Arguing that in every religious tradition the afterlife represents the ultimate reward for the good, Segal combines historical and anthropological data with insights gleaned from religious and philosophical writings to explain the following mysteries: why the Egyptians insisted on an afterlife in heaven, while the body was embalmed in a tomb on earth; why the Babylonians viewed the dead as living in underground prisons; why the Hebrews remained silent about life after death during the period of the First Temple, yet embraced it in the Second Temple period (534 B.C.E.-70 C.E.); and why Christianity placed the afterlife in the center of its belief system. He discusses the inner dialogues and arguments within Judaism and Christianity, showing the underlying dynamic behind them, as well as the ideas that mark the differences between the two religions. In a thoughtful examination of the influence of biblical views of heaven and martyrdom on Islamic beliefs, he offers a fascinating perspective on the current troubling rise of Islamic fundamentalism. In tracing the organic, historical relationships between sacred texts and communities of belief and comparing the visions of life after death that have emerged throughout history, Segal sheds a bright, revealing light on the intimate connections between notions of the afterlife, the societies that produced them, and the individual's search for the ultimate meaning of life on earth.--Dust cover.

For ten years, the White House, assisted by allies in London and Rome, brushed aside the law in a relentless quest to support Saddam Hussein. What were the forces that shaped this persisting embrace of a dictator whom George Bush would eventually compare to Adolf Hitler? How did Washington and its NATO allies nurture a frequently illicit rapport with Saddam, and what was the real story of why it became necessary to mount Operation Desert Storm? How did the governments led by George Bush and Margaret Thatcher seek to cover up their past dealings with the Iraqi leader after Desert Storm finally drove him from Kuwait in 1991?

Another riveting international thriller from bestselling author Alan Gold. Book Three in the Amras Journey trilogy.Book Three of Amras Journey that began with The Gift of Evil and continued with The Marmara Contract.Content details to follow.

In this next thrilling story from Alan Gold and Mike Jones, we meet Shalman, a freedom-fighter turned peacenik and archaeologist, and his young beautiful wife, Judit, a refugee from the horrors of Stalin's USSR. As the Second World War draws to a close, and the world begins to learn the truth about Hitler's genocide, the foundation of the State of Israel as a permanent home for what's left of the Jewish people becomes increasingly urgent. In Palestine, Arab and Jewish forces fight each other and the British for supremacy and the right to own the land, causing a nightmare environment of hatred and suspicion. But a deeply buried global conspiracy, which has its origin in Stalin's Russia, seeks to undermine Israel's future as an independent nation. A plot to fashion the fledgling nation as a puppet of the Soviet Union rests upon a handful of committed Jewish Communists, led secretly by Judit. But is she a heartless assassin, a disciple of the evils of Beria and the Kremlin, or a committed fusion of Zionist and Communist? And in the darkest recesses of ancient history, we meet Shalman's ancestors, themselves descendants of the builders of Solomon's Temple. As the family escapes the nightmare of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, it witnesses the glories of the Islamic renaissance in Baghdad and the rampages of the Crusaders through the region. Another exciting instalment in this story of the births of nations and of the strength of their people.

Another riveting international thriller from bestselling author Alan Gold. Book Two in the Amra’s Journey trilogy. Book Two of Amra’s Journey that began with The Gift of Evil. For the past fifty years, the golden treasures of Troy have been lying in the basement of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Now, as the millennium approaches, Germany and Turkey are both reclaiming their treasures. But who really owns the precious antiquities? And how far is each country prepared to go to claim them as their own? American lawyer Sarah Kaplan, an expert on the reclamation of property, is drawn into the debate when the Turkish government employs her to get the treasure back. But things go very wrong and Sarah ends up in a Turkish gaol, accused of theft and blasphemy. Her only link with the outside world is the amulet she wears around her neck, passed down to her from her great-grandmother. Engraved with the symbols of the bull and owl of Troy, the amulet’s origin is a mystery. But gradually, through the unfolding of stories three thousand years apart, the secret of the amulet becomes known.

Alan Mittleman offers a philosophical exploration of the theme, contending that a modern construction of hope as an emotion is deficient. He revives the medieval understanding of hope as a virtue, reconstructing this in a contemporary philosophical idiom. In this framework, hope is less a spontaneous reaction than it is a choice against despair; a decision to live with confidence and expectation, based on a rational assessment of possibility and a faith in the underlying goodness of life

Volume 2 of the Conan the King Omnibus sees writers Alan Zelenetz and Don Kraar teaming up with Marc Silvestri, Mike Docherty, Judith Hunt, Geoff Isherwood and Mike Manley to bring a new era of Conan to life. The greatest hero in sword-and-sorcery history. This is the legend of the time when Conan was KING! ALL HAIL KING CONAN! Conan the barbarian, the thief, the mercenary, and now… Conan the king! Believing his favorite son, Conn, to be dead after a reckless campaign in the treacherous region of Gunderland, Conan sets out with his elite squad, the Black Dragons, determined to retrieve his son’s body. But Conn is very much alive, and his perilous journey back to his father unfolds alongside Conan’s desperate quest. Tensions rise with Conan’s other son, Taurus, who delves into dangerous witchcraft and sorcery, plotting to seize the throne. When a flaming bird, summoned by the malevolent witch Zandra, abducts Taurus, Conan embarks on a daring rescue mission to save his rebellious son. This is only the beginning of Conan’s troubles. He faces relentless palace intrigue, warring factions, and ominous prophecies of war and famine that drive him into a deadly conflict with Nemedia, Aros, Ophir, and the Picts, who all scheme to conquer Aquilonia. Meanwhile, sinister plots brew behind his back as Crasus and Count Barthold conspire against the indomitable king… Written by Alan Zelenetz and Don Kraar with artwork by Marc Silvestri, Mike Docherty, Judith Hunt, Mike Manley and Geoff Isherwood.

The youth of the hero from Belle du Seigneur is told in this novel, full of the irony and cynicism that is characteristic in the work of Albert Cohen.

A collection of pieces covering three decades of rock music, ranging from Motown to Memphis, rockabilly to acid, and Jagger and Hendrix to Tiny Tim. Albert Goldman's previous books include controversial biographies of Presley and John Lennon.

Originally published in 1951, this book explores the development in England of the Sephardi branch of the Jewish community, the co-heirs, with their kinsmen in Holland, in Italy, in North America and in the Middle East, of the Golden Age of Jewish history in Spain. Based on archival history from within the community, it was the first full-length history of the Sephardi community in England and describes how this little Jewish community, the first in England since the Middle Ages, grew, prospered and contributed the wealth and influence of London, and eventually producing in Disraeli one of England's greatest Prime Ministers.

In recent years topology has firmly established itself as an important part of the physicist's mathematical arsenal. It has many applications, first of all in quantum field theory, but increasingly also in other areas of physics. The main focus of this book is on the results of quantum field theory that are obtained by topological methods. Some aspects of the theory of condensed matter are also discussed. Part I is an introduction to quantum field theory: it discusses the basic Lagrangians used in the theory of elementary particles. Part II is devoted to the applications of topology to quantum field theory. Part III covers the necessary mathematical background in summary form. The book is aimed at physicists interested in applications of topology to physics and at mathematicians wishing to familiarize themselves with quantum field theory and the mathematical methods used in this field. It is accessible to graduate students in physics and mathematics.

"A story of love, obsession, and betrayal from "the most important Italian creative writer [of the twentieth] century."—The Times [London]When Silvio, a rich Italian dilettante, and his beautiful wife agree to move to the country and forgo sex so that he will have the energy to write a successful novel, something is bound to go wrong: Silvio's literary ambitions are far too big for his second-rate talent, and his wife Leda is a passionate woman. Antonio, the local barber who comes every morning to shave Silvio, sparks off this dangerously combustible situation when Leda accuses him of trying to molest her. Silvio obstinately refuses to dismiss him, and the quarrel and its shattering consequences put the couple's love to the test.Alberto Moravia earned his international reputation with frank, finely-observed stories of love and sex at all levels of society. In this new English translation of Conjugal Love, he explores an imperiled relationship with his customary unadorned style, psychological penetration, and narrative art.

A first-person account of a rather ordinary married man trapped in a domestic triangle with his father and his wife. A powerful novel of social satire, black comedy and first-rate entertainment.

Alberto Pinto is among the most celebrated interior designers at work today. Here he turns his eye to the wonders of the East and a series of interiors inspired by the colors and textures of Morocco, Byzantium, India, and beyond.Included in this book are interiors in Europe, North America, and North Africa belonging to the jet set and modern elite. Each interior celebrates opulence, whether with fine damasks and silks, intricate tilework, or glittering objets d'art. Included are other visual stage sets for living that are as breathtaking as they are original-vast terraces over sumptuous gardens, shimmering swimming pools open to the sea and sky, filtered light bouncing off floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflecting an infinity of precious woods in an exquisite parquet floor. Pinto designs spaces to delight the senses, and the publication of Orientalism will usher in a new era of sensuality in interior design.

Just before Christmas 1944, Albrecht Haushofer had been delivered to the Gestapo prison in the Moabit district of Berlin. In solitary confinement, fettered hand and foot, he awaited a show trial with a predetermined outcome. After a while he was allowed some sheets of paper and a pencil. He began to write sonnet after sonnet describing his days and nights in prison, shared with comrades of the Resistance who were one after another taken away to the hangman. From Moabit his mind soared out to the world he had known and loved: the lands near and far he had visited, the men and women who meant most to him, the literary and artistic treasures of the past he valued most of all. Sometimes he wrote in sorrow over the destruction of this precious heritage, sometimes in anger against those who had led his people on the road to war. But mostly he wrote in praise and love, as he conversed with the dead and the living dearest to him.

Five Evenings was published in the Minnesota Drama Editions series by the University of Minnesota Press in 1966.The Russian playwright Aleksandr Volodin represents a “new wave” of Soviet dramatists, who appear to be primarily interested in personal relationships and values within a framework that is social rather than specifically socialist or communist. This play, Five Evenings, was first published in the Soviet monthly theater journal Teatr in 1958 and was produced at the Boloshoi Theatre of Drama in 1959. An earlier play by Volodin, The Factory Kid, was the subject of violent controversy, on political grounds, in the Soviet press. But while the controversy raged, the play was being enthusiastically received by large audiences. A later play, Going Out and Staying In, was produced in Moscow at the Ermolova Theatre in 1960. Recently Volodin has been working in films.Five Evenings has its setting in present-day Leningrad. As Harold Clurman points out in his introduction, it “is a simple play, so simple in fact that audiences in our great metropolitan centers might call it 'corny.' In doing this they would betray their own provinciality.” Mr. Clurman believes that an American production of the play would help us appreciate the spirit of Soviet dramaturgy, and better still, understand the Soviet people. “Beyond that,” he writes, “it might provide us with an affectionate and touching evening in the theatre - a good time.”