In 1903 at the soon-to-open Luna Park on Coney Island, an elephant named Topsy was electrocuted, likely with advice from Thomas Edison, whose film crew recorded the horrible event. Over the past century, this bizarre, ghoulish execution has reverberated through popular culture with the ring of an urban legend. But it really happened, and today, Edison's footage can be found on YouTube, where it has been viewed nearly two million times.Many historical forces conspired to bring Topsy...

With a 1958 portable typewriter in his suitcase, the writer wanders Havana’s crumbling back alleys, bullet-sprayed museums, and grand hotels where the relics of the Revolution and the ghost of Hemingway still speak loudly.When his typewriter breaks in transit, the writer is forced to reconsider his writing holiday and put his novel on hold, until a new story emerges from the vibrance and history in the Old City—Habana Vieja. Recipient of a 2016 Eric Hoffer Award for non-fiction, Th...

December 12th, 2012, Pastor Isaiah Hillman awakens as the miraculous hand of God encircles many children in rainbows of light. The children are blessed, healed and commanded by the Holy Spirit to prepare the world for 'The New Day.' Five of the children are members of Pastor Hillman's congregation, and he soon finds himself facing opposition from his family, the news media, and evil forces that will do anything in their power to stop 'The Miracle Children' from fulfilling God's Ne...

The church in Canada is in trouble. Media reports suggest that nine thousand churches are likely to close over the next ten years. The United Church of Canada reports closing a congregation a week. The Anglican Church of Canada anticipates closing its last congregation by 2040, and the Roman Catholic Church, Canada's largest religious denomination, reports having closed one-fifth of the tradition's 2,500 congregations. God Doesn't Live Here Anymore traces the story of the church in Canada ...

Build a championship sales team that prepares, practices, and plays in sync-and closes every dealGone are the days of meeting a client for lunch, chatting about your product, and closing the sale over dessert. Buyers today look very differently from those of the past. They make networked purchasing decisions by committee, with diverse roles, interests and backgrounds. With access to more information and a greater ability to share it, they demand value, access and a...

In "A Little Journey," published in August 1951, we meet an elderly woman in search of enlightenment who buys a ticket on a rocket. Like other more famous Bradbury's stories, "A Little Journey" demonstrates the author's characteristic blending of the sentimental and the transcendent, the homely and the mystical.

This extensively updated third edition of the classic casebook Marine and Coastal Law provides readers with an authoritative, comprehensive, and up-to-date guide to landmark laws, regulations, and legal decisions governing the United States' vast marine and coastal resources.This thoroughly revised and updated third edition of the prestigious Marine and Coastal Law casebook provides an essential overview of landmark legal decisions and statutory p...

Providing a detailed and comparative assessment of the humanitarian responses to a series of major disasters in Asia over the past two decades, including massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis, this book explores complex and changing understandings and practices of relief, recovery, and reconstruction. These critical investigations raise questions about the position and responsibilities of a growing range of stakeholders, and provide in-depth explorations of the ways in whic...

Wally K. Daly's 1980s comedy about a pair of new entrepreneurs who'll do anything...as long as it's legalBest friends George and Charles have been commuting to work together for 15 years. Then, one fateful day, they both find out that they're being laid off. For a while, they keep the news secret and carry on as normal, but eventually they have no choice but to admit the truth. It's time to take action and find alternative employment - but how?When the Job ...

An epic full-cast play about Robin Hood, plus an episode of In Our Time setting him in his historical context and four dramatic interpretations of his storyRobin Hood has captured the English imagination for centuries. His tale has been told in ballads, novels, plays, TV shows and films – and with each retelling, it has evolved and transformed. We know Robin today as a forest-dwelling outlaw who led a gang of merry men, loved the beautiful Maid Marian and ...

The life and legacy of Father Mychal Judge, the first official victim of 9/11 and a symbol of hope amidst tragedy.As chaplain to the Fire Department of New York, Father Mychal Judge was officially the first to perish on September 11th. A loving priest with a gift for the gab—gregarious yet humble, a healer with the ability to wipe away a widow's tears and put a smile on a fireman's face—Father Mike rushed to the fires at the World Trade Center as quickly as those wh...

Michael is about to embark on writing his second book, all about the meaning of true success. His agent wants him to take an academic stance – a review of success down through the ages – but Michael wants to write a book that feels true to him. So he embarks on a 22-week overland trip from London to Sydney, to give him a chance to figure it all out.He gets his answer unexpectedly in a hotel in Singapore, where the mysterious Parandin asks him a series of questions about what it mea...