The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is best known for its athletic and youth programs, a heritage that draws on its origins in 1844 to provide wholesome recreation to urban youth away from the moral decay of industrialized urban living. Before long, that uplift mission found a place in the American Civil War, and soon the Y had spread all over the world by the early twentieth century, and in every major war thereafter as well. The YMCA at War: Collaboration and Conflict during the...

The health and fitness industry is huge, highly competitive, and often confusing to navigate. This one-of-a-kind book helps you make sense of the chaos, laying out a clear roadmap for career success—for both established professionals and anyone just getting started.With thousands of certifications, seminars, websites, and gurus promising advice, it's difficult for even the best pros to turn their passion for health and fitness into meaningful—and measurable—success...

The essential resource on military and political strategy and the making of the modern worldThe New Makers of Modern Strategy is the next generation of the definitive work on strategy and the key figures who have shaped the theory and practice of war and statecraft throughout the centuries. Featuring entirely new entries by a who’s who of world-class scholars, this new edition provides global, comparative perspectives on strategic thought from antiquity to...

What happens when a deity needs a human body?They go to the source, of course.Eshu the Trickster needs a mortal form for his mischievous plans, but the only other Orisha who can help him swore off the practice ages ago.It will take careful scheming to convince the Original Architect to come out of retirement. Any misstep and Eshu will be thrown from the Sky Realm.What’s worse, Eshu hasn’t visited the he...

“[A] magical, profound, and elegant look at the continued need for high quality in our throw away society.” —Douglas Brinkley, HistorianThis intensely human story, which moves from an ageless workshop in Brooklyn to the rehearsal rooms of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and across the globe to Cremona, the birthplace of Stradivari, opens up for the reader the insular and fascinating realm of music, musicians, and the craftsmanship that is essential to tha...

From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions—C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien—following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks"Masterful. . . Effortlessly blending fantasy and reality." (BCCB, starred review)Through narrative and comic panels, Hendrix chr...

Paul Castle always knew there was something more to music than he had been taught. Long before his work could begin, he heard songs carried by the wind. His melodies were not his alone. They belonged to an ancient spirit seeking modern interpretation and a contemporary voice. He had no choice but to follow where it led him. From the commercial studios of New York City to the Hollywood Hills and far beyond, Paul honed his craft and found a path that was richer than any he had ever imagined....

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Paul Castle always knew there was something more to music than he had been taught. Long before his work could begin, he heard songs carried by the wind. His melodies were not his alone. They belonged to an ancient spirit seeking modern interpretation and a contemporary voice. He had no choice but to follow where it led him. From the commercial studios of New York City to the Hollywood Hills and far beyond, Paul honed his craft and found a path tha...

In "Myths and Myth-Makers," John Fiske delves into the intricate relationship between myth and the human experience, exploring how myths not only shape cultural identity but also reflect societal values and aspirations. Fiske's keen analysis is underscored by a rich literary style that marries vibrant storytelling with rigorous intellectual inquiry. He situates his exploration within the broader context of 19th-century American thought, where burgeoning interest in anthropology and literat...

A masterful horror tale by the author of The Sound of His HornThe Doll Maker tells the tale of Clare Lydgate, a young woman studying at boarding school for her Oxford scholarship examinations. In the evenings, she escapes the school grounds by climbing over the wall of Brackenbine Hall. It is here that she encounters the charismatic and mysterious Niall Sterne, the "Doll Maker." This is a subtle, intelligent, and compelling tale of horror.

This work examines the place of the Arabs in the evolution of medicine and in science during the Middle Ages.“In order to understand the place of the Arabs in medicine and in science, a few words as to the rise of this people to political power, and then to the cultivation of literature and of science, are necessary. We hear of the Arabs as hireling soldiers fighting for others during the centuries just after Christ, and especially in connection with the story of the famous Queen Z...

In the 1970’s, when energy was cheap and gas lines still a figment of our imagination, three engineers in the New Mexico desert discovered a secret hiding within the molecules of compounds hosting oxygen and hydrogen. As they coaxed the energy trapped inside out, they tripped over the laws of physics, which forbade perpetual motion from being a reality. What they invented would cost one of them his life, another one to go into a lifetime of clandestine hiding and finally the third ...