Showing results for "john stevens"

Steve Stevens has never been the hero of anyone’s story—least of all his own. Mediocre at sports, unlucky in love, and fresh off years of wandering abroad, he returns to his lakeside hometown hoping to reboot his life. He gets more than he bargained for when he’s drafted into running for mayor against a ruthless businessman determined to swallow his family farm whole.As if that weren’t enough, Steve’s sister—the high school track coach—ropes him into training the slowest runner in ...

The hermit-monk Ryokan, long beloved in Japan both for his poetry and for his character, belongs in the tradition of the great Zen eccentrics of China and Japan. His reclusive life and celebration of nature and the natural life also bring to mind his younger American contemporary, Thoreau. Ryokan's poetry is that of the mature Zen master, its deceptive simplicity revealing an art that surpasses artifice. Although Ryokan was born in eighteenth-century Japan, his extraordinary poems, capturi...

In *budo—*which can be translated as "the way of brave and enlightened activity"—martial arts and spirituality merge at the highest level of skill. Budo Secrets contains the essential teachings of budo's greatest masters of Kendo, Karate, Judo, Aikido, and other disciplines. Timely and instructive, these writings are not just for martial artists—they're for anyone who wants to live life more courageously, with a greater sense of personal confidence and self-control, and with a de...

Over the centuries, Buddhism has responded to sexuality in a variety of fascinating ways, sometimes suppressing the sexual urge, sometimes sublimating it, sometimes cultivating it, and, on the highest levels, transforming it. This book reveals how Buddhists, beginning with Shakyamuni Buddha himself, relate to the "inner fire" that drives humankind. Included are chapters on the Buddha’s love life before his enlightenment and his later relationships with women; the tantric approach to sex am...

In "Albert Gallatin," John Austin Stevens delves into the life and legacy of one of America's most significant yet underappreciated statesmen. Through meticulous research and a narrative style that blends biographical detail with a rich historical context, Stevens captures Gallatin's contributions to the founding principles of the United States, particularly in finance and diplomacy. Employing a blend of analytical rigor and engaging prose, the book positions Gallatin within the broader ta...

The subjects of medieval romance are the great and permanent concerns of the human mind. A literature is best approached by newcomers, through its major achievements, the author of this book, originally published in 1973, maintains. The book’s discussion centres on the romances of Chaucer and Chrétien de Troyes, and on such texts as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Roman de la Rose, and Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. The book’s introductory chapters stress the cont...

The inspirational teachings in this collection show that the real way of the warrior is based on compassion, wisdom, fearlessness, and love of nature. The teachings are drawn from the talks and writings of Morihei Ueshiba, founder of the popular Japanese martial art of Aikido, a mind-body discipline he called the "Art of Peace," which offers a nonviolent way to victory in the face of conflict. Ueshiba believed that Aikido principles could be applied to all the challenges we face in life—in...

She saw him in her dreams before he ever touched her.Isla of Brouillard has always been different. While other noblewomen embroider and gossip, she sees things that haven't happened yet. Terrible things. Beautiful things. True things.And lately, she's been dreaming of him.Golden hair. Eyes like a storm at sea. Hands that could break her... or hold her like something precious.The Viking who will rip her world apart.He came for revenge. He never planne...

The life and inspirational teachings of Awa Kenzo, the Japanese master archer first introduced in the martial arts classic Zen in the Art of ArcheryA Zen and kyudo (archery) master, Awa Kenzo (1880–1939) first gained worldwide renown after the publication of Eugen Herrigel's cult classic Zen in the Art of Archery in 1953. Kenzo lived and taught at a pivotal time in Japan's history, when martial arts were practiced primarily for self-cultivation, a...

The insightful martial arts biography of Yamoaka Tesshu, the larger-than-life samurai who founded his own school of swordsmanship and helped restore practical imperial rule to JapanMaster swordsman, calligrapher, and Zen practitioner, Yamoaka Tesshu is a seminal figure in martial arts history. John Stevens’s biography is a fascinating, detailed account of Tesshu’s remarkable life. From Tesshu’s superhuman feats of endurance and keen perception in life-threatening s...

A martial arts biography of the legendary founder of judo, Jigoro Kano, and the colorful coterie of disciples who wanted to carry on his legacyKodokan judo, one of the most well-known martial arts in the world today, was originated by Jigoro Kano (1860–1938), a martial artist and career educator who developed the art after studying several types of jujutsu, sumo, and Western wrestling. Openness and refinement were hallmarks of his personal and professional style, a...

In New America, 2095, women have been liberated from childbirth, and natural pregnancy is expressly forbidden. Individuals are no longer classified by biological sex, but by their inherent nature: Manx are ambitious and logical while Femina are sensitive, communicative, and nurturing.By all measures, thirty-three-year-old Manx Aureole Agnor is living the dream. She has a meteoric career as head of the nation’s defense and intelligence command; she is a celebrated pugilist, she enjo...