A novel spinning warm and very amusing tall tales about larger-than-life characters in a small village in the South Wales Valleys in the 1960s.

There has been a lack of reliable academic studies regarding Filipino martial arts that have uniquely developed in the Philippine archipelago. This anthology assembles pioneering scholarly materials valuable for any interested in the Filipino combatives, as well as chapters specifically on the practice.

This book represents an international gathering of friends who happen to be highly qualified martial art scholars and practitioners. We have come together in celebration of the more than twenty years the Journal of Asian Martial Arts inspired scholarship in this field to higher academic standards while encouraging all aspects of responsible practice. Each article was written specifically for this banquet, with topics representing the rich variety found in the Asian martial traditi...

The International Bestseller'A love story to the mountains in the mist, the pulsating northern lights and the red deer at dawn. And to independence' – The Washington PostCould you leave behind the bustle of modern society and spend your days immersed in nature? In The Way of the Hermit, seventy-four-year-old Ken Smith recounts a life he has chosen to spend alone with the wilderness.Ken Smith has sp...

Judas is an intimate story of the disciple who betrayed Jesus Christ. His birth in Kerioth, and family relationship to the Shepherds of Kerioth, the shepherds of the sacred Temple flock begin his life. As a young man he follows, along with other disciples and ultimately bears the responsibility for betraying the Lord. Each Bible reference to Judas is incorporated in the historical narrative along with much of typical life of a Hebrew youth of his day. The results of the betrayal l...

Sailors, Scientists, Spies describes the lives of two eighteenth century Spanish naval officers. These young men, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, first met in 1735 when they were chosen by King Philip V to represent Spanish interests on a French scientific expedition to South America.At that time, navigation at sea could best be described as an inaccurate science, largely because of the prevailing uncertainties as to the precise shape and size of the earth. The aim of the French p...

What are folk desperate for these days? A laugh, we reckon. And fortunately the readers of The Herald newspaper agree, as over the past year they have sent the newspaper's Diary column their funniest moments, whether it's about the daft things that happen in their office, the outrageous comments they are told in the pub, or just the eyebrow-raising observations they overhear on the train into town. They even have the occasional smile over politics, would you believe.And the very best of th...

It's a memorable year in Scotland. The country will vote on independence, Glasgow will welcome the world to the Commonwealth Games, and the world's best golfers battle it out in the Ryder Cup on Scottish soil. Meanwhile, Scots do what they always do - eat and drink too much, complain about the weather and, fortunately, have a laugh about it. Their tales of the funniest events will be sent to The Herald newspaper's iconic Diary column, and the best of them are gathered here.

If every Glaswegian thinks they are a comedian, then the "Herald" newspaper's daily "Diary" column is their jokebook. When true life cartwheels over into humour, or a joke is cracked in a Scottish office, bar or playground, it usually ends up in the "Diary". The year 2011 has brought us royal weddings, Scottish elections, tumbling house prices, headline-grabbing football matches, and dire weather. Yet Scots smiled through the lot, and told the "Diary" about it. We have now carefully gone o...

This edited collection examines the means to create, maintain, and enhance welcoming colleges and universities in the United States and abroad with personal accounts, case studies, models, programs, and other frameworks written by practitioners in higher education. The contributors explain how they have created inviting classrooms; established friendly educational experiences both within and beyond the classroom; engaged faculty and enhanced the teaching experience; and developed instrumen...

Ken Smith (1938-2003) was a major voice in world poetry, his work and example inspiring a whole generation of younger British poets. His politically edgy, cuttingly colloquial, muscular poetry poetry shifted territory with time, from rural Yorkshire, America and London to the war-ravaged Balkans and Eastern Europe (before and after Communism). His early books span a transition from a preoccupation with land and myth to his later engagement with urban Britain and the politics of radical dis...

So what did Scots have to smile about this year? When they watched Britain voting for Brexit, when they heard the constant arguments about independence, and when they saw a strangely coiffed son of a Scotswoman become President of the United States, they turned to their usual survival technique – they laughed.When they saw Rangers stumble on their road back to the top, a Scot, Andy Murray, becoming a top world sportsman, and a Scottish horse winning the Grand National, they natural...