There are some questions I've been asking myself for years. After some frightening, life-threatening experiences, I began questioning things that were instilled in me from my youth about my Catholic upbringing and God. I was taught that if I believe in God, I'd "go to Heaven" when I die, and if I was a good Catholic, God would protect me.

With the discovery of the hyperdrive, mankind at last possessed the means of going out to the stars. Four expeditions had already gone by the fine the fifth starship left Pluto for Vega. Carrying its complement of scientists and military personnel, they arrived at the solar system of Vega to find one planet sufficiently like Earth to allow them to land.Here, they discovered mystery. The ruins of great cities built on the shattered remains of still earlier fortresses, showing that s...

Rivers of the Asian Highlands introduces readers to the intersecting headwaters of Asia’s eight largest rivers, focusing on the upper reaches of two river systems: the Brahmaputra’s highland tributaries in the eastern Himalayan Mountains and the Dri Chu (upper Yangzi), which descends from the Tibetan Plateau’s east through the Hengduan Mountains.This book guides its readers through these two rivers’ physical, environmental, cultural, social, and political histories before ...

This is a ground-breaking volume on the role of religion as a major force of cohesion across the Indian Ocean region.A diverse range of experts present a case for conceptualizing religion as an enabler of not only shared religious identities throughout the Indian Ocean world, but multiple shared identities mediated through religion, particularly as religion intersects with other manifestations of human society in this part of the world. This theme is explored throu...

Social, Mobile, and Emerging Media around the World: Communication Case Studies is an edited collection of cutting edge research on the practical applications of diverse types of emerging media technologies in a variety of industries and in many different regions of the world. In recent years, emergent social media have initiated a revolution comparable in impact to the industrial revolution or the invention of the Internet. Today, social media’s usage statistics are mind-boggling: almost ...

With cultural remains dated unequivocally to 13,000 calendar years ago, Dry Creek assumed major importance upon its excavation and study by W. Roger Powers. The site was the first to conclusively demonstrate a human presence that could be dated to the same time as the Bering Land Bridge. As Powers and his team studied the site, their work verified initial expectations. Unfortunately, the research was never fully published.Dry Creek: The Archaeology and Paleoecology of a Late Pl...

Bill Belichick is a different man on Fridays. With preparations for Sunday's game essentially complete, and the media presence reduced to those regulars Belichick calls the "Friday Warriors," the normally terse coach is known to open up in provocative, entertaining, and expansive fashion. Fridays With Bill provides a rare glimpse inside one of history's greatest football minds, featuring insights and musings from the man who has won five Super Bowl championships and who is destine...

Tibet is a land bounded by the world’s highest mountains, and it is the repository of an ancient culture. For centuries it was viewed by Europeans as a remote, mystical place populated by Buddhist masters with supernatural powers and profound wisdom. In contrast to this image, it was once a warlike country whose expansionist rulers conquered a vast empire that incorporated much of central Asia and parts of China. Even now the Tibetan Plateau remains a scene of contestation, both ideologica...

From bodhi to the true meaning of Zen, this comprehensive new encyclopedia captures the rich diversity of the Buddhist tradition.'Well presented, easy to use and authoritative.' Living TraditionsFrom the teachings of the early masters to the growth of the tradition in the West, this authoritative new reference tool contains over 900 entries supplying information on all the key doctrines, practices, and figures central to Buddhism.

In this unique city, it’s less “Welcome to Boston” and more welcome Boston to you. From street names to driving customs to weather, nothing is as it is wherever you call home, and the locals are proud of it. Boston writer John Powers turned his experience of living in Boston for over fifty years into this fun yet practical guide which brings visitors into the real Boston. Fresh with Peter Wallace’s animated illustrations, The Boston Handbook gives the inside scoop on everything fr...

Struggling to lose weight and tone muscle no matter how hard you train? Discover a rapid workout strategy for creating your dream body in just 20 minutes a day.Does your ideal body seem like it's a thousand workouts away? Has your expensive gym membership chipped away at your wallet but not at your midsection? Pro trainer and fitness author John Powers will show you how to make rapid gains from a well-structured, high intensity interval training program.

Struggling to lose weight and tone muscle no matter how hard you train? Discover a rapid workout strategy for creating your dream body in just 20 minutes a day.Does your ideal body seem like it's a thousand workouts away? Has your expensive gym membership chipped away at your wallet but not at your midsection? Pro trainer and fitness author John Powers will show you how to make rapid gains from a well-structured, high intensity interval training program.HIIT: The 20-Minute ...