James Patrick Thomas's path toward nuclear disarmament began on Good Friday, 1982, when he and his fellow peace pilgrims started walking away from the Trident Nuclear Submarine Base near Seattle. Their Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage would span 6,700 miles across the United States and nine other countries, each step aimed at ending the nuclear arms race.After two years on the road, Jim continued his pursuit of peace and disarmament. Back in Spokane, Washington, Jim turned his attention ...

Sh!t happens. Every day.Mae West was sent to jail for “corrupting the morals of youth” with her first Broadway play. When participation in the Hitler Youth became mandatory in Germany, groups of teen “pirates” rebelled. Muhammad Ali refused to “drop bombs and bullets on brown people” in Vietnam. A dog sled relay carried life-saving medicine 674 miles through –50 temperatures to rescue children dying from diphtheria. The Dionne Quintuplets were stolen by the Canadia...

The fascinating story of the most powerful source of energy the earth can yieldUranium is a common element in the earth's crust and the only naturally occurring mineral with the power to end all life on the planet. After World War II, it reshaped the global order-whoever could master uranium could master the world.Marie Curie gave us hope that uranium would be a miracle panacea, but the Manhattan Project gave us reason to believe that civilization would end...

SH!T HAPPENS. AGAIN.**The SECOND VOLUME of the hilarious, irreverent guide to world history you never knew you needed, featuring 366 MORE profanity-filled tales of triumph and terror, science and stupidity, courage and cowardice.Those who cannot remember the past . . . need a history teacher who says "f*ck" a lot.**That famous photo of the Loch Ness Monster was faked as an act of revenge against The Daily Mail. Before "Scotty" saved the starship Ent...

A superb book about Don Watson's journeys around America. Featured as one of Newsweek’s 50 ‘What to Read Now and Why’ titles.Only in America - the most powerful democracy on earth, home to the best and worst of everything - are the most extreme contradictions possible. In a series of journeys acclaimed author Don Watson set out to explore the nation that has influenced him more than any other.Travelling by rail gave Watson a unique and seductive means of peering into the Un...

Some days, the news seems too much to bear. Yet another tsunami or earthquake or flood or fire or war atrocity. One more gun-toting madman stalking young people in idyllic Norway or moviegoers in Colorado or schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut. We turn off the news only to get a phone call about expectant parents with a stillborn baby, or a loved one whose cancer has returned.If we have faith in God, it gets shaken to the core. What was God doing in the moment when that...

'Sitting not far below my feet, there was a thermonuclear warhead about twenty times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, all set and ready to go. The only sound was the sound of the wind.'Seventy years after the bombing of Hiroshima, Eric Schlosser's powerful, chilling piece of journalism exposes today's deadly nuclear age. Originally published in the New Yorker and now expanded, this terrifying true account of the 2012 break-in at a high-security weapons...

Be amazingWho says you can't? It's time to get off the couch and take your life to the next level.Step one: stand on the shoulders of geniusesWhat good are the world's greatest geniuses if you can't muddy their shoulder pads and use their accomplishments as a step stool? mental_floss has combed through every success story in history to deliver this ultimate how-to guide for climbing your way to greatness.Step two: bask in the glow of admiring fansWhe...

****A Washington Post "Notable Nonfiction Book of 2016"**ON A TRANQUIL SUMMER NIGHT** in July 2012, a trio of peace activists infiltrated the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Nicknamed the “Fort Knox of Uranium,” Y-12 was supposedly one of the most secure sites in the world, a bastion of warhead parts and hundreds of tons of highly enriched uranium—enough to power thousands of nuclear bombs. The three activists—a house painter, a Vietnam War veteran,...

The best book on the 20th Century. Read up on the most important people, events and stories with this book. Download your copy today!

“The great troubadour David Rovics put down his guitar long enough to compose this gripping and vivid book, filled with illuminating stories about the courageous people he met over the last few years who are fighting for justice in the United States and around the world. Impassioned yet conversational, he brings loving portraits -- and damning indictments. Rovics's humanity shines through, as does his unquenchable thirst for a better, fairer world.” Matt Rothschild Editor, Progressive Maga...

God still walks the earth, but these days he does it through his people. Far from an impersonal institution or a closed religious club, the church is really a life-giving spiritual community, the place where God touches humanity through those who follow him. It’s where God’s stories are told and taught, where hope is lived out, where people are reconciled, and where God is encountered.Join in this conversation about the real life of faith, the spiritual journey that is shared with ...