"Every time I feel sad or wish my brother was here to hug me, no matter where I am, I hear his favorite song on the radio."

More than one hundred million Americans claim to have had contact with the dead through deathbed visions, dream visitations, and otherwise inexplicable lifesaving premonitions. Is it possible to bridge the gap between our world and the hereafter and make contact with departed family and friends?

In this groundbreaking work, authors Joel Martin and Patricia Romanowski share the dramatic firsthand testimonies of men and women who have connected with loved ones who have passed over. Providing compelling evidence for these experiences and offering new insight into the afterlife, Love Beyond Life is at once fascinating, comforting, and enlightening, an invaluable resource for anyone who yearns to make sense of life's final journey.

For fans of The Boss Baby and Mustache Baby comes a laugh-out-loud picture book about quiet parents who unexpectedly bring home a baby that's a heavy metal sensation! The Mumfords are a quiet family. They live on a quiet street and enjoy quiet things. So imagine their surprise when they bring home...a Metal Baby! The Mumfords try their best to quiet his cries. But he just gets louder and louder. Soon he's rocking all day and all night. And he's attracting a lot of fans! The Mumfords are exhausted. Their quiet souls are crushed. Is there any way to put Metal Baby to sleep? Illustrator Brandon James Scott joins the author of Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion and I Can't Draw to create this hilarious, hard-rocking romp of a picture book!

Part of the successful Institute of Health Economics (IHE) book series, this handbook and ready reference adopts a unique approach in combining policy recommendations with specific treatment options for Parkinson patients.
The first part of the book deals with the clinical medical, social and economical aspects of Parkinson Disease. These ten chapters include the latest diagnosis and treatment options for patients, the economical consequences, social and ethical implications and end-of life issues. The second part of the book essentially covers a large-scale case study on Parkinson in Alberta, Canada, since most of the issues discussed are relevant in all developed countries.
With its strong focus on correct diagnosis and early intervention, this is an invaluable guide for clinicians and policymakers dealing with this devastating disease.

Since the end of the war in Vietnam and the withdrawal of the American presence there, a marked realignment of power has taken place in Southeast Asia. The old rivalry between China and the United States has become a relationship of cautious rapprochement, while Sino-Soviet competition has been intensified by China's fear that the USSR will move to fill the power vacuum created by the U.S. departure. The United States no longer perceives a friendly Sino-Southeast Asian relationship to be as much of a danger to its security interests as it once did, but how that relationship develops remains of considerable importance to this country. In this book, Edwin Martin examines some of the principal factors in China's current relations with the Southeast Asian countries- China's domestic policies, Peking-oriented insurgency in Southeast Asian countries, the Overseas Chinese, trade considerations, the policies of third powers-and concludes that the newly emergent nationalism in Southeast Asia,coupled with Sino-Soviet rivalry, indeed diminishes the threat posed by a Communist Indochina and calls for a U.S. policy of encouraging stable relations in the area, both among the countries themselves and between them and the PRC. He asserts that a four-way balance of power- involving the United States, the USSR, the PRC, and Japan-will prevent a power vacuum in the area and will allow the Southeast Asian countries to develop their own strengths, both political and economic. It is thus to the advantage of the United States to encourage all steps toward regional cooperation; U.S. policy, Professor Martin concludes, should neither abandon Southeast Asia, nor attempt to dictate to it.

What does it take to succeed as a queer teenage Eastern European sex worker in the 1990s? Eleven inches and a ruthless attitude. Western Europe, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall: Two queer teens from Eastern Europe journey to Vienna, then Zurich, in search of a better life as sex workers. They couldn't be more different from each other. Milan, aka Dianka, a dreamy, passive naif from Slovakia, drifts haplessly from one abusive sugar daddy to the next, whereas Michal, a sanguine pleasure-seeker from Poland, quickly masters the selfishness and ruthlessness that allow him to succeed in the wild, capitalist West-all the while taking advantage of the physical endowment for which he is dubbed "Eleven-Inch." By turns impoverished and flush with their earnings, the two traverse a precarious new world of hustler bars, public toilets, and nights spent sleeping in train stations and parks or in the opulent homes of their wealthy clients. With campy wit and sensuous humor, Michal Witkowski explores in Eleven-Inch the transition from Soviet-style communism to neoliberal capitalism in Europe through the experiences of the most marginalized: destitute queers.

Decapod crustaceans are of tremendous interest and importance evolutionarily, ecologically, and economically. There is no shortage of publications reflecting the wide variety of ideas and hypotheses concerning decapod phylogeny, but until recently, the world's leading decapodologists had never assembled to elucidate and discuss relationships among the major decapod lineages and between decapods and other crustaceans. Based on the findings presented by an international group of scientists at a symposium supported by the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, The Crustacean Society, and several other societies, and with major funding from the National Science Foundation, Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics provides a comprehensive synopsis of the current knowledge of this vast and important group of animals.

This volume contains state-of-the-art reviews of literature and methodologies for elucidating decapod phylogeny. The contributions include studies on the fossil origin of decapods, morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, the evolution of mating and its bearing on phylogeny, decapod "evo-devo" studies, decapod spermiocladistics, and phylogenetic inference. The experts also present research on preliminary attempts to construct the first known phylogenetic tree for various groups of decapods. Several contributions offer the most comprehensive analyses to date on major clades of decapods, and others introduce data or approaches that could be used in the future to help resolve the phylogeny of the Decapoda.

Currently, the Decapoda contain an estimated 15,000 species, some of which support seafood and marine industries worth billions of dollars each year to the world's economy. This volume is a fascinating overview of where we are currently in our understanding of these important creatures and their phylogeny and also provides a window into the future of decapod research. This work will be of great interest to researchers, instructors, and students in marine biology, evolutionary biology, crustacean biology, resource management, and biodiversity database management.

Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, Nobel Peace Laureate, theologian, and musician, developed a character-oriented ethics focused on self-realization, nature-centered spirituality, and moral idealism which anticipated the current renaissance of virtue ethics. Schweitzer's idea of 'reverence for life' underscores the contribution of moral ideals to self-realization, connects ethics to spirituality without religious dogma, and outlines a pioneering environmental ethics that bridges the gap between valuing life in its unity and valuing individual organisms. In this book Mike W. Martin interprets Schweitzer's 'reverence for life' as an umbrella virtue, drawing together all the more specific virtues, in particular: authenticity, love, compassion, gratitude, justice and peace loving, each of which Martin discusses in an individual chapter. Martin's treatment of his subject is sympathetic yet critical and for the first time clearly places Schweitzer's environmental ethics within the wider framework of his ethical theory.

Since the end of the war in Vietnam and the withdrawal of the American presence there, a marked realignment of power has taken place in Southeast Asia. The old rivalry between China and the United States has become a relationship of cautious rapprochement, while Sino-Soviet competition has been intensified by China's fear that the USSR will move to fill the power vacuum created by the U.S. departure. The United States no longer perceives a friendly Sino-Southeast Asian relationship to be as much of a danger to its security interests as it once did, but how that relationship develops remains of considerable importance to this country. In this book, Edwin Martin examines some of the principal factors in China's current relations with the Southeast Asian countries- China's domestic policies, Peking-oriented insurgency in Southeast Asian countries, the Overseas Chinese, trade considerations, the policies of third powers-and concludes that the newly emergent nationalism in Southeast Asia,coupled with Sino-Soviet rivalry, indeed diminishes the threat posed by a Communist Indochina and calls for a U.S. policy of encouraging stable relations in the area, both among the countries themselves and between them and the PRC. He asserts that a four-way balance of power- involving the United States, the USSR, the PRC, and Japan-will prevent a power vacuum in the area and will allow the Southeast Asian countries to develop their own strengths, both political and economic. It is thus to the advantage of the United States to encourage all steps toward regional cooperation; U.S. policy, Professor Martin concludes, should neither abandon Southeast Asia, nor attempt to dictate to it.

This book presents a concise amount of useful information about a wide variety of tropical food crops. It helps the reader judge which particular crop of a class is most useful for his/her particular situation.

'Early Dutch and English Voyages' translated into English, for the first time, by Basil H. Soulsby, F.S.A., of the British Museum; Segersz's text translated into English, for the first time, by J. A. J. de Villiers, of the British Museum. Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Sir W. Martin Conway, F.S.A. With affidavits by English merchants and seamen relating to happenings at Spitzbergen in 1618, and two documents telling of events there in 1634-5, taken from Public Record Office, State Papers Domestic. Including a bibliography of Spitzbergen, pp. ix-xiv. This is a new print-on-demand hardback edition of the volume first published in 1904.

Every cortical area receives input from the thalamus and projects to the thalamus. The cortex and thalamus, therefore, are inseparable partners for sensation, action, and cognition. Exploring Thalamocortical Interactions provides readers with foundational knowledge needed to understand the cellular and circuit properties of thalamocortical networks, and then goes on to consider new ideas and hypotheses, some of which are quite speculative. Some of the major themes emphasized throughout the book include: * the need for a proper classification of thalamocortical and corticothalamic circuits * the role of spike timing for thalamocortical and corticothalamic communication and the mechanisms for modulating spike timing * the organization and function of corticothalamic feedback projections * the role of higher order thalamic nuclei in cortico-cortical communication and cortical functioning * attentional modulation of thalamocortical interactions * a rethinking of efference copies and distinguishing neural signals as sensory versus motor Exploring Thalamocortical Interactions combines foundational knowledge from decades of research with fresh ideas and hypotheses on how the thalamus and cortex work together for sensation, action, and cognition.

Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, Nobel Peace Laureate, theologian, and musician, developed a character-oriented ethics focused on self-realization, nature-centered spirituality, and moral idealism which anticipated the current renaissance of virtue ethics. Schweitzer's idea of 'reverence for life' underscores the contribution of moral ideals to self-realization, connects ethics to spirituality without religious dogma, and outlines a pioneering environmental ethics that bridges the gap between valuing life in its unity and valuing individual organisms. In this book Mike W. Martin interprets Schweitzer's 'reverence for life' as an umbrella virtue, drawing together all the more specific virtues, in particular: authenticity, love, compassion, gratitude, justice and peace loving, each of which Martin discusses in an individual chapter. Martin's treatment of his subject is sympathetic yet critical and for the first time clearly places Schweitzer's environmental ethics within the wider framework of his ethical theory.

When Portugal's colonial rule in Angola ended in 1974, three liberation groups--UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), and MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola)--agreed to a tripartite movement for the fledgling nation. Conflicts quickly arose and the MPLA, with Cuban and Soviet assistance, drove its rivals from the capital, instigating a civil war, which continues into three periods (1975-1991, 1992-94, and 1998-2002). This volume covers the first period, focusing on the political history of the UNITA movement and its struggles with the MPLA. The Angolan civil war was the product of personal jealousies, contrasting ideologies, and ethnic animosities. From its inception, the conflict between UNITA and Angola's Marxist government was an international affair involving the U. S., the USSR, China, and many African states: W. Martin James III, who wrote his book near the close of the first period of civil war, contends that despite Gorbachev's "new thinking" and talk of peaceful solutions to regional conflicts, Soviet policy toward Angola marked a reversion to the Brezhnev Doctrine. The biggest MPLA-Cuban offenses occurred during Gorbachev's tenure with Soviet advisers at the brigade level directing an MPLA offensive. American policy toward Angola is also examined here. This is the first book to emphasize the dynamic role of UNITA in the Angolan liberation movement. James acknowledges that the importance of foreign powers in guaranteeing a government of national reconciliation. Just as important are strategies of compromise requiring trust in a political context where it is violated and submission for the common good where defiance is a remnant of the colonial past. Foreign policy analysts, African area specialists, and scholars of post-colonial history find this volume indispensible.

In this issue of Cardiology Clinics, guest editor Dr. Matthew W. Martinez brings his considerable expertise to Sports Cardiology. Top experts in the field cover key topics such as preparticipation sports clearance from a pediatric cardiology perspective; evaluation and treatment of an athlete runner with hypertension; ectopy and the athlete: observation, medication, or intervention; exercise and the HCM guidelines; ECG criteria for athletes; and more. Contains 13 relevant, practice-oriented topics including genetic cardiomyopathies: avoid these common pitfalls; devices and athletics: how to decide who can play; the tactical athlete: definitions, assessment, and management of symptoms; the athlete and vascular conditions: don't miss these important conditions; myocarditis and exercise: when and how to return to sports; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on sports cardiology, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

This book is a major reappraisal of Byron's poetry, which grapples firmly with the paradox of his work - that in spite of his enormous influence, the magnetic power of his personality, and the fascination of his life, the poetry is often of inferior quality and so inconsistent in its attitudes that Byron's poetic seriousness is inevitably called into question. The focus of the book is the nature of Byron's relationship with his public and its effect on his poetry; a subject that has remained largely unexplored. Dr Martin considers Byron's anomalous position as an aristocrat in a literary market governed by commercial interests and middle class tastes and reading habits. He suggests that the whole of Byron's poetry can be seen as a performance determined by a number of factors: Byron's anxieties about his modernity, his contemporaries, and the image his readers were ready to fashion for him.

The years 1954-1958 in Syria are popularly known as "The Democratic Years," a brief period of civilian government before the consolidation of authoritarian rule. Kevin W. Martin provides a cultural history of the period and argues that the authoritarian outcome was anything but inevitable. Examining the flourishing broadcast and print media of the time, he focuses on three public figures, experts whose professions-law, the military, and medicine-projected modernity and modeled the new Arab citizen. This experiment with democracy, however abortive, offers a model of governance from Syria's historical experience that could serve as an alternative to dictatorship.

The years 1954-1958 in Syria are popularly known as "The Democratic Years," a brief period of civilian government before the consolidation of authoritarian rule. Kevin W. Martin provides a cultural history of the period and argues that the authoritarian outcome was anything but inevitable. Examining the flourishing broadcast and print media of the time, he focuses on three public figures, experts whose professions-law, the military, and medicine-projected modernity and modeled the new Arab citizen. This experiment with democracy, however abortive, offers a model of governance from Syria's historical experience that could serve as an alternative to dictatorship.

Fiction. Few Polish prose writers of the past ten years have attracted as much delight and bewilderment as Natasza Goerke. Her stories, which are commonly fastened with predicates like "surreal," "grotesque," "ludicrous," "ironic," and "extravagant," call to mind the absurdist and parabolic work of Daniil Kharms, Slawomir, Mrozek, Clarice Lispector, and Antonio Tabucchi. FAREWELLS TO PLASMA is a selection of Goerke's short stories and prose from her three volumes in Polish "The transgression and abolition of borders, the permeation of East and West, tradition and modernity, dream and reality - these are the narrative coordinates of Goerke's universe, teeming with those who are wandering, searching, yearning - and, chiefly, loving"-S?ddeutsche Zeitung.

What separates ordinary salespeople from Heavy Hitters?

The best salespeople are those "Heavy Hitters" who are able to use human nature, language, and intuition to build trusting relationships with customers and persuade them to buy. Based on his proven and effective sales program, author Steve Martin's "Heavy Hitter Selling" explains how you too can achieve and maintain that high level of sales success. Using real-world case studies, examples, and exercises, Martin provides the psychological, physical, and language-based tactics you need to turn yourself into a Heavy Hitter.

Inside, you'll find proven guidance and expert tips on: Understanding how people think and communicateFinding the right words at the right timePredicting a customer's behavior and influencing his thoughtsBuilding customer rapport and understanding their motivationsPersuading both the customer's rational mind and his emotional subconscious side

"Like other sales books published recently, this one stresses the importance of human behavior. But unlike the others, it puts an emphasis on language. Salespeople could well benefit by exploring scientific models of language. Practical exercises make the book useful for everyone."
--"Harvard Business School Review"

"This well-written, insightful book will give you ideas and strategies you can use to influence and persuade customers in any market."
--Brian Tracy, author, "Million Dollar Habits"

"Traditional selling focuses on product, price, and competition and misses the most important reason people buy-people and emotion. Heavy Hitter Selling offers a different perspective that is valuable in understanding how to win."
--Jay Fulcher, President and COO, Agile Software

"Heavy Hitter Selling is different- a book that] will help you make lots of money."
--Gerald D. Cohen, CEO, Information Builders, Inc.

This fascinating cultural and intellectual history focuses on education as practiced by the imperial age Romans, looking at what they considered the value of education and its effect on children. W. Martin Bloomer details the processes, exercises, claims, and contexts of liberal education from the late first century BCE to the third century CE--the epoch of rhetorical education. He examines the adaptation of Greek institutions, methods, and texts by the Romans, and traces the Romans' own history of education. Bloomer argues that while Rome's enduring educational legacy includes the seven liberal arts and a canon of school texts, its practice of competitive displays of reading, writing, and reciting were intended to instill in the young social as well as intellectual ideas.

God or Darwin? It is one of the most contentious conflicts of our time. It is also completely unnecessary, according to Joel W. Martin, an evolutionary biologist and ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church USA. In this slim but powerful book, Martin argues that it is not contradictory to be a practicing, faithful Christian who accepts the science of evolution.

Martin finds that much of the controversy in the United States over evolution is manufactured and predicated on a complete--and sometimes willful--misapprehension of basic science. Science and religion, he says, serve different purposes and each seeks to answer questions that the other need never address. He believes that many of the polarizing debates about evolution distract from the deeper lessons of Christianity and that literal, fundamentalist readings of the Bible require the faithful to reject not just evolution but many of science's greatest discoveries.

Just as the scientific explanation of rainbows is not meant to refute the biblical "rainbow" story of God's promise, evolutionary theory is not a ploy to disavow the divine. Indeed, Martin shows that the majority of Christians worldwide accept the theory of evolution. He urges his fellow Christians to refuse to participate in the intellectually stifling debate over evolution and creationism/intelligent design.

Stewart may be a boy, and Craig may be a pen, but they are definitely best friends. The kind of friends who do everything together, who rely on each other, and who feel lost without each other - which is why it's a catastrophe when Craig disappears! How can Stewart be a best friend if his best buddy is missing? The answer is certain to please anyone who's ever had a favourite writing implement or a best friend.