Believing Is Seeing is a work of multicultural scope and glittering intelligence that bridges the gulf between classical Japanese painting and the films of Spike Lee, between high theory and pop culture. Probing beyond the rhetorical surface of standard art histories and drawing on a panoramic array of illustrative material, Mary Anne Staniszewski throws a fresh light on individual works and the often mystifying criteria by which they are valued.

    Reflecting the political craft of a leading statesman and the urbane wit of a man who associated with Pope, Addison, and Swift, Lord Chesterfield's Letters reveal the author's political cynicism, his views on good breeding, and instruction to his son in etiquette and the worldly arts. The only annotated selection of this breadth available in paperback, these entertaining letters illuminate the fascinating aspects of eighteenth-century life and manners.

    Written in a warm and conversational way that is, at times, deeply moving, at times, surprisingly amusing, and always practical, it covers a wide range of issues facing people in grief. Marasco and Shuff have done the footwork for readers who wish to know more about this complex subject. Using a variety of sources, including books, films, music and many hours spent talking with people in grief, the authors distill their candid insights into a series of short, single-topic-essays that can be easily digested in one sitting--a format they found grieving people preferred. This is not a book written by clinicians, so there's no cold jargon. It's not a memoir of one individual's grief, so it has something for everyone. And it's not a self-peddling inspirational book. It's a wise, plain-spoken, comforting book about an intimidating topic. As one reader recently said of About Grief: "Reading this book is like having a smart, entertaining friend around--at a time when you really need one."

    . . Stein develops the cartographical metaphor of the title by beginning with the "surface" (ego) of the psyche and exploring successively more complex areas, including complexes, libido thoery, shadow, "anima/us," the self, individuation, and synchronicity. The map soon resembles the multidisciplinary chart of a solar system more than it does a flat map. In each subject area, Stein draws heavily on papers that Jung wrote late in his life, but he sets these in the context of Jung's earlier developing thought. This method allows the author to demonstrate the interconnectedness and coherence of Jung's mature work. -- Choice, 10/15/98Stein could just as aptly have named his introductory guide "Jung's Art of the Soul," for the course the founder of analytical psychology charted also has the intuitive sweep of an artist on an inner journey integrated within a systematic framework of techniques. Though acknowledging Jung's creative, intuitive approach to fathoming the mysteries of the individual and collective human psyche, the author presents a solid case for the basic coherency and empirical underpinnings of the great psychoanalyst's theory-counter to those who viewed him as more of a mystic or philosopher who espoused: "As within, so without." Territory consciously omitted from this psychic map concern his analytic practice and interpretation of culture, history, and religion. Organized like a graduate thesis, all the major concepts that evolved over Jung's lengthy career are lucidly summarized with some contextual details: ego-consciousness, complexes, libido theory, archetypes, persona/shadow, anima/animus, the self, individuation, and synchronicity. While this presentation is eminently more accessible than most Jungian texts-and Stein does preface it with personal remarks about his long-time attraction to Jung-those who seek a sense of Jung's own voice and personal development in his quest for answers to many of life's enigmas will have their appetites whet to explore further. -- From Independent Publisher

    Buscaglia's informative and amusing lectures, which were delivered worldwide between 1970 and 1981. This inspirational treasure is for all those eager to accept the challenge of life and to profit from the wonder of love.

    Tables, desks, chairs, and cabinets from this simple workshop grace the homes and mansions and executive boardrooms of people who prize such excellence. In this lavishly illustrated volume, George Nakashima allows us in intimate look at his artistry, his philosophy, his life. It is the portrait of an artisan who strives to find the ideal use for each plank in order to "create an object of utility to man and, if nature smiles, an object of lasting beauty."The author's search for the meaning of life took him as a young man to Paris, Tokyo, and Pondicherry, India. In India, he found the inner peace for which he had been searching and began to find ways to work with timber. He writes movingly about the grandeur of ancient trees and stunning figured woods and explains how he selects and prepares his materials. Above all, he impresses us with his devotion to discovering the inherent beauty of wood so that noble trees might have a second life as furniture. The Soul of a Tree looks at the world through the eyes of an artist and evokes the joy of living in harmony with nature.

    The tragedy is not that life is short but that we often see only in hindsight what really matters. In this, her first book on life and living, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross joins with David Kessler to guide us through the practical and spiritual lessons we need to learn so that we can live life to its fullest in every moment. Many years of working with the dying have shown the authors that certain lessons come up over and over again. Some of these lessons are enormously difficult to master, but even the attempts to understand them can be deeply rewarding. Here, in fourteen accessible chapters, from the Lesson of Love to the Lesson of Happiness, the authors reveal the truth about our fears, our hopes, our relationships, and, above all, about the grandness of who we really are.

    If you find yourself struggling to live up to, or even enjoy, these non-stop social expectations, then this book is for you.Written for highly sensitive people, the book explains the characteristics of being highly sensitive and how to overcome common difficulties, such as low self-esteem and the exhausting effects of socialising. Ilse Sand also encourages you to explore and appreciate the advantages of high sensitivity, including your aptitude for depth, intensity and presence, and suggests activities to calm and inspire.

    The entire run has been collected in nine trade paperback editions. The final monthly issue, number 66, was published in July 2000.Preacher follows the story of Preacher Jesse Custer, his best friend, and his girlfriend, as they explore a world that fuses Southern culture and supernatural elements, especially religious ones, in a way that is highly provocative, exploratory, and controversial.Preacher draws on movies, particularly Westerns, for many of its stylistic elements.

    It's a known fact at Madison High that Ryder is down for pretty much everything- the stories written on the bathroom stalls are law, after all. Her infamy doesn't stop her from holding a place at the top of Madison High's food chain, though, until something happens at Georgia Brenner's annual New Year's Eve party.All anyone knows is that Ryder was seen being led into a room by Ryan Morgan, Georgia's on again off again, and Mason Brenner, Georigia's twin brother, and that, two hours later, Ryder Burle was at the Hospital.But who will believe the school slut when she cries rape?Weston Stark is the new kid in school. The son of a lawyer, he knows that Ryder should be able to tell her side of the story, no matter what the rumors about her imply. The problem is that no one else is willing to listen.

    Retold and redefined in this volume is the origin of the Spectre, the most powerful being in the universe. As the Wrath of God bonded on a human soul, the Spectre roams the Earth in order to confront evil and avenge the unavenged dead as a form of penance. Paying for his earthly sins, the Spectre must not only oppose evil but also understand why men commit it. Once this metaphysical journey is completed, his mortal soul will be freed and another will be called upon on this holy mission of redemption.

    

    His story of three friends at university lightly flavored with the occult features some of the best dialogue in comics, and we couldn't help but think it's like Monty Python goes to college. Sign us up! WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: John Allison's daily webcomics are hilarious, the kind of strips where every panel makes you laugh out loud. As a result, John has earned a large, loyal following of readers that have followed his work daily for the past 12 years. This is a series fans of things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scott Pilgrim, or Gunnerkrigg Court will not want to miss. WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Susan, Esther, and Daisy started at university three weeks ago and became fast friends because their dorm rooms were next to each other. Now, away from home for the first time, all three want to reinvent themselves. But in the face of hand-wringing boys, "personal experimentation," influenza, mystery-mold, nu-chauvinism, and the willful, unwanted intrusion of "academia," they may be lucky just to make it to spring alive.

    Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, of which the Dalai Lama is a founding benefactor. But back then his life was at a dead end until at twelve he wandered into a magic shop looking for a plastic thumb. Instead he met Ruth, a woman who taught him a series of exercises to ease his own suffering and manifest his greatest desires. Her final mandate was that he keep his heart open and teach these techniques to others. She gave him his first glimpse of the unique relationship between the brain and the heart.Doty would go on to put Ruth’s practices to work with extraordinary results—power and wealth that he could only imagine as a twelve-year-old, riding his orange Sting-Ray bike. But he neglects Ruth’s most important lesson, to keep his heart open, with disastrous results—until he has the opportunity to make a spectacular charitable contribution that will virtually ruin him. Part memoir, part science, part inspiration, and part practical instruction, Into the Magic Shop shows us how we can fundamentally change our lives by first changing our brains and our hearts.

    If you’re one of the latter, you don’t just get sent to Hell, you get sent to Hell and get assigned a job collecting the souls of some of the worst people on Earth. Such is the career path of a young woman named Scarlet, who dies and is delivered down to the fiery underworld only to find herself in an entry level position as…The Grim Reaper!