This collection of short stories, set entirely in the future, takes in everything from robot politicians to time travelling students and plenty of creatures that I would be unable to describe fully in this small space, some of them human. Some stories are allegorical, some are political whilst others are simply quick yarns. The stories here also fit a particular time line of events; so whilst you don't need to read all of the stories in order to understand each individual story, most of the tales are all interconnected by a certain history of events. The influence of the Venusian War, the advancement of robot spies and the importance of the Sphere should hopefully become clear in a few hours!

Religious studies--also known as comparative religion or history of religions--emerged as a field of study in colleges and universities on both sides of the Atlantic during the late nineteenth century. In Europe, as previous historians have demonstrated, the discipline grew from long-established traditions of university-based philological scholarship. But in the United States, James Turner argues, religious studies developed outside the academy.

Until about 1820, Turner contends, even learned Americans showed little interest in non-European religions--a subject that had fascinated their counterparts in Europe since the end of the seventeenth century. Growing concerns about the status of Christianity generated American interest in comparing it to other great religions, and the resulting writings eventually produced the academic discipline of religious studies in U.S. universities. Fostered especially by learned Protestant ministers, this new discipline focused on canonical texts--the "bibles"--of other great world religions. This rather narrow approach provoked the philosopher and psychologist William James to challenge academic religious studies in 1902 with his celebrated and groundbreaking "Varieties of Religious Experience."

The sport of Full Contact Kickboxing demands the highest degree of technical skill, physical conditioning and intellectual discipline. Athletes must rely on their technical expertise by throwing all kicks above the waist and winning the bout purely with kickboxing techniques. A structured training programme is therefore essential. Full Contact Kickboxing is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of kickboxing training. Combining the expertise of an experienced coach and kickboxing champion, it provides the motivation and techniques needed to make better choices in and out of the ring, and to become a disciplined and successful competitor. Featuring over 380 photographs, this valuable training guide will help readers to swiftly progress and gain a competitive edge. It will be of great interest to all those interested in kickboxing principles, from amateurs to professionals, from boxers to martial artists.

This four-part novel follows the lives and adventures of three teenage boys, from Victoria, Australia, to the seat of government in Whitehall, England, during eleven turbulent months. In Storm Ridge, we meet 14-year-old Wesley, his best friend, Graham, and their worst enemy, Scott. A class hiking trip turns to disaster as Wesley, Graham and Scott are trapped on a snow-capped mountain with nine others and forced to lay aside their differences for a chance at survival. Months later, on a camping trip with Wesley's cousins, the three experience a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse with violent drug traffickers, in Paddle Hard. Emily, an exchange student from England, becomes the kidnapping target of foreign terrorists after a failed assassination attempt on her father in Paris. Guided by an aboriginal tribal elder, the boys follow her captors through the remote desert as they plan to rescue her before it is too late, in Outback Heroes. And when Wesley and Graham travel to England as Emily's guests, they're determined to discover how the terrorists were able to find Emily in the vast Australian outback. What's uncovered is an appalling, twisted history of cruelty, betrayal, and attempted murder as the Enemies Within are finally revealed. Author Bio: Author J. William Turner was born the youngest of three children in Reading, England. His family immigrated to south-eastern Australia during the mid-1960s where he attended school and began working for the Australian Commonwealth Public Service in Melbourne and Geelong. Dangerous Days is his second published novel.

In formulating this collection, Don Browning asked his contributors to respond to a simple question: Has moral relativism run its course? The threats of terrorism, reproductive technology, and globalization have forced us to ask anew whether there are universal moral truths upon which to base political and ethical judgments. In this timely edited collection, distinguished scholars present and test the best answers to this question. This dialogue includes contributions from widely-recognized scholars Richard Bernstein, Amitai Etzioni, Jean Bethke Elshtain, William Galston, Franklin Gamwell, Timothy Jackson, James Turner Johnson, John Kelsay, and Jean Porter. Although the conflict between universalism and relativism is a complex issue with many parts, the contributors to this volume tackle the question at hand in an engaging, thought-provoking manner. These insightful responses temper the strong antithesis between universalism and relativism and retain sensitivity to how language and history shape the context of our moral decisions. This important and relevant work of contemporary political and social thought is ideal for use in the classroom across many disciplines including political science, philosophy, ethics, theology, and law.

Highlighting the just war tradition in historical perspective, this valuable study looks at contemporary implications drawn out in the context of several important contemporary debates: within the field of religion, including both Christian and Islamic thought; within the field of debate related to the international law of armed conflicts; within the field of policy relating to the use of armed force where the issue is just war thinking vs. realism; and debates over pressing contemporary issues in the ethics of war which cross disciplinary lines. James Turner Johnson has been writing on just war tradition since 1975, developing the historical understanding of just war and seeking to draw out its implications for contemporary armed conflict. He is frequently asked to lecture on topics drawn from his work. This current book brings together a number of essays which reflect his recent thinking on understanding how and why just war tradition coalesced in the first place, how and why it has developed as it has, and relating contemporary just war reasoning to the historical tradition of just war.

Highlighting the just war tradition in historical perspective, this valuable study looks at contemporary implications drawn out in the context of several important contemporary debates: within the field of religion, including both Christian and Islamic thought; within the field of debate related to the international law of armed conflicts; within the field of policy relating to the use of armed force where the issue is just war thinking vs. realism; and debates over pressing contemporary issues in the ethics of war which cross disciplinary lines. James Turner Johnson has been writing on just war tradition since 1975, developing the historical understanding of just war and seeking to draw out its implications for contemporary armed conflict. He is frequently asked to lecture on topics drawn from his work. This current book brings together a number of essays which reflect his recent thinking on understanding how and why just war tradition coalesced in the first place, how and why it has developed as it has, and relating contemporary just war reasoning to the historical tradition of just war.

From the time of Jean Bodin and Thomas Hobbes, political theorists have depicted the state as "sovereign" because it holds preeminent authority over all the denizens belonging to its geographically defined territory. From the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 until the beginning of World War I in 1914, the essential responsibities ascribed to the sovereign state were maintaining internal and external security and promoting domestic prosperity. This idea of "the state" in political theory is clearly inadequate to the realities of national governments and international relations at the beginning of the twenty-first century. During the twentieth century, the sovereign state, as a reality and an idea, had been variously challenged from without and within its borders. What will be the direction of the state in the age of globalisation? Can Catholic political thinking contribute to an adequate concept of statehood and government? A group of German and American scholars were asked to explore specific ways in which the intellectual traditions of Catholicism might help our effort to rethink the state. The debate, as represented in the contributions to this book, is guided by the conviction that these intellectual resources will prove valuable to political theorists as they work to revise our understanding of the state.

Space has never EVER been so silly, so join Captain Spaceington and Co at the final frontier of laughter! From the space slugs wreaking havoc at the Space Prettiest Flower competition, to the flativerse where everything is two-dimensional (top tip: you can only enter the flativerse when flattened by a giant mallet), life onboard the SS Star Cat is never dull!

Sovereignty generally refers to a particular national territory, the inviolability of the nation's borders, and the right of that nation to protect its borders and ensure internal stability. From the Middle Ages until well into the Modern Period, however, another concept of sovereignty held sway: responsibility for the common good. James Turner Johnson argues that these two conceptions -- sovereignty as self-defense and sovereignty as acting on behalf of the common good -- are in conflict and suggests that international bodies must acknowledge this tension. Johnson explores this earlier concept of sovereignty as moral responsibility in its historical development and expands the concept to the current idea of the Responsibility to Protect. He explores the use of military force in contemporary conflicts, includes a review of radical Islam, and provides a corrective to the idea of sovereignty as territorial integrity in the context of questions regarding humanitarian intervention. Johnson's new synthesis of sovereignty deepens the possibilities for cross-cultural dialogue on the goods of politics and the use of military force.