We usually consider literary thinking to be peripheral and dispensable, an activity for specialists: poets, prophets, lunatics, and babysitters. Certainly we do not think it is the basis of the mind. We think of stories and parables from Aesop's Fables or The Thousand and One Nights, for example, as exotic tales set in strange lands, with spectacular images, talking animals, and fantastic plots--wonderful entertainments, often insightful, but well removed from logic and s...

This book examines the phenomenon of kidnap-for-ransom, a crime that has been described as a ‘modern scourge.’ It draws on a large body of data from across the world and utilizes a range of theories and concepts from the social sciences and business disciplines to analyse and explain its widespread use by criminals and pirates. Case studies are extensively utilized to illustrate general observations on kidnap-for-ransom. The book provides comprehensive coverage, including the latest manife...

"WAR is a racket. It always has been."It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives."Thus begins one of the most important works of the last century that most people have never heard of. It isn't required reading in school, although it should be. It won't be brought up on your favorite evening sitcom, and politici...

Having been involved in Christian music for many years, I have made an unfortunate observation. Far too often, music has been the primary focus of many worship practices and events. Our Lord, whom we love, must be restored to the central point of our worship. As an orchestral composer, I realize how alluring music can be. We must set this allurement aside and refocus on Gods glory. If artistic beauty and musicianship have taken center stage, then our music may have become a sinful source o...

A practical, pocket-sized, and beginner-friendly wildflower guide for Eastern Washington and OregonEastern Washington and Oregon are home to a wide array of unique habitats, flourishing with unique plant life. Made for wildflower hunters and casual hikers alike, Timber Press’s In Bloom series are portable and accessible-to-everyone guides to the most prominent wildflowers you are likely to see in a given region.Whether it be colorful, showy plants,...

A practical, pocket-sized, and beginner-friendly wildflower guide for Western Washington and OregonWestern Washington and Oregon are home to a wide array of unique habitats, flourishing with unique plant life. Made for wildflower hunters and casual hikers alike, Timber Press’s In Bloom series are portable and accessible-to-everyone guides to the most prominent wildflowers you are likely to see in a given region.Whether it be colorful, showy plants,...

For more than a decade, Clear and Simple as the Truth has guided readers to consider style not as an elegant accessory of effective prose but as its very heart. Francis-Noël Thomas and Mark Turner present writing as an intellectual activity, not a passive application of verbal skills. In classic style, the motive is truth, the purpose is presentation, the reader and writer are intellectual equals, and the occasion is informal. This general style of presentation is at home everywhe...

In three volumes Mark R. Turner offers selected essays which he posted with illustrations in his blog throughout the years 2016-2026. Responses to conditions and actions perpetrated by the Trump/MAGA regime, these present Mark's thoughts on resisting evil and maintaining the Good. The principles are timeless making the essays helpful for renewal in both the reader's personal life and the world at large. While Mark views his writing as contributions to the wider conversation, he hopes that ...

In business circles, Mark Turner, the former CEO of WSFS, is best known for having led the Delaware-based bank from a market value of $100 million to a value of $3 billion on the NASDAQ exchange, outperforming the broader market's returns many times over while steering WSFS through turbulence, crisis, and opportunity for more than two decades. Born the eighth of nine kids in a working-class Philadelphia family, Turner's childhood was a full education in determination, resilience, a...

In its first two decades, much of cognitive science focused on such mental functions as memory, learning, symbolic thought, and language acquisition -- the functions in which the human mind most closely resembles a computer. But humans are more than computers, and the cutting-edge research in cognitive science is increasingly focused on the more mysterious, creative aspects of the mind. The Way We Think is a landmark synthesis that exemplifies this new direction. The theory of con...

Twenty poems and six essays are paired with thirty-two works of art and photography in this contemplative volume by artist Mark R. Turner. The poems and essays are drawn from the past decade, 2013 to 2023, of Mark's 57-year career as a playwright, visual artist, filmmaker and teacher.This, his fifth volume of poetry, imparts new insights into the significance of our role as a conscious member of the earth, where we came from and where we are going. The essays come from his monthly b...

Humorous and dramatic scenes happen in the holidays with these stories adapted from stage plays, poems from decades of contemplation, essays from blog posts, and artwork from many seasonal productions. Making holiday art and programs has been author Mark R. Turner's occupation since childhood and this collection taps into his finely honed skills of celebration. Guaranteed to be thought provoking, these offerings will give pause to discover new insights into the ancient wisdom of the holida...