In this account of the Viking world, every aspect of Viking life is examined. Important chapters on ships, runes and religion have been contributed by specialist authors, and the text is complemented by illustrations, including maps and reconstruction drawings. Photographs, many of them especially commissioned, portray the brilliant products of the Vikings' culture and the beauty and harshness of the natural world they faced.

    Originally published in 1861, it quickly established itself as the most popular selection of English poems. Today it stands as a testament to the richness of our finest native poetic writing from Spenser, Shakespeare, and Wordsworth, to Tennyson, Yeats, Eliot, and Betjeman. This edition includes a sixth book, prepared by John Press, which covers the post-war years, showing that the lyrical tradition remains strong. Over ninety poets are included, from Dylan Thomas, George Mackay Brown, Ted Hughes, and Philip Larkin to Carol Ann Duffy, Elizabeth Garrett and Simon Armitage.

     Short and stocky, sporting thick glasses prone to fogging, Eddie was nobody’s athletic ideal. Through struggle, sacrifice, even near-starvation—this British plasterer made his dream a reality: competing in the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary. Here, in his own words, is Eddie’s story—from the schoolboy stunts that developed his physical courage, to the menial labor that paid for training, to the qualifying jumps that had millions around the world glued to their television sets to watch him. Eddie the Eagle is the tale of an ordinary man’s extraordinary journey above and beyond expectations . . . a journey that rocketed this ultimate underdog to an Olympic legend.

    Inspired by the life and philosophy of one of the 20th centuryas most remarkable humanitarians, this book combines compelling photographs of Mother Teresa with quotations from her most inspiring speeches and writings to capture the true essence of her timeless messages of peace, acceptance, and love. The book also includes an in-depth biographical essay by South African writer/novelist Mike Nicol and an introduction by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

    Chris O’Brien presents the case for beer as both the cause of and solution to all of the world’s problems. Beer has contributed to the best qualities of civilization, but it is also helping to destroy them.The global beer industry relies heavily on fossil-fuels and chemical agriculture, rapidly destroying nature and contributing to climate change.Corporate beer is centralized and hierarchical, which is good for a few elites, but displaces local brewing traditions and exacerbates the growing wealth gap.But the craft brewing renaissance relies on cooperation, emphasizes local production, protects and celebrates nature, and nurtures the growth of strong and equitable communities.Fermenting Revolution traces the path of brewing from a women-led, home-based craft to corporate industry, and describes how modern craft breweries and home-brewers are forging stronger communities. O’Brien explains how corporate mega-breweries are also taking steps to pioneer industrial ecology, and profiles the most inspiring and radical breweries, brewers, and beer drinkers that are making the world a better place to live.In the last two decades, Americans have returned to to beer as a way of life rather than as a commodity. Casting off its industrial chains, beer is again communal, convivial, democratic, healthful, and natural. The contemporary American brewing scene champions ecologically sustainable production and is helping to create thriving community places. After reading Fermenting Revolution, mere beer drinkers will become "beer activists," ready to fight corporate rule by simply meeting their neighbors for a pint at the local brewpub-saving the world one beer at a time.

    News of both the Ice Man's discovery and his age, which was put at over five thousand years, fascinated scientists and newspapers throughout the world. But what made Sykes's story particularly revelatory was his successful identification of a genetic descendant of the Ice Man, a woman living in Great Britain today. How was Sykes able to locate a living relative of a man who died thousands of years ago?In The Seven Daughters of Eve, he gives us a firsthand account of his research into a remarkable gene, which passes undiluted from generation to generation through the maternal line. After plotting thousands of DNA sequences from all over the world, Sykes found that they clustered around a handful of distinct groups. Among Europeans and North American Caucasians, there are, in fact, only seven. This conclusion was staggering: almost everyone of native European descent, wherever they may live throughout the world, can trace their ancestry back to one of seven women, the Seven Daughters of Eve.Naming them Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine, and Jasmine, Sykes has created portraits of their disparate worlds by mapping the migratory patterns followed by millions of their ancestors. In reading the stories of these seven women, we learn exactly how our origins can be traced, how and where our ancient genetic ancestors lived, and how we are each living proof of the almost indestructible strands of DNA, which have survived over so many thousands of years. Indeed, The Seven Daughters of Eve is filled with dramatic stories: from Sykes's identification, using DNA samples from two living relatives, of the remains of Tsar Nicholas and Tsaress Alexandra, to the Caribbean woman whose family had been sold into slavery centuries before and whose ancestry Sykes was able to trace back to the Eastern coast of central Africa. Ultimately, Sykes's investigation reveals that, as a race, what humans have in common is more deeply embedded than what separates us.

    What was once settled is now questioned, and old traditions are discarded with reckless abandon. What does it mean to be an authentic man in such confusing times? What, if anything, does the Catholic Church have to offer to men today about living a life of true manhood and virtue?The Catholic Gentleman is a solid and practical guide to manhood and holiness in the modern world. It offers the timeless wisdom of the Catholic Church to the many questions of men today on this important issue. In short, easy to reach chapters, you'll learn:How to know you are an authentic manWhy our bodies matterThe value of traditionThe purpose of courtesyWhat real holiness is and how to achieve itHow to deal with failure in the spiritual lifeAnd much more…

    Sympathetic but critical, serious yet witty, the book shows a country in which the familiar becomes strange, and the strange familiar.

    The subject of bets, barbs, and grudging praise in the pages of WIRED, The New York Times, Newsweek, and The New Yorker,Rebels Against the Future takes us back to the first technology backlash, the short-lived and fierce Luddite rebellion of 1811. Sale tells the compelling story of the Luddites' struggle to preserve their jobs and way of life by destroying the machines that threatened to replace them; he then invokes a new-Luddite spirit in response to today's technological revolution and calls for another sort of rebellion: not one of violence but rather of intellectually and ethically sound protest.

    In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some countries, particularly China, by a long history in which religion was tightly linked to the state.Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharp-eyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents. Drawing on many contemporary and historical examples, he argues that the violent passions inspired by religion must be tamed in order to make democracy work.Comparing the United States and Europe, Buruma asks why so many Americans--and so few Europeans--see religion as a help to democracy. Turning to China and Japan, he disputes the notion that only monotheistic religions pose problems for secular politics. Finally, he reconsiders the story of radical Islam in contemporary Europe, from the case of Salman Rushdie to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Sparing no one, Buruma exposes the follies of the current culture war between defenders of Western values and multiculturalists, and explains that the creation of a democratic European Islam is not only possible, but necessary.Presenting a challenge to dogmatic believers and dogmatic secularists alike, Taming the Gods powerfully argues that religion and democracy can be compatible--but only if religious and secular authorities are kept firmly apart.

    Often dismissed as a social climber who faded into the woodwork after she divorced Jackie's father-the dashing, disreputable "Black Jack" Bouvier-and married the rich Hugh D. Auchincloss, Janet not only played a pivotal part in Jackie's own wedding to JFK, but often served as a stand-in for Jackie during the White House years, and helped her cope with John and Caroline after the assassination.The only book to explore this fascinating mother-daughter relationship, Janet & Jackie is filled with stories that shed new light on the personal life of an American icon.

    When he returns home from his demanding job, a man rightfully deserves a bit of pampering. A happy smile, a warm kiss, and a pair of cozy slippers are just the start. Here are all the secrets for helping him feel comfortable and content:  - Advice on cooking from scratch - The lowdown on why a clean home makes hubby feel better - Valuable hints on making yourself more attractive to him The Good Wife is a great and humorous gift for brides-to-be or happily married wives, for Valentine’s Day, and bridal showers and bachelorette parties.

    In a complete revision of his 1998 hardcover, Jones tells for the first time the whole story of his investigation of the case, including what he was told by McVeigh and what he learned about others involved in the conspiracy. His account differs significantly from the tale McVeigh is telling as he faces execution for his crimes. In interviews with Buffalo News journalists, reported in their recently released book American Terrorist(ReganBooks, April 2000), McVeigh claims total responsibility for the bombing, saying "It was my choice and my control to hit that building when it was full." In Others Unknown Jones sets the record straight, saying what he could not say when he first wrote this book, before McVeigh effectively waived attorney-client privilege: that based on what he learned as McVeigh's counsel, Jones knows that the bombing was a conspiracy, and that McVeigh was not its mastermind. "I'm not trying to say he was innocent. He has exaggerated his guilt to protect others. He played a role, but he was a foot soldier, a mule, not the general," says Jones. "I know it did not happen the way he tells it in his book." Jones reports in detail what McVeigh told him as the case progressed; explains why McVeigh did not plead guilty; and shows McVeigh's real role in the conspiracy and how he obstructed his own defense. This is the definitive historical record of a heinous act of murderous rage; an account indispensable to understanding what happened. And, says PublicAffairs CEO and publisher Peter Osnos: "We think it's important that Tim McVeigh not be given the final word."