Having discovered the monstrous secret of his origins, Archie Dent is no longer certain that he is worthy to be a member of the League of Seven. But with new enemies to face, he realizes that he may not have the luxury of questioning his destiny.??Wielding the Dragon Lantern, the maniacal Philomena Moffett has turned her back on the Septemberist Society, creating her own Shadow League and unleashing a monster army on the American continent. Archie and his friends must race to find the last two members of their league in time to thwart Moffett's plan and rescue humanity once more.

ReJesus asks the following questions: • What ongoing role does Jesus the Messiah play in shaping the ethos and self understanding of the movement that originated in him? • How is the Christian religion informed and shaped by the Jesus that we meet in the Gospels? • How do we assess the continuity required between the life and example of Jesus and the subsequent religion called Christianity? • In how many ways do we domesticate the radical revolutionary in order to sustain our religion and religiosity? • How can a rediscovery of Jesus renew our discipleship, the Christian community, and the ongoing mission of the church? These questions take us to the core of what the church is all about. Rather than reformation, the authors call their task re-founding the church because it raises the issue of the church's true Founder or Foundation. This theme is of particular importance at the dawn of the twenty-first century as many attempt to address Christianity's endemic and long trended decline in the West. The authors feel that a spiritual, theological, missional, and existential crisis looms in the West.

"Extensive media and online coverage of the businesss arena, news of start-ups, mergers, and deals are familiar headlines these days. But that wasn't always the case. The early years of venture capital were a far cry from today's very public dealings. Alan Patricof, one of the pioneers of the venture arena, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the past fifty years of the industry. From buying stock in Apple when its market valuation was only $60 million to founding New York Magazine to investing in AOL, Audible, and more recently, Axios, his discerning approach to finding companies is almost peerless. All of Patricof's investments -- from Xerox to Venmo -- share certain qualities. Each company had sound product with wide appeal, the economics were solid, and the management team was talented and committed to seeing their visions come to fruition." --

The man behind "I Could Have Danced all Night" and "Almost Like Being in Love", lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986) is widely regarded as one of the most important figures of the American musical stage. In penning the lyrics to some of the most well-known and beloved Broadway shows, including Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot, Lerner worked and corresponded with some of the greatest luminaries of popular entertainment over a career which spanned four decades, from performers like Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews to composers like André Previn, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Strouse, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and especially Frederick Loewe. In this rich collection of correspondence, most of it published for the first time, author Dominic McHugh sheds new light on Lerner's working relationships with these legendary figures. McHugh's extensive commentary reveals Lerner's turbulent partnerships with Loewe and Lane, his affection for Harrison, and his reverence for Burton. Particular emphasis is placed on Lerner's aborted projects with composers like Richard Rodgers and Arthur Schwartz. Especially valuable is the correspondence from his final years, in which he worked on a movie version of The Merry Widow, a BBC TV series about musicals, and a musical version of My Man Godfrey, none of which came to fruition. The collection ends with a poignant final exchange between Lerner and Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he was to have written The Phantom of the Opera. Overall, this important and lively book reveals the highs and lows of the career of one of America's wittiest and most romantic lyricists.

The author, a successful Broadway lyricist, traces the development of the musical and shares his observations on important composers, writers, and performers

Rabbi Alan Lew is known as the Zen Rabbi, a man who has been a leader in the Jewish meditation movement and who has worked to bring two ancient religious traditions into everyday life. One God Clapping is the story of his roundabout yet continuously provoking spiritual odyssey. It is also the story of the meeting between East and West in America and the ways in which that encounter has transformed how we understand our God and ourselves. Born in Brooklyn, where his grandfathers introduce him to the rituals of Jewish life, Lew is uprooted when his family moves to the suburbs. From there, his quest for spiritual solace begins, seeing him through the flowering of the sixties in California where, in the company of poets, hipsters, and beats, he settles on Zen Buddhism as a spiritual path. The enhanced self-awareness he chronicles leads to a completely unexpected revelation - the depth of his attachment to being a Jew. His interest in Buddhism begins to wane, culminating in his decision to become a rabbi. Yet even upon settling in as rabbi of the largest conservative synagogue in San Francisco, he is not at the end of his search for a spiritual home. Forced to answer questions about his Buddhist past, he is obliged to examine more closely the nature of spiritual practice and determine exactly what Buddhism and Judaism have to offer each other. Like a Zen parable or a Jewish folk tale, One God Clapping unfolds as a series of stories, each containing a moment of revelation or instruction that, while often unexpected, is never simple of contrived. Like the life of Alan Lew himself, this book is a bold experiment in the integration of Eastern and Western ways of looking at and living in the world.

The Declaration of Independence as you've never seen it before Some of us cherish it with near-scriptural reverence. Others simply take it for granted. In this contentious new look at the Declaration of Independence, however, celebrated attorney Alan Dershowitz takes "America's birth certificate" and its principal author, Thomas Jefferson, to task. Dershowitz searches for the sources, history, and underlying reasoning that produced the Declaration and its particular language, from its reference to the "Laws of Nature and Nature's God" through the long list of complaints against the abuses of King George III. He points out contradictions within the document, notes how the meanings of Jefferson's words have changed over the centuries, and asks many disturbing questions, including: Where do rights come from? Do we have "unalienable rights"? Do rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" have any meaning? How could slaveowners claim to believe that "all men are created equal"? Is the God of the Declaration the God of the Bible? Does the Declaration establish a Christian State? Are there "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God"? Challenging, upsetting, and controversial, this brilliant polemic may anger you, delight you, or force you to reexamine your opinions. One thing's for sure: after reading America Declares Independence, you'll never take the Declaration of Independence for granted again.

2005 RECORDED BOOKS set of 6 UNABRIDGED AUDIO CDs

Dubbed the Indiana Jones of wildlife science by The New York Times , Alan Rabinowitz has devoted—and risked—his life to protect nature’s great endangered mammals. He has journeyed to the remote corners of the earth in search of wild things, weathering treacherous terrain, plane crashes, and hostile governments. Life in the Valley of Death recounts his most ambitious and dangerous adventure yet: the creation of the world’s largest tiger preserve. The tale is set in the lush Hukaung Valley of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. An escape route for refugees fleeing the Japanese army during World War II, this rugged stretch of land claimed the lives of thousands of children, women, and soldiers. Today it is home to one of the largest tiger populations outside of India—a population threatened by rampant poaching and the recent encroachment of gold prospectors. To save the remaining tigers, Rabinowitz must navigate not only an unforgiving landscape, but the tangled web of politics in Myanmar. Faced with a military dictatorship, an insurgent army, tribes once infamous for taking the heads of their enemies, and villagers living on less than one U.S. dollar per day, the scientist and adventurer most comfortable with animals is thrust into a diplomatic minefield. As he works to balance the interests of disparate factions and endangered wildlife, his own life is threatened by an incurable disease. The resulting story is one of destruction and loss, but also renewal. In forests reviled as the valley of death, Rabinowitz finds new life for himself, for communities haunted by poverty and violence, and for the tigers he vowed to protect.

The Universe in which we live is unimaginably vast and ancient, with countless star systems, galaxies, and extraordinary phenomena such as black holes, dark matter, and gamma ray bursts. What phenomena remain mysteries, even to seasoned scientists? Our Universe is a fascinating collection of essays by some of the world's foremost astrophysicists. Some are theorists, some computational modelers, some observers, but all offer their insights into the most cutting-edge, difficult, and curious aspects of astrophysics. Compiled, the essays describe more than the latest techniques and findings. Each of the ten contributors offers a more personal perspective on their work, revealing what motivates them and how their careers and lives have been shaped by their desire to understand our universe. S. Alan Stern is Director of the Department of Space Studies at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. He is a planetary scientist and astrophysicist with both observational and theoretical interests. Stern is an avid pilot and a principal investigator in NASA's planetary research program, and he was selected to be a NASA space shuttle mission specialist finalist. He is the author of more than 100 papers and popular articles. His most recent book is Pluto & Charon (Wiley, 1997). Contributors: Dr. John Huchra, Harvard University Dr. Esther Hu, University of Hawaii, Honolulu Dr. John Mather, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Nick Gnedin, University of Colorado, Boulder Dr. Doug Richstone, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Dr. Bohdan Paczynski, Princeton University, NJ Dr. Megan Donahue, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD Dr. Jerry Ostriker, Princeton University, New Jersey G. Bothun, University of Oregon, Eugene

Customers have radically changed the ways they interact with businesses, and today's organizations need to adapt Is your company prepared for the Gen D future, or is it heading toward life support? A lot of companies across the globe are going to die over the next few years, not because of macroeconomic stress, but because there is an emerging generation that is radically changing the rules of customer engagement. In Build For Change , Pegasystems CEO Alan Trefler shows exactly what companies can do to turn the coming "customerpocalypse" into one of the biggest business opportunities of the decade. The newest generation of consumers is turning customer relationship management on its head. Build For Change highlights the revolutionary changes to business, marketing, and technology practices that are needed to survive and thrive in these unforgiving times. Readers will learn how businesses are increasingly relying on new forms of customer engagement, and how one customer's experience—whether good or bad—can alter a company's reputation with the click of a mouse. With practical insight from a leader in customer engagement, this book serves as a timely wakeup call to companies that have not yet embraced the digital future. Traditional marketing is becoming increasingly irrelevant, and businesses must become more customer-centric while taking a completely different approach to adopting and using technology. Build For Change outlines exactly what can—and must—be done to ensure sustainable success in the new digital era: Relate to the new generation of consumers, and understand their preferences and demands Stop obsessing about mountains of data, and instead apply business-driven continuous improvement to customer processes Learn how to overcome the fatal flaws of current technology fads Rethink organizational roles to drive adaptive and transformative innovation Consumers have more options than ever before, and ensuring customer loyalty in the modern market means knowing exactly what the customer wants and how to deliver it brilliantly. Build For Change provides actionable guidance for engaging this new connected consumer.

How Americans describe their guiding principles in an exhilarating and unnerving new era of moral freedom. What is the difference between right and wrong? What does it mean to lead a good life? How binding is the marriage vow? What are your obligations to an employer? To your friends? To yourself? Is it always immoral to tell a lie? Eminent sociologist and public intellectual Alan Wolfe asked Americans around the country such questions in order to determine how we really think about morality today. Wolfe discovered that while values have changed, they are far from absent. Americans of all stripesfrom the most radical to the most traditionalwant to lead a good life, but in almost every case they are determined to decide for themselves what a good life means. Focusing on traditional virtues of loyalty, honesty, self-restraint, and forgiveness, Moral Freedom reveals the complexities of living in a society where rather than simply accepting strict conventions, each individual struggles to forge a moral life.

Dear Mr. Franklin, First of all, let me just say that this Assignment is Stupid. You are Dead. Why am I writing a letter to Some dead guy I've never even met? This is the start to a most unlikely pen pal relationship between thirteen-year-old Franklin Isaac Saturday (Ike) and Benjamin Franklin. Before the fateful extra credit assignment that started it all, Ike's life was pretty normal. He was avoiding the popularity contests of middle school, crushing hard on Clare Wanzandae and trying not roll his eyes at his stepfather, Dirk-the-Jerk's, lame jokes. But all that changes when, in a successful effort to make Claire Wanzandae laugh, Ike mails his homework assignment to Ben Franklin?and he writes back. Soon, things go awry. After Ike has an embarrassing moment of epic proportions in front of Claire involving a playground, non-alcoholic beer, and a lot of kettle corn, Ike decides he needs to find a way to win Claire back. With some help from his new friend, B-Freezy, can Ike get the girl and make his mark in history? Praise for Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in my... "Famously funny, this book flies like Ben Franklin's kite, but into a nuclear reactor. Forget the lightning; kids' stuff!" -Ridley Pearson, New York Times best-selling author of The Kingdom Keepers series and Peter and the Starcatchers "This is absolutely the funniest book about time-traveling mail and Benjamin Franklin that I have ever read. And I have read them all." -Dave Barry, New York Times Best-Selling author of The Worst Class Trip Ever

In the spring of 1919, two British solar eclipse expeditions confirmed the correctness of general relativity theory and propelled Albert Einstein to instant celebrity. Before this major turning point, the majority of Einstein's writings published in this volume dealt with the clarification of general relativistic problems, such as the status of the metric field, the character of gravitational waves, the problem of energy-momentum conservation, and questions of cosmology, such as the nature and size of the universe and the distribution of matter within it. After his rise to international fame, Einstein's publications changed markedly. He faced an increasing demand for popular articles and lectures on relativity, its development and meaning. He also felt compelled to respond to a host of commentators, ranging from skeptical physicists to philosophers trying to reconcile his revolutionary theory with their views. For the first time, he also responded in print to outspoken anti-relativists, some of them fueled by cultural conservatism and, frequently, anti-Semitism. Einstein used his newly won fame to lend prestige to political causes, especially to the reconciliation among European nations and to Zionism. In the early years of Weimar Germany, Einstein spoke out vigorously for the young republic, emphasizing the rights of the individual. He agonized over the misery of the Central Europeans in the grip of starvation and economic collapse, praised the support of individuals and groups such as the Quakers, and championed the cause of Eastern European Jews. His rejection of assimilation, combined with a fierce defense of the right of Jews to higher education, led Einstein to campaign for the establishment of a university in Palestine, the land which he conceived of as a cultural center for all Jews.

Used book in good condition from my home collection.

Preeminent psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis combines forces with other renowned therapists to create this rare and inclusive book that captures the realities of counseling with children. Rather than using a traditional case study approach, this work features verbatim transcripts that convey real issues ranging from anger management and self-esteem to peer pressure and bed-wetting. For child therapists and counselors.

With a new foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe, PhD, ScD, St. John's University "Albert Ellis has written many books on his favorite topic Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Although he writes on that topic very well, he often does not write about generic psychotherapy. REBT is an integrative form of psychotherapy. Following this model, psychotherapists can incorporate many diverse techniques and strategies to change clients' dysfunctional behaviors and emotions . Much of what Al identifies as good REBT in this book is just good psychotherapy. Because people so universally identify Al with REBT, people may generally overlook his wisdom as a clinician. Having worked with Al for more than thirty years, I have been fortunate enough to learn from him. Much of the knowledge I learned from Al and cherish the most is not necessarily about REBT theory. They concern wise ways of thinking about clinical problems. That is why, out of all Al's books, this is my favorite. This is Al Ellis, the clinician." -- From the Foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe , PhD, ScD, Director of Professional Education, Albert Ellis Institute; Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, St. John's University Now available in an affordable paperback, this edition takes a look at the underlying causes of resisting cognitive-emotional-behavioral change and the methods used to overcome them. Written in present-action language, Ellis gives an overview of the basic principles of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Ellis charts the changes in the field that have taken place in the 20 years leading up to 2002, when this edition was originally published. The book also integrates recent therapies into REBT, including psychotherapy, solution-focused therapy, and recent findings of experimental psychology.

Ten years after the publication of his book on the life of Elvis Presley, the author examines the last 24 hours of Elvis' life. Goldman argues that at the stage when Elvis died his career had been reduced to third-rate one-nighters, his money had been siphoned away by the people he most trusted and that he was so dependent on drugs that he took a massive dose on an empty stomach. The author argues that death had become an obsession for Elvis, from his first suicide attempt in 1967 to his final surrender to the drugs that eventually killed him. Goldman argues that Elvis meant to take his own life.