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A Fine Line (The Baxter Series #4)
by Kathy HermanBaxter residents fear upheaval when a regional tire plant announces it's coming to Baxter. Rumor says mayor Charlie Kirby's signature on the deal was influenced by an affair with the tire company's corporate attorney - who dies suddenly after the agreement is finalized. Charlie, a pillar of the community and a father of seven, faces the court of public opinion and the biggest moral dilemma of his life. Meanwhile, newspaper editor Ellen Jones goes looking for a feature story, collides with the brick wall of the late attorney's past - and is stalked by someone pursuing the same track!From the Trade Paperback edition.
A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs
by David LehmanWith a poet's eye for language and nuance, Lehman takes a personal journey into the past of American music, showing how the songs that we view as quintessentially American were almost all written by Jews, many of them immigrants. Recounting the stories behind numerous songs and shows, the author explains how Jewish songsmiths combined their native plaintiveness and wit with Black blues to create a distinctively American musical form. With analytical skill, wit, and exuberance, Lehman helps readers understand how natural it is that Wizard of Oz composer Harold Arlen was the son of a cantor who incorporated "Over the Rainbow" into his Sabbath liturgy Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
A Fire Burns in Kotsk: A Tale of Hasidism in the Kingdom of Poland
by Glenn Dynner Menashe Unger Jonathan BoyarinHalf a century after Hasidism blossomed in Eastern Europe, its members were making deep inroads into the institutional structure of Polish Jewish communities, but some devotees believed that the movement had drifted away from its revolutionary ideals. Menashe Unger's A Fire Burns in Kotsk dramatizes this moment of division among Polish Hasidim in a historical account that reads like a novel, though the book was never billed as such. Originally published in Buenos Aires in 1949 and translated for the first time from Yiddish by Jonathan Boyarin, this volume captures an important period in the evolution of the Hasidic movement, and is itself a missing link to Hasidic oral traditions. A non-observant journalist who had grown up as the son of a prominent Hasidic rabbi, Unger incorporates stories that were told by his family into his historical account. A Fire Burns in Kotsk begins with a threat to the new, rebellious movement within Hasidism known as "the school of Pshiskhe," led by the good-humored Reb Simkhe Bunim. When Bunim is succeeded by the fiery and forbidding Rebbe of Kotsk, Menachem Mendl Morgenstern, the new leader's disdain for the vast majority of his followers will lead to a crisis in his court. Around this core narrative of reform and crisis in Hasidic leadership, Unger offers a rich account of the everyday Hasidic court life--filled with plenty of alcohol, stolen geese, and wives pleading with their husbands to come back home. Unger's volume reflects a period when Eastern European Jewish immigrants enjoyed reading about Hasidic culture in Yiddish articles and books, even as they themselves were rapidly assimilating into American culture. Historians of literature, Polish culture, and Jewish studies will welcome this lively translation.
A Fire Runs through All Things: Zen Koans for Facing the Climate Crisis
by Susan MurphyAt a time of climate emergency, Zen koans show us how crisis itself can reveal the regenerative openness of life, mind, and being.Zen koans are a tradition of holistic inquiry based on &“encounter stories&” from East Asia&’s most radical Buddhist tradition. Turning this form of inquiry toward the climate crisis, Susan Murphy contends that koans can help us enter the mind of not-knowing, from which acceptance and possibility freely emerge. Koans reveal intimate, mythic, artful, playful, provocative, humorous, and fierce ways to engage the work of protecting and healing our world.The koans point firstly at ourselves—at the very nature of "self." Until we hold &“self&” as a live question rather than its own unquestioned answer, we&’re stuck looking on from the &“outside,&” hoping to engineer change upon a problem called &“climate crisis,&” all the time oblivious to the fact that we&’re swimming in a reality with no outside to it, an ocean of transformative energy. Do we dare relinquish our wish for absolute control and fearlessly surf the intensity of our feelings about the suffering earth?In addition to her use of dozens of traditional and new koans, Murphy illuminates the little-known Zen resonance with the oldest continuous body of indigenous wisdom on earth, summed up in the subtle Australian Aboriginal word Country. Murphy draws from her study and coteaching with Uncle Max (Dulumunmun) Harrison, a distinguished Yuin Elder, to show how this millennia-deep taproot of intelligence confirms the aliveness of the earth and the kinship of all beings.
A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector
by Karen Van FossanA firsthand account of two colonial pipelines and their resistance: the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock and the Line 3 pipeline on Anishinaabe lands. This is a story of becoming and un-becoming. When the living waters that crisscrossed the Standing Rock reservation came under threat, minister of the nearby Unitarian Universalist congregation Karen Van Fossan asked herself what it means, as a descendent of colonialism, to resist her own colonial culture. When another pipeline, Line 3, came to threaten Anishinaabe ways of life, the question became even more resounding. In A Fire at the Center, Van Fossan takes readers behind the scenes of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict, to penitentiaries where prisoners of war have carried the movement onward, to the jail cell where she was held for protesting Line 3, to a reimagining of decolonized family constellations, and to moments of collective hope and strength. With penetrating insight, she blends memoir, history, and cultural critique. Guided by the generous teachings of Oceti Sakowin Camp near Standing Rock, she investigates layers of colonialism—extractive industries, mass incarceration, broken treaties, disappearances of Indigenous people—and the boundaries of imperial whiteness. For all those striving for liberation and meaningful allyship, Van Fossan’s learnings and practices of genuine, mutual solidarity and her thoughtful critique of whiteness will be transformational.
A Fire in Zion: The Israeli-Palestinian Search for Peace
by Mark PerryAttempts to reach peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
A Firefighter's Promise
by Patricia JohnsA Hero for Her Son When the baby he rescued seven years ago returns-with his widowed adoptive mom-Deputy Fire Chief Matt Bailey can't turn them away. Desperate to escape the reminders of his failure in the line of duty, Matt is close to leaving town. But one look at Rachel Carter and her son, Christopher, has him second-guessing his plans. Rachel is a mom in need of a hero for her son. But as much as she wants the two to bond, she's determined to keep her distance from Matt. After losing her husband on the job, she promised never to love another fireman. Yet somehow she finds herself drawn to the one man she should avoid.
A Firm Foundation (Mystery and the Minister’s Wife Series, Book #22)
by Anne Marie RodgersON SOLID GROUND ... AS SUMMER REACHES MIDSWING, Kate arrives home from vacation, anxious to reunite with her friends, especially head librarian Livvy Jenner. But at church on Sunday, Kate notices that her best friend is nowhere in sight. When Livvy's husband reveals that she is at work, Kate checks on her, only to find that she is not her usual self...and neither is the library. Kate soon discovers that the library has been closed, and no one knows why. Meanwhile, Paul joins a team of workers to help repair the storm-damaged home of one of the library's volunteers. As Kate supports Paul's efforts and tries to comfort Livvy, she sets off in search of answers, desperate to find out who's behind the closing of the beloved downtown institution. She quickly discovers that the building's history is more complicated than she ever imagined and that the fate of the library is in question. Will she find out who owns the building and reopen it before time runs out?
A First Passover
by Leslie SwartzA young boy's journey from the Soviet Union to America gives him a deeper insight of Passover. In the Soviet Union, Passover must be practiced in secret. When Jasha and his family are allowed to go to the United States, they can celebrate the Jewish religion openly.
A First Zen Reader: Compiled and Translated by Trevor Leggett
by Trevor LeggettWhen Zen Buddhism crossed from China to Japan in the twelfth century, it entered a phase of development that was not only to inspire a magnificent range of artistic achievement but also to exert a tremendous influence upon Japanese life itself and, eventually, To bring To The attention of the West a religious philosophy both unique and challenging in its power. 'Yet,' as one of the contributors to A First Zen Reader expresses it, 'If asked what Zen is, To reply is very difficult. ' it is the purpose of this anthology to suggest an approach to such a reply.
A Fish Out of Water
by George BarnaBarna unveils the results of years of research and hundreds of interviews, and emerges with a new definition of what leadership is--and isn't.
A Five and Dime Christmas: Four Historical Novellas
by Cynthia Hickey Patty Smith Hall Susanne Dietze Christina LorenzenCHRISTMAS IS A TIME FOR ROMANCE AT A 1880S DEPARTMENT STORE Visit Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1881 where the Woolworth's Five and Dime has become the center of Christmas commerce--and a great place to fall in love. A Merry Little Christmas BY SUSANNE DIETZE Woolworth's store clerk Hattie Scott's heart is touched by a handsome customer, but when she takes on additional secretarial work to earn money for Christmas, she learns her new boss is Englishman Timothy Branson--her favorite customer... and a threat to her brother’s job! Can two proud hearts overcome their differences to help her brother... and find love? A Home for Christmas BY PATTY SMITH HALL Essie Banfield doesn't need money but welcomes the challenges of working a job where she meets a minister and six little boys who inspire Christmas wishes. But will Pastor Max Warner trust that she is more than just a socialite with charitable intentions? The Light of Christmas BY CHRISTINA LORENZEN A job is the only thing independent orphan Lizzie Miller needs, and Henry Kimball is singularly focused on proving his success outside the family business. But could the lure of an old-fashioned family Christmas bring them together? Lunch with Maggie BY CYNTHIA HICKEY Maggie Larson works the lunch counter where she befriends a girl who's lonely father delivers milk each Friday. Friday's noon hour becomes the highlight of Maggie's week, but after being left at the altar, she closed her heart to love and to God. Will Seth Jamison be able to unlock her heart?
A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night: A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life
by Dalai LamaCompassion is the guiding principle of the bodhisattvas, those who vow to attain enlightenment in order to liberate all sentient beings from the suffering and confusion of imperfect existence. To this end, they must renounce all self-centered goals and consider only the well-being of others. The bodhisattvas' enemies are the ego, passion, and hatred; their weapons are generosity, patience, perseverance, and wisdom. In Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is considered to be a living embodiment of this spiritual ideal. His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama presents here a detailed manual of practical philosophy, based on The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara), a well-known text of Mahayana Buddhism written by Shantideva. The Dalai Lama explains and amplifies the text, alluding throughout to the experience of daily life and showing how anyone can develop bodhichitta, the wish for perfect enlightenment for the sake of others. This book will surely become a standard manual for all those who wish to make the bodhisattva ideal a living experience.
A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today
by Gregory A. Boyd Bonnie KristianBONNIE KRISTIAN shows that a vibrant diversity within Christian orthodoxy-which is simply to say a range of different ways to faithfully follow Jesus-is a strength of our faith, not a weakness.It is all too easy to fail to grasp the diversity of the Christian faith-especially for those who have grown up in one branch of the church and never explored another. We fail to realize how many ways there are to follow Jesus, convinced that our own tradition is the one Christian alternative to nonbelief. A FLEXIBLE FAITH is written for the convinced and confused believer alike. It is a readable exploration of the lively theological diversity that stretches back through church history and across the spectrum of Christianity today. It is an easy introduction to how Christians have historically answered key questions about what it means to follow Jesus. Chapters will include 17 big theological questions and answers; profiles of relevant figures in church history; discussion questions; single-page Q&As-profiles of more unusual types of Christians (e.g., a Catholic nun or a member of an Amish community); and a guide to major Christian denominations today.As Bonnie shares her wrestlings with core issues-such as who Jesus is, what place the Church has in our lives, how to disagree yet remain within a community, and how to love the Bible for what it actually is-she teaches us how to walk courageously through our own tough questions.Following Jesus is big and it is something that individual believers, movements, and denominations have expressed in uncountably different ways over the centuries. In the process of helping us sort things out, Bonnie shows us how to be comfortable with diversity in the Body. And as we learn to hold questions in one hand and answers in the other, we will discover new depths of faith that will remain secure even through the storms of life.
A Flicker of Hope: An Amish Home Novella (Amish Home Novellas)
by Ruth ReidFifteen years ago, Thomas and Noreen King were blissful newlyweds. Young, naive, and in love, life was rosy . . . for a while. Then trials and tribulations rocked their foundation, shattering them emotionally, and soon, their marriage was in shards. All hope for restoring their previously unshakable union seems lost. When a fire destroys their home, Thomas and Noreen are left to sift through the rubble. As uncovered items from the remains of the house shake loose memories of the past, Thomas and Noreen begin to draw closer and a flicker of hope—and love—is reignited.
A Flickering Light (Portraits of the Heart #1)
by Jane KirkpatrickReturning to her Midwest roots, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick draws a page from her grandmother's photo album to capture the interplay between shadow and light, temptation and faith that marks a woman's pursuit of her dreams.She took exquisite photographs, but her heart was the true image exposed. Fifteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele loves nothing more than capturing a gorgeous Minnesota landscape when the sunlight casts its most mesmerizing shadows. So when F.J. Bauer hires her in 1907 to assist in his studio and darkroom, her dreams for a career in photography appear to find root in reality. With the infamous hazards of the explosive powder used for lighting and the toxic darkroom chemicals, photography is considered a man' s profession. Yet Jessie shows remarkable talent in both the artistry and business of running a studio. She proves less skillful, however, at managing her growing attraction to the very married Mr. Bauer.This luminous coming-of-age tale deftly exposes the intricate shadows that play across every dream worth pursuing-and the irresistible light that beckons the dreamer on.From the Trade Paperback edition.
A Flight of Arrows: A Novel
by Lori BentonHearts are Divided Loyalties Will Be Tested The Fates of Two Families Hang in the Balance Twenty years past, in 1757, a young Redcoat, Reginald Aubrey stole a newborn boy--the lighter-skinned of Oneida twins-- during the devastating fall of Fort William Henry and raised him as his own. No one connected to Reginald escaped unscathed from this crime. Not his adopted daughter Anna. Not Stone Thrower, the Native American father determined to get his son back. Not Two Hawks, William's twin brother separated since birth, living in the shadow of his absence and hoping to build a future with Anna. Nor Lydia, who longs for Reginald to be free from his self-imposed emotional prison and embrace God's forgiveness-- and her love. Now William, whose identity has been shattered after discovering the truth of his birth, hides in the ranks of an increasingly aggressive British army. The Redcoats prepare to attack frontier New York and the Continentals, aided by Oneida warriors including Two Hawks, rally to defend it. As the Revolutionary War penetrates the Mohawk Valley, two families separated by culture, united by love and faith, must find a way to reclaim the son marching toward them in the ranks of their enemies. Book 2 in the Pathfinder SeriesFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
A Flock Divided: Race, Religion, and Politics in Mexico, 1749-1857
by Matthew D. O'HaraCatholicism, as it developed in colonial Mexico, helped to create a broad and remarkably inclusive community of Christian subjects, while it also divided that community into countless smaller flocks. Taking this contradiction as a starting point, Matthew D. O'Hara describes how religious thought and practice shaped Mexico's popular politics. As he shows, religion facilitated the emergence of new social categories and modes of belonging in which individuals--initially subjects of the Spanish crown, but later citizens and other residents of republican Mexico--found both significant opportunities for improving their place in society and major constraints on their ways of thinking and behaving. O'Hara focuses on interactions between church authorities and parishioners from the late-colonial era into the early-national period, first in Mexico City and later in the surrounding countryside. Paying particular attention to disputes regarding caste status, the category of "Indian," and the ownership of property, he demonstrates that religious collectivities from neighborhood parishes to informal devotions served as complex but effective means of political organization for plebeians and peasants. At the same time, longstanding religious practices and ideas made colonial social identities linger into the decades following independence, well after republican leaders formally abolished the caste system that classified individuals according to racial and ethnic criteria. These institutional and cultural legacies would be profound, since they raised fundamental questions about political inclusion and exclusion precisely when Mexico was trying to envision and realize new forms of political community. The modes of belonging and organizing created by colonialism provided openings for popular mobilization, but they were always stalked by their origins as tools of hierarchy and marginalization.
A Flock of Fools: Ancient Buddhist Tales of Wisdom and Laughter from the One Hundred Parable Sutra (Books That Changed the World)
by Peter Levitt Kazuaki Tanahashi&“These teachings from the heart of Buddhism ring true . . . a sumptuous meal of wild and comic dharma. Enjoy!&” (Enkyō O&’Hara, Soto priest and teacher). One hundred illuminating tales of the foibles and follies of everyday fools, this elegant, humorous, and masterful little book of wisdom is a welcome addition to the Buddhist canon. &“The One Hundred Parable Sutra&” is known as the most humorous sutra in all of Buddhist literature. Here, Kazuaki Tanahashi, the celebrated translator, calligrapher, and Dōgen scholar, and Peter Levitt, an award-winning poet, storyteller, and Zen practitioner, have translated and retold these jewel-like parables with storytelling panache for students, teachers, and seekers everywhere. With appropriate commentary, each tale becomes a simple lesson for everyday living. From the potter who seeks fame to the woman who possesses great lust, these tales are told with a gentle clarity that magnifies our appetites and delusions. In doing so, they become an accurate mirror of the human condition. Illustrated with seventeen original brushwork drawings by Tanahashi, A Flock of Fools is a perfect little book of wisdom, laughter, and compassion. &“Translator Kaz Tanahashi and storyteller Peter Levitt have given these stories a subtle American-Zen flavor, and although this collection has a 1500-year pedigree . . . its messages ring clear and true today.&” —Shambala Sun &“Funny, strange, wise, informing, this marvelous book celebrates the wild heart of Buddhism.&” —Roshi Joan Halifax, Zen Buddhist teacher &“Nothing breaks apart dualism and sanctimoniousness like a good laugh! . . . lively reminders of the power of humor to enrich our understanding, and to help us let go of our attachments.&” — Enkyō O&’Hara, Soto priest and teacher
A Flower Does Not Talk: Zen Essays
by Zenkei ShibayamaThese essays by a prominent Zen master are a classic introduction to Zen Buddhism, specifically written for Westerners.The former abbot of Nanzenji Monastary in Kyoto, the Reverend Zenkei Shibayama, understood Western ways, and, in the early 1970s, prepared these introductory essays for English speakers.In A Flower Does Not Talk, the author describes the basic characteristics of Zen, the training it calls for, and the Zen Personality, before presenting three typical Zen writings accompanied by informative notes. This book is beautifully illustrated with drawings, photographs of Zen inspired flower arrangements, and paintings by Zen Master Hakuin, is a classic introduction to the core of Buddhist teachings, which provide the basis for the happiness of mankind.
A Flying Affair
by Carla StewartEver since Mittie Humphreys agreed to join dashing barnstorming pilot Ames for a joyride in his airplane, her lifelong love of horses has been surpassed by one thing--a longing for the skies. It seems she's not the only one--with Charles Lindbergh making his victory tour in the Spirit of St. Louis, aviation fever is spreading across the country. Mittie knows flying is the perfect focus for the soaring ambition and taste for adventure within her, and whenever she can slip away from her duties on her family's prosperous Kentucky horse farm, she heads to the airfield. Considering their shared passion, it's no surprise that Ames begins to vie for Mittie's time. But when handsome British aviator Bobby York offers her flying lessons, he is equally surprised-and beguiled-by Mittie's grit and talent. Driven to succeed, Mittie will do whatever it takes to compete in the Women's National Air Derby alongside Amelia Earhart. But when Calista "Peach" Gilson, a charming Southern belle, becomes her rival both professionally and in love, Mittie must learn how to navigate her heart's romantic longings as well as the skies.
A Following Holy Life: Jeremy Taylor And His Writings (Canterbury Studies In Spiritual Theology Series)
by Kenneth StevensonJeremy Taylor (1613 -1667) rose to prominence in the Golden Age of Anglicanism. After a time in which Calvinist influences had been dominant, a group of writers, collectively known as the Caroline Divines, could write assuredly from a position of having rejected both the claims of Rome and the reformers of Continental Europe. It was a time when a distinctive Anglican doctrine and piety could flourish and Jeremy Taylor was a key voice. His devotional books, Holy Living and Holy Dying, are spiritual classics, noted for the beauty of their prose and reflecting his celebrated preaching skills. He was a noted moral theologian and this volume draws on his large body of writings - theological and devotional - to introduce students to the breadth of his thought and his lasting influence. An introductory essay provides a biography, an exploration of his style, sources and influences and an overview of his prolific works. Chaplain to Charles I, Taylor spent the years of the Commonwealth in exile in Wales where he wrote many of his works. At the Restoration he became Bishop of Down and Connor, and Vice-Chancellor of Dublin University.
A Fool's Kabbalah
by Steve SternIn the ruins of postwar Europe, the world's leading expert on the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism goes on a hair-raising journey to recover sacred books stolen by the Nazis . . .At the end of the Second World War Gershom Scholem, the magisterial scholar of Jewish mysticism, is commissioned by the Hebrew University in what was then British-ruled Palestine to retrieve a lost world. He is sent to sift through the rubble of Europe in search of precious Jewish books stolen by the Nazis or hidden by the Jews themselves in secret places throughout the ravaged continent.The search takes him into ruined cities and alien wastelands. The terrible irony of salvaging books that had outlasted the people for whom they&’d been written leaves Dr. Scholem longing for the kind of magic that had been the merely theoretical subject of his lamplit studies.Steve Stern's A Fool&’s Kabbalah, a novel featuring numerous real-life historic figures, reimagines Gershom Scholem&’s quest and how it sparked in him the desire to realize the legacy of his dear friend, the brilliant philosopher Walter Benjamin.At the heart of that legacy was the idea that humor is an essential tool of redemption. In a parallel narrative, Menke Klepfisch, self-styled jester and incorrigible scamp, attempts to subvert, through his antic behavior, the cruelties of the Nazi occupation of his native village.As Menke&’s efforts collide with the monstrous reality of the Holocaust, we see—in another place and time--evidence that Dr. Scholem, in defiance of his austere reputation, has begun to develop the anarchic characteristics of a clown.A Fool&’s Kabbalah intertwines the stories of these 2 quixotic characters, who, though poles apart, complement one another in their tragicomic struggles to oppose the supreme evil of history, using only the weapons of humor and a little magic.
A Foolish Heart
by Laura Martin>"I would very much like to make love to you!"How dared Travis Steele make such a suggestion to his nephew's teacher, of all people? Travis was irresistible to most women, yet Simone Walker was determined to fight the attraction she felt for him. She'd been hurt once before by this handsome man and didn't want to repeat the experience. But suddenly the past no longer seemed important as Simone found herself unable to resist Travis's undoubted charms. Was she wrong to trust her foolish heart and fall in love with him all over again?
A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World
by Daniel GolemanThe Dalai Lama and the New York Times bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence present a revelatory and inspiring work that provides a singular vision for transforming the world in practical and positive ways.&“An optimistic and thoughtful primer with practical applications.&”—BooklistFor more than half a century, the Dalai Lama has guided us along the path to compassion and taught us how to improve our inner lives. A Force for Good combines his central concepts, empirical evidence that supports them, and true stories of people who are putting his ideas into action—showing how harnessing positive energies and directing them outward has lasting and meaningful effects. Daniel Goleman details the science of compassion and how this singular guiding motivation has the power to:• break such destructive social forces as corruption, collusion, and bias• heal the planet • reverse the tendency toward systemic inequity • replace violence with dialogue• counter us-and-them thinking • create new economic systems that work for everyone• design schooling that teaches empathy, self-mastery, and ethicsPoignant, motivating, and highly persuasive, A Force for Good shows how every compassion-driven human act—no matter how small—is integral for a more peaceful, harmonious world.