In 1948, when “Mrs. G.,” hospitalized with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis, became the first person to receive a mysterious new compound—cortisone—her physicians were awestruck by her transformation from enervated to energized. After eighteen years of biochemical research, the most intensively hunted biological agent of all time had finally been isolated, identified, synthesized, and put to the test. And it worked. But the discovery of a long-sought “magic bullet” came at an unanticipated cost in the form of strange side effects. This fascinating history recounts the discovery of cortisone and pulls the curtain back on the peculiar cast of characters responsible for its advent, including two enigmatic scientists, Edward Kendall and Philip Hench, who went on to receive the Nobel Prize. The book also explores the key role the Mayo Clinic played in fostering cortisone’s development, and looks at drugs that owe their heritage to the so-called “King of Steroids.”

The story of the quest for a real-life Shangri-La in the darkest heart of the Himalayas– a century-long obsession to reach the sacred hidden center of one of the world's last uncharted realms. At the far eastern end of the Himalayas in Tibet lies the Tsangpo River Gorge, known as “the great romance of geography” during the nineteenth century's golden age of exploration. Here the mighty Tsangpo funnels into an impenetrable canyon three miles deep, walled off from the outside world by twenty-five thousand foot peaks. Like the earthly paradise of Shangri-La immortalized in James Hilton's classic 1933 novel Lost Horizon, the Tsangpo River Gorge is a refuge revered for centuries by Tibetan Buddhists–and later in Western imagination–as a sanctuary in times of strife as well as a gateway to nirvana. The Siege of Shangri-La tells the story of this fabled land's exploration as both a geographical and spiritual destination–and chronicles the discovery at the end of the last millennium of the truth behind the myths and rumors about it. Veteran journalist Michael McRae traces the gorge's exploratory history from the clandestine missions of surveyor-spies called pundits and botanical expeditions of naturalists in the early twentieth century to the recent investigations of scholars, adventurers, and pilgrims seeking the "Hidden Falls," of the Tsangpo, which purportedly rivals Niagara in size and serves as the gateway to paradise. Each explorer's narrative provides increasing evidence of why the gorge has been mythologized in Eastern and Western lore as one of the world's most alluring blanks on the map–and a supreme test of human will. Taking readers on a guided tour of the gorge's landscape, physical and metaphysical, McRae presents an insightful look at the pursuit of glory and enlightenment that has played out in this mysterious land with sometimes disastrous consequences. The Siege of Shangri-La is a fascinating journey through the inner recesses of a remote, mystical world and the minds of those who have attempted to reach it. From the Hardcover edition.

This book will prove controversial for several reasons, the main one being that it shows the vanquishing of the ancient cultural beliefs, of the ancient cultures, primarily around the Mediterranean that come today to be called ‘paganism’. This was not a one-off event. The victory of monotheism was the latest phase in an ongoing battle between Monotheism and what we can call the ‘Heliopean Pantheons’. Other contentious topics are innovative ideas affecting ancient Egyptian history and Biblical Dream Misinterpretation. Other topics are also discussed such as the proposed ‘Wave Nature of Cultures’ and ‘Cultural Compression’.

"Everything in here is true and if it ain't, it ought to be. I was born Nathanial James Buchannan and been called Buck from that day on. I lived most of my life on the frontier, from a cabin in the wilderness, to the Cherokee village of my father's family, to the cities in the east, to the mountains in the west, and back again. I've done some things in my time; fought many battles, some to kill those who needed killing, some to win freedom, been brother to a few, loved two women, lost a lot and gained more. All the while, I followed my spirit guide, my brother, the wolf. This is my story, my history, the best I recall. I've lived a good long while, some 88 years. The dates may be off some, 'cause I don't remember so well now. This writing will probably kill me. It is the hardest work I've ever done. Mine's a good story, and though I don't like the writing, I do like the telling, and I hope y'all enjoy the reading. I've sure enjoyed the living."

The Anglia Book Series (ANGB) offers a selection of high quality work on all areas and aspects of English philology. It publishes book-length studies and essay collections on English language and linguistics, on English and American literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the present, on the new English literatures, as well as on general and comparative literary studies, including aspects of cultural and literary theory.

“One of the 100 best books of the year.” —The Times Literary Supplement Christopher Columbus is reevaluated as a man of deep passion, patience, and religious conviction—on a mission to save Jerusalem from Islam. Five hundred years after he set sail, Columbus is still a controversial figure in history. Debates portray him either as the hero in the great drama of discovery or as an avaricious glory hunter and ruthless destroyer of indigenous cultures. In Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, Carol Delaney offers a radically new interpretation of the man and his mission, claiming that the true motivation for his voyages is still widely unknown. Delaney argues that Columbus was inspired to find a western route to the Orient not only to obtain vast sums of gold for the Spanish Crown but primarily to fund a new crusade to take Jerusalem from the Muslims before the end of the world—a goal that sustained him until the day he died. Drawing from oft-ignored sources, some from Columbus’s own hand, Delaney depicts her subject as a thoughtful interpreter of the native cultures that he and his men encountered, and tells the tragic story of how his initial attempts to establish good relations with the natives turned badly sour. Showing Columbus in the context of his times rather than through the prism of present-day perspectives on colonial conquests reveals a man who was neither a greedy imperialist nor a quixotic adventurer, but a man driven by an abiding religious passion. Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem is not an apologist’s take, but a clear-eyed, thought-provoking, and timely reappraisal of the man and his legacy.

C. A.D. 1120. The Tongan Maritime Empire. The greatest Empire ever to rule the Pacific has reached its zenith. Its dominion reaches as far as the Kanaka Islands and to the Tahitian borders. At last the people are enjoying a time of peace. But a dark faction of rebels grows against an aging king bearing a power so terrible it will spark a providence of war - a war that threatens to topple the great Empire and bring disunity to its people. Only a brave young prince and a band of unlikely companions have the courage to reveal the truth and battle overwhelming odds to prevent imminent chaos. Set amid the most beautiful places on earth, A Providence of War is a gripping story in a forgotten time. With rich cultural and historical cornerstones this Polynesian saga is filled with sacrifice, betrayal, love and triumph.