In the Greco-Roman world, gods were known to tame soundscapes, or acoustic landscapes. Zeus, Apollo, Orpheus, and other Classical deities demonstrated their power by bringing order to chaotic sound worlds, replacing cacophony with harmony. In late antiquity, Christians took up this archetype and applied it to Jesus. For many early Christians, the advent of Christ resembled the modern phenomenon of a musical key change, but on a grand scale: Jesus initiated a recalibration of the cosmic sou...

According to Niccolo Machiavelli, leaders must always be prepared for unexpected change, sometimes rapidly and in violent and dramatic forms, in order to retain control of their fate. Philip Abbott applies this insight to U. S. presidents. He identifies six major periods of change in the political economic and international sphere and examines how presidents from Washington to Obama responded to new challenges. How presidents are elected, how they are expected to govern, how the economy fu...

According to the Bible, the God of Christianity has a reputation for answering prayer. However, many Christians have been sometimes severely tempted to think they have been sold short as they have found themselves in some crisis and have cried out to God in all sincerity, and found that he has been "out." From years of pastoral experience in addressing crises, and after having to face crises in his own experience, Roger Abbott attempts to help Christians who are struggling with what seem t...

This book presents an in-depth ethnographic case study carried out in the years following the 2010 Haiti earthquake to present the role of faith beliefs in disaster response. The earthquake is one of the most destructive on record, and the aftermath, including a cholera epidemic and ongoing humanitarian aid, has continued for years following the catastrophe.Based on dozens of interviews, this book gives primacy to survivors’ narratives. It begins by laying out the Haitian context, ...

The Journey of Curious Philip Ajere LaBier is a beautifully illustrated storybook inspired by the Noble Eightfold Path and based on real-life experiences with socially engaged Theravāda Buddhist monks in post-genocide Cambodia.Through Philip's journey of curiosity, reflection, and learning, young readers are introduced to wisdom, compassion, mindfulness, and ethical living in an accessible and engaging way. Each chapter includes a story, journal re...

The Rhodesian War of 1965–80 was the battle for control of present day Zimbabwe.The former British colony of Southern Rhodesia rejected British moves towards majority rule and on 11 November 1965 the Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith announced his country's Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. That act sparked a series of violent encounters between the traditional colonial army and the African guerrilla insurgents of the Patriotic Front....

Tracing the development of initial teacher education since the large-scale expansion of the teaching profession after the Second World War to the present day, The Transformation of Initial Teacher Education explores the changing nature of teacher training.Examining the growth of the ‘teaching industry’, this book addresses key issues including:the return to an apprentice modelthe growing importance of schools in init...

This volume explores the transformative power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Devoted disciples and scholars reflect on what it means to live in Christ—to walk in newness of life, to gain a more expansive view of ourselves and others, to be changed by grace, and to find divine peace and joy even in our darkest moments. Together, their reflections testify that Christ’s triumph over death is not only a historical miracle but also a present source of joy, healing, and renewal.

The original version of LATW’s groundbreaking docudrama about the Pentagon Papers, the infamous classified documents about US involvement in the Vietnam War, and how The Washington Post fought the government to publish them.Includes a 1991 panel discussion with journalists Ben Bradlee, Peter Braestrup, Robert Maynard, Carla Robbins, Robert Scheer, and George WilsonRecorded before a live audience at the Guest Quarters Suite Hotel, Santa Monica in March, 1991.Directed...

In FLATLAND, originally published in 1884, a humble square describes his two-dimensional world to benefit the inhabitants of Spaceland, the three-dimensional realm he discovers when he is visited by a being from beyond his plane.With dry wit and wild imagination, author Edwin Abbott Abbott builds a meticulous fantasy world rooted in an astute apprehension of psychology, politics, and social structures, as well as basic geometry. The story of FLATLAND, at once ridiculous and profoun...

If you don't like Christmas stories, don't read this one! And if you don't like dogs I don't know just what to advise you to do! For I warn you perfectly frankly that I am distinctly pro-dog and distinctly pro-Christmas, and would like to bring to this little story whatever whiff of fir-balsam I can cajole from the make-believe forest in my typewriter, and every glitter of tinsel, smudge of toy candle, crackle of wrapping paper, that my particular brand of brain and ink can conjure up on a...

Hailed as "a classic. . . . humorous, full of warmth and real invention" (The New Yorker), this beloved story--first published more than fifty ago--introduces readers to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond.For Milo, everything's a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he's got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by ...