"Music: An Appreciation" includes some of the greatest music ever created. Roger Kamien's excellence as an interpreter of that music has made his program number one in the market used by over half a million students since its conception. Now, CONNECT Kamien provides the world-class instrument that allows "Music: An Appreciation" to bring great music to his audience in an extraordinary new way. "Music: An Appreciation" is great music, a great interpreter, and a great instrument.

    Uses scriptural analysis, prayer, and study questions to explore God's will and His process of refining an ordinary man into an extraordinary agent of God.

    Confused about the news? Slip out of the room when friends talk current events? Now you can keep up with ease and learn to talk like a diplomat.Among the things you’ll soon be able to slip into everyday conversation:What is the difference between Kurdistan and Kazakhstan?Why did North Korea’s leader kidnap his favorite actress?Why is Osama bin Laden so mad?Which countries still have slaves?Why is Kashmir “the most dangerous place in the world?”What country has the most Muslims?Why are they fighting in Chechnya?What little box prompted Hutus to kill Tutsis?Who is Prince Turki and how did his hunting trip change history?How are cows fueling the fighting between India's Muslims and Hindus?Which country drew maps that have resulted in the most intractable wars?What is controversial UN Resolution 242?What makes Qatar stand out?What country does Sumatran coffee come from?What country’s fakes forced the US to redesign the $100 bill?Who is the FARC and why have they been fighting for decades?An entertaining guide to political science, current events, foreign affairs, and history, What Every American Should Know about the Rest of the World gives you the vocabulary and background you need to decipher the modern world in a simple-to-understand format.

    They go to the same grammar school, but while Vivien's life becomes a chaotic mix of friendships, youth clubs, skinhead violence, A-levels, discos and college, Olive, three years older and a skin shade darker, has a very different tale to tell...

    In feudal Japan, ninja were feared for their skill in espionage and, particularly, assassination. Masters of weaponry, stealth, and martial techniques, ninja were credited with supernatural powers because of the near-invincibility of their unique and deadly art. In The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art, Black Belt Hall of Fame member, Stephen K. Hayes, reveals the secrets that lead to the perception of the ninja as warriors of almost sorcerous skill—the art of invisibility, special tools and weapons, and psychological training enabling the ninja to gain advantage in any situation.Chapters include:Perspective—Origin; Organization; Training; At the Height of Power; The Decline; Ninjutsu in the Modern WorldSearch for the NinjaUnarmed Combat—The Ninja Fists; Fighting Postures; Other FactorsWeaponry—Chains and Cords; Sticks and Staffs; Canes with Concealed Weapons; The Ninja Sword; Throwing BladesThe Way of Invisibility—Sense Deception; Phantom Steps; Reconnaissance; Blending with the Night; Attacking the Eyes; The Art of DisguiseShadow Warriors—Espionage; Commando TacticsThe Realm of the Spirit—Psychological Warfare; The Force of the Killer; The Great Harmony

    Barricaded in their crumbling house, surrounded by the festering rubbish of years, they defy the curiosity of their neighbors and their social worker, Isabel Field. Isabel is young and inexperienced and has troubles of her own: an elderly father who wanders the streets, and a lover, Colin, who wants her to run away with him. But Colin has three horrible children and a shrill wife who is pregnant again; how is he going to run anywhere? As Isabel wrestles with her own problems, a horrible secret grows in the darkness of the Axon household. When at last it comes to light, the result is by turns hilarious and terrifying.

    Dorothea Lasky is a daring truth-teller, naming names and boldly pushing the boundaries of confession. The secrets she tells are truths we recognize in ourselves: “Be scared of yourself / The real self / Is very scary.”Dorothea Lasky was born in St. Louis in 1978. She is the author of several chapbooks and has attended Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

    Despite all this - or perhaps because of it - the Dandelion Insurrection appeared . . .Under a gathering storm of tyranny, Zadie Byrd Gray whirls into the life of Charlie Rider and asks him to become the voice of the Dandelion Insurrection. With the rallying cry of life, liberty, and love, Zadie and Charlie fly across America leaving a wake of revolution in their path. Passion erupts. Danger abounds. The lives of millions hang by a thread. The golden soul of humanity blossoms . . . and wonders start to unfold!Author Rivera Sun creates mythic characters from everyday people. She infuses the story of our times with practical solutions and visionary perspectives, drawing the reader into a world both terrifying and inspiring . . . a world that could be our own!

    Our first two Legacies, the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, come alive through essays, reflections, and members' stories.

    With a perceptive eye that captures the nuanced relationships of husbands and wives, parents and children, and the constant tug-of-war of sibling rivalry, she creates remarkably real characters struggling with profound dilemmas. Now, in her luminous new novel, Errands, Guest once again gives us an unforgettable family that finds the fabric of their lives unraveling.North of Bay City, Michigan, past the small highway town of Au Gres, past acres of sugar beets and fields of grazing sheep, the Browner family enters the slow curve in the road that leads onto a view of Lake Huron. Keith, Annie, and their three children have rented the same cottage here every summer for the past six years. They know this place like the back of their station wagon. But a shadow has fallen over this particular trip: Keith is dying of cancer. It is a fate he has accepted. Annie however can not, will not.Once safe inside a happy seventeen-year marriage, Annie finds her entire world turned upside down after Keith's death. Her sister, Jess, does her best to comfort Annie, only to find the boundaries of their own close relationship stretched to its limits. Consumed with grief, mounting bills, everyday tasks that seem insurmountable, and three kids that have become nagging sources of frustration, Annie fails to see that the family is beginning to come apart.Thirteen-year-old Harry, the oldest, changes into a brooding teen, roaming the streets with a new rebellious friend; Julie, the youngest at nine, starts to lie about her whereabouts, but keeps a secret journal that reveals her true feelings; and Jimmy, sandwiched forever in the middle, can no longer take the pressure of being the peacemaker. As each child moves toward his or her own level of acceptance, a second threatening event will transform both the children and Annie, teaching them that, even with the loss of Keith, they are still a family--a different family, but one that is no less loving, real, and enduring than they had been with a father and husband in the house.Searing in its depiction of despair, warm in its evocation of family and the fragile ties that bind them, and tempered with gentle humor and dazzling wit, Errands is nothing less than a triumph. Judith Guest strikes at the very core of loss, and has written her most extraordinary novel to date.A MAIN SELECTION OF THE LITERARY GUILD(c)AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE DOUBLEDAY BOOK CLUB(c)From the Hardcover edition.

    A collection of fifteen short stories that explore the dark side of the human experience, including that of a heavy metal star locked in a war with his TV set, and a married man about to murder his wife at the behest of a dial-a-porn hooker.

    "Pema Ch?dr?n and Alice Walker in Conversation" reveals the revolutionary power of"tonglen" through a dialogue between two hearts and minds forged in very different cultures-and yet deeply joined in the simple practice of compassion. Take a front-row seat as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker and American-born Buddhist nun Pema Ch?dr?n reflect on anger, joy, fear, and the union of spirituality and social activism. Hear their personal experiences of the "giving and taking" meditation and how it has helped heal their lives. Let their combined wisdom illuminate the realm, available to us all, where the barriers between self and others dissolve. Recorded live at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, "Pema Ch?dr?n and Alice Walker in Conversation" comes with a seven-page booklet covering tonglen instructions and suggestions for further reading. Includes a lively Q&A session.

    The encounter changed Mühling’s life, triggering a number of journeys to Ukraine and deep into the Russian heartland on a quest for stories of ordinary and extraordinary people. Away from the bright lights of Moscow, Mühling met and befriended a Dostoevskian cast of characters, including a hermit from Tayga who had only recently discovered the existence of a world beyond the woods, a Ukrainian Cossack who defaced the statue of Lenin in central Kiev, and a priest who insisted on returning to Chernobyl to preach to the stubborn few determined to remain in the exclusion zone. Unveiling a portion of the world whose contradictions, attractions, and absurdities are still largely unknown to people outside its borders, A Journey into Russia is a much-needed glimpse into one of today’s most significant regions.

    You will become familiar with a wide variety of media and approaches to drawing, learn how to work through "creative blocks," and discover ways to scan and layer your illustrations using a computer.

    We don't need to look far to realize that not all women live with the same opportunities and confidence. THE SISTERHOOD invites women to explore and expand what they believe about God, themselves, and their responsibility to the world around them. Tracing the rise of Hillsong Church's global Sisterhood movement, author Bobbie Houston challenges women to join her in creating a new era of outreach. Readers will learn how to embrace their individual gifts and value as women, growing seeds of change into greater possibilities for women everywhere. If one woman can change her world, then only heaven truly knows what an entire company of women can achieve.