bewegung durch den Raum für das Verständnis von Migration ebenso relevant ist wie die Zeit vor und nach der Mobilität und entsprechend systematisch in deren historische Analyse einbezogen werden sollte. Sie generiert ebenfalls Fragen und eröffnet Perspektiven, die den Blick auf die Vergangenheit insgesamt erweitern könnten.

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In calling America "the almost chosen nation," Abraham Lincoln invoked at once the Old Testament and the Founders' belief in the two covenantal communities' common ideal: equal liberty. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that ideal. Our Constitution instituted it. Although it took the Civil War to abolish the original sin of slavery, equal freedom defined the nation's philosophical foundation. Beginning late in the nineteenth century, however, that vision of liberty under constitutionally limited government mutated into progressivism. An aggressive mix of collectivism and scientism, fueled by Marxism and other toxic European ideologies, its early expression was eugenics, its later ambitious central planning. Meanwhile, an influx of immigrants during times of economic displacement would kindle widespread xenophobia, while populist distrust of financial profit, often associated with Jews, would stoke anti-Semitism. Over time, equal freedom fell into disrepute. Among the idea-elites, "right-wing" and "conservative" became pejoratives. But the rise of the Soviet Union and the aftermath of World War II proved a watershed for Americans, especially for American Jews, for those developments placed the liberal idea in a clarifying geopolitical context. Today, with equality and equity often used synonymously, a conflation of anti-capitalism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Zionism has gained prominence while Islamists make common cause with the enemies of freedom from within. Given the stakes, Jews must reassert the basic principles of their ancient tradition, which are also America's.

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The Atlanta Woman’s Club has steered the development and identity of Atlanta since 1895. Headquartered in the elegant and historic Wimbish House on Peachtree Street, the club symbolises both a vibrant past and continuing hope for this unique Southern city. Through their affiliation with the Georgia and General Federation of Women’s Clubs, members have helped improve the quality of life in Atlanta, the South, and the world in the fields of politics, human rights, poverty, the arts, education, health, conservation and the understanding of international affairs. As educational advocates, they worked to set the foundation of the Atlanta Public Kindergarten system and Georgia’s public library system. Along with other Georgia Federation of Women’s Club members, the Atlanta Woman’s Club is a vested owner of Tallulah Falls School, one of the most esteemed college preparatory private schools in the country. They helped establish the first farmers’ market in metro Atlanta and were instrumental in promoting the acquisition of a landing field and the building of what is now Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Few are aware of the club’s enormous effect on its community and state, or its ties to the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs (GaFWC) and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), both of which have been a major force in the history of Georgia and the nation. A Light on Peachtree: A History of the Atlanta Woman’s Club is the story of the remarkable efforts and accomplishments of the Atlanta Woman’s Club from 1895 to present time.

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The second book in Alexander McCall Smith's new DETECTIVE VARG series . . . 'Reading the novel feels like a form of meditation . . . There is much to enjoy' Scotsman'Wonderfully soothing and relaxing' Telegraph'Heaven is in the detail with this sort of escapist writing. It's like AA Milne meets Karl Ove Knausgaard' Financial Times Spring is coming slowly to Sweden - though not quite as slowly as Detective Ulf Varg's promised promotion at the Department of Sensitive Crimes. For Varg, referred by his psychoanalyst to group therapy at Malmö's Wholeness Centre, life now seems mostly a circle of self-examination, something which may or may not be useful when it comes to the nature of his profession and the particularly sensitive cases that have recently come to light.All in a day's work for Detective Varg, except that one of his new investigations involves fellow detective Anna; it will require every ounce of self-discipline he has in order to remain professional. The other, more curious case is centred around internationally successful novelist Nils Personn-Cederström. According to his girlfriend, Cederström is being blackmailed - but by whom and for what reason?Accompanied by his irritating but kindly colleague Blomquist, Varg begins his enquiries and soon the answers fall neatly into place. Nothing and no one is ever that simple, however, and not for the first time he learns as much about his own emotional and moral landscape as he does about the motives of others. Now Varg must make a possibly life-changing decision. Will he choose his own happiness over that of his heart's desire?

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Overcoming app now available via iTunes and the Google Play Store.'A thoroughly enjoyable read, and [I] would recommend trainee therapists read it also, as it will increase your understanding of the treatment of low self-esteem.' BABCP MagazineLow self-esteem can make life difficult in all sorts of ways. It can make you anxious and unhappy, tormented by doubts and self-critical thoughts. It can get in the way of feeling at ease with other people and stop you from leading the life you want to lead. It makes it hard to value and appreciate yourself in the same way you would another person you care about. Melanie Fennell's acclaimed and bestselling self-help guide will help you to understand your low self-esteem and break out of the vicious circle of distress, unhelpful behaviour and self-destructive thinking. Using practical techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), this book will help you learn the art of self-acceptance and so transform your sense of yourself for the better.Specifically, you will learn: How low self-esteem develops and what keeps it going How to question your negative thoughts and the attitudes that underlie them How to identify your strengths and good qualities for a more balanced, kindly view of yourselfOvercoming self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical. Many guides in the Overcoming series are recommended under the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme.

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Has global liberalism made the nation-state obsolete? Or, on the contrary, are primordial nationalist hatreds overwhelming cosmopolitanism? To assert either theme without serious qualification, according to Ernst B. Haas, is historically simplistic and morally misleading. Haas describes nationalism as a key component of modernity and a crucial instrument for making sense of impersonal, rapidly changing, and heterogeneous societies. He characterizes nationalism as a feeling of collective identity, a mutual understanding experienced among people who may never meet but who are persuaded that they belong to a community of kindred spirits. Without nationalism, there could be no large integrated state. Nationalism comes in many varieties, some revolutionary in rejecting the past and some syncretist in seeking to retain religious traditions. Haas asks whether liberal nationalism is particularly successful as a rationalizing agent, noting that liberalism is usually associated with collective learning and that liberal-secular nationalism delivers substantial material benefits to mass populations. He also asks whether liberal nationalism can lead to its own transcendence. He explores nationalism in five societies that had achieved the status of nation-states by about 1880: the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan. Several of these nation-states became exemplars for later nationalists. A second, forthcoming volume will consider ten societies that modernized more recently, many of them aroused to nationalism by the imperialism of these "old" nation-states.

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Sow the seeds of science and wonder and inspire the next generation of Earth stewards The School Garden Curriculum offers a unique and comprehensive framework, enabling students to grow their knowledge throughout the school year and build on it from kindergarten to eighth grade. From seasonal garden activities to inquiry projects and science-skill building, children will develop organic gardening solutions, a positive land ethic, systems thinking, and instincts for ecological stewardship. The world needs young people to grow into strong, scientifically literate environmental stewards. Learning gardens are great places to build this knowledge, yet until now there has been a lack of a multi-grade curriculum for school-wide teaching aimed at fostering a connection with the Earth. The book offers: A complete K-8 school-wide framework Over 200 engaging, weekly lesson plans – ready to share Place-based activities, immersive learning, and hands-on activities Integration of science, critical thinking, permaculture, and life skills Links to Next Generation Science Standards Further resources and information sources. A model and guide for all educators, The School Garden Curriculum is the complete package for any school wishing to use ecosystem perspectives, science, and permaculture to connect children to positive land ethics, personal responsibility, and wonder, while building vital lifelong skills. AWARDS FINALIST | 2019 Foreword INDIES: Education

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Occupying much of imperial China’s Yangzi River heartland and costing more than twenty million lives, the Taiping Rebellion (1851-64) was no ordinary peasant revolt. What most distinguished this dramatic upheaval from earlier rebellions were the spiritual beliefs of the rebels. The core of the Taiping faith focused on the belief that Shangdi, the high God of classical China, had chosen the Taiping leader, Hong Xiuquan, to establish his Heavenly Kingdom on Earth. How were the Taiping rebels, professing this new creed, able to mount their rebellion and recruit multitudes of followers in their sweep through the empire? Thomas Reilly argues that the Taiping faith, although kindled by Protestant sources, developed into a dynamic new Chinese religion whose conception of its sovereign deity challenged the legitimacy of the Chinese empire. The Taiping rebels denounced the divine pretensions of the imperial title and the sacred character of the imperial office as blasphemous usurpations of Shangdi’s title and position. In place of the imperial institution, the rebels called for restoration of the classical system of kingship. Previous rebellions had declared their contemporary dynasties corrupt and therefore in need of revival; the Taiping, by contrast, branded the entire imperial order blasphemous and in need of replacement. In this study, Reilly emphasizes the Christian elements of the Taiping faith, showing how Protestant missionaries built on earlier Catholic efforts to translate Christianity into a Chinese idiom. Prior studies of the rebellion have failed to appreciate how Hong Xiuquan’s interpretation of Christianity connected the Taiping faith to an imperial Chinese cultural and religious context. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom shows how the Bible--in particular, a Chinese translation of the Old Testament--profoundly influenced Hong and his followers, leading them to understand the first three of the Ten Commandments as an indictment of the imperial order. The rebels thus sought to destroy imperial culture along with its institutions and Confucian underpinnings, all of which they regarded as blasphemous. Strongly iconoclastic, the Taiping followers smashed religious statues and imperially approved icons throughout the lands they conquered. By such actions the Taiping Rebellion transformed--at least for its followers but to some extent for all Chinese--how Chinese people thought about religion, the imperial title and office, and the entire traditional imperial and Confucian order. This book makes a major contribution to the study of the Taiping Rebellion and to our understanding of the ideology of both the rebels and the traditional imperial order they opposed. It will appeal to scholars in the fields of Chinese history, religion, and culture and of Christian theology and church history.

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'This is an important and necessary book by a superb and subtle writer. There's no one more qualified to write it than Jake Wallis Simons, both as ground-breaking Middle East security correspondent and Editor of the Jewish Chronicle. It analyses the often prejudiced coverage and intense scrutiny of Israel that so often veers into obsession and outright demonisation; and traces its origins from Medieval European and Stalinist antisemitism to the present day. It discusses why this nation is judged so differently from others in a supposedly rational and progressive era. A companion in some ways to David Baddiel's Jews Don't Count, it is a book that fascinatingly analyses the dark sides of our world today -political, national, cultural and digital - and exposes uncomfortable truths' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE'"I can't be anti-Semitic: I have nothing against Jews individually, I only hate them by the country." Such is the delusion that Jake Wallis Simons sets out to discredit in this excellent and fearless book, dismantling its mendacities with a scholarly and logical thoroughness that makes you wonder if there will ever be an Israelophobe left standing again. Buy copies to distribute to your kindergarten groups and universities, anyway, just in case. And then buy another copy for yourself. It does the heart good to see one of the greatest expressions of collective animus exposed for the sanctimonious posturing it is. Israelophobia is a book we all need' HOWARD JACOBSON'Timely and important' TELEGRAPH'Fascinating' SPECTATORIn the Middle Ages, Jews were hated for their religion. In the twentieth century, they were hated because of their race. Today, Jews are hated for something else entirely, their nation-state of Israel. Antisemitism has morphed into something both ancient and modern: Israelophobia. But how did this transformation occur? And why?Award-winning journalist Jake Wallis Simons answers these questions, clarifying the line between criticism and hatred, exploring game-changing facts and exposing dangerous discourse.Urgent, incisive and deeply necessary, Israelophobia reveals why the Middle East's only democracy, which uniquely respects the rights of women and sexual and religious minorities, attracts such disproportionate levels of slander. Rather than defending Israel against all criticism, it argues for reasonable disagreement based on reality instead of bigotry.Through charting the history of Israelophobia - starting in Nazi Germany, travelling via the Kremlin to Tehran and along fibre optic cables to billions of screens - and using it to understand contemporary prejudice, this timely book will restore much-needed sanity to the debate, creating the space for mutual understanding, tolerance and peace.

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Humans are pattern-matching creatures, and astrology is the universe’s grandest pattern-matching game. In this refreshing work of history and analysis, data scientist Alexander Boxer examines classical texts on astrology to expose its underlying scientific and mathematical framework. Astrology, he argues, was the ancient world’s most ambitious applied mathematics problem, a monumental data-analysis enterprise sustained by some of history’s most brilliant minds, from Ptolemy to al-Kindi to Kepler. Thousands of years ago, astrologers became the first to stumble upon the powerful storytelling possibilities inherent in numerical data. To correlate the configurations of the cosmos with our day-to-day lives, astrologers relied upon a “scheme of heaven,” or horoscope, showing the precise configuration of the planets at a particular instant in time as viewed from a particular place on Earth. Although recognized as pseudoscience today, horoscopes were once considered a cutting-edge scientific tool. Boxer teaches us how to read these esoteric charts—and appreciate the complex astronomical calculations needed to generate them—by diagramming how the heavens appeared at important moments in astrology’s history, from the assassination of Julius Caesar as viewed from Rome to the Apollo 11 lunar landing as seen from the surface of the Moon. He then puts these horoscopes to the test using modern data sets and statistical science, arguing that today’s data scientists do work similar to astrologers of yore. By looking back at the algorithms of ancient astrology, he suggests, we can better recognize the patterns that are timeless characteristics of our own pattern-matching tendencies. At once critical, rigorous, and far ranging, A Scheme of Heaven recontextualizes astrology as a vast, technological project—spanning continents and centuries—that foreshadowed our data-driven world today.

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Die Berufswahl ist die bedeutsamste Entscheidung für einen Menschen; denn sie ist ausschlaggebend für den Verlauf des größten Teils seines Lebens. Wie oft aber wird dieseWahlnach augenblicklichen Gegebenheiten getroffen, die später keine Gültig­ keit mehr haben! Wie oft auch macht sich der Junge ein ganz falsches Bild von "seinem" Beruf! Sinn und Zweck dieses Buches ist es deshalb in erster Linie, den vor der Berufswahl stehenden Jugendlichen sowie ihren Eltern und Erziehern einen umfassenden Ein­ blick in das gesamte Berufsleben zu ermöglichen und damit Anregungen für die Berufswahl zu geben; denn nur wer die vielen Berufe kennt, die einem jungen Menschen offenstehen, wer über die Fähigkeiten, die sie voraussetzen, über die An­ forderungen, die sie stellen, und über die Arbeits-und Aufstiegsmöglichkeiten Be­ scheid weiß, kann seine Wahl richtig treffen, kann seinen Beruf finden und sich damit viele Enttäuschungen, ja vielleicht sogar ein verpfuschtes Leben ersparen. Das Buch bringt keine wissenschaftliche und psychologische Berufskunde. Es zeigt den berufstätigen Menschen an seinem Arbeitsplatz, schildert seine Ausbildung, was er zu leisten hat, wie er vorwärtskommen kann. Von dem Grundsatz ausgehend, daß Anschauung die beste Lehrmeisterin ist, wird der in leichtverständlicher Sprache gehaltene Text durch reiche Bebilderung erläutert. Der Jugendliche, der das Buch gelesen hat, wird sich eine richtige Vorstellung von den verschiedenen Berufen machen können. Damit sind viele Fehlentscheidungen bei seiner Wahl von vornherein ausgeschlossen. Den Eltern erleichtert das Buch die Beratung, mit der sie ihren Kindern, die ins Berufsleben eintreten, zur Seite stehen.

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Lewis Fry Richardson was one of the first to develop the systematic study of the causes of war; yet his great war data archive, Statistics of Deadly Quarrels, posthumously published, has yet to be fully systematized and assimilated by war-causation scholars. David Wilkinson has reanalyzed Richardson's data and drawn together the results of kindred quantitative work on the causes of war, from other as well as from Richardson. He has translated this classic of international relations literature into contemporary idiom, fully and accurately presenting the substance of Richardson's idea and at the same time bringing it up to date with judicious comment, updating the references to the critical and successor literature, and dealing in some detail with Richardson himself. Professor Wilkinson lists among the findings: 1. the death toll of war is largely the product of a very few immense wars; 2. most wars do not escalate out of control, they are vey likely to be small, brief, and exclusive; 3. great powers have done most of the world's fighting, inflicting and suffering most of the casualties; 4. the propensity of any two groups to fight increases as the ethnocultural differences between them increase. Contemporary peace strategy would therefore seem to be to avoid World War III by promoting superpower detente, and reanimating, accelerating, and civilizing the process of world economic development. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

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Collins International English Foundation and Foundation Plus provide inspirational, fun and age-appropriate learning for children in early years and kindergarten classes. The materials have been developed in consultation with expert practitioners to be easy to use in the classroom and to support children following a range of early years curricula and who are preparing for their first year of primary education in an international school, including schools following the Cambridge Assessment International Education primary framework. The course introduces young children to phonics and early literacy skills in an age-appropriate way through topic-based discovery and activity-based learning, with plenty of opportunities to explore books and reading through games and hands-on exploration. Careful progression ensures children develop the skills they need to be ready for English in their first year of primary and beyond. Each level comprises Activity Books A, B and C – one for each term – supported by Reading Anthologies A, B and C – also one per term – that provide a carefully selected collection of colourful stories and stimulus materials, and a Teacher’s Guide. Schools can opt to use the course over one or two school years. The engaging and brightly illustrated Activity Books provide age-appropriate practice that is fun for children, that allow teachers to see and record progress, and that show parents what is being covered in class. Collins International English Foundation and Foundation Plus can be used on their own, or alongside Collins International Maths Foundation and Foundation Plus and Collins International Science Foundation and Foundation Plus to provide a comprehensive early-years programme.

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Collins International English Foundation and Foundation Plus provide inspirational, fun and age-appropriate learning for children in early years and kindergarten classes. The materials have been developed in consultation with expert practitioners to be easy to use in the classroom and to support children following a range of early years curricula and who are preparing for their first year of primary education in an international school, including schools following the Cambridge Assessment International Education primary framework. The course introduces young children to phonics and early literacy skills in an age-appropriate way through topic-based discovery and activity-based learning, with plenty of opportunities to explore books and reading through games and hands-on exploration. Careful progression ensures children develop the skills they need to be ready for English in their first year of primary and beyond. Each level comprises Activity Books A, B and C – one for each term – supported by Reading Anthologies A, B and C – also one per term – that provide a carefully selected collection of colourful stories and stimulus materials, and a Teacher’s Guide. Schools can opt to use the course over one or two school years. The engaging and brightly illustrated Activity Books provide age-appropriate practice that is fun for children, that allow teachers to see and record progress, and that show parents what is being covered in class. Collins International English Foundation and Foundation Plus can be used on their own, or alongside Collins International Maths Foundation and Foundation Plus and Collins International Science Foundation and Foundation Plus to provide a comprehensive early-years programme.

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More than just a Japan travel guide, Manabeshima Island Japan paints a colorful and entertaining picture of a particular place and time in Japan.Japan is made up of thousands of sacred islands, artificial islands, industrial islands, resort islands, wild islands and exploding islands…but artist Florent Chavouet had only ever visited two of them. This graphic novel is the story of one summer when he decides to get to know one more—the tiny island of Manabeshima. This speck of dirt in the Inland Sea, off the coast of Osaka, has a total population of 300, and he sets himself the task of recording everything and everyone he meets there in quirky detail on the pages of his sketchbook. Whereas Chavouet's other best-selling book, Tokyo on Foot, focuses on the physical city, it is the local island inhabitants who form the heart of this new book. Chavouet's sensitive drawings and insightful captions create instant portraits of incredible literary depth. The cast of characters who are lovingly depicted includes Ikkyu-san, owner of the island's only bar (and the bar's three regulars—skinny guy, Day-Glo cap guy and greasy-haired guy); the young Nakamura family and their five kids; the layabout Shimura-san, a living relic from the hippie 1970s; Kurata-san the policeman; Reizo-san the island intellectual in his elegant Meiji-era home; Rock the Neanderthal fisherman; and a chorus of assorted grandmothers and cats—all of whom welcome Chavouet into their community as a kindred soul. Against a backdrop of fireworks, summer festivals, fishing expeditions, and the constant hum of the cicadas, Chavouet depicts these characters so vividly and sympathetically, and describes their rustic way of life in such simple and appealing terms that we find it as hard to finish the book as Chavouet found it to leave the island at the end of his enchanted summer holiday.

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CAN TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT?A man is found by the side of a canal, comatose and brutally attacked.It quickly becomes clear that someone is abducting men and subjecting them to horrific acts of torture. After three days they're released, fighting for their lives and refusing to speak.A councillor is accused of fraud.Montague Mason is an upstanding member of the community. That is until he's publicly accused of stealing the youth centre's funds - an accusation that threatens to rip through the very heart of the community and expose his best-kept secret. But how far would he go to protect himself?Two cases. One deadly answer.As the two cases collide, D.I. Paolo Sterling finds he has more questions than answers. And, when torture escalates to murder, he suddenly finds himself in a race against time to find the killer and put an end to the depravity - once and for all.Lorraine Mace returns with the fourth unflinching and totally gripping instalment in her dark and gritty series featuring DI Paolo Sterling. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, M. J. Arlidge and Karin Slaughter.'Lorraine Mace has done it again. Crime fiction at its absolute finest' MARION TODD 'What an opening! Lorraine certainly knows how to write a gripping thriller. A chilling read' KAREN KINGLOVE FOR LORRAINE MACE'S WRITING:'I. Am. Not. Okay. That ending - mind blown!!!! Rage and Retribution deserves ALL the stars! It is AMAZING!' 5* Reader Review'Wow, just wow is all I can say. The whole series is just too good to miss.' 5* Reader Review'I am an absolutely massive fan of this series . . . the books are just getting better and better' 5* Reader Review'I am blown away by this story and LOVE everything about it. I cannot wait for the next instalment.' 5* Reader Review'OMG! That opening scene' 5* Reader Review'I could not put my kindle down while reading this!' 5* Reader Review

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What was it like to be a military combat photographer in the most photographed war in history the Vietnam War? Shooting Vietnam takes you there as you read the firsthand accounts and view the hundreds of photographs by men who lived the war through the lens of a camera. They documented everything from the horror of combat to the people and culture of a land they suddenly found themselves immersed in. Some even juggled cameras with rifles and grenade launchers as they fought to survive while carrying out their assignments to record the war. Shooting Vietnam also finally brings recognition to these unheralded military combat photographers in Vietnam that documented the brutal, unpopular, and futile war. Firsthand accounts and photographs by military photographers in Vietnam from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, Shooting Vietnam puts the reader right alongside these men as they struggle to document the war and stay alive while doing it although some didn't survive. The cameras around their necks often shared space with a rifle or grenade launcher that enabled them to stay alive while performing their assigned military duties, killing, if necessary, to survive. Often, during a brief respite from trudging through swamps and rice paddies or jumping from a chopper into a hot landing zone, they would wander the streets of villages or even downtown Saigon, curiously photographing a people and a culture so strange and different to them. It is these photographs, of a kinder, more personal nature, removed from the horror and death of war that they also share with the reader. The accounts in this book come from twelve men, all who had their own unique perspective on the war. Some were seasoned photographers before the military, others had only recently held a camera for the first time.

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A.S.J. Tessimond (1902-1962) was one of the most individual, versatile and approachable voices in 20th century poetry. Influenced at first by the Imagists, his poetry is remarkable for its lucidity and formal exactness and for its witty, humane depiction of life in the modern city. Out of step with his contemporaries - both Pound and Eliot as well as Auden and his followers - Tessimond was always a marginalised figure, publishing only three collections in his lifetime, one in each decade from 1934 to 1958. Yet his work has been popular enough to be included in numerous anthologies and has been a perennial favourite with listeners of radio programmes such as Poetry Please. This edition is a long awaited reissue of the posthumous Collected Poems edited by his friend the writer Hubert Nicholson, who characterised his poems as 'beautiful, shapely, well wrought and elegant, whether in public of private mode', penetrating the heart of both London and England: 'His hallmark, his unique contribution to the body poetic, is to be found in those poems encapsulating urban types - and the institutions that shape and demarcate their lives, the popular press and radio, films, money, advertising, houses, tube stations, the implacable streets...He wrote a good deal about love, its hopes and ecstasies and its frustrations and sadness.' As Nicholson has pointed out, Tessimond wrote many poems in the first person, 'but they are not in the least egotistical. They are imaginative projections of himself into types, places, generalised Man, even God or Fate.' He was 'entirely a man of the city', his 'landscape' pieces depicting Hyde Park Corner, Chelsea Embankment, a Paris cafe and even an overcrowded bus in Jamaica. 'He loved the life around him and was a meditative as well as an observant man. He reflected, and reflected on, the passing show, kindly, honestly, and with wit and wisdom.' Tessimond has been described as an eccentric, a night-lifer, loner and flaneur. He loved women, was always falling in love, but never married. He suffered from frequent bouts of depression, alleviated neither by a succession of psychiatrists nor by electric shock therapy. The fact that he was plagued by self-doubt and was fiercely critical of his own work must have contributed to his work being too little published and too much neglected, despite being championed by an extraordinary variety of admirers, from Michael Roberts, John Lehmann and Ceri Richards to Bernard Levin, Maggie Smith, Bill Deedes and Trevor McDonald. Maggie Smith read his poem 'Heaven' at the funeral of Bernard Levin, for whom Tessimond was 'a quiet voice, which makes it easy to miss the resonances, but they are there, and although I doubt if he will achieve a widespread fame, I am sure that any future anthology of twentieth-century English verse that does not include a sample of his work will be less complete, less representative and less valuable than it might have been.' In an obituary for The Times, Tessimond's friend, the critic George Rostrevor Hamilton, said he was 'modest about his poetry, and sometimes thought it too small to be worthwhile. But over and above a dry wit and fancy, he had an exquisite feeling for words, meticulous but, like himself, without affectation. In his own way he was unrivalled.'

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Das Kernthema "fehlende phonologische Bewusstheit" wird am Beispiel von Schülern, mit deren Störungen die phonetisch-phonologische Ausgangsproblematik deutlich gemacht wird, anschaulich und nachvollziehbar dargestellt. Eingebettet in die Geschichte der Legasthenieforschung, erklärt die Autorin das Zustandekommen der phonologischen Bewusstheit im Sprachentwicklungsprozess. Dabei geht es ihr sowohl um gelungene wie auch um die gestörte Sprachentwicklungen im Kindesalter. Abgerundet wird der Inhalt durch Präventions- und Fördermöglichkeiten in der Familie und in (vor)schulischen Einrichtungen. Diese Thematik wird besonders anschaulich, da sie durch einen ausführlich dargestellten ungewöhnlichen Fall illustriert und emotional nahe gebracht wird: Der Schüler Mervin absolvierte im Sommer 2013 sein Abitur als einer der Klassenbesten. Der gleiche Junge konnte im dritten Schuljahr weder lesen noch schreiben. Jegliche Textaufgaben mussten ihm bei Klassenarbeiten vorgelesen werden. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Festigung der phonologischen Bewusstheit und die damit verbundene Anbahnung des Lesens und Schreibens bei Mervin. Die Schwierigkeiten und langsam aber nachhaltig einsetzenden Erfolge eines mehrjährigen Therapieprozesses werden für den Leser nachvollziehbar gemacht. Daneben geht es um Möglichkeiten und Grenzen phonologisch orientierter Methoden wie Anlauttabelle, Silbenschwingen oder Lautgebärden, die in Grund- und Förderschulen praktiziert werden und daher für Lehrer bedeutsam sind. Auch erfährt der Leser von den Schwierigkeiten Mervins und anderer "Lernhilfeschüler" in unserem Schulsystem zu einem ihrer Intelligenz angemessenen Schulabschluss zu gelangen. M. musste zunächst die Hauptschule besuchen, der Weg zum Abitur glich einer schulischen Achterbahnfahrt. Das Buch richtet sich vornehmlich an Eltern und Lehrer betroffener Schüler, aber auch an Erzieher und Therapeuten. Es macht Schülern mit besonderen Lernschwierigkeiten und ihren Eltern Mut, niemals aufzugeben.

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In 1765, Mirza Sheikh I'tesamuddin, a Bengali munchi employed by the East India Company, travelled on a mission to Britain to seek protection for the Mogul Emperor Shah Alam II. The mission was aborted by the greed and duplicity of Robert Clive, but it resulted in this remarkable account of the Mirza's travels in Britain and Europe.Written in Persian, 'Shigurf Nama-e-Vilayet' or 'Wonderful Tales about Europe' is an entertaining, unique and culturally valuable document. The Mirza was in no sense a colonial subject, and whilst he wrote frankly about what he felt accounted for India's decline and Europe's contemporary ascendance, he was a highly educated, culturally self-confident observer with a sharp and quizzical curiosity about the alien cultures he encountered. His accounts of visits to the theatre, the circus, freakshows, the 'mardrassah of Oxford', Scotland, of the racial alarms his presence sometimes provoked and of his impressions of British moral codes (including the 'filthy habits of the firinghees') make for fascinating reading.There is, too, embedded in the narrative, a touching and cautionary account of the Mirza's relationship with Captain Swinton, with whom he travelled from India and who was his regular companion in Britain. Swinton was evidently kindly and generous, but by the end of the Mirza's stay, the friendship has broken down, chiefly over Swinton's refusal to take the Mirza's Islamic faith and cultural identity seriously.Kaiser Haq's scholarly, modern translation is the first to appear in English since the original 'abridged and flawed translation' which appeared in 1827. The Wonders of Vilayet is an important document, a salutary addition to Western accounts of the 'Otherness' of India, orientalism in reverse.Kaiser Haq was born in what later became Bangladesh, for the creation of which he fought as an officer in the war of liberation. He is a poet and translator and is currently Professor of English at Dhaka University.

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A FINANCIAL TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘Fascinating . . . a refreshing counterblast to many popular ideas about wellbeing’ Prospect‘Excellent . . . anyone reading it will come away with a kinder, better understanding of themselves’ Lucy FoulkesThere are many routes to mental wellbeing and award-winning neuroscientist Camilla Nord is at the forefront of finding them. In this ground-breaking book, she offers a revelatory tour of the scientific and technological developments that are revolutionizing the way we think about mental health, showing why and how events - and treatments - can affect people in such different ways.In The Balanced Brain, Nord reframes mental health as an intricate, self-regulating process, one which is different for all of us. She examines a huge diversity of treatments, from therapy and medication to recreational drugs and electrical brain stimulation, to show how they work, and why they sometimes don't. In doing so, she reveals how the small things we do to lift our mood during the course of a day - a piece of chocolate, a coffee, chatting to a friend - often work on the same pathways in our brain as the latest pharmacological treatments for mental health disorders. Whether they help us to manage pain, learn from experience or expend energy on the things that are important for our survival, these conscious actions are part of a complex process that is unique to each individual and the constant backdrop to our everyday lives.Nord shows that, with so many factors at play, there are more possibilities for recovery and resilience than we might think. Whether you're suffering or simply doing your best to stay afloat, this book is an invitation to discover what makes each of us feel better, and why. 'Compelling, revolutionary, compassionate . . . down-to-earth and insightful’ Irish Times

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Robert of Arbrissel (d. 1117) once named Cluny among the chief holy places of Christendom—just after Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Rome. When Peter the Venerable (d. 1156) became the ninth abbot of Cluny in 1122, Cluny had thousands of monks in the mother abbey and her daughter cells, along with hundreds of affiliated houses and dependencies in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Holy Land. As a fierce advocate for Cluny against its detractors (which included the redoubtable Bernard of Clairvaux), Peter defended his Order at the same time that he reformed its customs.Peter the Venerable’s extensive literary legacy includes poems, a large epistolary collection, and polemical treatises. The first of his four major polemics targeted a Christian heresy, the Petrobrussians (Against the Petrobrusians); the rest took aim at Jews and Saracens. Catholic University of America Press has published his Against the Inveterate Obduracy of the Jews. This present volume will make available in their entiretyPeter the Venerable’s twin polemics against Islam—A Summary of the entire heresy of the Saracens and Against the sect of the Saracens—as well as related correspondence. These works resulted from a sustained engagement with Islam begun during Peter’s journey to Spain in 1142–43. There the abbot commissioned a translation of sources from the Arabic, the so-called Toledan Collection, that include the Letter of a Saracen with a Christian Response (from the Apology of [Ps.] Al-Kindi); Fables of the Saracens (a potpourri of Islamic hadith traditions); and Robert of Ketton’s first Latin translation of the whole of the Qur’an. Thanks to Peter’s efforts, from the second half of the twelfth century Christians could acquire a far better understanding of the teachings of Islam, and Peter may rightly be viewed as the initiator of Islamic studies in the West.

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What percentage of the printed and online media is dedicated to celebrity culture today? A tricky calculation; but there is no doubt that the percentage was pretty high when mass media first acquired a recognisably modern form in the Regency period. Peter James Bowman shows how, following the outrageous fame of Lord Byron, an interest in the foibles rather than the achievements of prominent individuals was kindled and sustained by newspapers, satirical prints and society gossip. Here are five pen-portraits of colourful men and women who played leading roles in their day but whose reputations subsequently faded, figures who for this reason better represent their age than those whose importance transcends it. Their peculiar spheres of activity – the stage, politics, diplomacy, art, literature and fashion – are also explored. Harriot Mellon, the illegitimate daughter of a wardrobe-keeper in a company of strolling players, married the elderly banker Thomas Coutts; seven years later, she was the richest widow in the land and a target of ferocious abuse. Dorothea Lieven, the Russian ambassador’s wife, used her intellect, dignity and a talent for flattery to entrance numerous statesmen and become a force in British politics. Richard Grenville, Duke of Buckingham, was a corrupt parliamentarian who squandered a vast income and caused the decline of the mighty Grenville dynasty. Lady Charlotte Bury was mocked by Thackeray as ‘Lady Flummery’ because of her execrable novels – but she was a great beauty who married for love not once, but twice. Sir Thomas Lawrence deserved his eminence as an artist, but had to use all his charm and courtliness to conceal the potentially explosive secrets of his private life. Here is a cast of characters to savour, one that reveals the realities of the period as no Austen novel could.

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Twenty step-by-step eco-projects for budding preschool ecologists!Calling all mini eco-warriors and their parents! This fun and exciting book is filled with nature-themed eco-projects for kids. It's a gentle introduction to topical issues in the world today, like climate change, conservation and recycling - ideal for curious kids who want to make a difference.Look, I'm an Ecologist allows young readers to do what they do best: imagine, create, learn, problem-solve, and play their way to a greener planet. Inside you'll find:- A wide range of activities with an environmental focus is supported by simple information, so young readers understand the issues faced by our planet in a play-based, hands-on and child-friendly context.- Easy-to-find and internationally available materials and resources.- Projects designed to be shared and enjoyed by children and parents or carers.- Visual step-by-step instructions allow young children to access every part of the activity - from set-up to sensory exploration and conclusion, making them actively responsible for their learning. - An expertly written book by environmentalist and zoo learning manager Cathriona Hickey, who has vast experience in communicating science and ecology topics to young children.This charming arts and crafts book for kids will help them discover that they already have what they need to become an ecologist: a curious mind, unlimited imagination and super senses! Little ones can explore a wide range of projects, including building a bird feeder, making compost, painting pebbles, weaving a spider's web, growing plants and even building a model of a rockpool!The practical activities support preschool and kindergarten curriculums with clear pictures and easy-to-follow instructions. This nature book for kids will show them how fun it is to be green and use their senses to explore the natural world!DK's Look! I'm Learning series of exciting and educational STEM books, focusing on the sensory experience of practical learning and play and finding science in everyday activities. Hands-on learning experiences tap straight into kids' insatiable curiosity and sense of wonder. Try the other titles in the series next, including Look I'm A Cook, Look I'm A Maths Wizard, and Look I'm An Engineer.

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Dauernd müde und erschöpft ohne ersichtlichen Grund? Wir fragen uns was dahinter stecken könnte. Fehlt dem Körper das Eisen oder sind die Hormone schuld? Sind wir erschöpft, weil wir zu viel "am Hals haben" und wissen nicht wie uns entlasten? Oder steckt doch eine unheimliche Krankheit dahinter? Solche Fragen gehen einem durch den Kopf, wenn Körper und der Geist nicht mehr wollen. Der Gang zum Arzt bringt vielleicht nicht die gewünschte Antwort, sondern verunsichert noch mehr. Vermeintliche Lösungen entpuppen sich als Strohfeuer. Rasch fühlt man sich auf die psychosomatische Schiene geschoben, doch auch dies beunruhigt. Hat man gründlich genug nach einer körperlichen Ursache gesucht? Was kommt denn alles in Frage? Kann ich dem Arzt vertrauen? Ist es denn Burnout und ist das eine richtige Krankheit? Kann ich mir selber helfen oder muss sich zum Psychotherapeuten? Was kann und darf ich dort erwarten und welche Möglichkeiten gibt es? Gibt es überzeugende psychologische Erklärungsmodelle für anhaltende Müdigkeit und Erschöpfung? Auf all diese Fragen geht der erfahrene Psychiater und Psychotherapeut Peter Keel, der sich seit Jahren mit stressbedingten Krankheiten wie Fibromyalgie und Müdigkeitssyndrom, aber auch Schlafstörungen befasst, anschaulich und leicht verständlich, aber auch wissenschaftlich begründet ein. Er gibt nicht nur Erklärungen, sondern auch einen Leitfaden für den Umgang mit Stress und Erschöpfung . Er spannt den Bogen weiter zu den Hintergründen von erschöpfendem Verhalten in der Kindheit und erklärt, weshalb es so schwierig sein kann, sich damit auseinander zu setzen. Zudem zeigt er auch, dass die Zunahme stressbedingter Krankheiten eine Erscheinung unserer schnelllebigen Zeit ist, in welcher immer mehr in immer weniger Zeit mit weniger Mitteln erreicht werden sollte.

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People who saw the first moving pictures at the end of the nineteenth century were delighted by a new art that communicated without words – yet they were also alarmed to be witnessing events in a strange, mute, spectral realm, where the laws of time and space were suspended and magical transformations could occur. Some early commentators hailed cinema as a blessing and praised it for resurrecting the dead; others likened it to a hypnotic trance or a hallucinogenic drug. The medium has always been excited by speed, and it enjoys sending the body on furious kinetic chases; at the same time, it stealthily probes our minds, invading our dreams and titillating our desires. Although this is an art kindled by light and inflamed by colour, it is nurtured by darkness and can reduce life to an insubstantial shadow play. Either way, as Peter Conrad argues in this brilliant book, the movie camera has given us new eyes and changed forever our view of reality. The Mysteries of Cinema sets out to map this ambiguous territory by taking readers on a thematic roller-coaster ride through movie history. Directors and critics speculate about the nature of cinematic vision, and there are contributions to the debate from writers like Kafka, Virginia Woolf and Joan Didion, artists including Salvador Dalí, George Grosz and Fernand Léger, and the composers Arnold Schoenberg and Dmitri Shostakovich. The book begins from the audacious innovations of silent film, and examines the influence of French surrealism and German expressionism; it accounts for the appeal of Hollywood genres like the Western, the horror film and the musical, and ends by considering the fate of the moving image in our visually glutted society. Combining contagious enthusiasm with an eye for the subjective quirks of filmmakers and the allure of favourite performers, Conrad delivers an astonishing addition to the literature on the seventh art. With 61 illustrations

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How do you know if they’re The One (after The One)?Charley’s in a new relationship with perfect boyfriend, Ricky, slowly moving on from the death of her husband. But having only ever been in love once before, how can she know when it’s the real deal? Ricky is perfect, but she’s not convinced he’s perfect for her… Taking the bull by the horns after separating from her cheating husband, Pam has signed up for online dating. And it’s exhausting. She’s determined to find new love, yet she can’t help feeling that she’s repeating old patterns.Are Pam and Charley settling down, or just settling? They need to figure it out, fast. Otherwise, they might just lose The One – or even worse, lose themselves.A beautifully uplifting story of second chances and taking risks for fans of Libby Page, Marian Keyes and Ruth Hogan.Praise for The One After the One ‘A gentle tale of love, loss, perseverance and friendship. I read it in one sitting.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘It had me hooked from the first chapter, and kept me on my toes the entire time! I fell in love with the characters and the romance.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘A touching read about friends, grief, moving forward, discovering an unbreakable bond, and finding true happiness again. Very written well, Lester held my attention and had me glued to my Kindle.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘The One After the One is a fast paced story of friendship, love, and second chances. It's a beautifully written book with characters you can't not warm to and care about.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘A quick, easy and cute read that was both heart-warming and heart-wrenching in equal measure. Well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

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In the war against Hitler every secret counts… ‘Shines a light on a part of the British war effort I’d previously not been aware of…a fascinating, informative and heartwarming novel, and I loved it’ The New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller Jill Mansell Society heiress Evelyn Brooke-Edwards is a skilled interrogator – her beauty making her a non-threat in the eyes of the prisoners. Farm girl Betty Connors may not be able to type as she claimed, but her crack analytical skills soon find her unearthing covert connections. German ex-pat Judith Stern never expected to find herself listening in to German POW’s whispered conversations, but the Nazis took her father from her so she will do whatever it takes to help the Allies end this war. Billeted together in the attic of Latimer House – a place where secrets abound – Evelyn, Betty and Judith soon form a bond of friendship that carries them through the war. Because nothing is stronger than women united. Tucked away in the Buckinghamshire countryside, Latimer House, a grand country estate, stands proudly – a witness to some of greatest secrets of WW2. Used by the SOE to hold Nazi prisoners of war, this stunning historical novel is inspired by the untold story of the secret listeners of ‘M Room’ who worked day and night to help the Allies win the war. A must-read for fans of Mandy Robotham, Fiona Valpy and Kate Quinn. Readers love The Secrets of Latimer House: ‘Freaking fabulous! Five perfect stars for this perfect book!…The writing was wowza. So beautifully done. It flowed amazingly and honestly I couldn't tear my eyes from my Kindle’ Rubie ‘A truly fabulous read, full of drama intrigue and three fabulous characters’ Jeanie ‘I really enjoy this type of book which brings strong women together in exceptional circumstances, and this one did not disappoint’ Angela ‘This five-star read is the first historical fiction novel for Jules Wake and I think you’ll agree with me it’s a real treat for lovers of this genre!!!’ Norma ‘An excellent WWII-era historical fiction novel that is gripping, suspenseful, and engaging. I really enjoyed it!’ Rachel

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Americans imagined tea as central to their revolution. After years of colonial boycotts against the commodity, the Sons of Liberty kindled the fire of independence when they dumped tea in the Boston harbor in 1773. To reject tea as a consumer item and symbol of "taxation without representation" was to reject Great Britain as master of the American economy and government. But tea played a longer and far more complicated role in American economic history than the events at Boston suggest. In The Trouble with Tea, historian Jane T. Merritt explores tea as a central component of eighteenth-century global trade and probes its connections to the politics of consumption. Arguing that tea caused trouble over the course of the eighteenth century in a number of different ways, Merritt traces the multifaceted impact of that luxury item on British imperial policy, colonial politics, and the financial structure of merchant companies. Merritt challenges the assumption among economic historians that consumer demand drove merchants to provide an ever-increasing supply of goods, thus sparking a consumer revolution in the early eighteenth century. The Trouble with Tea reveals a surprising truth: that concerns about the British political economy, coupled with the corporate machinations of the East India Company, brought an abundance of tea to Britain, causing the company to target North America as a potential market for surplus tea. American consumers only slowly habituated themselves to the beverage, aided by clever marketing and the availability of Caribbean sugar. Indeed, the "revolution" in consumer activity that followed came not from a proliferation of goods, but because the meaning of these goods changed. By the 1750s, British subjects at home and in America increasingly purchased and consumed tea on a daily basis; once thought a luxury, tea had become a necessity. This fascinating look at the unpredictable path of a single commodity will change the way readers look at both tea and the emergence of America.

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#1 New Release in LGBT Studies and Biographies & Memoirs ─ Stories to Help You PersevereLive Through the Hardships: Life is complicated and messy, but every now and then life gives you a syndicated talk show on a major network – and then fires you for being “all icing and no cake.” Then it sends your born-again Christian sister to take you out to lunch on your birthday, only to tell you she suddenly believes you can pray the gay away and that you should’ve used your time on the show do more for Christ. Then, because there’s always another “then,” you receive a tax bill from Uncle Sam that almost sends you out your tenth-floor bathroom window…literally. Luckily, AJ Gibson chose to step back and share his struggles because, well…not today Satan! He knows what it’s like when life feels like a never-ending roller coaster, and in his self-help book Flipping the Script, he doesn’t sugar coat the truth. After all, this isn’t Hollywood, errr…anymore. Know You’re Not Alone: AJ’s journey from a closeted gay boy from Ohio to that guy people kinda, sorta recognize from TV and Hollywood seems glossy, but the truth is anything but. In Flipping the Script, AJ shows how his life has been a series of personal roadblocks and rock bottom moments. Every time he thinks he’s in the clear, he finds a new way to crash and burn. Let’s just say insecurity was once a pretty close friend of his, so he knows what you feel like whenever you find yourself scrolling social media comparing yourself to others. Luckily, he’s a pretty smart guy and moderately witty, always finding his way out of life’s rock bottom moments – and you can too! Turn Bad Situations Around: AJ has a gift for shifting his perspective, turning crappy situations around and finding a way to persevere each time the world seems to be telling him he was born to fail. Through all of the mess, all of the hardships, he somehow manages to keep a smile on his face and a roof over his head. He also knows that we all have problems and he’s here to help. The true stories in Flipping the Script will make you laugh, encourage you to keep fighting for happiness and inspire you to turn your own rock bottom moments into your proudest accomplishments! Feel Empowered: AJ’s “Hollywood” situation may be unique, but his struggles are definitely relatable. After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find a person who has achieved success without problems – especially in the LGBTQ community. As a proud gay man working in the entertainment capital of the world, AJ’s personal and professional stories will leave you feeling empowered and a little less defeated. Flipping the Script will give you the strength to overcome your own personal roadblocks. In his book, AJ shares tips and tricks in the form of “Script Rewrites” at the end of each chapter that will help you persevere and find your true purpose. Flipping the Script will rip your heart out, make you want to fight somebody, and leave you feeling like you can solve world hunger – all in a single chapter. You will: feel deeply connected, knowing you’re not alone in your struggles have simple, real world tools to help you bounce back and live the life you were created to live see yourself as the wonderful, creative, capable human being that you have always been – but forgot somewhere along the way

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A perilous mission. An unforgivable betrayal. A secret lost in time… 1584: Elizabeth I rules England. But a dangerous plot is brewing in court, and Mary Queen of Scots will stop at nothing to take her cousin’s throne. There’s only one thing standing in her way: Tom, the queen’s trusted apothecary, who makes the perfect silent spy… 2021: Travelling the globe in her campervan, Mathilde has never belonged anywhere. So when she receives news of an inheritance, she is shocked to discover she has a family in England. Just like Mathilde, the medieval hall she inherits conceals secrets, and she quickly makes a haunting discovery. Can she unravel the truth about what happened there all those years ago? And will she finally find a place to call home? Enchanting and gripping, The Queen’s Spy effortlessly merges past with present in an unforgettable tale of love, courage and betrayal – perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley and Kathryn Hughes. Readers love The Queen’s Spy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Every so often you come across a book that you know will never leave you. This is one of those books… will stay with me for a long time to come and is most certainly one of my favourites.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I adored [this]… had me hooked from the first page and when I wasn’t reading it, I found myself thinking about it... A truly wonderful read, it is my favourite book of the year!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Where to start! I loved this book so much – I couldn’t put it down but was loathe to finish it.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Utterly beautiful, a real page turner! I took this book camping with me and was so grateful that it was on my kindle paperwhite because I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading it until almost 3am!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely brilliant, I loved it!… If I could give it more than five stars I would!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This book was one I couldn't put down. I read it in a day… it’s left me wanting more.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow!…. Simply stunning! I was absolutely hooked right from the beginning!’ Reader review

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A TIMES CRIME CLUB ⭐STAR PICK⭐ and AMAZON and KINDLE BESTSELLER! ‘Fantastic. Excellent. Incredible. I could not put this one down for the life of me.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review ‘A stunner! Without a doubt, one of the best crime novels of the year!’ – No.1 international bestseller Jeffery Deaver In search of a new life, seventeen-year-old Adriana Clark’s family moves to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. Then she goes missing. Faced with hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque. Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before. The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die? Beautifully haunting with twists and turns you’ll never see coming, The Last Girl to Die is your next obsession waiting to happen. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride and L.J. Ross. ‘Oh my goodness, I absolutely and totally loved this book. Outstanding and compelling, it gave me whiplash from all the twists and turns.’ – million-copy bestseller Angela Marsons ‘An adroit and highly atmospheric mystery.’ – Times Crime Club ‘Fields has a knack of keeping you gripped for hours.’ – The Sun ‘Gloriously dark and twisty.’ – Fabulous Readers absolutely LOVE The Last Girl to Die! ‘Fantastic. Excellent. Incredible. I could not put this one down for the life of me.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What rollercoaster ride this was. I love it when a book shocks me the way this did.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Breathtaking. Twists and turns galore. I couldn’t put it down, I loved it.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A tense, twisty, phenomenal read!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Haunting. Breathtaking shocks, unforeseen twists, and an emotionally shattering conclusion.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Twisty, unpredictable and kept me guessing the whole time.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Breathtakingly brilliant… The ending left me stunned.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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‘Extremely fast paced and completely page-turning … will stay in my mind for a long time’ Sunday Times bestseller B P Walter on The Good Neighbour The Removal Man is an utterly unputdownable suspense thriller that imagines your worst house-moving nightmare – and then dials it up to 11. Rose is moving. For her and her son, Noah, this is going to be a fresh start. She’s almost finished packing but Noah is determined to spend one last night camping out in the garden like he used to. Rose agrees as long as he wraps up warm inside their small tent. Four hours later she’s woken by a frantic banging on the window. It’s Noah. There’s someone in the garden. That’s when Rose picks up the kitchen knife. Readers are loving The Removal Man: ‘I literally could not stop reading’Julie, NetGalley ‘I read it over the course of about 8 hours in a single day!’Shasta, NetGalley ‘Geez my poor heart!! It’s still pounding!! I was yelling at my Kindle!! She wasn’t listening to me! It’s gonna take me a minute to calm myself down!’Debbie, NetGalley ‘WOW!! What an action packed, edge of your seat thriller … I barely blinked as I read the entire book in one sitting’Sarah, NetGalley ‘I intended to read a couple of chapters before bed and didn’t look up again until I hit chapter 20’April, NetGalley ‘I read the whole thing in 24 hours’Jacqui, NetGalley ‘OMG WHAT A READ!!! Packed to the rafters with tension and suspense, I literally have no nails left’ Peggy, NetGalley ‘I read this in one sitting’Aria, NetGalley ‘Omg, wow … just wow, this is a fast paced, addictive, rollercoaster ride … with a very bad case of just one more chapter syndrome … I read the whole book in one sitting … would award it far more than five stars if I could’Nicki, NetGalley ‘A no-holds-barred survival thriller that will appeal to fans of No Exit or Mirrorland’Leighton, NetGalley ‘Everyone’s greatest nightmare, but worse! This is one of the scariest thrillers I’ve read in a long time’Joan, NetGalley

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This book addresses perceived lacunae in the historiography of the Land War in late nineteenth-century Ireland, particularly deficiencies or omissions relating to the themes of the title: famine, humanitarianism, and the activities of agrarian secret societies, commonly referred to as Moonlighting. The famine that afflicted the country in 1879-80, one generation removed from the catastrophic Great Famine of the 1840s, prompted different social responses. The wealthier sectors of society, their consciousness and humanitarianism awakened, provided the bulk of the financial and administrative support for the famine-stricken peasantry. Others, drawn from the same broad social stratum as the latter, vented their anger and frustration on the government and the landlords, whom they blamed for the crisis. The concern of marginal men and women for the welfare of their less fortunate brethren was not so much the antithesis of altruism, as a different, more rudimentary way of expressing it.The volume's opening chapter introduces the famine that tormented Ireland's Atlantic seaboard counties in the late 1870s and early 1880s. The four chapters that follow develop the famine theme, concentrating on the role of civic and religious relief agencies, and the local and international humanitarian response to appeals for assistance. The 1879-80 famine kindled benevolence among the diasporic Irish and the charitable worldwide, but it also provoked a more primal reaction, and the book's two closing chapters are devoted to the activities of secret societies. The first features the incongruously named Royal Irish Republic, a neo-Fenian combination in north-west County Cork. The volume's concluding essay links history and literature, positing a connection between agrarian secret society activity during the Land War years and the Kerry playwright George Fitzmaurice's neglected 1914 drama The Moonlighter. This original and engaging work makes a significant contribution to our understanding of modern Irish history and literature.

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Winner of the 2014 Guyana Prize for Fiction, Johnson's Dictionary is set variously in 18th century London and Demerara in British Guiana. It is a celebration of the skills of the enslaved as organisers, story-tellers, artists and mathematicians, hidden in the main from their white masters and mistresses, that is resonant with an undying human urge for freedom.Galley, gallery, gallimaufry: In a novel set in 18th century London and Demerara (in British Guiana), that might be dreamed or remembered by Manu, a revenant from Dabydeen’s epic poem, “Turner”, we meet slaves, lowly women on the make, lustful overseers, sodomites and pious Jews – characters who have somehow come alive from engravings by Hogarth and others.Hogarth himself turns up as a drunkard official artist in Demerara, from whom the slave Cato steals his skills and discovers a way of remaking his world.The transforming power of words is what enlightens Francis when his kindly (or possibly pederastic) master gifts him a copy of Johnson’s Dictionary, whilst the idiot savant, known as Mmadboy, reveals the uncanny mathematical skills that enable him to beat Adam Smith to the discovery of the laws of capital accumulation – and teach his fellow slaves their true financial worth. From the dens of sexual specialities where the ex-slave Francis conducts a highly popular flagellant mission to cure his clients of their man-love (and preach abolition), to the sugar estates of Demerara, Dabydeen’s novel revels in the connections of Empire, Art, Literature and human desire in ways that are comic, salutary and redemptive.David Dabydeen was born in Guyana in 1957. He is only the second West Indian writer, following VS Naipaul, to be named a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Turner: New and Selected Poems (Cape, 1994) was republished by Peepal Tree in 2002. His 1999 novel A Harlot's Progress was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His other novels include Disappearance (Peepal Tree, 2005) and Molly and the Muslim Stick (2008). He co-edited the Oxford Companion to Black British History (2007), and his documentaries on Guyana have appeared on BBC TV and radio. David is now Professor at the Centre for Caribbean Studies, University of Warwick.

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Americans imagined tea as central to their revolution. After years of colonial boycotts against the commodity, the Sons of Liberty kindled the fire of independence when they dumped tea in the Boston harbor in 1773. To reject tea as a consumer item and symbol of "taxation without representation" was to reject Great Britain as master of the American economy and government. But tea played a longer and far more complicated role in American economic history than the events at Boston suggest. In The Trouble with Tea, historian Jane T. Merritt explores tea as a central component of eighteenth-century global trade and probes its connections to the politics of consumption. Arguing that tea caused trouble over the course of the eighteenth century in a number of different ways, Merritt traces the multifaceted impact of that luxury item on British imperial policy, colonial politics, and the financial structure of merchant companies. Merritt challenges the assumption among economic historians that consumer demand drove merchants to provide an ever-increasing supply of goods, thus sparking a consumer revolution in the early eighteenth century. The Trouble with Tea reveals a surprising truth: that concerns about the British political economy, coupled with the corporate machinations of the East India Company, brought an abundance of tea to Britain, causing the company to target North America as a potential market for surplus tea. American consumers only slowly habituated themselves to the beverage, aided by clever marketing and the availability of Caribbean sugar. Indeed, the "revolution" in consumer activity that followed came not from a proliferation of goods, but because the meaning of these goods changed. By the 1750s, British subjects at home and in America increasingly purchased and consumed tea on a daily basis; once thought a luxury, tea had become a necessity. This fascinating look at the unpredictable path of a single commodity will change the way readers look at both tea and the emergence of America.

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Nnedi Okorafor was never supposed to be paralyzed. A college track star and budding entomologist, Nnedi’s lifelong battle with scoliosis was just a bump in her plan - something a simple surgery would easily correct. But when Nnedi wakes from the surgery to find she can’t move her legs, her entire sense of who she is begins to waver. Confined to a hospital bed for months, unusual things begin to happen. Psychedelic bugs crawl her hospital walls; strange dreams visit her nightly. She begins to feel as if she’s turning into a cyborg. Unsure if she’ll ever walk again, Nnedi begins to put these experiences into writing, conjuring up strange, fantastical stories. What Nnedi discovers during her confinement would prove to be the key to her life as a successful science fiction writer: In science fiction, when something breaks, something greater often emerges from the cracks. While she may be bedridden, instead of stopping her journey Nnedi’s paralysis opens up new windows in her mind, kindles her creativity and ultimately leads her to become more alive than she ever could have imagined. Nnedi takes the reader on a journey from her hospital bed deep into her memories, from her painful first experiences with racism as a child in Chicago to her powerful visits to her parents’ hometown in Nigeria, where she got her first inkling that science fiction has roots beyond the West. This was not the Africa that Nnedi knew from Western literature - an Africa that she always read was a place left behind. The role of technology in Nigeria opened her eyes to future-looking Africa: cable TV and cell phones in the village, 419 scammers occupying the cybercafés, the small generator connected to her cousin’s desktop computer, everyone quickly adapting to portable tech devices due to unreliable power sources. Nnedi could see that Africa was far from broken, as she’d been taught, and her experience there planted the early seeds of sci-fi - a genre that speculates about technologies, societies, and social issues - from an entirely new lens. In Broken Places & Outer Spaces, Nnedi uses her own experience as a jumping off point to follow the phenomenon of creativity born from hardship. From Frida Kahlo to Mary Shelly, she examines great artists and writers who have pushed through their limitations, using hardship to fuel their work. Through these compelling stories and her own, Nnedi reveals a universal truth: What we perceive as limitations have the potential to become our greatest strengths - far greater than when we were unbroken.

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Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and National Humanities Medalist Krista Tippett has interviewed the most extraordinary voices examining the great questions of meaning for our time. The heart of her work on her national public radio program and podcast, On Being, has been to shine a light on people whose insights kindle in us a sense of wonder and courage. Scientists in a variety of fields; theologians from an array of faiths; poets, activists, and many others have all opened themselves up to Tippett's compassionate yet searching conversation. In Becoming Wise, Tippett distills the insights she has gleaned from this luminous conversation in its many dimensions into a coherent narrative journey, over time and from mind to mind. The book is a master class in living, curated by Tippett and accompanied by a delightfully ecumenical dream team of teaching faculty. The open questions and challenges of our time are intimate and civilizational all at once, Tippett says - definitions of when life begins and when death happens, of the meaning of community and family and identity, of our relationships to technology and through technology. The wisdom we seek emerges through the raw materials of the everyday. And the enduring question of what it means to be human has now become inextricable from the question of who we are to each other. This book offers a grounded and fiercely hopeful vision of humanity for this century - of personal growth but also renewed public life and human spiritual evolution. It insists on the possibility of a common life for this century marked by resilience and redemption, with beauty as a core moral value and civility and love as muscular practice. Krista Tippett's great gift, in her work and in Becoming Wise, is to avoid reductive simplifications but still find the golden threads that weave people and ideas together into a shimmering braid. One powerful common denominator of the lessons imparted to Tippett is the gift of presence, of the exhilaration of engagement with life for its own sake, not as a means to an end. But presence does not mean passivity or acceptance of the status quo. Indeed Tippett and her teachers are people whose work meets, and often drives, powerful forces of change alive in the world today. In the end, perhaps the greatest blessing conveyed by the lessons of spiritual genius Tippett harvests in Becoming Wise is the strength to meet the world where it really is, and then to make it better.

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