Confessions of a Medical Heretic


Robert S. Mendelsohn - 1979
    Covers issues from unnecessary surgeries and prescribed drugs to preventive medicine and home births.

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes


Amin Maalouf - 1983
    He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today.

Eastern Approaches


Fitzroy Maclean - 1949
    Here Fitzroy Maclean recounts his extraordinary adventures in Soviet Central Asia, in the Western Desert, where he specialized in hair-raising commando-style raids behind enemy lines, and with Tito's partisans during the last months of the German occupation of Yugoslavia. An enthralling narrative, brilliantly told, "Eastern Approaches" is also a vivid personal view of episodes that have already become part of history.

Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire


Jason Goodwin - 1998
    Islamic, martial, civilized, and tolerant, it advanced in three centuries from the dusty foothills of Anatolia to rule on the Danube and the Nile; at its height, Indian rajahs and the kings of France beseeched the empire's aid. In its last three hundred years the empire seemed ready to collapse, a prodigy of survival and decay. In this striking evocation of the empire's power, Jason Goodwin explores how the Ottomans rose and how, against all odds, they lingered on. In doing so, he also offers a long look back to the origins of problems that plague present-day Kosovars and Serbs.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures


Anne Fadiman - 1997
    By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, over-medication, and culture clash: "What the doctors viewed as clinical efficiency the Hmong viewed as frosty arrogance." The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions, written with the deepest of human feeling. Sherwin Nuland said of the account, "There are no villains in Fadiman's tale, just as there are no heroes. People are presented as she saw them, in their humility and their frailty—and their nobility.

The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died


Philip Jenkins - 2008
    The Lost History of Christianity unveils a vast and forgotten network of the world's largest and most influential Christian churches that existed to the east of the Roman Empire. These churches and their leaders ruled the Middle East for centuries and became the chief administrators and academics in the new Muslim empire. The author recounts the shocking history of how these churches—those that had the closest link to Jesus and the early church—died.Jenkins takes a stand against current scholars who assert that variant, alternative Christianities disappeared in the fourth and fifth centuries on the heels of a newly formed hierarchy under Constantine, intent on crushing unorthodox views. In reality, Jenkins says, the largest churches in the world were the “heretics” who lost the orthodoxy battles. These so-called heretics were in fact the most influential Christian groups throughout Asia, and their influence lasted an additional one thousand years beyond their supposed demise.Jenkins offers a new lens through which to view our world today, including the current conflicts in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Without this lost history, we lack an important element for understanding our collective religious past. By understanding the forgotten catastrophe that befell Christianity, we can appreciate the surprising new births that are occurring in our own time, once again making Christianity a true world religion.

History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration


Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius - 2014
    Disease. Starvation. Cannibals. From the ancient wayfarers to modern astronauts, world explorers have blazed trails fraught with danger. Yet, as History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration vividly demonstrates, exploration continues to be one of humanity's deepest impulses.Across 24 lectures that unveil the process by which we came to know the far reaches of our planet, you'll witness the awe-inspiring and surprisingly interconnected tale of global exploration. An award-winning history professor from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, revolutionizes how you view the world as he introduces you to some of the greatest and most influential explorers ever known-successful as well as unsuccessful, admirable as well as flawed. You'll be spellbound as you learn of the treacherous, at times fatal, expeditions into the unknown these adventurers embarked upon, whether to the frozen Poles, Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the ocean's depths, or the final frontier of space.Through it all, you consider what drove these intrepid individuals, from proselytizing and pilgrimage to the lure of wealth, conquest, fame, and new lands, as evidenced by the Vikings' arrival in North America; Marco Polo's journey along the Silk Road to China; Christopher Columbus' "Enterprise of the Indies"; the conquistadors' ravages in Latin America; and the tiny kingdom of Portugal's triumphant circumnavigation of Africa to seize control of trade in the Indian Ocean.In every lesson, you'll follow these fascinating figures - including several remarkable women - as they venture into uncharted territory and put themselves, and often their crews, in dire peril. With Professor Liulevicius' uniquely global approach, you also get a meaningful portrait of the travels of non-Westerners, as well as the perspectives of discovered people.

1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West


Roger Crowley - 2005
    Roger Crowley's readable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current jihad between the West and the Middle East.

Tao Te Ching


Lao Tzu
    Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Teh Ching, or -The Classic of the Way and Its Virtue, - is one of the true classics of the world of spiritual literature. Traditionally attributed to the legendary -Old Master, - Lao Tzu, the Tao Teh Ching teaches that the qualities of the enlightened sage or ideal ruler are identical with those of the perfected individual. Today, Lao Tzu's words are as useful in mastering the arts of leadership in business and politics as they are in developing a sense of balance and harmony in everyday life. To follow the Tao or Way of all things and realize their true nature is to embody humility, spontaneity, and generosity. John C. H. Wu has done a remarkable job of rendering this subtle text into English while retaining the freshness and depth of the original. A jurist and scholar, Dr. Wu was a recognized authority on Taoism and the translator of several Taoist and Zen texts and of Chinese poetry. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.

Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle


Mary J. MacLeod - 2012
    MacLeod and her husband encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud owners of a near-derelict croft house--a farmer's stone cottage--on "a small acre" of land. Mary assumed duties as the island's district nurse. Call the Nurse is her account of the enchanted years she and her family spent there, coming to know its folk as both patients and friends.In anecdotes that are by turns funny, sad, moving, and tragic, she recalls them all, the crofters and their laird, the boatmen and tradesmen, young lovers and forbidding churchmen. Against the old-fashioned island culture and the grandeur of mountain and sea unfold indelible stories: a young woman carried through snow for airlift to the hospital; a rescue by boat; the marriage of a gentle giant and the island beauty; a ghostly encounter; the shocking discovery of a woman in chains; the flames of a heather fire at night; an unexploded bomb from World War II; and the joyful, tipsy celebration of a ceilidh. Gaelic fortitude meets a nurse's compassion in these wonderful true stories from rural Scotland.

The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine


Jeff Smith - 1986
    Includes over 400 recipes and tips on choosing, storing, and matching food with wine. Black-and-white illustrations.

Cancer: Step Outside the Box


Ty M. Bollinger - 2006
    According to Dr. Rashid Buttar, author of The 9 Steps to Keep the Doctor Away, "Ty Bollinger's book, Cancer-Step Outside the Box, is an extraordinarily thorough and courageously well written book, brought to fruition by the dedication of a son for his departed parents. I found it difficult to put down this exceptional book once I began reading it and plan on recommending it to all my patients suffering from cancer who seek treatment at our clinic so that the light of truth and hope contained within this book can shine brightly on them as well." In the words of cancer survivor, Brad Matznick, I am not a journalist, that 's Ty 's job, so I won t drag this out ... I am a cancer survivor and this book was a huge contribution to my survival (it 's one of the best books on the subject). Ty is a rebel... maybe even somewhat eccentric, but you can t ignore what he 's saying. Read this book if you or someone you care about has cancer ... nuff said. With satisfied readers in over 50 countries world wide, Cancer - Step Outside the Box is a roadmap to successfully treating cancer and regaining your health This book is chock full of the most effective, non-toxic cancer treatments in the world. Truth be told, there are many potent and well-proven alternative strategies for preventing and treating cancer... without surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation (the Big 3 ). Inside this book, you will find a wealth of information that your doctor probably doesn't know. Here's why: while at medical school, doctors learn a very drug-intensive style of medicine, because multinational pharmaceutical companies ( Big Pharma ) funds the medical schools. As a result, most doctors are still thinking inside the box when it comes to cancer treatments. The cancer box is largely the creation of Big Pharma attempting to peddle their poisons (such as chemotherapy) in an effort to increase shareholder profits. Sadly, these profits are generated at the expense of cancer patients. In the words of radio talk show icon, Jeff Rense, I have been involved with so called 'alternative approaches to cancer' for a long time. This book is 'the Bible' - buy it and you will be amazed. It is a masterpiece." This book succinctly explains the facts and deceptions about cancer and cancer treatments, it documents multiple cases of persecution and suppression of effective natural cancer treatments, it details the most potent advanced cancer treatment protocols, and it clearly explains the relationship between nutrition and cancer. The author is not a medical doctor. He is a researcher who has compiled the most concise, easily readable, comprehensive book on alternative cancer treatments and health. This book is a gold mine of information, helpful to cancer patients, those attempting to prevent cancer, and health care practitioners alike. According to Dr. Pavel Yakovlev (Oncosurgeon in the Ukraine), the material in your book is enriching and hope-giving for clinical practice I made many notes while reading it to be applied to my work. Elaine Hulliberger, breast cancer survivor, states: I had terminal cancer and used Ty Bollinger's information on non-toxic supplements and the nutritional information along with traditional medicine. Anyone who has cancer, or knows someone with cancer should get this book and read it from cover to cover. I'm alive today because I did.

Family Friendly Farming: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament


Joel Salatin - 2001
    Delving into the soul of the Salatin family's nationally acclaimed Polyface Farm, author Joel Salatin offers Family Friendly Farming as the key to dealing with resource issues, food policy, and social fabric.With humor and personal stories, he opens his family and farm convictions for all to see, share, and enjoy. Written from his unabashed Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist perspective, his ideas are guaranteed to encourage and challenge virtually every ism in the culture. It will captivate anyone passionate about healing the land, healing families, and healing the food supply.For several decades young people have been leaving the family farm. The ones left behind are now responsible for society's greatest resources: clean land and clean food. Anyone dedicated to preserving these resources will find in these pages a nongovernmental, self-empowerment approach to environmentalism and food safety.The heart of this book is aimed toward parents tired of their Dilbert cubicle at the end of the expressway who want to reconnect with their children through a pastoral lifestyle. It's written for anyone who yearns to grow old working with and being adored by value-sharing grandchildren and honored by passionate, productive adult children. Family Friendly Farming can make any family business more viable and any family more functional.The ten-chapter section on how to get the kids to love the farm is an invaluable addition to any collection of child-rearing manuals. Salatin moves from the family team-building section into a practical discussion on how to increase income per acre and create new, white-collar salaries without buying more land, equipment, or buildings. He deals with the unique and thorny issues surrounding any family business by using his own multi-generational family farm experience as his base for insight and wisdom.

Holistic Anatomy: An Integrative Guide to the Human Body


Pip Waller - 2008
    Holistic Anatomy presents an authoritative study of anatomy, physiology, and pathology but expands the discussion by connecting the science of the body to a variety of alternative modalities to explore how human beings exist within—and interact with—their environment, and how they experience existence in emotional and spiritual terms. Basic scientific terminology and detailed descriptions are interwoven with informal, sometimes humorous observations, facts, and ideas about life. The mechanisms, structure, and functions of the body are explored, along with how they relate to spiritual and energetic paradigms, emotions, and ecological principles. The first half of the book covers basic anatomy and physiology, describing each major system of the body and how they interrelate. This part includes a thoughtful discussion of aging and the dying process. The second half focuses on models of health and disease, both traditional and holistic. Topics include western pathology, emotional health, five element medicine, and the spiritual cause for disease.

The Book of Dragons & Other Mythical Beasts


Joseph Nigg - 2002
    As such, they have animated human folklore for thousands of years, serving as metaphors for our fears, hopes, dreams, and struggles. Here is a modern collection of lore that reflects many different cultures as it focuses on a panoply of fantastic animals. From ancient Greece came the griffin, a combination eagle and lion who guarded a treasure of gold, and whose feathers gave sight to the blind. From Egypt came the mysterious Sphinx, half human and half lion, and from Persia came Karkadan, a large, ferocious, one-horned monster who could be captured and subdued only by a young maiden. Not all mythical beasts are fierce. Lung and other Chinese dragons are cheerful and benevolent, and Drakon was reputed to be a loyal guard of the Greeks' sacred springs and treasures. This profusely illustrated book tells stories of winged birds, scaled serpents, and legendary sea creatures. It also features a unique family tree of legendary bestial correspondences that traces dragon relationships from one culture's folklore to another. The more than 130 fantastic and vivid illustrations are all in color.