'God's Living Postcards' is the first feature length book by David Parks.
It is a story that closely parallels the author's life from 1991 to 2000 and beyond. The multilevel tale has a number of supporting themes including spiritual discovery, the awakening realization of happiness through creativity and grace in the face of aging and death. It is essentially a series of closely interwoven short stories that is intended to educate, entertain and inspire.
David is a visual artist and as such paints with words and brings to lucid reality the diverse environments of major cities such as Paris or Hong Kong and the exquisite natural radiance of less densely populated destinations like Moorea. He does this by inserting himself as the book's central character. From this perspective he is well able to recreate the spaces in which he finds himself and to most effectively present the affiliated lessons and experiences.
'God's Living Postcards' depicts a decade long spiritual progression that is subtle early on and later blossoms into an evident love affair between a man and his God. Although that relationship takes place within the framework of the Christian faith, it is respecting and understanding toward all true spiritual seekers. It is not so much about establishing particulars in worship practice as it is about embracing the family of man in the ideal of faith, hope and love.
David eloquently works through some of the great challenges of life including the demise of romantic love, the frustration of empty employment and the finality and heartache of death. He avails himself to a lush tapestry of insights and they come from various sources within the wide-ranging backdrops. It is apparent that in his world there exists a great open walled class that is ever ongoing. There is merely a single requirement for admission; a mind hungry for wisdom and ultimate truth.
This is the story of one man's search for transcendence in the face of barrenness and despair. It is a near literal account of personal victory against the long odds of doubt and cynicism. It is an articulate affirmation that there is an abiding light in any darkness and that with our minds so attuned we will always be able to find it. 'God's Living Postcards' is an exultant celebration of the grand escapade that can be known at any time and in any place on this strange and marvelous place called Earth.

WINNER OF THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR 'I loved this delicate, beautifully written novella about fathers and sons' David Nicholls 'One of Ireland's great novelists' Roddy Doyle 'Wrings the heart' Bernard MacLaverty 'A mighty book' Frank McGuinness 'Extraordinary, raw and moving a chronicle of pain and powerlessness as could be written' Lisa McInerney AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR The world is shrouded in snow. With transport ground to a halt, Tom must venture out into a transformed and treacherous landscape to collect his son, sick and stranded in student lodgings. But on this solitary drive from Belfast to Sunderland, Tom will be drawn into another journey, one without map or guide, and is forced to chart pathways of family history haunted by memory and clouded in regret. Travelling in a Strange Land is a work of exquisite loss and transformative grace. It is a novel about fathers and sons, grief, memory, family and love; about the gulfs that lie between us and those we love, and the wrong turns that we take on our way to find them.

'It is seldom that one can say a book is perfect, but this is as close as I've seen in a very long time' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT 'A bold and unsettling parable about guilt, atonement and redemption' IRISH TIMES Michael has travelled a long way from his boyhood under the endless skies of the Midwest. His retirement is peaceful, if solitary. But one day there is a visitation: a mysterious car on the seafront, and a package delivered. From its contents, Michael understands that he has been commissioned to undertake a final journey. As Michael makes his way deep into a distant desert - a strange and liminal landscape that lies between hell and redemption - he undertakes another journey, into long-suppressed memories: of Vietnam and the dying days of war, and to face a final accounting for what was done. 'Another compact marvel ... This is a meditative novel that, while investing heavily in a patient build-up of atmosphere, never forgets the need to put a foot on the gas' DAILY MAIL 'David Park's novels are always elegantly written' INDEPENDENT 'Unflinching, courageous, wise, alert to the thrill and sorrow of violence ... Adds to David Park's status as a superb novelist' FRANK MCGUINNESS

'I loved this book' Daily Mail Strangers come together to run. Angela and Brendan are racing towards a wedding day that is increasingly tainted by doubts. Yana runs to free herself from the darkness of the past and to remember her missing brother. Cathy thinks about the secret she has been unable to share. Running takes Maurice past his daughter's house, the place he is not allowed to enter. Over the nine weeks unexpected friendships are forged, challenges faced and by the time of their final run together all will grasp a new commitment to life itself.

First full-length survey of the Temple Church, from its foundation in the twelfth century to the Second World War. Founded as the main church of the Knights Templar in England, at their New Temple in London, the Temple Church is historically and architecturally one of the most important medieval buildings in England. Its round nave, modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, is extraordinarily ambitious, combining lavish Romanesque sculpture with some of the earliest Gothic architectural features in any English building of its period. It also holds one of the most famous series of medieval effigies in the country. Major developments in the post-medieval period include the reordering of the church in the 1680s by Sir Christopher Wren, and a substantial restoration programme in the early 1840s. Despite its extraordinary importance, however, it has until now attracted little scholarly or critical attention, a gap that is remedied by this volume. It considers the New Temple as a whole in the Middle Ages, and allaspects of the church itself from its foundation in the twelfth century to its war-time damage in the twentieth. Richly illustrated with numerous black and white and colour plates, it makes full use of the exceptional range and quality of the antiquarian material available for study, including drawings, photographs, and plaster casts. Contributors: Robin Griffith-Jones, Virginia Jansen, Philip Lankester, Helen Nicholson, David Park, Rosemary Sweet, William Whyte, Christopher Wilson. Robin Griffith-Jones is Master of the Temple at the Temple Church; David Park is a Professor at the Courtauld Institute of Art.

From their introduction in the early twelfth century the Cistercians were one of the leading monastic orders in Britain. Many of the finest monastic remains - Fountains, Rievaulx and Tintern - are Cistercian. This 1986 book is a comprehensive survey of Cistercian art and architecture in the British Isles. The various contributions, all by leading specialists, cover the historical and literary background; the development of Cistercian architecture (especially in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when the Cistercians were in the forefront of architectural achievement, playing an important role in the introduction and dissemination of the Gothic style); and art forms such as wall painting, stained glass, tile pavements, and manuscript illumination, as well as liturgy and music. These studies reveal what was distinctively Cistercian in the art and architecture of the Order, and permit a distinct understanding of the remarkable contribution of the Cistercians to the culture of medieval Britain.

The short Heroic Age of physics that started in 1925 was one of the rare occasions when a deep consideration of the question: What does physics really say? was necessary in carrying out numerical calculations. In many parts of microphysics the calculations have now become relatively straightforward if not easy, but most physicists seem to agree that some questions of principle remain to be resolved, even if they do not think it is very important to do so. This situation has affected the way people think and write about quantum mechanics, a gingerly approach to fundamentals and a tendency to emphasize what fifty years ago was new in the new theory at the expense of continuity with what came before it. Nowadays those who look into the subject are more likely to be struck by unexpected similarities between quantum and classical mechanics than by dramatic contrasts they had been led to expect. It is often said that the hardest part of understanding quantum mechanics is to understand that there is nothing to understand; all the same, to think quantum mechanically it helps to have firm mental connections with classical physics and to know exactly what these connections do and do not imply. This book originated more than a decade ago as informal lecture notes OP, prepared for use in a course taught from time to time to advanced undergraduates at Williams College."

Health Care Reform Simplified describes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. It translates the law's complex language into terms that are easy to understand, explaining what the new law does, when its provisionstake effect, and how to plan for individual, family, and business health coverage. This book outlines the financial impact of the law and how it affects businesses, insurers, hospitals, and doctors. Most important, this book gives consumers and employers the critical informationfor making informed choices about new options for private and public health insurance coverage. It also describes how the law interacts with Medicare and Medicaid. Finally, it looks at the potential roadblockspolitical and judicial, as well as economicthat may derail some of the provisions. But with nearly half the Act's provisions in force already, there is no time to losein understanding how this legislationaffects U.S. health care providers and consumerstoday. Explains health reform in easy-to-understand terms Provides guidance on options for anyone buying health insurance, whether for family or employees Details the impact on businesses, medical professionals, and insurers Charts the potential impact of political opposition to the act Explains who will pay for reform and where the cost savings lieunder both best and worst scenarios What you'll learn The provisions of the new health care law. The options for families and individuals, and how to decide whether to keep existing insurance, switch to a different plan, or get new coverage at an exchange or co-op The mandates for having insurance coverage and the penalties for failing to comply New government subsidies and tax breaks for health care, and who qualifies for them Options for businesses, and how employers can decide whether to keep existing plans, purchase plans through exchanges, or provide vouchers to employees The impact of health care reform on hospitals, doctors, insurers, and patient care The roadblocks and potholes on the way to reform and how the law may change in the years to come Who this book is for

Health Care Reform Simplified is an excellent resource for people who make health care decisions for their families, or for managers who make decisions about insurance coverage for employees. Health care professionals and those working in the insurance industry will also find it a useful overview of the changes that haveoccurred and those yet to come. Table of Contents Overview: Health Care Reform Past and Future Early Changes: Health Care Reform's First Ups, Downs New Choices: Individual, Family Insurance Options Business Trends: Tackling Taxes, Mandates, Incentives Insurance Shift: Law Changes Market Rules, Regulations New Medicine: Law Attacks Errors and Inefficiencies Medi-Growth: Medicaid, Medicare Poised to Expand Info Overload: Law Brings Communication Challenges Who Pays?Health Care Reform to Cost$1.4 Trillion War on Reform: New Law Faces Legal, Political Attacks

 This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce, AMEC 2002, held in Bologna, Italy in July 2002 during the AAMAS 2002 conference. The 20 revised full papers presented together with an introductory survey by the volume editors were carefully selected and improved during two rounds of reviewing and revision. The book gives a unique overview of the state of the art of designing mechanisms and systems for agent-mediated e-commerce- The papers are organized in topical sections on electronic auctions, negotiations, and electronic markets.

'Subtle, understated, not without a hint of menace and always courageous ... An important book' Irish Times 'Marvellously compelling ... Park takes that most difficult of subjects - recent history - and with graceful integrity explores the difficulties involved in coming to terms with the legacies of the past ... beautifully described in Park's crystalline prose' Daily Mail It is December in Belfast, Christmas is approaching and three sets of people are about to make their way to Amsterdam. Alan, a university art teacher, goes on a pilgrimage to the city of his youth with troubled teenage son Jack; middle-aged couple Marion and Richard take a break from running their garden centre to celebrate Marion's birthday; and Karen, a single mother struggling to make ends meet, joins her daughter's hen party. As these people brush against each other in the squares, museums and parks of Amsterdam, their lives are transfigured as they encounter the complexities of love in a city that challenges what has gone before.

Having survived a brutal childhood in the heart of Belfast, Martin has built a life that he never imagined, and always fears he does not deserve. He has a devoted wife, a son and a daughter whose academic success is launching her out of her proud father's orbit. Returning home one night to find police cars waiting, he thinks his sins have finally caught up with him, but instead the news is wholly unexpected; a senseless and devastating tragedy. And in the face of the trauma, which tears his fragile family apart, Martin finds that the violence of his past has not gone but is merely dormant; its call must be answered.

Neurological Disorders is the latest and fifth monograph in the series on management and treatment in major clinical specialties or patient groups. Each book is complete in'its own right and has been prepared by practising physicians with an interest in treatment and management, together with scientists involved in clinical research. The volumes are intended to fill a gap between standard textbooks of medicine and therapeutics and research reviews, symposia and original articles in superspecialist fields. It is the aim of the series to give authoritative up-to-date advice on treatment and management which will be of use to both specialists and nonspecialists and to allow recent advances in pathophysiol ogy and developments in treatment to be viewed in the context of contemporary clinical practice. The approach is intentionally by the minimum number didactic. Each volume has been written of authors to ensure a degree of continuity and uniformity of style. The first four volumes dealt respectively with gastrointestinal diseases, rheumatic diseases, treatment in the elderly and car diovascular disease. The present volume covers neurological diseases. Chapter 1 is an introduction to drugs and the nervous system. It reviews the chemical basis of neurotransmission and mechanisms of drug action in neurological disease. There follows a series of chapters discussing patient management in general and drug treatment in particular in common neurological problems presen ting in general medical practice. These include headache, cerebral vascular disease, epilepsy and the movement disorders."

Health Care Reform Simplified: What Professionals in Medicine, Government, Insurance, and Business Need to Know describes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the individual mandate and other key parts of the lawwhat must busy healthcare professionals, insurance industry professionals, business and HR managers, and policymakers do? First, read this book. It translates the law's complex language into terms that are easy to understand, explaining what the new law does, when its provisions take effect, and how to implement it. This brand-new second edition also updates all the provisions and explains the myriad ways the ACA is already being put into practice. Health Care Reform Simplified, Second Edition, outlines the financial impact of the law and how it affects businesses, insurers, hospitals and doctors, and state and local governments. Most important, this book gives consumers and employers critical information for making informed choices about new options for private and public health insurance coverage. It also describes how the law interacts with Medicare and Medicaid. Finally, it looks at the potential roadblockspolitical, judicial, and economicthat may yet derail some of the provisions. But with more than half of the Act's provisions in force already, and the Supreme Court's landmark decision upholding the law, there is no time to lose in understanding how the legislation affects you whether you are a consumer or deliverer of health care in the U.S. This book: Explains health reform in easy-to-understand terms Shows how the law is playing out in the real world Explains the ways the law or parts of it yet may be repealed by the 2012 election and the implications for readers Provides HR professionals and managers options for covering employees while explaining costs and benefits Details the impact on medical professionals and insurers and steps they must take now to comply with the law Shows policymakers the way forward now that legal challenges have abated This edition, completely updated to incorporate the newest regulations and the practices that have been put into place in various states, will prove an indispensable guide for those implementing the law, as well as those receiving health care, in the coming years. What you'll learn The provisions of the health care law, updated to take into account new regulatory guidelines, as well as models and processes developed at the state level. Options for families and individuals, and how to decide whether to keep existing insurance, switch to a different plan, or get new coverage at an exchange or co-op New government subsidies and tax breaks for health care, and who qualifies for them What government agencies, insurers, and healthcare providers must do to comply with the law Options for businesses, and how employers can decide whether to keep existing plans, purchase plans through exchanges, or provide vouchers to employees The impact of health care reform on hospitals, doctors, insurers, and patient care The potential for a new Congress with a new President to repeal provisions of the law Who this book is for Health Care Reform Simplified: What Professionals in Medicine, Government, Insurance, and Business Need to Know is an excellent resource for managers who make decisions about insurance coverage for employees, healthcare professionals and those working in the insurance industry who must understand and comply with the law's provisions, and policymakers who must implement the law at the state and local level. Individuals wondering about such things as the individual mandate will also find the book a useful overview of the changes that have occurred and those yet to come.

""The Grand Contraption" is the long-needed antidote to all those top-heavy histories of scientific thought that pass brusquely over the philosophies of the ancient world, eager to find the sure footing of modernity. Park tells us not only what science now knows, but how it got to know it: from an enthralling mix of myth, genius, logic, careful observation, guesswork, invention, and a dash of inspired lunacy."--Philip Ball, author of "Life's Matrix" and consultant editor, "Nature"

"This book literally grabs you. The facts presented, the stories told, the author's reflections on the information he presents, are rendered beautifully-and masterfully. This is a labor of love, and the passion with which David Park has written the book is readily apparent and makes one want to keep on reading. And in doing so one is richly rewarded with keen insights, judicious appraisals, and with questions regarding courses of action and consequences that are not only thought provoking but also relevant."--Silvan S. Schweber, Brandeis University and Harvard University, author of "QED and the Men Who Made It" (Princeton)

""The Grand Contraption" is an impressive feat of scholarship in the history of science, and it is even more impressive if one considers that it is written in clear and unpretentious English. Park offers, in plain language, an attractive way to think about cosmological ideas from a single perspective. No one will put this book down without having their level of consciousness raised by a few notches."--Christian Wildberg, Princeton University

"Physics, astronomy, geology, and poetry all come together here in the grand quest to understand what out universe is and how it works. "Only ahandful of authors have both the expertise and the courage to write a book of this sweep and depth. David Park has woven together a vast tapestry of humankind's vision of the cosmos, from ancient myths to our contemporary curiosity about intelligent life on other worlds."--Owen Gingerich. Professor of Astronomy & the History of Science, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

"An exceptional and well-written introduction to the history of ideas, viewed from the perspective of their creators, who were adapting their thinking to new facts and conceptions as they went. We found the book engrossing and illuminating."--Elizabeth Wayland Barber and Paul T. Barber, coauthors of "When They Severed Earth from Sky"

This is an excellent and stimulating account of the history and development of physics, a pleasure to read and of great value to anyone with an interest in the nature of science.--John Polkinghorne, The Times Higher Education SupplementA marvelous, technically competent, literate, engagingly written book that every student (whether a science major or not) in a science courseand instructorsshould have to read.--James T. Cushing, American Journal of PhysicsPhysicists should make every effort to enjoy this well-conducted tour of the history of physics.--John Barrow, New ScientistA brilliant presentation of the ideas of modern physics presented in a richly painted historical setting. . . . This book contains more physics than most physicists know, and more intellectual history than most historians know, woven together in a thoughtful, erudite, and enthusiastic presentation that is unique in both popular and academic science writing. . . . The rise of statistical physics, quantum mechanics, particle physics, and cosmology are accompanied by trenchant examples that encapsulate the core of current controversy, and the older material is informed by recent sophistications of historical scholarship.--Choice

From award-winning writer David Park, an absorbing account of the lives of the women most important to three poets: William Blake, Osip Mandlestam and an imagined contemporary Irish poet 'An outstanding novel, written in luminous accessible prose, thoroughly enjoyable and much deeper even than the sum of its excellent parts' Irish Times 'The Poets' Wives is a marvellous triptych: lyrical, respectful of creativity but also sharply sceptical' Sunday Times __________________ Three women, each destined to play the role of a poet's wife: Catherine Blake, the wife of William Blake - a poet, painter and engraver who struggles for recognition in a society that dismisses him as a madman; Nadezhda Mandelstam, wife of Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, whose poetry costs him his life under Stalin's terror; and the wife of a fictional contemporary Irish poet, who looks back on her marriage during the days after her husband's death as she seeks to fulfil his final wish. Set across continents and centuries, and in very different circumstances, these three women confront the contradictions between art and life, contemplate their emotional and physical sacrifices for another's creativity, and struggle with infidelities that involve not only the flesh, but ultimately poetry itself. They find themselves custodians of their husbands' work, work that has been woven with love's intimacies and which has shaped their own lives in the most unexpected of ways. Deeply insightful and beautifully wrought, The Poets' Wives is David Park at his best - a novelist whose work has the power to bring the hidden from the shadows, into a delicate and shimmering light.

ORANGES FROM SPAIN is a collection of stories about of the trials of growing up in a community where tension, confusion and violence hold sway. Here, among other tales, a youthful seaside romance crosses the religious divide, a gang take turns at the wheel of a stolen car, and an exceptional student stirs the resentment of her troubled teacher. Set in Northern Ireland against the background of the troubles, these vignettes capture the spirit of adolescence in difficult times.