St. Birgitta of Sweden (1303-1373, canonized 1391) was one of the most charismatic and influential female visionaries of the later Middle Ages. Altogether, she received some 700 revelations. They deal with a variety of subjects, from meditations on the human condition, domestic affairs in Sweden, and ecclesiastical maters in Rome, to revelations in praise of the Incarnation and devotion to the Virgin. Her Revelations, collected and ordered by her confessors, circulated widely throughout Europe and long after her death. Many eminent individuals, including Cardinal Juan Torqemada and Martin Luther, read and commented on her writings, which influenced the spiritual lives of countless individuals. Birgitta was also the founder of a new contemplative order, which still exists. She is the patron saint of Sweden, and in 2000 was declared (with Catherine of Siena and Edith Stein) the first co-patroness of Europe.

Saki is the acknowledged master of the short story. His writing is elegant, economical, and witty, its tone worldly, flippant irreverence delivered in astringent exchanges and epigrams more neat, pointed, and poised even than Wilde's. The deadpan narrative voice allows for the unsentimental recitation of horrors and the comically grotesque, and the generation of guilty laughter at some very un-pc statements.

In Cuba, internationally renowned artists, philosophers, and writers reflect on the idea of a nation displaced. Featuring contributions from Isabel Alvarez Borland, Antonio Benitez-Rojo, Maria Cristina Garcia, William Navarrete, Eliana Rivero, Rafael Rojas, and Carlos Victoria, as well as many others, Cuba is a rich collection of essays, testimonials, and interviews that reveal the complex, often antagonistic cultural and political debates coexisting within the Cuban exile population.

From the modern reader's perspective, the Roman Third Century is one of history's blind spots - we know pretty much what went on during the disastrous third century - a period of decline begun with the death of Septimius Severus and arrested only by the advent of Aurelian, but between these figures (who have been well-biographed) there is a decided lack of literature.

In 1968, a bitter struggle broke out between white New York City teacher unionists and black community organizers over efforts to create community control of the city's schools. The New York conflict reverberated across the United States, calling into question the possibility of creating equitable schools and cementing racial antagonism at the center of American politics.

Chronicles the history of the United States Botanic Garden. Also documents the plants and exhibits housed there.
This beautifully illustrated book presents the first comprehensive look at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. Conceived by the nation’s founders as a resource for collecting and studying plants, the U.S. Botanic Garden is closely linked to the history and development of the capital city.

From difficult weather conditions to unreliable missile armament to unequal rules of engagement, this book tells the story of the challenges faced by the F-4 and MiG-21 pilots. Using first-hand accounts wherever possible the author draws us into the dangerous world experienced by American and North Vietnamese pilots. Influential leaders and tacticians will be profiled to provide a comparative evaluation of their contrasting skills. This book will also reveal the technical specifications of each jet with an analysis of the weaponry, avionics and survival devices of the Phantom and MiG-21.

The Kharijites were the first sectarian movement in Islamic history, a rebellious splinter group that separated itself from mainstream Muslim society and set about creating, through violence, an ideal community of the saved. Their influence in the political and theological life of the nascent faith has ensured their place in both critical and religious accounts of early Islamic history. Based on the image of sect fostered by the Islamic tradition, the name Kharijite defines a Muslim as an overly-pious zealot whose ideas and actions lie beyond the pale of normative Islam.

Caesar's Civil War, the story of the general's contest with the Pompeian party through nineteen months of civil war, is an unfinished masterpiece. The author abandoned it when he found himself living in a different world than that which saw its commencement. The narrative ends after Pompey's death, amidst the preliminaries to the Alexandrian war that initiated the next phase of the fight for primacy of Rome. The work shows the brilliance for which Caesar's oratory, like his generalship, was known: it was a political judgment, not a literary one, that relegated the Civil War to the file drawer.

A study of twenty-six canonical writers details the qualities that make them literary essentials, and includes Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton, Beckett, Tolstoy, Freud, Molie+a6re, and others. By the author of The Book of J. 100,000 first printing. National ad/promo.

Inspired by the ambitions of Milwaukee’s first bishop, John Martin Henni, Marquette College opened in September 1881 on a hilltop overlooking the city’s expanding downtown. Named for the great explorer and missionary of the American Midwest, Pere Jacques Marquette, the institution’s educational foundation drew upon the well-developed, clearly-elucidated traditions of the Society of Jesus.

This book examines the conflicts brought on by the introduction, management and institutionalization of Western biomedicine into Kenya. From the dawn of the colonial age, there were conflicts over the issues and meanings of sickness, health and therapy. Conversations often broke down, especially during the first two decades of the twentieth century, because of the natural and strong desire on the part of local populations, the state and biomedical practitioners to protect their respective hallowed traditions, approaches and identities.

Elvis Presley's army years are often considered the "lost years" because so little is known about them. Elvis's fellow soldier and friend, Rex Mansfield, along with his wife, Elisabeth-with whom Elvis was once romantically linked-reveal a fascinating portrait of young Elvis the soldier. Tales of Elvis and Rex's induction in Memphis, basic training in Texas, and travels to Germany are recounted, and stories of the genesis of Elvis's addiction to prescription drugs, his initial meeting with Priscilla Beaulieu, and his daily life on base and in the homes he rented in Texas and Germany are revealed. Included are many previously unpublished photographs from this important time in Elvis's life.

Instead of backing away from the fight, the North Vietnamese mortar, recoilless rifle, heavy machine gun, sapper and regular infantry attacks increased. The last offensive around Ripcord was starting to look like the last stand. Unwilling to keep American soldiers at high risk at this stage of the war; Ripcord was evacuated on 23 July. The battle went unnoticed for 30 years until Keith Nolan's book, RIPCORD, was published. As powerful and gripping as was the story of great leadership and courageous fighting by our soldiers, the magnitude of the enemy force still remained unknown.

Law and Society in the South reconstructs eight pivotal legal disputes heard in North Carolina courts between the 1830s and the 1970s and examines some of the most controversial issues of southern history, including white supremacy and race relations, the teaching of evolution in public schools, and Prohibition.