Life in the Kingdom of Mavinor was lived according to "The Scrolls," until they were attacked by the army of a neighboring kingdom (Xamnon). Every copy of The Scrolls was destroyed in the war. Despite countless hours of labor, the task of reproducing them was far from complete, and their society was slowly unraveling. In order to try and save his people from falling into an age of darkness, King Onestus, whose health is failing, announces that he will assemble a group of thirteen men to undertake a prophesied quest. This quest, to return a sacred medallion to the kingdom, will decide his successor. "The Medallion of Mavinor" is the story of how thirteen very different men learn to work together; warriors, a scholar, a rich man, a fisherman, thrown together against nearly impossible odds. They face off against their world, magical creatures, and one another on an epic journey into the past, and the future of their world.

This book looks at Kierkegaard with a fresh perspective shaped by the history of ideas, framed by the terms romanticism and modernism. 'Modernism' here refers to the kind of intellectual and literary modernism associated with Georg Brandes, and such later nineteenth and early twentieth century figures as J. P. Jacobsen, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Ibsen (all often associated with Kierkegaard in early secondary literature), and the young Georg Lukacs. This movement, currently attracting increasing scholarly attention, fed into such varied currents of twentieth century thought as Bolshevism (as in Lukacs himself), fascism, and the early existentialism of, e.g., Shestov and the radical culture journal The Brenner (in which Kierkegaard featured regularly, and whose readers included Martin Heidegger). Each of these movements has, arguably, its own 'Romantic' aspect and Kierkegaard thus emerges as a figure who holds together or in whom are reflected both the aspirations and contradictions of early romanticism and its later nineteenth and twentieth century inheritors. Kierkegaard's specific 'staging' of his authorship in the contemporary life of Copenhagen, then undergoing a rapid transformation from being the backward capital of an absolutist monarchy to a modern, cosmopolitan city, provides a further focus for the volume. In this situation the early Romantic experience of nature as providing a source of healing and an experience of unambiguous life is transposed into a more complex and, ultimately, catastrophic register. In articulating these tensions, Kierkegaard's authorship provided a mirror to his age but also anticipated and influenced later generations who wrestled with their own versions of this situation.

The Quest of the Hermeneutical Jesus is a study in how reading documents referring to Jesus influences conclusions as to who Jesus was as a figure in history. In this book, author Robert B. Stewart leads his readers through the projects of two of the most important and influential scholars in the field of historical Jesus research, in order to show his readers how the philosophical presuppositions and hermeneutical methods of Crossan and Wright impact their respective historical conclusions concerning Jesus. There is arguably no more important question in religious studies than what can we know about Jesus. Stewart takes on the task of filling the void in this area by addressing how hermeneutics influences history. In addition to highlighting the work of two great scholars, Stewart also provides a useful introduction and guide through much of the maze of contemporary literary criticism. Book jacket.

India and the Quest for One World revolutionizes the history of human rights, with dramatic impact on some of the most contentious debates of our time, by capturing the exceptional efforts of Mahatma Gandhi and the Nehrus to counter the divisions of the Cold War with an uplifting new vision of justice built on the principle of "unity in diversity."

As Alley shows, no other subject in Eliot branches out so largely, so as to embrace all her artistic concerns, including her vision of her own biography and her need to adopt her pen name. Alley also demonstrates that for Eliot, the transcendent capacity to be unidentified creates a flexibility of mind that allows not only women but also men to shed confining personae and to be, in narrative form, both man and woman at the same time, an ability that imbues only the greatest of artists.

Science and the Quest for Reality is an interdisciplinary anthology that situates contemporary science within its complex philosophical, historical, and sociological contexts. The anthology is divided between, firstly, characterizing science as an intellectual activity and, secondly, defining its social role. The philosophical and historical vicissitudes of science's truth claims has raised profound questions concerning the role of science in society beyond its technological innovations. The deeper philosophical issues thus complement the critical inquiry concerning the broader social and ethical influence of contemporary science. In the tradition of the 'Main Trends of the Modern World' series, this volume includes both classical and contemporary works on the subject.

A clever and charming introduction to the Tangram puzzle, a classic Chinese shape puzzle that's beloved in early math curriculum. A brave Little Triangle seeks a Chinese dragon to end the long drought. On the quest, Little Triangle meets other shapes who want to help. Using the magic of tangrams, the shapes do amazing things together: Two triangles flip and flap to make a butterfly! With a square, they swap and swivel to make a bat! Four shapes jump and bump to become a bird. But there's still no sign of the dragon they need. When they reach a mountain, no matter how much they hop and plop, huddle and muddle, or leap and heap, the shapes can't find a way to the top. How will they ever find the dragon they're searching for? Author Christine Liu-Perkins and illustrator Lynn Scurfield celebrate tangrams in this clever and warm-hearted story about the power of persistence and teamwork. The book includes tangram shapes for readers to cut out, so they can play with their very own tangram puzzle!

Ever since the courtroom doors closed in 1919, the tragic Charlotte Streetcar Strike has haunted the collective memory of the Carolina Piedmont region. During a season of labor unrest, it briefly made national headlines. Five men were killed and at least twelve others were wounded by gunfire during a demonstration against Southern Public Utilities, a subsidiary of James B. Duke’s Southern Power. For many who lived afterward in North Carolina’s “Queen City,” the strike and riot were events better left forgotten, while, for later generations, the “Battle of the Barn” has become an item of curiosity. As the centennial approaches, this book represents the result of over ten years’ worth of primary research about the Charlotte Streetcar Strike, a story that rightfully belongs to a larger narrative about the AFL’s campaign to organize transportation workers among the textile mill towns of North and South Carolina. Prior to the 1919 Charlotte Strike, the national streetcar union had overcome fierce anti-labor sentiment, from South Carolina’s state capital of Columbia to the Upcountry citadel of Spartanburg. To AFL organizers, Charlotte represented the last link in the Piedmont chain.