Prostitute, apostle, evangelist-the conversion of Mary Magdalene from sinner to saint is one of the Christian tradition's most compelling stories, and one of the most controversial. The identity of the woman-or, more likely, women-represented by this iconic figure has been the subject of dispute since the Church's earliest days. Much less appreciated is the critical role the Magdalene played in remaking modern Christianity. In a vivid recreation of the Catholic and Protestant cultures that emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, The Magdalene in the Reformation reveals that the Magdalene inspired a devoted following among those eager to find new ways to relate to God and the Church. In popular piety, liturgy, and preaching, as well as in education and the arts, the Magdalene tradition provided both Catholics and Protestants with the flexibility to address the growing need for reform. Margaret Arnold shows that as the medieval separation between clergy and laity weakened, the Magdalene represented a new kind of discipleship for men and women and offered alternative paths for practicing a Christian life. Where many have seen two separate religious groups with conflicting preoccupations, Arnold sees Christians who were often engaged in a common dialogue about vocation, framed by the life of Mary Magdalene. Arnold disproves the idea that Protestants removed saints from their theology and teaching under reform. Rather, devotion to Mary Magdalene laid the foundation within Protestantism for the public ministry of women.

These case studies complement the earlier ground breaking work of ""Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis"" published in April 2005. Three case studies address specific hazards: landslides, storm surges and drought. An additional, three case studies address regional multi-hazard situations in Sri Lanka, the Tana River basin in Kenya, and the city of Caracas, Venezuela.

..".Disaster losses include not only the shocking direct impacts that we see on the news, such as the loss of life, housing, and infrastructure, but also indirect impacts such as the foregone production of goods and services caused by interruptions in utility services, transport, labor supplies, suppliers, or markets." Although natural disasters have long been considered a tragic interruption to the development process, the development community now links disasters to development. An earthquake in San Fernando, California may suffer the equal amount of direct economic loss as an earthquake in Venezuela. The disasters differ in the recovery time and loss of life experienced by each country. In the end, the recovery factors become an issue of basic development. It is doing development right and making sure that human activities contribute to reducing disasters rather than exacerbating them. 'Managing Disaster Risk in Emerging Economies' is organized into three parts. Part I on risk identification contains chapters on the economic impacts of natural disasters in developing countries, including flooding. It includes Buenos Aires as an example. It also presents time scales of climate and disaster. The second part explores aspects of reducing disaster risk. Part III examines strategies for developing countries to share and transfer disaster risk more effectively. This volume will be of interest to academics, the private sector, government and international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and Bank staff.