In the tradition of Neil Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane), Scott Smith (The Ruins), and Jason Mott (The Returned), award-winning playwright Robert Levy spins a dark tale of alienation and belonging, the familiar and the surreal, family secrets and the search for truth in his debut supernatural thriller.AS A BOY, HE VANISHED INTO THE WOODS. SOMETHING ELSE CAME BACK. It's a long way from the grit of New York City to the stark beauty of Nova Scotia, and many years separate Blue Whitley's only two journeys between them. One occurred at age five, when his mother stole him away from the hinterlands of Canada. Now, twenty-five years later, he's returning to sell a house left to him by a grandmother he barely remembers. Envisioning the trip as a week of countryside leisure, Blue is accompanied by his best friend Elisa, her stalwart husband Jeremy, and Gabe, his young and admiring co-worker. Starling Cove, however, is not your typical vacation spot. Blue senses secrets withheld. Strange whispers on the wind welcome him home, and at first he finds himself staring transfixed into the woods. Then he feels them gazing back. After a shocking discovery--that Blue went missing in these forests for weeks as a child--life as he knows it begins to fall apart. And when another abduction strikes, the truth about Starling Cove begins to emerge. Told from all four characters' points of view, through lush, evocative prose Robert Levy conjures a fascinating, sinister landscape. A unique blend of taut psychological thriller and supernatural suspense, The Glittering World is a stunning debut novel about belonging and betrayal, the mysteries of the natural world and the secrets buried deep within the human heart.

"Spirits in Culture, History and Mind" reintegrates spirits into comparative theories of religion, which have tended to focus on institutionalized forms of belief associated with gods. It brings an historical perspective to culturally patterned experiences with spirits, and examines spirits as a locus of tension between traditional and foreign values. Taking as a point of departure shifting local views of self, nine case studies drawn from Pacific societies analyze religious phenomena at the intersection of social, psychological and historical processes. The varied approaches taken in these case studies provide a richness of perspective, with each lens illuminating different aspects of spirit-related experience. All, however, bring a sense of historical process to bear on psychological and symbolic approaches to religion, shedding new light on the ways spirits relate to other cultural phenomena.
Included is a provocative theoretical chapter, co-authored by Robert Levy and the editors. Unabashedly comparative at a time when most anthropologists confine themselves to interpreting local meanings, this chapter argues for a distinction between god-like and spirit-like beings, with gods representing the moral order while spirits are countered at its periphery. Issues associated with morality, power, control, conformity, possession, selfhood, the uncanny, and the impingement of high religions on folk beliefs, among others, are addressed in this chapter.
The conclusion, by Michael Lambek, also excites controversy. Reflecting on the ethnographic material included in the volume, Lambek draws attention to the importance of understanding spirit-related experiences, in their historicalcontexts, for coming to grips with the very nature of religion.

"Spirits in Culture, History and Mind" reintegrates spirits into comparative theories of religion, which have tended to focus on institutionalized forms of belief associated with gods. It brings an historical perspective to culturally patterned experiences with spirits, and examines spirits as a locus of tension between traditional and foreign values. Taking as a point of departure shifting local views of self, nine case studies drawn from Pacific societies analyze religious phenomena at the intersection of social, psychological and historical processes. The varied approaches taken in these case studies provide a richness of perspective, with each lens illuminating different aspects of spirit-related experience. All, however, bring a sense of historical process to bear on psychological and symbolic approaches to religion, shedding new light on the ways spirits relate to other cultural phenomena.
Included is a provocative theoretical chapter, co-authored by Robert Levy and the editors. Unabashedly comparative at a time when most anthropologists confine themselves to interpreting local meanings, this chapter argues for a distinction between god-like and spirit-like beings, with gods representing the moral order while spirits are countered at its periphery. Issues associated with morality, power, control, conformity, possession, selfhood, the uncanny, and the impingement of high religions on folk beliefs, among others, are addressed in this chapter.
The conclusion, by Michael Lambek, also excites controversy. Reflecting on the ethnographic material included in the volume, Lambek draws attention to the importance of understanding spirit-related experiences, in their historicalcontexts, for coming to grips with the very nature of religion.

For the first time in print, shamanic techniques are introduced that healers and Reiki practitioners can draw on to tap into ancient healing wisdom. Shamanism and Reiki are, by themselves, powerful ways to heal. Together, their power multiplies, and healing methods become available that aren't accessible if they're used separately. The purpose of "Shamanic Reiki" is to introduce you to concepts in both and provide you with detailed proven methods to enhance your own healing practices, or to work on yourselves. "Shamanic Reiki" empowers the healer / Reiki practitioner to trust their instincts, recognizing that healing is an evolving and dynamic art; to facilitate change requires the healer to trust in spirit and work creatively with the universal life force energy. Now it's your turn to discover the combined power of Reiki and shamanism.

The availability of computers has, in real terms, moved forward the practice of structural engineering. Where it was once enough to have any analysis given a complex configuration, the profession today is much more demanding. How engineers should be more demanding is the subject of this book. In terms of the theory of structures, the importance of geometric nonlinearities is explained by the theorem which states that "In the presence of prestress, geometric nonlinearities are of the same order of magnitude as linear elastic effects in structures. " This theorem implies that in most cases (in all cases of incremental analysis) geometric nonlinearities should be considered. And it is well known that problems of buckling, cable nets, fabric structures, ... REQUIRE the inclusion of geometric nonlinearities. What is offered in the book which follows is a unified approach (for both discrete and continuous systems) to geometric nonlinearities which incidentally does not require a discussion of large strain. What makes this all work is perturbation theory. Let the equations of equilibrium for a system be written as where P represents the applied loads, F represents the member forces or stresses, and N represents the operator which describes system equilibrium.

The availability of computers has, in real terms, moved forward the practice of structural engineering. Where it was once enough to have any analysis given a complex configuration, the profession today is much more demanding. How engineers should be more demanding is the subject of this book. In terms of the theory of structures, the importance of geometric nonlinearities is explained by the theorem which states that "In the presence of prestress, geometric nonlinearities are of the same order of magnitude as linear elastic effects in structures. " This theorem implies that in most cases (in all cases of incremental analysis) geometric nonlinearities should be considered. And it is well known that problems of buckling, cable nets, fabric structures, ... REQUIRE the inclusion of geometric nonlinearities. What is offered in the book which follows is a unified approach (for both discrete and continuous systems) to geometric nonlinearities which incidentally does not require a discussion of large strain. What makes this all work is perturbation theory. Let the equations of equilibrium for a system be written as where P represents the applied loads, F represents the member forces or stresses, and N represents the operator which describes system equilibrium.

"This is not a psychodrama. Rather, this is a sociopolitical tragedy, extremely valuable, deeply researched, and fascinating. There is very little that is as important as this book about any of the top communist leaders other than the most famous ones such as Lenin, Stalin, and Mao. . . .The subject is so important, the book so well done and so revealing, and the human interest so compelling, Levy's book will become one of the essential works on the history of communism in Eastern Europe."--Daniel Chirot, author of "Modern Tyrants"

"This outstanding, thought-provoking political biography of one of the most prominent figures of European communism offers an original and balanced approach to Pauker's contradictory role in the history of both Romanian and international communism. . . . Engagingly written and very convincingly structured, this is not a dry historical account but a vivid reconstruction of a turbulent political life."--Vladimir Tismaneanu, author of "Fantasies of Salvation"

There are many books on the market explaining, detailing, defining, and analyzing shamanism while explaining how a person can become a shamanic practitioner. However, the "person" is always assumed to be an adult. Shamanism for Teenagers, Young Adults and The Young At Heart is the first book of its kind. It is a "how to" begin a shamanic practice written for teenagers. After explaining how to begin, the author leads the reader through a series of journeys, each one widening the scope of knowledge. Each journey is carefully selected to give the reader the knowledge that this type of journey exists and can be used in many circumstances.

Shamanic journeys are doorways to parallel realities. Within these worlds, the journeyer will find helping spirits capable of guiding us towards the goals or dreams we have for ourselves, personally and collectively. These worlds will offer you information about existing dilemmas and show you new possibilities for living a more fulfilling life. This is also a healing world and can help heal and soothe your mind, body, and your personal spirit or soul. This text will assist those of you who are learning on your own with the help of your spirit guides and provide continued study for those who have begun the path. It is for beginners and seasoned practitioners. It is for healers who wish to introduce shamanic healing into their practice. It is a self guided tour because the true teachers of shamanism lie within and around you. These teachers are your spirit guides emanating from your innate ability to connect with and relate to the spirit of the animals and plants around you on our beautiful mother, The Earth. They are in the Stars and the vast cosmos. They are in Pachamama, all space, all time.

The field of biomaterials has grown dramatically over the past several years. To date, synthetic materials have been successfully used for skeletal repair. Medical prostheses such as joint replacements, dental implants and cardiovascular devices have been accepted as the effective option of reconstruction for many people. In addition, biomaterials play a key role in the emerging area of tissue engineering, where living cells are cultured on the biomaterial scaffolds to create new biological substances. This book focuses on biomineralization to improve the performance of medical implants, to prepare new materials and coatings, to solve problems in industry and to cure diseases. It covers all aspects of promotion and prevention of mineral formation in both natural and synthetic biomaterials. Mineralization in bacteria, arthropods, and other organisms are included, as are deposition of silica, iron oxides and other hard compounds. Topics include: calcium phosphate biomaterials; biomimetic apatite coatings; biomimetic ceramic thin films; generation of CaCO3 in nature; SiO2 in biological systems; mineralization on organic surface; and mineral-protein interaction.