Humanism and Ideology focuses on the philosophical problems that confront the humanist who also wishes to be an ideologue, who wishes to claim that certain ideals are worthy of regard by all mankind. The problem of ethical skepticism is of central importance to the book's discussion. Questions as to whether belief in ethical truth is compatible with tolerance; the relationship of natural law to natural right; and the relationship of happiness to moral goodness are all examined by drawing upon the ancient philosophers, particularly Aristotle, as well as upon contemporary analytical philosophy.

First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The tangled relationships of Robert Flynn's award-winning novel Wanderer Springs surface again in Tie-Fast Country, this time centered around an elderly ranch woman, whose father raised her to be a cowboy, and her grandson, who doesn't know her and has been raised to hate her.

When Chance Carter, general manager of a TV station in Florida, gets a telephone call that his grandmother's health is failing and that he must do something about her, he knows only that he is heir to a million-dollar ranch and that his grandmother may have killed his grandfather and the man who was perhaps his father. His idea of a Texas ranch comes from television and he does not know what he will have to do to slide Rista Wyler off her land and into a nursing home. Nor does he know that the only cowboy Rista has left is Pug Caldwell, an old man who has worked for her since he was a teenager and may want the ranch for himself.

Reluctantly Chance leaves Florida behind, where he is in control of his own world, and also leaves Shana, the woman he loves but to whom he cannot quite commit. He finds himself more than a world away on the Texas ranch where Rista and Pug have thrown up barricades against intruders. He has no television, no phone, no contact with the outside world. And the food is monotonous and not very good.

As Chance watches for certifiable signs of senility in Rista and plans what he'll say to a judge, she puts him to work mending fences and doctoring cows with Pug. In chapters that alternate between the past and the present, Rista reveals the truth of the tangled story of her life. Gradually she introduces Chance to people and events that his mother had distorted in the telling. He finds outwhy Rista still searches the ranch for the undiscovered grave of her aunt, killed by Indians; he comes to know his grandfather, Odis, and even his great-grandfather, Claris, men of different temperaments and different loyalties. And he learns about Stoddard, the newspaperman Rista loved but could not marry. He even learns some bitter truths about his mother, Cassie, and her hatred for the ranch.

Chance comes to understand that Rista's commitment to the land is the strongest force in her life, a commitment taught her by her father. Over the years her tenacity in hanging on to the land cost her husband, lover, daughter, and grandson, but she never considered changing.

As Chance is learning to understand, if not accept completely, the world of his grandmother, Shana provides the sharp contrast of modern life. When Chance escapes to a telephone in town and calls Shana, she reports on the TV station, where sensationalism, not truth, matters.

With a strong and sure narrative voice, Flynn tells a dramatic story about people, the inability of some to change, the ability of others to adapt, and the lessons some learned. The novel is set against a ranching background that is accurate down to the last detail and word.

What if post-Soviet Union Russia sent biological warfare missiles to the United States, only this time the missiles were animals infected with a virulent form of rickettsia? That's the premise behind this suspense-filled novel from one of Texas' best-known authors. Hunter Jacob Trace is peacefully trapping mountain lions miles away in the Big Bend when violent turbulence rocks a DC-10 on a cross-Atlantic flight. Just as Trace is unaware of the strange turns his life is about to take, the crew is unaware that three rare Siberian tigers in the hold, being sent to U.S. zoos in Houston, San Diego, and Seattle as part of a breeding program, have been jolted out of their cages. When one tiger makes its way to the cabin, the excitement and terror begin. The plane, unable to land in Houston because of bad weather, crashes in Corpus Christi Bay, its pilots killed by the tiger, its passengers terrified. Although many passengers survive the crash, including Arina Yeroskin, the Russian woman veterinarian accompanying the animals, the tigers are presumed dead. But are they? First a tiger is sighted near Padre Island, then a man is killed on a river bottom near Aransas Pass. When a prize bull is slaughtered in Jim Wells County to the southeast, it's apparent the tiger is traveling far and fast--or is it a second tiger? Other incidents--a woman attacked in her home, a tiger invading a cantina--lead to widespread hysteria and a real concern about how many tigers are loose in South Texas and how many died in the plane crash. The North American Zoological Association hires Trace to stalk the tigers and capture them alive, but he's not the only one on the feline trail. Right-wing militia, convinced the tigers are part of a UN plot and spurred on by an anonymous benefactor, want to find and kill the tigers. Evelyn Price and Rand Morgan, representing NAZA, have their own agendas. Rand wants to capture the tigers to advance his career; Evelyn, passionate about animal rights, plots to free the cats. Eventually officials of the Mexican government are also in on the chase, hoping to kill the tigers and return their ashes to Russia for a reward. Only Arina Yeroskin and the reader know why the post-communist Russian government wants their prize animals dead, not alive. Even when survivors of tiger attacks die of "complications," one after the other, only Arina suspects that the tigers were infected to serve as biological weapons by right-wing scientists hoping to restore communism in Russia. The suspense of the tiger hunt is surpassed only by the spine-tingling terror of a tiger stalking its victim be it human or the tracking dogs that fall prey.

In this sequel to Jade: Outlaw, Jade, a rough man of the old West, molded by a tragic past, has fallen for Rain, a woman raised by Indians, a symbol of all that he hates and all that he is. Now these two outcasts, struggling to build their own relationship, face a West that is changing. As Jade becomes the Law, he must deal with progress: greedy cattle barons, religious righteousness, political aspirations, railroads, Civil War remnants, prejudice and outlaws.

From the author of Echoes of Glory, winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for best long novel, comes the tale of Jade, a rough man of the old West, molded by a tragic past, an Indian hunter who finds himself falling for a woman raised by Indians, symbol of all the he hates and all that he is.Award winning author Robert Flynn once again takes his readers on a journey to a past they can imagine through his words, with people that are hard to forget, in a story that could be set in a modern day war...or placed like it is...deep in the Old West.

A powerful indictment of America's abandonment of human beings, and children in particular, in favor of corporations, this account exposes the child labor, indentured servitude, and child slavery aspects that are undeniable parts of American history. Arguing that, in the wake of the election of Ronald Reagan, legislation began to support corporations at the expense of the American people, this book demonstrates how this nation's intellectual capital was squandered. Discussing how deregulation and lax enforcement caused unnecessary deaths to workers in many fields, this work argues that the number of deaths and disabilities to fetuses, babies, and children will only increase until voters decide to stop the destruction of America and its children.

Robert Flynn has gathered twenty-three stories that have hope, faith, and love as their common denominator. They are funny, political, and more than a bit prophetic as well as being superbly crafted. Included in the collection are ""The Rest of the Story,"" wherein the author retells select Biblical stories and parables supplying heretofore expurgated details with an exquisitely agonizing truth; ""Ten Mistakes God Made,"" which treats with candor religious politics, elitism, and the unexplained nature of what makes us believe; ""The Trouble with Eve"" and ""Redemption,"" which are at heart stories of how one grapples with, avoids, questions, and finally resigns to - love; and ""Chicken Soup for the Damned,"" a fable cum corporate biography retelling of the Savior's story.

'Walt McDonald's ""A Band of Brothers"" sheds light on the Vietnam war through the eyes of a pilot in painstaking detail. Walter McDonald's collection [is] one of the most moving and insightful accounts of that 'dirty little war' I have seen. This is a view of hell from an intelligent, sensitive eye, a tour of unimaginable horror conducted by one who has not only seen it but who has also felt it - Clay Reynolds.

How Does Foster Care Work? is an international collection of empirical studies on the outcomes of children in foster care. Drawing on research and perspectives from leading international figures in children's services across the developed world, the book provides an evidence base for programme planning, policy and practice. This volume establishes a platform for comparison of international systems, trends and outcomes in foster care today. Each contributor provides a commentary on one other chapter to highlight the global significance of issues affecting children and young people in care. Each chapter offers new ideas about how foster care could be financed, delivered or studied in order to become more effective. This book is important reading for anyone involved in delivering child welfare services, such as administrators, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, children's advocates, academics and students.