An “elegant translation” of Rilke’s writings on sculptor Auguste Rodin that “offers a fresh look at an unlikely mentorship” and two extraordinary artists (The New York Times Book Review).Sculptor Auguste Rodin was fortunate to have his secretary Rainer Maria Rilke, one of the most sensitive poets of our time. These two pieces discussing Rodin’s work and development as an artist are as revealing of Rilke as they are of his subject.Written in 1902 an...

A fresh perspective on a beloved classic by acclaimed translators Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy.German poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s (1875–1926) Letters to a Young Poet has been treasured by readers for nearly a century. Rilke’s personal reflections on the vocation of writing and the experience of living urge an aspiring poet to look inward, while also offering sage wisdom on further issues including gender, solitude, and romantic love. Barrows and Macy’s translation extends t...

A search for a missing girl leads detective Alex Rainer into a run-down apartment in Whitechapel, London. Inside, he finds one of the most horrific scenes he’s seen in his twenty-year career.A mass of dismembered body parts arranged on the victim’s bed to resemble a human figure, perfectly assembled with methodical precision.And in the victim’s severed hand, a ringing phone.“Welcome to my little puzzle, detective. Can you solve it before the time is up?”Alex ...

No one wants to see a church die. And yet, far too many churches are dying. For more than twenty-five years, Dr. Thom Rainer has helped churches grow, reverse the trends of decline, and has autopsied those that have died. From this experience, he has discovered twelve consistent themes among those churches that have died. Yet, it’s not gloom and doom because from those twelve themes, lessons on how to keep your church alive have emerged.Whether your church is vibrant or dying, whether you ...

An accidental encounter with her father's killer leads her down a dangerous road of revenge and murderous madness where the only outcome seems to be total destruction of her or the killer...or both. A psychological drama that portrays the disruption of an idyllic, vital, beloved father-daughter relationship and how the contrasts of the wounds of loss, and development of a kind of justice, payback, and compassion unfold. Readers will immediately identify with the main character's struggle t...

Sheryl Massaro's duino elegies offers an interpretation, rather than a new traditional translation, of Rainer Maria Rilke's seminal collection of ten elegies. In an effort toward making the poems more understandable to modern audiences, some of Rilke's allusions are clarified and a few take a backseat to flow and meaning. Overall, Massaro's objective is to remove impediments to Rilke's concept of life as a continuum.

A convenient and easy way for pastors to ask for the prayer support they desperately need." Will you pray for me ?" is a question pastors hear every day. But when have you heard a pastor ask that question for themselves? Frankly, it's rare. That was the question Thom Rainer asked his congregation. The response was overwhelming. Within two days, more than one hundred people committed to praying for him, and...

From the writer of the classic Letters to a Young Poet, reflections on grief and loss, collected and published here in one volume for the first time.“A great poet’s reflections on our greatest mystery.”—Billy Collins“A treasure . . . The solace Rilke offers is uncommon, uplifting and necessary.”—The GuardianGleaned from Rainer Maria Rilke’s voluminous, never-before-translated letters to bereaved fr...

Breakout Churches Can Your Church Become One?This is the story of thirteen churches and the leaders who moved them from stagnancy to growth and from mediocrity to greatness. Drawing on one of the most comprehensive studies ever on the church, this book reveals the process of becoming a “breakout” church and the factors that lead to this spiritual metamorphosis. Eighty percent of the approximately 400,000 churches in the United States are either declining or at a plateau. Is there hope for ...

The ten letters collected here are arguably the most famous and beloved letters of our century. Written when Rainer Maria Rilke was himself still a young man with most of his greatest work before him, they are addressed to a student who had sent Rilke some of his work, asking for advice about becoming a writer. The two never met, but over a period of several years Rilke wrote him these ten letters, which have been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of readers for what Stephen Mitchell calls ...

The Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was an avid letter writer, and more than 7.000 of his letters have survived. One of his best known collection is Rilke's Letter to a young woman, published in 1930. This collection gathers several letters that Rilke wrote to Lisa Heise between 1919 and 1924. Rilke was in his 40s at the time of the first letter; Heise was 26 . Her husband of three years had left her and her 2-year-old son. Though Rilke and Heise never met, Rilke emer...

Growing up in Soviet-dominated Hungary, Rainer Stahlberg developed an increasing wariness of the world around him. When he was wounded in the Hungarian uprising of 1956, he resolved to never be caught unprepared again. Let him prepare you for any crisis. Here he details a step-by-step plan for surviving a vast range of disasters—both natural and manmade. From storms and floods to economic strife, nuclear warfare, and international terrorism, this is the ultimate handbook of disaster scenar...