Brexit is a tale of two unions, not one: the British and the European unions. Their origins are different, but both struggle to maintain unity in diversity and both have to face the challenge of populism and claims of democratic deficit. Mark Corner suggests that the »four nations« that make up the UK can only survive as part of a single nation-state, if the country looks more sympathetically at the very European structures from which it has chosen to detach itself. This study addresses both academic and lay audiences interested in the current situation of the UK, particularly the strains raised by devolution and Brexit.

Signs of God reveals why discussion of the nature of miracles is of central rather than marginal importance where belief in God is concerned. Miracles cannot be shunted to one side as an embarrassing hangover from a 'pre-scientific age'. Miracles have played an important role in the history of all the major world religions, and many religious believers claim that they continue to do so. Yet they have also been criticized from a philosophical viewpoint as incompatible with a belief in laws of nature, and those who seek to have their religious beliefs properly attuned to the modern world often prefer to do without them. This accessible book examines the nature of miracles both in philosophical and historical terms, and concludes that, whether or not miracles happen, it is difficult to see how religious belief could survive without them.

Signs of God reveals why discussion of the nature of miracles is of central rather than marginal importance where belief in God is concerned. Miracles cannot be shunted to one side as an embarrassing hangover from a 'pre-scientific age'. Miracles have played an important role in the history of all the major world religions, and many religious believers claim that they continue to do so. Yet they have also been criticized from a philosophical viewpoint as incompatible with a belief in laws of nature, and those who seek to have their religious beliefs properly attuned to the modern world often prefer to do without them. This accessible book examines the nature of miracles both in philosophical and historical terms, and concludes that, whether or not miracles happen, it is difficult to see how religious belief could survive without them.

Summer of Caprice, a captivating comic novel first published in 1926, is a classic of Czech literature, yet it is little known elsewhere. Commonly considered untranslatable due to the complexities of the text, which is characterized by a playful narrative and an exceptional mastery of language, and its profound cultural context, it is rendered here in English that beautifully captures Vladislav Vancura's experimental style or, as the author himself called it, his "poetism in prose." Mixing the archaic with the innovative, raw colloquialisms with biblical quotations, Summer of Caprice opens an uproarious window onto the Czech spirit, humor, and way of life.

A favorite work of Czech humor, We Were a Handful depicts the adventures of five boys from a small Czech town through the diary of Petr Bajza, the grocer's son. Written by Karel Polacek at the height of World War II before his deportation to Auschwitz in 1944, this book draws on the happier years of Polacek's own childhood as inspiration. As we look upon the world through Petr's eyes, we, too, marvel at the incomprehensible world of grownups; join in fights between gangs of neighborhood kids; and laugh at the charming language of boys, a major source of the book's humor. This translation at last offers English-language readers the opportunity to share in Petr's (and Polacek's) childhood and reminds us that joy and laughter are possible even in the darkest times.

For The Pied Piper, Czech writer Viktor Dyk found his muse in the much retold medieval Saxon legend of the villainous, pipe-playing rat-catcher. Dyk uses the tale as a loose frame for his story of a mysterious wanderer, outcast, and would-be revolutionary--a dreamer typical of fin de siecle Czech literature who serves Dyk as a timely expression of the conflict between the petty concerns of bourgeois nineteenth-century society and the coming artistic generation. Impeccably rendered into English by Mark Corner, The Pied Piper retains the beautiful style of Dyk's original Czech. The inspiration for several theater and film adaptations, including a noted animated work from critically acclaimed director Jiri Barta, Dyk's classical novella is given new life by Corner's translation, proving that the piper is open to new interpretations still.

Jaroslav Hasek is a Czech writer most famous for his wickedly funny, widely read, yet incomplete novel The Good Soldier Schweik, a series of absurdist vignettes about a recalcitrant WWI soldier. Hasek in spite of a life of buffoonery and debauchery was remarkably prolific. He wrote hundreds of short stories that all display both his extraordinary gift for satire and his profound distrust of authority. Behind the Lines presents a series of nine short stories first published in the Prague Tribune and considered to be some of Hasek's best. Based on his experiences as a Red Commissar in the Russian Civil War and his return to Czechoslovakia, Behind the Lines focuses on the Russian town of Bugulma, taking aim, with mordant wit, at the absurdities of a revolution. Providing important background and insight into The Good Soldier Schweik, this collection by a writer some call the Bolshevik Mark Twain is nevertheless much more than a tool for understanding his better-known novel; it is a significant work in its own right. A hidden gem remarkable for its modern, ribald sense of humor, Behind the Lines is an enjoyable, fast-paced anthology of great literary and historical value.

The EU is one of the most notoriously complex international organisations. It is the only supranational organisation where nation-states agree to share sovereignty in some areas but not in others. At the heart of the EU debate across Europe are two opposing groups: one aims to devolve more sovereignty to the EU, with the aim of creating a European 'super-state' and the other wishes to devolve less, effectively relegating the EU to a mere discussion forum. In this accessible and engaging book, Mark Corner provides an essential introduction to the history and modern workings of the EU. Focusing on key themes in the union's development and the debates surrounding future enlargement, this book answers the key questions related to the EU and provides a 'one-stop shop' for anyone curious about future of Europe.

This important book provides a sampling of liberation theology's use of biblical texts, relating it to the "standard" methods of interpretation in Europe and America. Divided into four sections, the book sets out contemporary readings of the parable of Jesus influenced by a liberationist perspective; identifies the biblical and theoretical foundations of liberation theology, comparing them with the dominant exegetical paradigm in the first world; explores the way in which liberation exegesis affects reading the canonical accounts of Jesus; and argues that liberation theology cannot be seen solely as a third-world phenomenon.