A riveting medical memoir actor/writer/director Robby Benson takes us on a candid journey from athletic soft-spoken heartthrob on Broadway and film, to husband, father, professor and courageous survivor of 4 open-heart surgeries. From One on One, Ice Castles, The Chosen, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast to directing Ellen and Friends, the funny and explicit narrative is a must for fans and essential reading for heart patients, patients of all kinds, their loved ones, and anyone searching for what should be the template for healthcare in America. New York Times #1 bestselling author, Michael F. Roizen, M.D. praised I'm Not Dead... Yet : "When you read this funny and courageously blunt book, you'll understand how to gain the vibrancy that Robby and his wife, Karla, have. ...What a great read and what an important story for all patients and their families dealing with a challenging illness."

Okay, who was the first flatterer? If you guessed Satan, you'd be close, but according to You're Too Kind, flattery began with chimpanzees, who groom each other all day long. In fact, flattery is an adaptive behavior that has helped us survive since prehistoric times. Our flattery is strategic praise, and to illustrate its myriad forms, Richard Stengel takes us on a witty, idiosyncratic tour, from chimps to the God of the Old Testament to the troubadour poets of the Middle Ages, all the way through Dale Carnegie and Monica Lewinsky's adoring love letters to her "Big Creep." Flattery thrives in hierarchical settings like royal courts or Fortune 500 boardrooms, and it flows both upward and downward. Downward is usually easier, but studies show it works best on those who already have high opinions of themselves. Stengel sees public flattery as an epidemic in our society, and private praise as being all too scarce. Most often, though, flattery these days is just a harmless deception, a victimless crime that often ends up making both the giver and the receiver feel a little better. In short, flattery works.

Recently there has been an extraordinary international revival of interest in Hannah Arendt. She was extremely perceptive about the dark tendencies in contemporary life that continue to plague us. She developed a concept of politics and public freedom that serves as a critical standard for judging what is wrong with politics today. Richard J. Bernstein argues that Arendt should be read today because her penetrating insights help us to think about both the darkness of our times and the sources of illumination. He explores her thinking about statelessness and refugees; the right to have rights; her critique of Zionism; the meaning of the banality of evil; the complex relations between truth, lying, power, and violence; the tradition of the revolutionary spirit; and the urgent need for each of us to assume responsibility for our political lives. This short and very readable book will be of great interest to anyone who wants to understand the forces that are shaping our world today.

Renata Adler is one of the most original, incisive and witty writers active in American letters today. Whether it be fiction, reportage or essay, her work is marked by a truly extraordinary intellect and a luminous prose that is penetrating, precise, deft and, often, very funny. In this new collection-which includes the early and definitive profile of the National Guard; the widely discussed and still controversial review of Pauline Kael; and the first major piece about foreign contributions to American political campaigns-Adler's wide-ranging reflections become focused on two increasingly fused interests: the politics which govern our public world and the media, which now actively distort and misrepresent information about that world. For anyone seriously interested in politics and the media Canaries in the Mineshaft is yet another proof that Renata Adler is one of the most delightful and brilliant writers of our day.

A timely and profound anthology from the national bestselling author of Black, White and Jewish, Representing a stunning range of essayists and novelists, both men and women, this groundbreaking anthology boldly confronts the complications, possibilities, uncertainties, and joys of being a man in the 21st century.

In this edition, first published in 1983, the late Professor Raymond Aron, one of France's most distinguished social scientists, presented a major re-evaluation of Carl von Clausewitz, 'the genius of war'. He sees in Clausewitz a political philosopher of major importance, whose impact and significance permeate many facets of modern society.

Human beings have practiced the art of divination for millenia. In some cultures, diviners studied patterns in nature - the flight of birds, the forms of clouds, or the arrangement of the stars in the night sky. In others, they created elaborate divinatory systems such as the I Ching and the Tarot. Drawing from the legacy of 50,000 years of human encounters with the Divine, renowned Tarot scholar Rachel Pollack has created the Shining Tribe Tarot , a revised and expanded version of the popular Shining Woman Tarot . The Shining Tribe Tarot is steeped in symbolism drawn from culturally diverse systems including Neolithic rock art, Native American and African shamanism, Aboriginal art, the Kabbalah, Jungian psychology, and the traditional Tarot. The name Shining Tribe has a special meaning, says Ms. Pollack: "All of us who work with Tarot form a kind of tribe, one whose roots go back many thousands of years before the actual appearance of Tarot cards. This is the tribe of diviners, those special magicians, shamans, psychics, and visionaries who use cards, or sticks, or trees, or stones, or shells to communicate with the Gods." The accompanying book includes detailed descriptions of the origin and history of the symbols depicted on each card of this unique deck, as well as explanations of their meanings in divinatory spreads. In addition, you will also learn how to read the cards for a variety of purposes, including divination, advice, and guidance along your own personal sacred journey. Learn how to gain insights into the nightly messages from your subconscious mind with dream readings, and how to activate a card to bring its qualities into your everyday life. Rachel Pollack invites you to join the shining tribe of diviners and visionaries. As you continue along the sacred journey of self-discovery, let the Shining Tribe Tarot cards shine a path for you.

An honor killing is the cold-blooded murder of girls and women simply because they are female. Being born female in a shame-and-honor culture is, potentially, a capital crime; every girl has to keep proving that she is not dishonoring her family; even so, an innocent girl can be falsely accused and killed on the spot. Dr. Phyllis Chesler has been studying the nature of honor killings for the last fifteen years. During that time she has published four studies at Middle East Quarterly and is working on a fifth. While this barbaric custom is tribal in origin, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam have not tried to abolish it as a crime against God or humanity. Honor killings are also a family conspiracy, one in which women (mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, mothers-in law), as well as men (fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles, grandfathers) play a role. Those girls and women who manage to escape must live in hiding for the rest of their lives as their families will never stop coming after them. A girl's fertility and reproductive capacity is "owned" by her family, not by the girl herself. If a girl is even seen as "damaged goods," her fam¬ily-of-origin will be responsible for her care for the rest of her life. This is a killing offense. Her virginity belongs to her family and is a token of their honor. If she is not a virgin, the shame belongs to her family and they must cleanse themselves of it with blood; her blood. Most Westerners refuse to understand that this crime is not like western-style domestic violence and requires different approaches in terms of prevention, intervention, and prosecution. Honor killings (or femicide) is part of a shame-and-honor tribal culture as is gender apartheid. It is a human rights violation and cannot be justified in the name of cultural relativism, tolerance, anti-racism, diversity, or political correctness. As long as tribal groups continue to deny, minimize, or obfuscate the problem, and Western government and police officials accept their inaccurate versions of reality, women will continue to be killed for honor in the West. The battle for women's rights is central to the battle for Europe and for Western values. It is a necessary part of true democracy, along with freedom of religion, tolerance for homosexuals, and freedom of dissent. Here, then, is exactly where the greatest battle of the twenty-first century is joined.

There are millions of things for Jillian to do in the snow with her sister and her friends. So what if her hat doesn't want to stay on her head? It's a wonderful winter morning and Jillian can't wait to get outside and play! Soon she and her friends are busy making a snowy masterpiece. But then Jillian loses her scarf...and her mittens...and her hat. Oh no! What will her mother say? Sledding, snowmen and wild flights of imagination abound in this book featuring rhythmic text, a simple plot, and wonderfully humorous illustrations.Young readers will also enjoy locating where Jillian's missing articles disappear to in the pictures. Jillian Jiggs and the Great Big Snow Awards: Canadian Children's Book Centre, Our Choice, 2003. Shortlist, Shining Willow Award, 2003 and OLA Blue Spruce Award, 2004.

"Baseball Rebels tells stories of reformers and radicals who were influenced by, and in turn influenced, America's broader political and social protest movements, including battles against racism, corporate control, worker exploitation, sexism and homophobia, and American militarism"--

1938. In Germany, Nazism reaches a fever pitch. Rumors of war spread across the continent of Europe. In the calm before the storm, Hitler searches for a shortcut in his plans for world domination--and looks to Hollywood. He sends his agents across the Atlantic to the celluloid capital of sin and glamour, on the trail of an all-powerful secret weapon. Los Angeles. Cliff Secord is a barnstorming air-race pilot. After thugs destroy his prized GeeBee race plane he finds himself out of work and left out to dry. For someone has saddled him with the most dangerous weapon of the war -- the Cirrus X-3 rocketpack, a flying device faster and more dangerous than any Secord has ever encountered. Now he and his starlet girlfriend are on the run.

When everything ends, it's time to go back to the future. Revisit the world of 2099 and see it in a whole new light, as characters who have never been seen before make their fi rst appearances - including the AVENGERS 2099. Can the ideal of Earth's Mightiest Heroes survive in a world where megacorporations rule with an iron fi st? COLLECTING: SECRET WARS 2099

Peter David's character-redefining Hulk run comes to its incredible end! Major Matt Talbot sets his sights on capturing the jade giant - and with Hulkbusters and the Ringmaster on his side, he might just succeed! Meanwhile, terror group the Alliance pushes the world to the brink of nuclear war - but why is the Hulk claiming credit?! Then, Onslaught does the impossible - physically separating Bruce Banner from the Hulk! While Banner finds himself reborn, the Hulk faces a harsh truth about his traumatic past - and a health crisis that might kill him! Does Apocalypse have the answer? And what terrible tragedy will bring about the end of an era? Collecting: Incredible Hulk (1968) 436-467, -1; Incredible Hulk Annual '97; Savage Hulk (1996) 1; Cutting Edge (1995) 1; Cable (1993) 34; Onslaught: Marvel Universe (1996) 1; Incredible Hulk: Hercules Unleashed (1996) 1; Heroes Reborn: The Return (1997) 1-4

A thrilling Star Trek: The Next Generation adventure featuring Commander Riker, Lieutenant Commander Worf, and the USS Enterprise . Imzadi: to the people of the planet Betazed, including Counselor Deanna Troi of the USS Enterprise , it means “beloved” and denotes that which can never be truly broken. Yet to whom does Deanna’s heart truly belong? Commander William Riker was the first Deanna called Imzadi. Long before they served together on board the Enterprise, they shared a tempestuous love affair back on Betazed. And even now, many years later, Riker will embark on a desperate journey across time and space to save Deanna's life. But Riker is not the only Starfleet officer to capture Deanna’s heart. Lieutenant Commander Worf, the fierce Klingon warrior, is also drawn to Deanna's gentle and caring nature. Brought together by fate, he and Deanna share an unexpected passion that tests the bonds between Troi and Riker—even as a deadly Romulan conspiracy threatens them all!

The enigmatic mystical hero called The Phantom Stranger battles the forces of evil in this new title. In a tale illustrated by Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, the Phantom Stranger battles Eclipso. THE PHANTOM STRANGER #1-4, ACTION COMICS WEEKLY #610, 613-614, 617, 623, 631-634, 636, 641, SECRET ORIGINS #10 and DC COMICS PRESENTS #72.

Humor in math; story of line and dot falling in love A tongue in cheek fable

Norman Mailer's The Time of Our Time is a giant retrospective, a rich, boisterous portrait of our times seen through the fiction and reportage of one of America's greatest writers. Mailer selected and edited the contents of this work to create an ongoing narrative of events large and small that have shaped America over the last fifty years. Included are passages from The Naked and the Dead, The Deer Park, An American Dream, The Armies of the Night, The Executioner's Song, Ancient Evenings, and Harlot's Ghost as well as portraits of Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Lee Harvey Oswald, Madonna, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Richard Nixon as they appeared in some of his best magazine pieces. How readable is the result! It is as if one is being drawn into a fabulous novel with extraordinary characters, real and fictional, who appear and reappear through the years until a vast mural of America as a nation comes into focus, full of follies and blunders, surprisingly elegant and often crazy--tragic in its losses and large in its triumphs. On display here are Mailer's enormous energies, his vast curiosity, and his powers of delineation. Here too are his errors of judgment and deed, both personal and literary. As a writer, Mailer eschews all limits. He goes at the world like a tiger. What will surprise many readers of The Time of Our Time is what a shrewd and stylish tiger he has been. "From the Hardcover edition."