A screenwriter and stand-up comic’s hilarious and profound account of his journey into Zen monkhood—featuring a foreword by Leonard Cohen Shozan Jack Haubner is the David Sedaris of Zen Buddhism: a brilliant humorist and analyst of human foibles, whose hilarity is informed by the profound insights that have dawned on him—as he's stumbled and fallen into spirituall practice. Raised in a truly strange family of Mel-Gibson-esque Catholic extremists, he went on to study philosophy (becoming very un-Catholic in the process) and to pursue a career as a screenwriter and stand-up comic in the clubs of L.A. How he went from life in the fast lane to life on the stationary meditation cushion is the subject of this laugh-out-loud funny account of his experiences. Whether he’s dealing with the pranks of a juvenile delinquent assistant in the monastery kitchen or experiencing profound compassion in the presence of his spiritual teacher, Haubner’s voice is one you'll be compelled to listen to. Not only because it’s highly entertaining, but because of its remarkable insight into the human condition.

A tapestry of Froug's essays and interviews with top screenwriters, producers, and directors. Once again, Froug proves that he can skilfully pull engaging thoughts from his interviewees and, with his own essays, can use both novice and seasoned screenwriters to rethink what they do. The essays are wide-ranging, covering such diverse subjects as creating your own talent, getting your scripts read, avoiding story-structure gurus, entering screenplay contests, a scene-by-scene look at the film Body Heat, Hollywood's rewrite panic, Hollywood's ephemeral enthusiasms, why rooting interest isn't necessary, the stop-start method for studying films, guarding your surprises, reinventing old ideas, and guilt as a writer's tool.

The Philippines document collection provides a documentary record of U.S. policy toward that country during the 20-year rule of Ferdinand E. Marcos. The bulk of the collection is composed of documents produced between the fall of 1965, when Mr. Marcos ran successfully for his first term as president of the Philippines, and the evening hours of February 25, 1986, when Marcos, his wife Imelda, and their 55-member entourage hurriedly fled the grounds of the presidential palace aboard three U.S. Air Force helicopters en route to exile in Hawaii. Major events in the period include the creation--with the covert support of the Johnson Administration--of a Philippine civic action group to support the U.S. war effort in Vietnam; state visits to the United States by President and Mrs. Marcos in 1966 and 1982; the imposition of martial law in September 1972; the assassination of opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. in August 1983 and the subsequent reshaping of U.S. policy toward the Philippines; the emergence of so-called "crony capitalism" during the 1970s; visits to the Philippines by Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Ford in 1966, 1969 and 1975, respectively; the rise of Communist and Muslim insurgencies during the 1970s and 1980s; the emergence following the imposition of martial law of a small, albeit vocal and influential, opposition movement in the United States; and a series of disputed elections culminating in the 1986 "snap" presidential election, which Mr. Marcos attempted to steal from the opposition but which, instead, led to his political demise.

Zen master Daito (1282-1337) played a leading role in the transmission of Zen (Ch'an) from China to Japan. He founded Daitokuji, a major monastery that has been influential for centuries, and he provided interpretations of Chinese texts. Daito's traditional biography is full of vivid episodes, including his years among the beggars of Kyoto and ending with his dramatic death in the meditation posture. Despite his importance, however, Daito has remained virtually unknown in the West. With the publication of Eloquent Zen Kenneth Kraft offers the first comprehensive account of the life and teachings of one of the greatest of Japan's Zen masters. Dr. Kraft begins with the foundations of medieval Japanese Zen. He shows that Daito's predecessors were concerned with clarifying the essentials of Zen as it began to take root in Japan. During this formative phase, the Zen pioneers embraced varied conceptions of enlightenment and divergent notions of authenticity. Kraft places Daito's contributions within this context, offering new insights about early Japanese Zen and about Zen itself. Throughout this study, Kraft looks closely at the complex role of language in Zen--a tradition supposedly distrustful of words. Daito wrote haiku-like poetry, participated in brilliant dialogues, and delivered powerful sermons. His virtuosity in articulating the way of Zen, beyond words, beyond silence, is nowhere more apparent than in his use of the capping phrase, an interpretive and commentarial device unique to Zen. Analyzing Daito's use of this device, Kraft elucidates the significance of the literary and aesthetic dimensions of the Zen tradition. Eloquent Zen includes valuable translations of Daito's poetryand other writings. Illustrations include three classic portraits of Daito and rare examples of his calligraphy. This lucid and engaging study will interest scholars and nonspecialists interested in Zen, Japanese culture, and Asian philosophy, poetry, and related fields.

Is there a traitor at Dreamland? When Muslim extremists are found with a mysterious UAV in the Malaysian part of Borneo, Colonel Danny Freah and his Whiplash team are sent to investigate. They discover that Dreamland's drone technology has been stolen. Who has betrayed them? China is rumored to be involved, as is Russia. But finding out who's really bankrolling the guerrillas means finding someone who knows combat UAVs inside and out. Someone with nothing to lose. Someone like Air Force ace Turk Mako. Yet as Mako and Freah learn, the conspiracy is deeper and darker than either imagined. With the situation worsening, the Whiplash team finds itself in a desperate race to recover their aircraft and capture the perpetrators—without setting off World War III.