As a recovering alcoholic and "born again" Christian, Martha Browning, a middle-aged, middle class housewife from Indiana, wanted to visit Israel and the "Holy Lands" to strengthen her faith. She found however that her fascination with the cultural complexity and physical enchantment of the region soon overwhelmed her rather mundane curiosity related to the various religious sites and biblical stories. After befriending an Arab-Israeli doctor Martha was able to explore many intriguing aspects of Israel and the Middle East more thoroughly. What she saw and learned was beyond anything she could have imagined, and it forced her to examine her life's direction with a new passion and understanding. Just as she contemplated how to adjust her life, and how to manage the growing romantic feelings towards the doctor, she was kidnapped. Dealing with the terror of becoming a kidnap victim forced Martha to scrutinize her life, her faith, and her internal strengths and frailties with an urgency imposed by a frightening aloneness.

When two Florida natives take time to reminisce about their lives, and their lifelong relationship with Florida's natural environment, it results in serious contemplations about the development of the human perspective regarding use, management and appreciation of natural resources. While relaxing in the idyllic setting of Florida and the Bahamas, the two rely upon a series of stories, poems and adventures, and the metaphor of the naked Emperor, to explore the evolution of technological society. The wisdom of many recognized creative leaders is brought into the conversation to explain our general "Dissatisfaction" with the biological realities of being human-- a primate species. When genetics enters the discussion, a new array of possible explanations for the human condition is revealed.

As a recovering alcoholic and "born again" Christian, Martha Browning, a middle-aged, middle class housewife from Indiana, wanted to visit Israel and the "Holy Lands" to strengthen her faith. She found however that her fascination with the cultural complexity and physical enchantment of the region soon overwhelmed her rather mundane curiosity related to the various religious sites and biblical stories. After befriending an Arab-Israeli doctor Martha was able to explore many intriguing aspects of Israel and the Middle East more thoroughly. What she saw and learned was beyond anything she could have imagined, and it forced her to examine her life's direction with a new passion and understanding. Just as she contemplated how to adjust her life, and how to manage the growing romantic feelings towards the doctor, she was kidnapped. Dealing with the terror of becoming a kidnap victim forced Martha to scrutinize her life, her faith, and her internal strengths and frailties with an urgency imposed by a frightening aloneness.

When two Florida natives take time to reminisce about their lives, and their lifelong relationship with Florida's natural environment, it results in serious contemplations about the development of the human perspective regarding use, management and appreciation of natural resources. While relaxing in the idyllic setting of Florida and the Bahamas, the two rely upon a series of stories, poems and adventures, and the metaphor of the naked Emperor, to explore the evolution of technological society. The wisdom of many recognized creative leaders is brought into the conversation to explain our general "Dissatisfaction" with the biological realities of being human-- a primate species. When genetics enters the discussion, a new array of possible explanations for the human condition is revealed.