A number of critics and scholars argue for the notion of a distinctly Catholic variety of imagination, not as a matter of doctrine or even of belief, but rather as an artistic sensibility. They figure the blend of intellectual, emotional, spiritual and ethical assumptions that proceed from Catholic belief constitutes a vision of reality that necessarily informs the artist's imaginative expression. The notion of a Catholic imagination, however, has lacked thematic and theological coherence. To articulate this intuition is to cross the problematic interdisciplinary borders between theology and literature; and, although scholars have developed useful methods for undertaking such interdisciplinary "border-crossings," relatively few have been devoted to a serious examination of the theological aesthetic upon which these other aesthetics might hinge.
In A Theology of Criticism, Michael Patrick Murphy proposes a new framework to better define the concept of a Catholic imagination. He explores the many ways in which the theological work of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) can provide the model, content, and optic for distinguishing this type of imagination from others. Since Balthasar views art and literature precisely as theologies, Murphy surveys a broad array of poetry, drama, fiction, and film and sets it against central aspects of Balthasar's theological program. In doing so, Murphy seeks to develop a theology of criticism.
This interdisciplinary work recovers the legitimate place of a distinct "theological imagination" in critical theory, showing that Balthasar's voice both challenges and complements contemporary developments. Murphy also contends that postmodern interpretivemethodology, with its careful critique of entrenched philosophical assumptions and reiterated codes of meaning, is not the threat to theological meaning that many fear. On the contrary, by juxtaposing postmodern critical methodologies against Balthasar's visionary theological range, a space is made available for literary critics and theologians alike. More important, the critic is provided with the tools to assess, challenge, and celebrate the theological imagination as it is depicted today.

Architecture of Health is a story about the design and life of hospitals-about how they are born and evolve, about the forces that give them shape, and the shifts that conspire to render them inadequate. Reading architecture through the history of hospitals is a deciphering tool for unlocking the elemental principles of architecture and the intractable laws of human and social conditions that architecture serves in each of our lives. This book encounters brilliant and visionary designers who were hospital architects but also systems designers, driven by the aim of social change. They faced the contradictions of health care in their time and found innovative ways to solve for specific medical dilemmas. Less-known designers like Filarete, Lluis Domenech i Montaner, Albert Schweitzer, Max Fry and Jane Drew, John Dawe Tetlow, Gordon Friesen, Thomas Wheeler, and Eberhard Zeidler are studied here, while the medical spaces of more widely-known architects like Isambard Brunel, Aalvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Paul Rudolph also help inform this history. All these characters were polymaths and provocateurs, but none quite summarizes this history more succinctly than Florence Nightingale, who in laying out her guidelines for ward design in 1859, shows how the design of a medical facility can influence an entire political and social order. Architecture of Health, richly illustrated with images and never before published renderings and drawings from the MASS Design Group, charts historical epidemics alongside modern and contemporary architectural transformations in service of medicine, health, and habitation; it explores how infrastructure facilitates healing and architecture's greater role in constructing our societies.

Erwin Schrödinger's book What is Life?, which was originally delivered as a set of lectures at Trinity College, Dublin, is perhaps one of the most important scientific books of the twentieth century. It marked the beginning of molecular biology, and stimulated scientists such as Watson and Crick to explore and discover the structure of DNA. The novelty and appeal of What is Life? is that Schrödinger addressed the central problems of biology--heredity and how organisms use energy to maintain order--from a physicist's perspective. Fifty years later, at Trinity College, a number of outstanding scientists from a range of disciplines gathered to celebrate the anniversary of Schrödinger's lectures. In this book, they present their views on the current main problems in biology. The contributors are eminent scientists (including two Nobel Laureates) and well-known writers of popular science, including Jared Diamond, Christien de Duve, Manfred Eigen, Stephen Jay Gould, Stuart Kauffman, John Maynard Smith, Roger Penrose, and Lewis Wolpert. They tackle questions on our current understanding of the origin of life, evolution, the origin of human inventiveness, developmental biology, and the basis for consciousness. The book ends with a touching biography by Schrödinger's daughter, Ruth Braunizer. This book will set the stage for biological research into the next century and is essential reading for anyone interested in biology and its future.

Erwin Schrödinger's book What is Life?, which was originally delivered as a set of lectures at Trinity College, Dublin, is perhaps one of the most important scientific books of the twentieth century. It marked the beginning of molecular biology, and stimulated scientists such as Watson and Crick to explore and discover the structure of DNA. The novelty and appeal of What is Life? is that Schrödinger addressed the central problems of biology--heredity and how organisms use energy to maintain order--from a physicist's perspective. Fifty years later, at Trinity College, a number of outstanding scientists from a range of disciplines gathered to celebrate the anniversary of Schrödinger's lectures. In this book, they present their views on the current main problems in biology. The contributors are eminent scientists (including two Nobel Laureates) and well-known writers of popular science, including Jared Diamond, Christien de Duve, Manfred Eigen, Stephen Jay Gould, Stuart Kauffman, John Maynard Smith, Roger Penrose, and Lewis Wolpert. They tackle questions on our current understanding of the origin of life, evolution, the origin of human inventiveness, developmental biology, and the basis for consciousness. The book ends with a touching biography by Schrödinger's daughter, Ruth Braunizer. This book will set the stage for biological research into the next century and is essential reading for anyone interested in biology and its future.

Popular young adult books such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, as well as literary classics such as Walker Percy's Love in the Ruins and Cormac McCarthy's The Road, have created a growing interest in dystopian novels. In one of the first such novels of the twentieth century, Benson imagines a world where belief in God has been replaced by secular humanism. In this harrowing novel, apocalyptic conflict looms as Julian Falsenburg arises as leader of the world, promising peace in exchange for blind obedience. Those who resist are subject to torture and execution. As the Catholic Church in England rapidly disintegrates, Rev. Percy Franklin is left to provide hope and stability.

A step by step guide to designing history timelines with VB computer language. Numerous dinosaur and mammal images. Print screens of computer programming processes.

Paul Murdock is back The Vietnam War took away Murdock's ability to walk, but did nothing to diminish his intellect, street smarts, or his win-at-all-costs attitude toward his work as a high-priced private investigator. Bored and divorced (again), Murdock accepts a job tracking down a runaway girl whose idealism has taken her to the rugged plains of Afghanistan. Murdock knows the dangers of operating in that war-torn country, but never expects the case to take him even further from home: to the streets of Moscow. This is not the grim, oppressive capitol of the former Soviet Union, however, but a reborn metropolis awash in new money and old vendettas. One of the forces behind the New Russia turns out to be Ivan Dubrynin; once a major player in the Russian underworld, but now a marked man for betraying his sacred oath to the "Thieves World." Dubrynin offers to help Murdock with his case if, in turn, Murdock agrees to escort Dubrynin and his two granddaughters safely out of the country. No easy task, since Dubrynin is targeted by the Russian Mob, embittered business rivals, and a corrupt police force. The only thing working in Murdock's favor is the assistance of Svetlana Iosha, a former Moscow cop-turned bodyguard, as deadly as she is beautiful. Danger and death lurk around every corner and down every alley, but Murdock prefers risk over boredom.

In 1971, Paul Murdock was a Special Ops soldier in Vietnam - until a bullet severed his spine. Confined to a wheelchair ever since that day, Murdock now works as a high-price private investigator, taking on cases that no one else will touch. When convicted crime boss Leo Grimaldi decides to turn informant, Murdock is hired to retrieve documents that could not only set Grimaldi free, but put many of his competitors away for life. Murdock figures that this assignment will mean a lot of money for a little work, quick and easy. All he has to do is ignore the fact that he's working for a former Mob enforcer. Unfortunately, someone else has gotten to the documents first. So begins a hunt that will lead Murdock all over New York State, and put him into the crosshairs of everyone from the Russian Mafia to his own, vengeful client. On top of all this, Murdock is also asked by his brother, a priest, to investigate a teenager who may have been wrongfully imprisoned. Suddenly, Murdock's quick and easy assignment is no longer quite so simple, but he knows that the bigger the risk, the greater the reward