A humorist and honest look at a life in public service.For most of us, librarians are the quiet people behind the desk, who, apart from the occasional "shush," vanish into the background.But in Quiet, Please, McSweeney's contributor Scott Douglas puts the quirky caretakers of our literature front and center. With a keen eye for the absurd and a Kesey-esque cast of characters (witness the librarian who is sure Thomas Pynchon is Julia Robert...

We all know the story of creation in the Bible. In the beginning, God created. But what if creation isn't where things started? Not in the Bible anyway. What if the first book of the Bible wasn't about creation…it was about pain.Scholars have debated for years about what the first book of the Bible really is. Most have concluded that the Book of Job was probably the first book written.Think about that: what if the message God wanted us to receive wasn't abo...

Explore how to train smarter and remain injury-free.Competing in a marathon requires thorough and intelligent preparation. Advanced Marathoning, Fourth Edition, gives you all the information you need to benefit from a training program that combines coaching best practices with the latest sport science.Written for serious runners, by the duo behind the hugely successful first three editions, this edition is now in full color and inc...

Take control of your life by becoming financially bulletproof with this no-holds-barred guide to money management.A tragic accident in 2002 nearly took Doug Nelson's life. Caught in a horrendous gas explosion, he spent six weeks in a coma and nine months rehabilitating from his injuries. But Doug was blessed—he knew that money would not be an issue during that difficult time. He had spent several years prior to the tragedy working toward, and achieving, financial f...

Theology is a dish best served organically!Christianity has thousands of years of history. You probably know a lot of it. But this is the story that you probably didn’t hear in Sunday school.Punctuated by footnotes and full of wit and wisdom, you will be surprised by how much fun you have learning about the foundations of belief.You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to understand some of the many complex concepts in this book. The author bre...

★★★ Discover the Power of the Ascension ★★★Something happened.Jesus rose. But Christ didn't just rise from the dead. He ascended to Heaven.We hear the stories about Peter and John and all the heroes of the New Testament, and they're unstoppable Christians--fearless and bold. And sometimes we wrongly assume that they just got that way. That Christ died for their sins, and bam! They're instantly changed! On the contrary, the disciples were ac...

★★★ The story of Christmas like you’ve never heard before ★★★The Bible teaches us the real story of Christmas. The problem is people have taken this story and added on to it. Cultures have added on to it. It’s passed through countries, and they’ve tacked on their little spin.We have thousands of years of a Christmas that is built around legends and myths. The Christmas we know is, in places, more a fairytale. It’s an inspiring one for sure. But a f...

"Highlights the mental strategies elite athletes employ to get an edge on their competition."— The New York TimesWith an all-new foreword: competition-tested cognitive strategies to help triumph over any obstacleIf you ask research psychologist Noel Brick and bestselling fitness writer Scott Douglas, the "dumb jock" stereotype is way out of bounds. No world-class athlete succeeds without a strong mental game, including unique ways of analyz...

The History of Weiss Lake was filled with debate. Read how the past of this area was reshaped and the area matured. Until the late 1950s, the major body of water for residents of northeast Alabama was the Coosa River, which wove prominently through the rural landscape of the region. When Alabama Power Company decided to dam the river in order to build a thirty-thousand-acre reservoir, locals were divided about whether to welcome the hydroelectricity and potential prosperity or resist losin...

Faith is a dish best served organically!You eat your food organically--do you live your faith in the same organic way?Join author Scott Douglas, as he takes you on a journey to understand what it means to follow Christ and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. You’ll be surprised by how much you’ll laugh growing in faith.Inside you’ll learn about why bad things could possibly happen to good people, how God wants us to pr...

A lifelong runner's groundbreaking guide to fighting depression and anxiety, one run at a timeEveryone knows that running builds stronger muscles and a healthier heart. In Running Is My Therapy, longtime runner Scott Douglas shows how endurance running is also the best form of exercise to develop a healthier brain. A natural antidepressant, running reinforces the benefits of therapy and triggers lasting, positive physiological changes. In fact, so...

"This absorbing collection of essay . . . goes far toward filling a void in the literature on the early justices of the world's most significant tribunal" ( Law and Politics Book Review).Seldom has American law seen a more towering figure than Chief Justice John Marshall. Yet even while acknowledging the indelible stamp Marshall put on the Supreme Court, it is possible—in fact necessary—to examine the pre-Marshall Court, and its justices, to gain a true un...