The elaborate and inventive slaughter of humans and animals in the arena fed an insatiable desire for violent spectacle among the Roman people. Donald G. Kyle combines the words of ancient authors with current scholarly research and cross-cultural perspectives, as he explores
* the origins and historical development of the games
* who the victims were and why they were chosen
* how the Romans disposed of the thousands of resulting corpses
* the complex religious and ritual aspects of institutionalised violence
* the particularly savage treatment given to defiant Christians.
This lively and original work provides compelling, sometimes controversial, perspectives on the bloody entertainments of ancient Rome, which continue to fascinate us to this day.

The elaborate and inventive slaughter of humans and animals in the arena fed an insatiable desire for violent spectacle among the Roman people. Donald G. Kyle combines the words of ancient authors with current scholarly research and cross-cultural perspectives, as he explores
* the origins and historical development of the games
* who the victims were and why they were chosen
* how the Romans disposed of the thousands of resulting corpses
* the complex religious and ritual aspects of institutionalised violence
* the particularly savage treatment given to defiant Christians.
This lively and original work provides compelling, sometimes controversial, perspectives on the bloody entertainments of ancient Rome, which continue to fascinate us to this day.

The discovery of the importance of sign language in the deaf community is very recent indeed. This book provides a study of the communication and culture of deaf people, and particularly of the deaf community in Britain. The authors' principal aim is to inform educators, psychologists, linguists and professionals working with deaf people about the rich language the deaf have developed for themselves - a language of movement and space, of the hands and of the eyes, of abstract communication as well as iconic story telling. The first chapters of the book discuss the history of sign language use, its social aspects and the issues surrounding the language acquisition of deaf children (BSL) follows, and the authors also consider how the signs come into existence, change over time and alter their meanings, and how BSL compares and contrasts with spoken languages and other signed languages. Subsequent chapters examine sign language learning from a psychological perspective and other cognitive issues. The book concludes with a consideration of the applications of sign language research, particularly in the contentious field of education. There is still much to be discovered about sign language and the deaf community, but the authors have succeeded in providing an extensive framework on which other researchers can build, from which professionals can develop a coherent practice for their work with deaf people, and from which hearing parents of deaf children can draw the confidence to understand their children's world.

"Forever Young" is a fresh, fast paced romance adventure that reads like a Hollywood movie. Part "Da Vinci Code," part "National Treasure" and part "Indiana Jones," "Forever Young" follows the life of Frank Young. A seemingly average guy, Frank falls in love at first sight with a gorgeous and mysterious woman, Jackie, as their plane survives a crash landing on the way to Frank's ten year college reunion. Separated during the chaos of the emergency landing, Frank fears he will never see Jackie again. At his reunion the following night, Frank discovers he may have a power that could change his life - and the women he encounters - forever. Soon beautiful A-listers who want to tap into his newfound power throw themselves at Frank who instead desperately wants to reconnect with Jackie. Meanwhile, Frank's start up business is struggling, so when billionaire Ari Kousakas approaches Frank with a proposition that includes funding Frank's fledgling travel company in exchange for tapping into Frank's power, he becomes intrigued. As with many of the characters in "Forever Young," there is more to Ari than meets the eye. Frank soon finds that the people he loves most are in grave danger when he refuses Ari's demands. As the power Frank thought of as a gift quickly becomes a curse, Frank decides to return to the place where he thinks it all began. Frank makes a harrowing journey that takes him half way around the world and puts his very own life at risk - all for love. Along the way he must make all but impossible choices that test his character as well his abilities for survival. "Forever Young" delves deep into issues of love, morality, greed, and the universal quest for eternal youth.

About the Contributor(s): Richard Kyle is a Professor of History and Religion at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. He has authored ten previous books, and his articles have appeared in more than 170 publications.

Description: How will the world end? Doomsday ideas in Western history have been both persistent and adaptable, peaking at various times, including in modern America. Public opinion polls indicate that a substantial number of Americans look for the return of Christ or some catastrophic event. The views expressed in these polls have been reinforced by the market process. Whether through purchasing paperbacks or watching television programs, millions of Americans have expressed an interest in end-time events. Americans have a tremendous appetite for prophecy, more than nearly any other people in the modern world. Why do Americans love doomsday? In Apocalyptic Fever, Richard Kyle attempts to answer this question, showing how dispensational premillennialism has been the driving force behind doomsday ideas. Yet while several chapters are devoted to this topic, this book covers much more. It surveys end-time views in modern America from a wide range of perspectives--dispensationalism, Catholicism, science, fringe religions, the occult, fiction, the year 2000, Islam, politics, the Mayan calendar, and more. Endorsements: ""We are indebted to Kyle for his outstanding survey of the end times. These concepts have developed over many centuries, but they have found fertile soil in our own land. Kyle deals with an astonishingly wide range of ideas with insightful and broad knowledge of the historical, religious, and contemporary contexts. This is by far the best guide to the fascinating and intricate world of the end times. Those who wish to understand our nation's psyche will find Apocalyptic Fever a must-read book."" --Robert G. Clouse, Senior Research Scholar in Liberal Arts, Indiana State University ""Apocalyptic enthusiasm rarely receives calm and thoughtful consideration. Kyle is a most welcome exception. His book is careful, nuanced, insightful, and charitable toward a subject that is usually treated as incredible, unbelievable, mad, or deadly certain. Apocalyptic Fever takes the temperature of a serious disease and provides just the right calming prescription for bringing the fever under control."" --Mark Noll, Professor of History, University of Notre Dame ""Apocalyptic Fever is one of those must-read books. Kyle, a veteran observer of radical evangelical and conservative religion in America, addresses the wide variety of end-time preachers, writers, and movements in the contemporary world . . . Such an explanatory work is sorely needed in an age where polemical treatises richly abound.""