This is a tale of the quest of young Peter Mcfall, whose life has been upset by the recent move of his family to a new home.His father helps him build a tree house, which he names, The Utopia Den. He finds unexpected adventure there as well as, some unusual friends; a Praying Mantis and a Ladybug. With them he travels magically to NoWhere Land. His quest is to stop a stubborn Draconis, from frightening the Citizens and taking over the Castle of Hamaso, King of this land. As he travels from his world to another, he discovers strange new people, new responsibilities, and an appreciation for his own family. With the use of magic and good thinking he comes face to face with Draconis. He must stop him, but how? His is a delightful journey. Join him!

After a young member of the Jehovah's Witness Church is abducted in conjunction with a ritualistic triple homicide in the mountains outside of Los Angeles, the church engages cult specialist Stephan Raszer to find her perilous trail. Based on evidence that the girl may have been trafficked into a sex and terrorism ring with a Middle Eastern nexus, Raszer soon unveils an inside–out reality that begins on the Internet and ends in a fabled fortress on the borderlands of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, where a powerful figure known only as the Old Man is said to hold the strings. With the dubious aid of the abductee's wayward sister, along with a renegade CIA agent and a fraternity of sojourning gamesters, Raszer journeys far from the rational world and deep into a dangerous and erotically charged netherland. Piece by piece, he gathers evidence of a world–altering criminal conspiracy linked to an ancient Persian sect that uses an Internet role–playing game to recruit its foot soldiers. To solve the puzzle and find the girl, Stephan Raszer must play the game and try to hold on to his soul and his sanity in a world turned on its head.

A first attempt to present an approach to Ukrainian history which goes beyond the standard 'national narrative' schemes, predominant in the majority of post-Soviet countries after 1991, in the years of implementing 'nation-building projects'. An unrivalled collection of essays by the finest scholars in the field from Ukraine, Russia, USA, Germany, Austria and Canada, superbly written to a high academic standard. The various chapters are methodologically innovative and thought-provoking. The biggest Eastern European country has ancient roots but also the birth pangs of a new autonomous state. Its historiography is characterized by animated debates, in which this book takes a definite stance. The history of Ukraine is not written here as a linear, teleological narrative of ethnic Ukrainians but as a multicultural, multidimensional history of a diversity of cultures, religious denominations, languages, ethical norms, and historical experience. It is not presented as causal explanation of 'what has to have happened' but rather as conjunctures and contingencies, disruptions, and episodes of 'lack of history.'

Picture a social misfit who has stumbled through life, making every conceivable mistake along the way. Despite his best efforts to find stability and understanding in a world that seemed to elude him, he remained stubborn and uncompromising, clinging to a deep-seated attitude of non-conformity. His headspace had no room for compromise, and as a result, he had never experienced a meaningful relationship of any kind. But unbeknownst to him, there were people working on him – not professionals, religious figures, or members of a sect – but ordinary individuals with caring hearts who must have taken pity on him. They never gave up on him, even when he gave them no reason to continue. These compassionate souls never sought gratitude or anything in return, and the dropout never offered it. Yet, he kept returning to them, knowing deep down that they were his only chance at redemption. He understood that they were always a few steps ahead, and he was constantly playing catch-up. Just when he thought he had nearly caught up, they would present him with a new challenge, leaving him frustrated at times. But it was a game he grew to love, and sometimes, when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he found himself smiling – a rare occurrence in his life. He knew that these people were catalysts for the necessary changes within him, and he embraced the journey, learning about love and the warm feeling it ignited in his chest.

Suddenly, in the twenty-first century, religion has become a political power. It affects us all, whether we’re religious or not. If we’re not in danger of being blown up by a suicide bomber we’ve got leaders to whom God speaks, ordering them to start a war. We’re beset by people who demand that we give ourselves to Jesus while they smugly assure us of their own superiority and inherent goodness. We’re surrounded by those who noisily reject science while making full use of the benefits science brings; by the ‘spiritual’ ones; the ones who believe in magic; and there’s the militant atheists berating us all for our stupidity. We wouldn’t object to what people believed if only they’d keep it to themselves. We want to make up our own minds about what we believe, but it’s difficult to do this. Everyone has to face the dilemma that we all die but no one knows for certain what death actually is. Is it the end of our identity or a doorway to another life? Whichever we choose, our choice is a fantasy that determines the purpose of our life. If death is the end of our identity, we have to make this life satisfactory, whatever ‘satisfactory’ might mean to us. If it is a doorway to another life, what are the standards we have to reach to go to that better life? All religions promise to overcome death, but there’s no set of religious or philosophical beliefs that ensures that our life is always happy and secure. Moreover, for many of us, what we were taught about a religion severely diminished our self-confidence and left us with a constant debilitating feeling of guilt and shame. Through all this turmoil comes the calm, clear voice of eminent psychologist Dorothy Rowe. She separates the political from the personal, the power-seeking from the compassionate. She shows how, if we use our beliefs as a defence against our feelings of worthlessness, we feel compelled to force our beliefs on to other people by coercion or aggression. However, it is possible to create a set of beliefs, expressed in the religious or philosophical metaphors most meaningful to us, which allow us to live at peace with ourselves and other people, to feel strong in ourselves without having to remain a child forever dependent on some supernatural power, and to face life with courage and optimism.

The Beatles: Illustrated Lyrics is the only major collection of illustrated The Beatles: Illustrated Lyrics is the only major collection of illustrated The Beatles lyrics available. Originally published in 1969, this book has become a symbol of an era, a must-have for Beatles fans and a brilliant tribute to the band that changed a generation. Quotes from John, Paul, George and Ringo provide candid, witty, insightful commentary on the songs and their origins. Clarification of controversial lyrics is offered by the only true authorities, The Beatles themselves. All the famous songs are included – from Can’t Buy Me Love and A Hard Day’s Night to Rocky Raccoon, Revolver and Yellow Submarine. Lavish full colour illustrations by internationally famous artists and specially commissioned photographs reflect the psychedelic world The Beatles lived in and the whole generation and pop culture they influenced.

In Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles, Revised Edition, Kenneth Womack brings the band's story vividly to life-from their salad days as a Liverpool Skiffle group and their apprenticeship in the nightclubs and mean streets of Hamburg through their early triumphs at the legendary Cavern Club and the massive onslaught of Beatlemania itself. By mapping the group's development as an artistic fusion, Womack traces the Beatles' creative arc from their first, primitive recordings through Abbey Road and the twilight of their career. In this revised edition, Womack addresses new insights in Beatles-related scholarship since the original publication of Long and Winding Roads, along with hundreds of the group's outtakes released in the intervening years. The updated edition also affords attention to the Beatles' musical debt to Rhythm and Blues, as well as to key recent discoveries that vastly shift our understanding of formative events in the band's timeless story.