Reveals the historical impact of dream rhetoric on Chinese modernity and nation-building Realism and the rhetoric of dreams intersected in modern Chinese literature from the May Fourth Era in the early twentieth century through the period just following the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. The Edge of Knowing investigates this relationship, showing how writers’ attention to dreams demonstrates the multiple influences of Western psychology, utopian desire for revolutionary change, and the enduring legacy of traditional Chinese philosophy. At the same time, modern Chinese writers used their work to represent social reality for the purpose of nation building. Recent political usage of dream rhetoric in the People’s Republic of China attests to the continuing influence of dreams on the imagination of Chinese modernity. By employing a number of critical perspectives, The Edge of Knowing will appeal to readers seeking to understand the complicated relationship between literary form and Chinese history and politics.

Lawrence Krauss explores the greatest unanswered questions at the forefront of science today, and likely for the coming century and beyond. Internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss explores science’s greatest unanswered questions. Three of the most important words in science are “I don't know.” Not knowing implies a Universe of opportunities—the possibility of discovery and surprise. Our understanding of science has advanced immeasurably over the last five hundred years, yet many fundamental mysteries of existence persist: How did our Universe begin? How big is the Universe? Is time travel possible? What’s at the center of a black hole? How did life on Earth arise? Are we alone? What is consciousness, and can we create it? These mysteries define the scientific forefront—the threshold of the unknown. To explore that threshold is to gain a deeper understanding of just how far science has progressed. Covering time, space, matter, life, and consciousness, Krauss introduces readers to topics that will shape the state of science for the next century, providing us all passport to our own journeys of exploration and discovery.

Wendell Sanger burns for the touch of young skin and the feel of young girls. He stalks his prey with the methodical organization that he uses in his business. He feels neither shame nor remorse, and he feels no satisfaction except for that brief moment when he is gorging himself on his victim. Ernest Caldwell is the police chief of Mossberg, Arkansas. His only companions are his bottle of Jack Daniels and his deputy. The townspeople see him as a lecherous boor of a man with no morals or ability, but he does work cheap and there is little crime in Mossberg. Wendell walks so close to the edge of sanity that he passes unnoticed. Ernest walks so close to the edge of corruption that he has no credibility. The murder of Kelly Settle will change both menas lives forever as one manas obsession becomes the other manas redemption.

Dawn strolled over to another wall where a large, framed, penciled drawing presented a grinning skull, a transparent round pipe with smoke curling from it, and a horned skull with hollow eyes that appeared to be laughing at her, like the phantom of her nightmare. Devoid of color, gray and white swirls of smoke depicted illusionary demons-there were demons in the smoke. The artwork, a little on the dark side, seemed almost symbolic. She remembered a time, not so very long ago, when Preston City was the safest place to live. Then drugs became more than a troubling issue. Van Morrison and Bob Kaley invaded their town and death walked stealthily through the halls of their school, out onto their quiet streets. They had arrived in town at about the same time last year, a simple coincidence? Van Morrison, a drug pusher on the south side, Bob Kaley, a respected teacher in her school. It seemed unlikely the two would have any connection. Still, she had her suspicions. Dawn wondered if it was her imagination working overtime linking a social studies teacher to disreputable drug pusher.

Over the past several decades, scholars working in biblical, theological, and religious studies have increasingly attended to the substantive ways that our experiences and understanding of God and God's relation to the world are structured by our experiences and concepts of race, gender, disability, and sexuality. These personal and social identities and their intersections serve as a hermeneutical lens for our interpretations of God, self, the other, and our religious texts and traditions. However, they have not received nearly the same level of attention from analytic theologians and philosophers of religion, and so a wide range of important issues remain ripe for analytic treatment. The papers in this volume address the various ways in which the aforementioned social identities intersect with, shape, and might be shaped by the questions with which analytic theology and philosophy of religion have typically been concerned, as well as what new questions they suggest to the discipline. We focus on three central areas of analytic theology: methodological principles, the intersection of social identities with religious epistemology, and the connections among eschatology, ante-mortem suffering, and ante-mortem social perceptions of bodies.

The emergent inclination for oral historians to respond to document crisis calls for a shared conversation among scholars. This dialog, at the heart of this anthology, addresses both the ways in which we think about oral history and the manner in which we use it.

My book focuses on what I know about ADHD, and what I have learned about just how to accept and cope with the challenges that it has brought to me, and in terms of having people understand me, I would say that one must have a really good grasp of what I know about Brain Chemistry, and Clinical Depression not just from a therapeutic point of view but also just the fact that I live with and accept the stigma associated with Depression. I also knew that as I wrote that hundreds of thousands will agree that live is what it is with its struggles, and pitfalls. I will say that in my experience it is best to be watchful of your audience, and also to realize that life is good and I am proud that I have lived to tell my story to others and to reach out to the thousands that suffer from this condition....

"Joan Halifax is a clearheaded and fearless traveler and in this book...she offers us a map of how to travel courageously and fruitfully, for our own benefit and the benefit of all beings." —From the foreword by Rebecca Solnit Standing at the Edge is an evocative examination of how we can respond to suffering, live our fullest lives, and remain open to the full spectrum of our human experience. Joan Halifax has enriched thousands of lives around the world through her work as a humanitarian, a social activist, an anthropologist, and as a Buddhist teacher. Over many decades, she has also collaborated with neuroscientists, clinicians, and psychologists to understand how contemplative practice can be a vehicle for social transformation. Through her unusual background, she developed an understanding of how our greatest challenges can become the most valuable source of our wisdom—and how we can transform our experience of suffering into the power of compassion for the benefit of others. Halifax has identified five psychological territories she calls Edge States—altruism, empathy, integrity, respect, and engagement—that epitomize strength of character. Yet each of these states can also be the cause of personal and social suffering. In this way, these five psychological experiences form edges, and it is only when we stand at these edges that we become open to the full range of our human experience and discover who we really are. Recounting the experiences of caregivers, activists, humanitarians, politicians, parents, and teachers, incorporating the wisdom of Zen traditions and mindfulness practices, and rooted in Halifax's groundbreaking research on compassion, Standing at the Edge is destined to become a contemporary classic. A powerful guide on how to find the freedom we seek for others and ourselves, it is a book that will serve us all.

The book gives a penetrating and full-length study of epistemology in the school of Bhatta Mimamsa. The work is based on an intensive and critical study of the Sanskrit texts which have not been utilized by any other Oriental scholar so far. It is very much different from other books on the subject because it not only discusses historically the epistemology of the Bhatta School but also discusses many really philosophical problems connected with epistemology in general and Indian epistemo-logy in particular. One of the most valuable features of the work is the comparative references which it makes to standard epistemologists of Western philosophy. The book reaches the highest watermark in its line. It compares and contrasts the Bhatta position on various issues with not only other Indian schools but also with some of the European philosophers like Russell, Moore, Reid, Hume, Mill and Kant. In a sense it is an exercise in comparative philosophy. This is inevitable, as otherwise, the position of the Bhatta School cannot be clarified and brought out in depth.