Numerous ritual manuals from the Jewish tradition have been written outlining the prayers and ceremonies that can be offered to the sick, the dying, and the dead. Two of the most outstanding of these manuals are Maavor Yabok and Sefer HaHayiim from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, respectively. This is the first book to analyze and compare these two important works, showing how they differ and compare. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of the prayers and rituals presented in Maav...

This "surprising and insightful" history profiles ten African American engineers, mathematicians, and others who worked for NASA's space program (Lauren Helmuth, New York Times Book Review).The Space Age began just as the struggle for civil rights forced Americans to confront the bitter legacy of slavery, discrimination, and violence against African Americans. NASA itself became an agent of social change, with President Kennedy opening its workplaces to Af...

Are you searching for God in your life? Are you looking for hope and faith during difficult times? In “God is with me; I have no fear!”, Rabbi Dr. Steven Moss shares his personal and professional encounters with God from his childhood to the present time. He hopes that his experiences will resonate with the reader to affirm or awaken a faith in God to help him or her through the good and tough times in life. This is an uplifting book to help the reader through the challenges of modern life...

Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Although the incidence of gastric cancer has declined over the past century in the United States, it remains one of the most common gastrointestinal neoplasms, particularly in immigrants and the socio-economically deprived. Recent years have seen major advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis of gastric cancer (especially regarding the importance of Helicobacter pylori and its associated inflammatory res...

"This crash course in critical thinking . . . includes handy rules for evaluating the confused public discourse on climate change, evolution, and even UFOs." — DiscoverRecent polls suggest that fewer than forty percent of Americans believe in Darwin's theory of evolution, despite it being one of science's best-established findings. Parents still refuse to vaccinate their children for fear it causes autism, though this link has been consistently disproved. A...

“For much of my life, […] I was unaware that my words echoed a script I was conditioned to follow, that the lights illuminated only that which I expected to see, and that the orchestra was merely a recording that had been playing since long before my birth.” - Nathan J. MurphyIn The Ideas That Rule Us, political theory researcher, author, and technology business owner Nathan J. Murphy takes an eye-opening, multi-disciplinary deep dive into how others’ ideology, pe...

Are you intimidated by statistics? Do you struggle to make sense of the numbers and data that are so prevalent in today's world?If so, you're not alone. Statistics can be a challenging and complex subject, but with the right guidance, you can learn the basics and understand the world through data – without the calculations. That's why I've created Statistics for the Rest of Us, the ultimate guide to understanding statistics without complex equations.

Leah Elson draws upon her wildly popular web series, 60 Seconds of Science, in this highly entertaining and visually appealing giftable book of real-world scientific questions and answers.How does DNA work?Does chicken noodle soup actually help with being sick?When cats purr, what is actually making the noise?Does singing to plants really help them grow?Is it possible to clone a woolly mammoth?In the vein of Randall Munr...

The legendary social psychologist and New York Times–bestselling author meditates on ideas of mental health and normalcy in contemporary society.At the beginning of the 1950s, Erich Fromm increasingly questioned whether people in contemporary industrial society were mentally healthy. Eventually the topic of various lectures, Fromm's new social psychoanalytic approach enabled him to further develop the psychoanalytic method into a comprehensive critique of t...

"A delightful exposition of commonly-encountered statistical fallacies and paradoxes and why they matter." —Samuel H. Preston, coauthor of Demography: Measuring and Modeling Population ProcessesAn essential guide to the ways data can improve decision making.Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate abil...

A history of gravity, and a study of its importance and relevance to our lives, as well as its influence on other areas of science.Physicists will tell you that four forces control the universe. Of these, gravity may be the most obvious, but it is also the most mysterious. Newton managed to predict the force of gravity but couldn't explain how it worked at a distance. Einstein picked up on the simple premise that gravity and acceleration are interchangeable to devis...

National Book Award Finalist: The "impressive" conclusion to the "magisterial trilogy on the mythology of violence in American history" ( Film Quarterly)."The myth of the Western frontier—which assumes that whites' conquest of Native Americans and the taming of the wilderness were preordained means to a progressive, civilized society—is embedded in our national psyche. U.S. troops called Vietnam 'Indian country.' President John Kennedy invoked 'New Frontier...