Known by fans as "The Penguin" for his back-of-the-pack speed, John Bingham is the unlikely hero of the modern running boom. In his new book, the best-selling author and magazine columnist recalls his childhood dreams of athletic glory, sedentary years of unhealthy excess, and a life-changing transformation from couch potato to "adult-onset athlete." Overweight, uninspired, and saddled with a pack-and-a-half-a-day smoking habit, Bingham found himself firmly wedged into a middle-age slump. ...

"You don't have to run fast to be a real runner!"John Bingham, "the patron saint of the back of the pack," commands "The Penguin Brigade"-- those thousands of dedicated runners who have learned that the greatest joy in their sport comes not from how fast they go or how thin they become, but from simply having the courage to take the first step.Now Bingham shares the wisdom that took him from couch potato to columnist for Runner's World magazine. No Need for Spe...

Weimar Cities explores Germany's efforts to come to grips with its great cities after World War I; by extension the book measures the feasibility of the postwar experiment that was the Weimar Republic. The book focuses particularly on the weakness, both local and national, that resulted from the disjunct between the cities’ perceived and actual power.

Once considered a feat for superhuman athletes, the marathon is now within every mortal's grasp. Former couch potato John Bingham has joined forces with coach Jenny Hadfield to create a winning plan that works for every mortal--even you.In Marathoning for Mortals, you'll find the courage to train, the willpower to persevere, and the tenacity to finish one mile after another. John and Jenny stick with you every step of the way, from your first insecure thoughts to your last...

September 11, 2001 changed the world and changed the United States. But most of all, it changed the men and women who were sent to Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime and to bring freedom to the Iraqi people under his rule. This is the story of one combat medic and his journey to and from one of the most dangerous cities in IraqSadr City. Follow SPC Bingham as he gives a detailed account of the day-to-day life of a soldier and combat medic during the initial stages of what ...

1852 was an election year. At that time, Hangtown was a mining camp in California's mother lode. The Native American Party was popular there because it wanted to make the United States a white, Protestant nation. Opposing the Nativists was Zach Johnson, the owner of the local newspaper. Zach's editorials argued women, Negroes, Indians, and immigrants deserved the same legal rights as native-born men. The struggle for dominance between the Nativists and Zach was unrelenting, and at times, r...

At one time when an individual wanted a direct, personal experience of God that person turned to his or her dreams. The early third century Christian defender of the faith, Tertullian, observed, "Is it not known to all people that the dream is the most usual way that God reveals himself to man?" Yet by the eleventh century, King William II of England states, "They are not good Christians that regard dreams." Why did this reversal of opinion occur, not only in Christian thinking, but in Jew...

The year was 1851 and the place was Hangtown, the California mining camp that today is known as Placerville. It was here that the unpredictable and entertaining story of Zach Johnson's search for gold takes place. Zach, the son of an Episcopal priest, was a gentle man who'd come to Hangtown from Virginia to get rich. What did he do that so many men wanted him dead?It was in Hangtown's El Dorado Hotel that Zach met Claire McCarthy, a feisty, independent beauty. Zach and Claire fell ...

If there is a common theme here, it might be a morbid one...I leave you, the reader, to decide for yourself. For, although age and loneliness and death pervade some of these stories, they are ultimately about love, of one sort or another. Whether it be a love of a life; the love of a friend; or the love of ones self...it is there; or it is conspicuous by its absence.

Sixteen older men were asked to describe their spiritual journeys while on a retreat. They responded by opening their souls and speaking with rare honesty, courage, and vulnerability. The candor of the men revealed a tapestry of beliefs: most were Christian, though some attended church and others did not. One was Jewish while others identified as spiritual, agnostic, or atheist. The retreat provided a forum where the men presented authentic accounts of how their spiritual journeys unfolded...

What happens when women look deep within and dare to speak the truth about their spiritual journeys? In Women Sharing Their Spiritual Journeys, ten remarkable women over seventy years old open their hearts and minds during a workshop at a women's conference. Their stories go far beyond daily routines, offering rare glimpses into their spiritual hopes, questions, and transformations. With exceptional honesty, grace, and courage, these women share the ways they have encountered the Divine--t...

Billy Parker will always be one of the greats…I'm proud that he has this autobiography to really show who he was and is.~ Dolly PartonA lover of country music and broadcasting from his earliest days, Billy Parker took his first tentative steps into both those fields while still in his teens, leading to lasting renown as both a top-rated deejay and country recording artist.Following a stint as the front man for Ernest Tubb's famed Texas Troubadours, ...