This beautifully produced commemorative edition includes an account of the book's original publication by Merton's editor, Robert Giroux, an Introduction by Merton's biographer, Father William Shannon, and Merton's own Introduction to the Japanese edition.

New in the acclaimed Jewish Lives series: A biography of the rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who became a symbol of the marriage between religion and social justice "Zelizer's book is absolutely riveting, both as a study of a truly important figure within Jewish thought and in providing insight into the politics of the 1960s."-Sandy Levinson, Balkinization "When I marched in Selma, I felt my legs were praying." So said Polish-born American rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) of his involvement in the 1965 Selma civil rights march alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Heschel, who spoke with a fiery moralistic fervor, dedicated his career to the struggle to improve the human condition through faith. In this new biography, author Julian Zelizer tracks Heschel's early years and foundational influences-his childhood in Warsaw and early education in Hasidism, his studies in late 1920s and early 1930s Berlin, and the fortuitous opportunity, which brought him to the United States and saved him from the Holocaust, to teach at Hebrew Union College and the Jewish Theological Seminary. This deep and complex portrait places Heschel at the crucial intersection between religion and progressive politics in mid-twentieth-century America. To this day Heschel remains a symbol of the fight to make progressive Jewish values relevant in the secular world.

For almost two thousand years devoted believers, mystics, innocents, and even non-believers have reported to have near-to-life, fully perceptual, visitations with Jesus Christ. In 1992 He appeared to Glenda Green and spoke with her daily for almost four months. The expressed purpose of their visit was to paint His portrait, but nothing in the history of her career as an artist or university professor had prepared her for the life transformation that was about to take place. During this time, they spokeA...as friends do, of many wonderful thingsA-both miraculous and practical. Nothing would ever be the same. Her penetrating report of this experience is sincere, unbiased, and free of religious contrivance. In many ways her perceptions provide a bridge to the new millennium. Never before has language or a state of consciousness been present to examine the nature of such a miraculous occurrence as well as to develop the profound implications of it. Here is a brilliant glimpse of eternity, rich with practical applications to life. These messages are sparkling and direct with great contemporary relevance, Imparting in every way the impact of Divinity in communion with a thoughtful and well educated woman of our generation. Amazing answers are given to more than 300 penetrating questions.

An entertaining, often surprising look at the life of the world's most influential fictional character.
He is the embodiment of charity and generosity, a creation of mythology, a tool of clever capitalists. The very idea of him is enduring and powerful.
Santa Claus was born in early-nineteenth-century America, but his family tree goes back seven hundred years to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Intervening generations were shaggy and strange -- whip-wielding menaces to naughty boys and girls. Yet as the raucous, outdoor, alcohol-fuelled holiday gave way to a more domestic, sentimental model, a new kind of gift-bringer was called for -- a loveable elf, still judgmental but far less threatening.
In this engaging social and cultural history, Gerry Bowler examines the place of Santa Claus in history, literature, advertising, and art. He traces his metamorphosis from a beardless youth into a red-suited peddler. He reveals the lesser-known aspects of the gift-bringer's life -- Santa's involvement with social and political causes of all stripes (he enlisted on the Union side in the American Civil War), his starring role in the movies and as adman for gun-makers and insurance companies. And he demolishes the myths surrounding Santa Claus and Coca-Cola.
"Santa Claus: A Biography" will stand as the classic work on the long-lived and multifarious Mr. Claus.

"From the Hardcover edition."

The 1993 event at Mt. Carmel shocked all of America and has since spawned a plethora of books regarding the "truth" about the Branch Davidians. Memories of the Branch Davidians is the story told from the inside. The oral history of Bonnie Haldeman, the mother of Vernon Howell (David Koresh), offers an intimate, first-hand account of how a boy named Vernon Howell became David Koresh. Haldeman paints a picture of Koresh that could only be told by one who knew both his greatest strengths and his deepest faults.

First full study of the life and career of St William of York, revealing his importance to the medieval church. St William of York achieved the unique distinction of being elected archbishop of York twice and being canonised twice. Principally famous for his role in the York election dispute and the miracle of Ouse bridge, William emerges from this, the first full-length study devoted to him, as a significant figure in the life of the church in northern England and an interesting character in his own right. William's father, Herbert the Chamberlain, was a senior official in the royal treasury at Winchester who secured William's initial preferment at York; the importance of family connections, particularly after his cousin Stephen became king, forms a recurring theme. Dr Norton describes howhe was early on involved in the primacy dispute with Canterbury, and after his father attempted to assassinate Henry I, he spent some years abroad with Archbishop Thurstan. William knew some of the earliest Yorkshire Cistercians,who were subsequently among his fiercest opponents during his first episcopate, which is here reconsidered in the light of new evidence: he emerges from the affair with much greater credit, St Bernard with correspondingly less. Retiring to Winchester after his deposition, he was elected archbishop a second time in 1153, but died the next year amid suspicions of murder. Miracles at his tomb in 1177 led to his veneration as a saint. The book concludes with the bull of canonisation issued by Pope Honorius III in 1226. CHRISTOPHER NORTON is Professor of the History of Art, University of York.

All the furniture in the house got wrecked except this one old wooden china cabinet in my grandmother's kitchen, which somehow remained standing despite all odds. One night, in the midst of a prayer, I glanced over at it and thought, If this cabinet could talk... What madness it had seen. The Lord spoke to me then. "You're both here, and you both survived, and just like this cabinet, you remain unbroken."

Tracy Elliott led a rough life. This honest memoir takes you into the heart of the gritty realities of the street and a life of addiction. But it is the story of a broken person's history and how God taught her that, in his loving eyes, she is whole.

As a young, orphaned girl growing up in her grandmother's house with five alcoholic uncles, Tracy witnessed constant violence and experienced abuse. Later in life, as a stripper in her mid-twenties, she lived hard and suffered the consequences. Now, she tells how her life was put back together by the grace of God.

Tracy says, "No matter where you came from and what you've done, God wants you. No one is unforgivable, and no one is beneath His grace. god loved me when I was seven years old in old brown clogs, He loved me when I was working in strip clubs, and He loves me still."

"Unbroken" is a moving story of a young woman who has discovered the power of God's loving forgiveness and grace―and who wants to share it with a hurting world.

Gaby and her husband Sean and their four children live in a flat across from Grenfell Tower, and Sean (a Church of England minister) was the first clergy person on the scene. This book stems from personal experience of the impact of the fire. It features the testimony of and commentary on the community that experienced it, and the amazing stories of hope that followed in its wake. Grenfell Hope will help readers understand what it was like living in North Kensington before and after the fire. It will help engage the reader with poverty issues, to examine attitudes to the poor and to consider how even small gestures in everyday life can change local communities. In the desperate situation of the fire, God was at work in people's hearts bringing hope in tiny gestures that mounted up to something enormous. Hope that couldn't be ignored or even contained. Hope sprang out all over the country.

Quantum Leap uses key events in the life of Polkinghorne to introduce the central ideas that make science and religion such a fascinating field of investigation. Sir John Polkinghorne is a British particle physicist who, after 25 years of research and discovery in academia, resigned his post to become an Anglican priest and theologian. He was a professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, and was elected to the Royal Society in 1974. As a physicist he participated in the research that led to the discovery of the quark, the smallest known particle. This cheerful biography-cum-appraisal of his life and work uses Polkinghorne's story to approach some of the most important questions: a scientist's view of God; why we pray, and what we expect; does the universe have a point?; moral and scientific laws; what happens next?

Facing obstacles? Feeling stuck? Transitioning into a new season of life? Let this seasoned broadcast journalist-turned-preacher help you find your poise when your red-light moments arrive.

From childhood, we are trained to associate the color red with negative and even dangerous situations. To grow spiritually, however, pastor Elictia Hart insists we must redefine our responses to red situations. With highlights from her glamorous career as a broadcast journalist for FOX, ESPN, and Entertainment Tonight, along with a balanced look into the lives of beloved heroes in the Bible, Elictia Hart explains how our "red moments" can become "green lights" for trusting God and embracing our divine destiny.

Every television reporter knows when the red light is on, you are on. Red means go. Playing off this insider phrase, Elictia Hart-now a wife, mother, and pastorpassionately shares how God transformed the red flags in her life into victorious banners for personal growth, a deeper faith, and a richer sense of her purpose for his kingdom.

Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, shares the lessons learned in business and in life along the journey from Cuba to Corporate America.

Ralph de la Vega arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1962. He was alone. He was scared. He was 10. Separated from his parents by Cuban authorities just moments before they were to board a plane to Miami, de la Vega was baptized early--and abruptly--in the waters of adversity. It would be four long years before his mother, father, and sister gained legal passage to America. But while the boy would never have chosen such circumstance, it's the man who can look back and say he would not have changed it.

In "Obstacles Welcome," de la Vega recounts his journey as a young Cuban immigrant to president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). A frontliner in the converging worlds of technology and communications, de la Vega takes readers behind the scenes of the Internet revolution, shares insights from the nation's top technology companies, and chronicles the incredible obstacles intrinsic to successfully merging the largest wireless operations in U.S. history--those of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless.

"Obstacles Welcome" is an innovation manifesto for those committed to bigger thinking and greater results both professionally and personally. He clearly defines how to:

* Create a detailed action plan to boost success

* Identify and take calculated risks without fear

* Create a values-centric, decisive leadership style

* Transform vision into measurable results

* Recognize opportunities and overcome obstacles

* Communicate well and build alignment

* Unlearn thinking that hinders innovation

* Dream big and throw off mental limits once and for all

Opening a powerful cache of business strategy and in-the-trenches wisdom, de la Vega illustrates that within each obstacle we encounter, there's an opportunity that carries the potential to transform our thinking, our organizations, our communities, and our world.

PRAISE FOR OBSTACLES WELCOME

." . . T]hrough his compelling story, Ralph shows how to turn almost any challenge into the opportunity of a lifetime. This is great insight for any professional or any young person aspiring to learn how to overcome obstacles and accept new challenges." -- Randall Stephenson, Chairman & CEO, AT&T, Inc.

"I recommend this book to those looking to improve their opportunities, as well as those providing leadership in this diverse society." -- Ambassador Andrew Young, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, former Mayor of Atlanta, former president of the National Council of Churches

"His journey is an inspirational story of leadership vision and the ability to achieve success in the face of enormous challenges and obstacles." -- Gerry Czarnecki, President, CEO & Managing Partner, O2Media

"This book is a must-read for anyone not afraid to make your dreams come true, regardless of where you are in your professional or personal life." -- Ernest Bromley, Chairman and CEO, Bromley Communications, LLC

"Without a doubt, this is one of the most inspiring books and one of the best business publications that I've read in my 40-plus years in the communications business." -- John Graham, Chairman, Fleishman-Hillard Inc.

"Ralph de la Vega tells an All-American story for our times." -- Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, CityView; former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; former Mayor of San Antonio

Charlotte Mason (1842-1923), orphaned and poor at the age of sixteen, nonetheless developed into an inspiring and original educational reformer of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, a period of great intellectual vitality and cultural change. Enabled through the help of friends and colleagues she founded the Parents' National Educational Union (PNEU) in 1887 and established the 'The House of Education', the Teacher Training College for women in Ambleside in 1892. The clarity and coherence of her applied philosophy of education established the foundation for a simple, stimulating and deeply satisfying enjoyment of learning for children of all ages in countless homes and schools in Britain and the world. In her biography, Essex Cholmondeley draws on her own experiences of Mason's teaching, as well as her extensive literary output, to unfold her life and work. Whilst she and Elsie Kitching lacked full details of Mason's family history, a warm and lively personality emerges, able to inspire other people with her own splendid vision.

As her body lay dying, her spirit began to travel As a troubled teenager, Tamara Laroux saw no way out. Desperate for her pain to end, crying out to God for forgiveness, Tamara does the unthinkable and embarks on a supernatural journey that will forever change the way she views God and the value of life on earth. As she plummets from her body to a place of vast darkness, torment, and agony, Tamara's senses become heightened. She instantly realizes the finality of her rash decision. As she mulls this terrible new reality, she begs God to save her. What she experiences on the other side shocks and surprises her, but the unfailing love of God ultimately delivers her from an unwelcome fate. A Second Chance at Heaven is a remarkable memoir of the afterlife that will challenge each of us to ponder the reality of heaven and hell. Her supernatural experience convinces Tamara that the only knowledge that matters in this life is that Jesus Christ is Lord. Since then, Tamara has embarked on a wonderful journey of faith, walking with the Lord and receiving the inner healing from loneliness and rejection she so desperately needed. The love of Christ delivered her that day and the same love motivates her to share the gospel to this day. A Second Chance at Heaven is an unforgettable account of one young woman's encounter with the Lord of Life.

Many distinguished commendations.