A lonely, openly gay high school senior never expects kindness from the hockey crowd-until a handsome Russian exchange student steps between him and a brutal group of bullies. What begins as an unlikely friendship soon grows into a secret romance forged in the shadows of small-town prejudice, frozen hockey rinks, and the aching hope of first love.As Kyle Kane struggles to survive his final year at Riverside High, Vladimir Kostainov becomes both his fiercest protector and his greate...

With this impassioned memoir, an American convert to Islam "lifts the veil on this ancient and sacred duty" of making a pilgrimage to Mecca ( Publishers Weekly).The hadj, or sacred journey, is the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are enjoined to make once in their lifetimes. One of the world's oldest religious rites, the hadj has continued without break for fourteen centuries. It is, like most things Islamic, shrouded in mystery for Westerners. Here, M...

"Wolfe does an exemplary job of detailing the ceremonies performed at Mecca and the reasons behind them . . . Highly recommended." — Library Journal, starred reviewThis updated and expanded edition of One Thousand Roads to Mecca collects significant works by observant travel writers from the East and West over the last ten centuries—including two new contemporary narratives—creating a comprehensive, multifaceted ...

The 10 essays here are the result of a conference devoted to the study of medieval technology in April 1995. Taken together, they aim to help dispel the common misconception that medieval people somehow had to toil in a world bereft of technical innovation and ingenuity. The authors of the papers, all experts in their fields, show the Middle Ages not only to be a time of considerable technological development, but also the ways in which the technologies of building construction, manufactur...

When America teeters on the edge of political chaos, Democratic-Republican candidate Jack Seaward takes a bold gamble: a unity ticket meant to heal a fractured nation. His running mate, Congressman Kyle Kane, is young, charismatic, and unshakably principled. But when a ruthless Speaker of the House unleashes a personal attack that exposes Kane's private life, Seaward's campaign is nearly derailed.As polls tighten and Election Day looms, Kane must battle not only smear campaigns and...

The pathbreaking work of renowned historian Natalie Zemon Davis has added profoundly to our understanding of early modern society and culture. She rescues men and women from oblivion using her unique combination of rich imagination, keen intelligence, and archival sleuthing to uncover the past. Davis brings to life a dazzling cast of extraordinary people, revealing their thoughts, emotions, and choices in the world in which they lived. Thanks to Davis we can meet the impostor Arnaud du Til...

“The thinking person's guide to Islam in a post-9/11 America” —Publisher’s WeeklyIslam, the least understood of the world's great religions, is balanced on a precipice between the past and the future, between fanatical fundamentalists and progressives advocating peace. Noted Islamic authority Michael Wolfe moderates 35 expert speakers, writers, and leaders, including Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) and Karen Armstrong, the bestselling author of A History of ...

Are you in a long distance relationship? Do you want to get to know your partner better? Do phone calls sometimes feel like hard work? Do you find yourself wondering what to talk about apart from how your day was? Pick up these 201 fun discussion questions for couples. These questions will spark fresh conversations, make you laugh, and help you get to know each other better. Questions span topics related to childhood, family, work, passions, life now, the future, what if, a...

The lively ancient epitaphs in this bilingual collection fit together like small mosaic tiles, forming a vivid portrait of Greek society.Cut These Words into My Stone offers evidence that ancient Greek life was not only celebrated in great heroic epics, but was also commemorated in hundreds of artfully composed verse epitaphs. They have been preserved in anthologies and gleaned from weathered headstones.Three-year-old Archianax, playing near a well...

When everything appears hopeless, sometimes all you need is a cosmic helping hand.Dylan Townsend didn’t expect to spend his twenty-second birthday on an alien moon in the Andromeda galaxy along with Isaac Barret, and Dr. Kate Minter. They have no idea how they were transported from Earth to an alien world and then put in quarantine. They’ve lost hope of being rescued and have resigned themselves to spending the rest of their lives on the moon.The Systral Em...

Freelancing in galactic space is hazardous to your health, unless you’re Blake Brown, a four-hundred-plus-year-old vampire exiled from Earth. After serving as an intelligence agent in the Fredorian Rangers for twenty years, he has his sights set on trying out the mercenary bounty system with his abductee brother, Seth Williams.It’s one thing to find a bounty or contract they can attempt with so little to their name. Fulfilling it is another. Starting off small, they take a simple c...

Don’t discount those from EarthTwo years of freelancing in the galactic bounty system has taken its toll on Blake Brown, a four-hundred-plus-year-old vampire exiled from Earth. Along with his partner in crime, Seth Williams, Blake decides to call it quits. However, a new opportunity arises, one that comes from the highest authority of Fredoria, the home world of human refugees that were abducted from Earth.Forming a team to rise to this new challenge is one...