Rudolf Steiner -- educator, architect, artist, philosopher and agriculturalist -- ranks amongst the most creative and prolific figures of the early twentieth century. Yet he remains a mystery to most people. This is the first truly popular biography of the man behind the ideas, written by a sympathetic but critical outsider. Steiner is widely known for what he left behind: a network of Waldorf schools, biodynamic farming, Camphill schools and villages and pioneering work in holistic health and environmental research. Although his achievements are felt all over the world, few people understand this unusual figure. Steiner's own writings fill several bookcases, but are often dense and 'insider' in tone. Gary Lachman tells Steiner's story lucidly and with great insight. He presents Steiner's key ideas in a readable, accessible way, tracing his beginning as a young intellectual in the ferment of fin de siecle culture to the founding of his own metaphysical teaching, called anthroposophy. This book is a full-bodied portrait of one of the most original philosophical and spiritual luminaries of the last two centuries.

The Man Who Inspired the World's Fastest-Growing Religion

"Muhammad" presents a fascinating portrait of the founder of a religion that continues to change the course of world history. Muhammad's story is more relevant than ever because it offers crucial insight into the true origins of an increasingly radicalized Islam. Countering those who dismiss Islam as fanatical and violent, Armstrong offers a clear, accessible, and balanced portrait of the central figure of one of the world's great religions.

13 Augustus 2017. Ansja vat haar twee dogtertjies kerk toe. Heeldag het sy ʼn naar gevoel op die krop van haar maag, asof iemand haar wind uitgeskop het. Sy hou by ʼn stopstraat naby hul huis stil en ʼn motor jaag van agter in hulle vas. Haar jongste dogtertjie, Larissa, se kop word met die impak vergruis soos ʼn waatlemoen.

Met bomenslike krag sleep sy haar dogters uit die kar en sit hulle op die sypaadjie neer. Dan verloor sy haar bewussyn en sien haarself en haar kinders van bo. Alles word lig. Daar is lieflike musiek en reënboogkleure. Vrede en liefde heers en niks maak meer saak nie. Sy dryf weg.

Maar dan hoor sy haar oudste dogtertjie na haar roep. En sy moet terug. Na die pyn van ʼn gebreekte lyf en gebroke hart. Hoe hervat sy haar lewe?

Joining her husband in the fight to create a home out of

a rugged stretch of sagebrush, rattlesnakes, and sand

in Eastern Oregon, Jane Kirkpatrick uneasily relinquishes

the security of a professional career; the convenience of

electricity, running water, and a phone line; and, perhaps

most daunting, the pleasures of sporting a professional

manicure. But the pull of the land is irresistible, and the

couple dreams of gathering their first harvest from a yetto-

be-planted vineyard.

Rather than the simple life they had envisioned, Jane

and Jerry find themselves confronting flood and fire,

government bureaucracies, and runaway calves, among

other disheartening setbacks. Jane frequently questions

the sanity of pioneering in this remote area, known as

Starvation Point, and she fights against panic with each

trip they make down the seven-mile, boulder-strewn,

rut-carved "driveway" she calls "the reptile road," which

threatens to spill them into the ravine with every lurch of

the truck.

But as