This collection of too-weird-not-to-be-true stories gives the freakish details behind odd curiosities, from unusual drug side effects to the Alien Hand Syndrome--a disorder wherein a person's hand develops a will of its own.

    Inspired by his fascination with the wisdom of this sage, the immensely popular Taiwanese cartoonist Tsai Chih Chung created a bestselling Chinese comic book. Tsai had his cartoon characters enact the key parables of Zhuangzi (pronounced jwawngdz), and he rendered Zhuangzi's most enlightening sayings into modern Chinese. Through Tsai's enthusiasm and skill, the earliest and core parts of the Zhuangzi were thus made accessible to millions of Chinese-speaking people with no other real chance of appreciating this major Daoist text. Translated into English by Brian Bruya, the comic book is now available to a Western audience. The classical Chinese text of the selections of the Zhuangzi is reproduced in the margins throughout. Evoked by the translation and the playful cartoons is the spontaneity that Zhuangzi favors as an attitude toward life: abandon presuppositions, intellectual debates, and ambitions, he suggests, and listen to the music of nature. With the writings attributed to Laozi, the Zhuangzi contributed to an alternative philosophical ideal that matched Confucianism in its impact on Chinese culture. Over the centuries this classical Daoism influenced many aspects of Chinese life, including painting, literature, and the martial arts. It had a particularly strong effect on Chan Buddhism (Japanese Zen). For this book, Donald Munro has written an afterword that places Daoism and the Zhuangzi in historical and cultural context.

    Now, in his most radical and groundbreaking work, Harpur digs deep into the origins of Christianity.Long before the advent of Jesus Christ, the Egyptians and other peoples believed in the coming of a messiah, a virgin birth, a madonna and her child, and the incarnation of the spirit in flesh. While the early Christian church accepted these ancient truths as the very basis of Christianity, it disavowed their origins. What had begun as a universal belief system built on myth and allegory was transformed, by the third and fourth centuries A.D., into a ritualistic institution based on a literal interpretation of myths and symbols. But, as Tom Harpur argues in The Pagan Christ, "to take the Gospels literally as history or biography is to utterly miss their inner spiritual meaning."At a time of religious extremism, Tom Harpur reveals the virtue of a cosmic faith based on ancient truths that the modern church has renounced. His message is clear: Our blind faith in literalism is killing Christianity. Only with a return to an inclusive religion where Christ lives within each of us will we gain a true understanding of who we are and who we are intended to become. The Pagan Christ is a book of rare insight and power that will reilluminate the Bible and change the way we think about religion.

    It brings to light virtually unknown Brutalist architectural treasures from across the former eastern bloc and other far flung parts of the world.It includes works by some of the best contemporary architects including Zaha Hadid and David Chipperfield as well as by some of the master architects of the 20th century including Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn, Paul Rudolph and Marcel Breuer.

    Mack's investigation of the various groups and strands of the early Christian community, out of which were generated the texts of Christianity's first anthology of religious literature, makes sense of a topic that has been confusing.

    In doing so Asimov illuminates the Bible's many obscure and mysterious passages, producing a valuable text for anyone interested in religion and history.

    Kings and queens have dined there; bills and treaties have been signed; and presidents have landed and retreated. The front and back yard for the first family, it is by extension the nation’s first garden. All the Presidents’ Gardens’ tells the untold history of the White House Grounds.  Starting with the seed-collecting, plant-obsessed George Washington and ending with Michelle Obama’s focus on edibles, this rich and compelling narrative reveals how the story of the garden is also the story of America.  Readers learn about Lincoln’s goats, Ike’s putting green, Jackie’s iconic roses, Amy Carter's tree house, and much more. They also learn the plants whose favor has come and gone over the years and the gardeners who have been responsible for it all. Fully illustrated with new and historical photographs and art, refreshingly nonpartisan, and releasing just in time for election year, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the red, white, and green.

    People have long sought the aid of non-physical beings; the biblical king Solomon in particular had a reputation since ancient times for commanding demons. There are many texts purporting to reveal Solomon's methods, but most are extremely complicated and difficult. Grimorium Verum is one of the easier texts, but also one of the most sinister. It includes a catalog of specific demons and how to draw on their powers. This new critical edition includes a fresh translation based on all the major sources, complete French and Italian texts, and 5 other appendices.

    This book takes up the question of what these changes mean—of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith is only one human possibility among others.

    The Kingdom Within explores the significance of Jesus' teachings for our interior life -- that inner reality that Jesus called "the kingdom of God." It is Sanford's conviction that contemporary Christianity has overlooked this inner dimension of Jesus' teachings and so has lost touch with the human soul.Illustrated with case histories and dream material drawn from the author's work as a psychotherapist, The Kingdom Within examines such characteristics as extroversion and introversion, masculinity and femininity, thinking and feeling, and sensation and intuition to show how Jesus met the criteria of wholeness or fullness of personhood. Step by step, Sanford helps us to shed the outer mask, to eschew sin, which "means living in enslavement to what we don't know about ourselves," and to follow the road of consciousness, which leads to "a great treasure waiting only to be discovered."

    "I'll tell you where: America is teetering on the cliffs of insanity."Written with the fire, the conviction, and the clear vision of a modern-day prophet, Savage returns with a vengeance in this lightning rod of a book, speaking for all Americans who are fed up and ticked off at the corrosive influence of today's "psycho liberals"?the Democrats, as he calls them."They're speeding down the pathway of good intentions. Their mantra: Celebrate perversity, embrace ultra-tolerance, pay rape-a-nations (so-called reparations), support affirmative racism, and provide government subsidies for every illegal who sneaks across the border. In their haste to push failed socialist ideals, the libs have placed us on a crash course of total destruction."Even while the heated controversy of his New York Times bestseller, The Savage Nation, still simmers, Michael Savage raises his weapons of matchless wit and moxie again, this time aiming his sights on the liberal assault on our most cherished institutions and taking a stand for our schools, our faith, our police and armed forces, and, most important, our families.It isn't always pretty. You might even at times become uncomfortable. But as you read on, you'll find these pages always contain the Savage truth. That is how to fight The Enemy Within.Filled with riotous rage and blistering humor, this book inspires as it enflames, encouraging Americans to reclaim our country, our government, our national integrity.

    Indeed, without religion, our lives are left without meaning and are likely to degenerate into moral chaos. In this Very Short Introduction, philosopher Stephen Law explains why these claims are false and why humanism--though a rejection of religion--nevertheless provides both a moral basis and a meaning for our lives. Indeed, Law shows that humanism is a quite positive alternative to religion. The humanist is not simply one who denies the truth of religious belief, but one who believes we can enjoy meaningful, purposeful, and good lives without religion. And far from embracing moral nihilism, humanists are often deeply committed people, to be found at the forefront of many important ethical campaigns. Law goes on to show how the term humanism is used in a variety of ways. Marx described himself as a humanist but the Pope has also expressed support for what he calls humanism. Law argues for humanism as it is most commonly understood--as a positive, moral form of atheism.

    They are tales of human passion in all of its infinite variety: adultery, seduction, incest, rape, mutilation, assassination, torture, sacrifice, and murder. . . ."Sex. Violence. Scandal. These are words we rarely associate with the sacred text of the Bible. Yet in this brilliant book, Jonathan Kirsch recounts shocking tales that have been suppressed by religious authorities throughout history. Kirsch places each story within the political and social context of its time, delves into the latest biblical scholarship to explain why each one was originally censored, and shows how these ancient narratives hold valuable lessons for all of us.

    "Hopper represents the most lethal of organized religions many opponents: a curious, well-educated individual with a sharp wit." Queen's University Journal Review "Wickedly fun and informative." Toronto Star "The Heathen's Guide To World Religions has taken up permanent residence on my bookshelves... a masterfully written, wonderfully funny, and deliciously snarky trip down religious lane." Al Stefanelli, UNITED ATHEIST FRONT. "Like Monty Python in religious garb... easily one of the best places to invest your book buying dollar." Georgia Straight

    Taking his own spiritual journey as a starting point, Professor Ayoub explores all aspects of Islam; from the Qur'an and Islamic law to the epic poetry of the Sufis; from the spread of Islam worldwide to reform movements in the US and Europe.