John L. Ruth, a Mennonite storyteller/historian, captures the spirit of Old Order Mennonite and Amish groups in his essays, along with photographs, poetry, and quotations. If the "plain people" of North America are to be understood in terms of their own concerns, we must consider sympathetically their own expressions and the biblical cadences they echo. Having maintained, with the tolerance of their society, a simple life as "the quiet in the land," these folk still prize such passé virtue...

When John Ruth arrived in the United Kingdom from Ireland as a boy in the late 1950's. He had little idea of the challenging times that awaited him. With his elder sister Brenda and brother Liam, he was enrolled in a strict Dominican Roman Catholic boarding school at Ponsbourne Park in the remote Hertfordshire countryside. He soon discovered that this place was as cruel, oppressive and mysterious as any five year old child could imagine. He found himself separated from not only his parents...

Preventive medical interventions and non-medicalised public health programmes that promise health benefits in the future, from actions taken now, carry a strong ethical requirement of 'first, do no harm' or primum non nocere. New preventive advice and interventions are being promoted on a daily basis, Disease Prevention: A Critical Toolkit provides a set of appraisal tools to guide those considering a preventive action to make sure that it is effective (does more good tha...

A number of significant contributions have been made, both to specific intellectual disciplines and on the broader philosophical front. by researches into the nature of inquiry. The papers in this collection illustrate a number of such areas of debate in mathematics. natural science. social studies and history. allowing an appraisal of their importance in their own context as well as comparisons across disciplinary frontiers. Some extracts are undoubtedly classic - Plato on mathematics. Ne...

Are you looking for teaching ideas to make your science lessons come alive?Full of suggestions for exciting practical work to engage children, this book addresses and explains the science behind the experiments, and emphasises the need to engage the learner through minds-on activities. It shows you where to make links to the national curricula in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and it covers the three sciences: chemistry, biology and physics. The detailed subject kno...

C.S. Lewis’s 1943 The Abolition of Man is subtitled ‘Reflections on Education With Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools.’ It is a book about the power of education to shape the minds of individuals and improve society (or harm it, if badly done), and it covers everything from the scientific worldview at the time to philosophical arguments about right and wrong. ¶Writing for a general audience, Lewis condemns the contemporary trend for teaching children...

This book suggests crime fiction is now the most relevant and valid form of writing which can deal with modern Ireland in terms of the post-'Troubles' landscape and post-Celtic Tiger economic boom. The book takes a chapter by chapter approach with each chapter and author discussing a different facet of Irish crime writing for example, Declan Hughes discusses the influence of American culture on Irish crime writing and Tana French reflects on crime fiction and the post-Celtic Tiger Irish id...

Philosophy of Linguistics investigates the foundational concepts and methods of linguistics, the scientific study of human language. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of linguistics ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out both the foundational assumptions set during the second half of the last century and the unfolding shifts in perspective in which more functionalist perspectives are explored. The openi...

Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, was the “Land of the Mermaids.” All of the mermaids who lived in this beautiful place looked exactly the same. Although some might have short hair or long hair, each mermaid was pink with a green tail. One day a little mermaid hatched out of her shell and was different. This littlest mermaid was purple. Young readers will learn a valuable lesson about diversity and acceptance as they read about the littlest mermaid’s adventures in a land filled with sa...

The Wizard of Oz: 9-Book Collection by Ruth Plumly Thompson continues the magical legacy of the beloved Oz series, originally created by L. Frank Baum and carried forward by Ruth Plumly Thompson. This richly illustrated collection brings together twelve enchanting adventures set in the Land of Oz, including The Royal Book of Oz, Kabumpo in Oz, The Cowardly Lion of Oz, The Hungry Tiger of Oz, and many more delightful tales. Following Baum’s imaginative vision, Thompson expands the world of ...

Although now beloved and revered by millions as the greatest composer who ever lived, Johann Sebastian Bach (16851750) was best known in his lifetime as an organist, and was eclipsed in fame as a composer by two of his twenty children. For the last twenty-seven years of his life he was a schoolteacher and choir director whose duties extended to meal supervision and dormitory inspection. Yet throughout his career he composed a vast body of music which is amongst the most joyful, dancing and...

*WATERSTONES WELSH BOOK OF THE MONTH*My Family and Other Animals meets The Secret Life of Cows: this rediscovered gem tells the charming tale of how a baby llama transformed a Welsh farming family forever (with a foreword by John Lewis-Stempel).Things llamas like:Snaffling cherry brandy, Easter eggs, and the Radio Times.Fluttering movie star eyelas...