Products

An essential guide for anyone who plans, performs, or takes part in the music and worship of the church. Includes helpful planning forms and extensive indices for The Hymnal 1982 not found elsewhere.

A guide to the procurement of privately financed projects: an indicative assessment of the procurement process outlines the concept of privately financed projects (PFP) that can be used for both public-private and private-private interactions. Utilising models from many countries the guide develops a robust procurement system applicable to PFP and project finance in both the EU and overseas.

This guide provides a systematic approach for the preparation and evaluation of privately financed projects (PFP) and services. It is intended to assist both the 'Principal' (often a public body) and the 'Promoter' (private body) at each phase of the procurement process, from inception through to financial closure. Principals using this guide should be able to adapt the private finance procurement process for their specific organisation and business sector. Moreover, in the case of the promoting organisation, the guide provides an appreciation of the steps that occur and the various processes undertaken and the associated costs of bidding.

A guide to the procurement of privately financed projects: an indicative assessment of the procurement process provides an invaluable understanding of the critical facets involved in PFP and suggests frameworks for developing objective orientated procurement elements.

The world is loaded with information. We enjoy immediate access to most of it through laptops, smartphones and the Internet. There is, however, a great deal of information that professionals cannot reach unless they talk to their clients, patients, job applicants and others. When the purpose is to obtain accurate, relevant and reliable information, no professional interpersonal encounter has been subjected to more systematic and critical research than police interviews of victims, witnesses and suspects of crime. Knowledge derived from this research has formed a novel, more effective way to gather information. The concept is known as Investigative Interviewing, and throughout Interviewing Techniques for Professionals, the authors demonstrate that research-based methodology is applicable and likely to advance professional interviews within a wide range of professions. Based on the extensive feedback the authors have received as advisors and trainers from a highly diverse group of clients and participants, including prosecutors, judges, journalists, investors, recruiters, physicians, researchers, NGOs, lawyers, HR employees, immigration- taxation- child protection- food and competition authorities, to name a few, it has become evident that the concept of Investigative Interviewing is of great utility value, far beyond police stations. 

The pressure to perform and conclude creates working environments vulnerable to errors related to decision making. These challenges are not unique to the police. Unfortunate consequences directly related to poor interviewing can be of a social, financial and human nature. Without professional interviewing techniques, including a methodology that stimulates open mindedness, physicians, head-hunters, intelligence personnel, finance analytics, journalists and others run the risk of confirming their premature assumptions. In worst case scenarios, resulting in deaths caused by wrong treatment, refugees are deported only to face torture or executions, bankruptcy and so on

The techniques presented by the authors were specifically developed to guide interviewers through a mental and practical process that will allow them to remain open-minded to all possibilities, mitigating problems associated with premature decisions. A growing body of research shows with consensus that interviews conducted by professionals without theoretical knowledge and a methodological approach can, at worst, lead to self-fulfilling prophecies, where the interviewer only succeeds in extracting information that confirms his or her premature conceptions, opinions or assumptions. Besides providing the reader with a methodology that stimulates open-mindedness, Interviewing Techniques for Professionals will provide the reader with question techniques developed to test the interviewer`s preconceptions. It will also provide an understanding of what kind of questions reveal the most information; which questions should be asked first; which questions ought to be avoided; how questions should be presented; and, in particular, which interpersonal communication principles stimulate rapport and mitigate communication breakdowns.

A Guide to the Reservoirs Act 1975 provides expert guidance on the application of the Reservoirs Act 1975, reflecting the current views and practices of the dam engineering profession.

This fully updated second edition for reservoirs located in England incorporates the latest amendments introduced through the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, reflecting a more risk-based approach to reservoir regulation. The new edition also incorporates updates from the Water Act 2003.

A Stanford University Press classic.

The Zohar is the great medieval compendium of Jewish esoteric and mystical teaching, and the basis of the kabbalistic faith. It is, however, a notoriously difficult text, full of hidden codes, concealed meanings, obscure symbols, and ecstatic expression. This illuminating study, based upon the last several decades of modern Zohar scholarship, unravels the historical and intellectual origins of this rich text and provides an excellent introduction to its themes, complex symbolism, narrative structure, and language. A Guide to the Zohar is thus an invaluable companion to the Zohar itself, as well as a useful resource for scholars and students interested in mystical literature, particularly that of the west, from the Middle Ages to the present.

In this volume, noted philosopher Lenn E. Goodman shares the insights gained over a lifetime of pondering the meaning and purpose of Maimonides' celebrated Guide to the Perplexed. Written in the late twelfth century, Maimonides' Guide aims to help religiously committed readers who are alive to the challenges posed by reason and the natural sciences to biblical and rabbinic tradition. Keyed to the new translation and commentary by Lenn E. Goodman and Phillip I. Lieberman, this volume follows Maimonides' life and learning and delves into the text of the Guide, clearly explaining just what Maimonides means by identifying the Talmudic Ma'aseh Bereshit and Ma'aseh Merkavah with physics and metaphysics (to Maimonides, biblical cosmology and theology). Exploring Maimonides' treatments of revelation, religious practice and experience, law and ritual, the problem of evil, and the rational purposes of the commandments, this guide to the Guide explains the tactics Maimonides deployed to ensure that readers not get in over their heads when venturing into philosophical deep waters.

In this volume, noted philosopher Lenn E. Goodman shares the insights gained over a lifetime of pondering the meaning and purpose of Maimonides' celebrated Guide to the Perplexed. Written in the late twelfth century, Maimonides' Guide aims to help religiously committed readers who are alive to the challenges posed by reason and the natural sciences to biblical and rabbinic tradition. Keyed to the new translation and commentary by Lenn E. Goodman and Phillip I. Lieberman, this volume follows Maimonides' life and learning and delves into the text of the Guide, clearly explaining just what Maimonides means by identifying the Talmudic Ma'aseh Bereshit and Ma'aseh Merkavah with physics and metaphysics (to Maimonides, biblical cosmology and theology). Exploring Maimonides' treatments of revelation, religious practice and experience, law and ritual, the problem of evil, and the rational purposes of the commandments, this guide to the Guide explains the tactics Maimonides deployed to ensure that readers not get in over their heads when venturing into philosophical deep waters.

This compact volume is a practical guide for anyone interested in Trade Credit Insurance. The International Credit Insurance & Surety Association (ICISA) presents an approachable but detailed guide written collaboratively by carefully selected industry experts. The guide describes the ‘lifeline’ of the credit insurance product, from the initial application stage to the expiration phase of the policy, including practical use aspects for credit managers. The volume offers compact information on the history of trade, the need for protection against trade credit risks, and solutions offered by credit insurance providers. The focus is on short term credit, including whole turnover policies and single risk policies.

Written by two internationally respected authors, this unique primer distills the environmental law and policy of the United States into a practical guide for a nonlegal audience, as well as for lawyers trained in other regions. The first part of the book explains the basics of the American legal system: key actors, types of laws, and overarching legal strategies for environmental management. The second part delves into specific environmental issues (pollution, ecosystem management, and climate change) and how American law addresses each. Chapters include summaries of key concepts, discussion questions, and a glossary of terms, as well as informative "spotlights"—brief overviews of topics. With a highly accessible structure and useful illustrative features, A Guide to U.S. Environmental Law is a long-overdue synthetic reference on environmental law for students and for those who work in environmental policy or environmental science. Pairing this book with its companion, A Guide to EU Environmental Law, allows for a comparative look at how two of the most important jurisdictions in the world deal with key environmental problems.

Written by two internationally respected authors, this unique primer distills the environmental law and policy of the United States into a practical guide for a nonlegal audience, as well as for lawyers trained in other regions. The first part of the book explains the basics of the American legal system: key actors, types of laws, and overarching legal strategies for environmental management. The second part delves into specific environmental issues (pollution, ecosystem management, and climate change) and how American law addresses each. Chapters include summaries of key concepts, discussion questions, and a glossary of terms, as well as informative "spotlights"—brief overviews of topics. With a highly accessible structure and useful illustrative features, A Guide to U.S. Environmental Law is a long-overdue synthetic reference on environmental law for students and for those who work in environmental policy or environmental science. Pairing this book with its companion, A Guide to EU Environmental Law, allows for a comparative look at how two of the most important jurisdictions in the world deal with key environmental problems.

Written by two internationally respected authors, this unique primer distills the environmental law and policy of the United States into a practical guide for a nonlegal audience, as well as for lawyers trained in other regions. The first part of the book explains the basics of the American legal system: key actors, types of laws, and overarching legal strategies for environmental management. The second part delves into specific environmental issues (pollution, ecosystem management, and climate change) and how American law addresses each. Chapters include summaries of key concepts, discussion questions, and a glossary of terms, as well as informative "spotlights"—brief overviews of topics. With a highly accessible structure and useful illustrative features, A Guide to U.S. Environmental Law is a long-overdue synthetic reference on environmental law for students and for those who work in environmental policy or environmental science. Pairing this book with its companion, A Guide to EU Environmental Law, allows for a comparative look at how two of the most important jurisdictions in the world deal with key environmental problems.

During a time of accelerating momentum for radical change in the study of economics, 'A Guide to What's Wrong with Economics' comprehensively re-examines the shortcomings of neoclassical economics and considers a number of alternative formulations. In it, a distinguished list of non-neoclassical economists provide a study of some of the many worldly and logical gaps in neoclassical economics, its hidden ideological agendas, disregard for the environment, habitual misuse of mathematics and statistics, inability to address the major issues of economic globalization, its ethical cynicism concerning poverty, racism and sexism and its misrepresentation of economic history. In clear and engaging prose, 'A Guide to What's Wrong with Economics' shows how interesting, relevant and exciting economics can be when it is pursued not as a defence of an antiquated and close-minded system of belief, but as a no-holds-barred inquiry looking for real-world truths.

A Gypsy’s Book of Revelation is a collection of stories with an astonishing range of styles and subject matters. A woman visits her cremation from inside the body of her dead self, a competitive couple trains as free-divers, a mother leaves her son behind on top of a mountain, a very pregnant woman experiences a peculiar relationship with a priest-to-be: these stories are full of surprising experimentation that strikes a deeply compelling balance between the real and the bizarre. Embodying unusual premises and worlds, these stories are also fearlessly nontraditional in their structure and approach. These voices haunt, tease, and dare while never providing fully fledged answers. Each story is its own unique thing, a small but profound nod to the human condition.

A Gypsy’s Book of Revelation is a collection of stories with an astonishing range of styles and subject matters. A woman visits her cremation from inside the body of her dead self, a competitive couple trains as free-divers, a mother leaves her son behind on top of a mountain, a very pregnant woman experiences a peculiar relationship with a priest-to-be: these stories are full of surprising experimentation that strikes a deeply compelling balance between the real and the bizarre. Embodying unusual premises and worlds, these stories are also fearlessly nontraditional in their structure and approach. These voices haunt, tease, and dare while never providing fully fledged answers. Each story is its own unique thing, a small but profound nod to the human condition.

Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2008
A Half-Century of Greatness paints a vivid and dramatic picture of the creative thought of mid- to late nineteenth century Europe and the influence of the unsuccessful revolutions of 1848. It reveals often unexpected links between novelists, poets, and philosophers from England, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine—especially Dickens, Carlyle, Mill, the Brontës, and George Eliot; Hegel, Strauss, Feuerbach, Marx, Engels, Wagner, and several German poets; the Hungarian poet Sándor Petöfi; Gogol, Dostoevsky, Bakunin, and Herzen in Russia, and the great Ukrainian poet Shevchenko. Ewen goes on to trace the transition from Romanticism to Victorianism, or what he calls “the Victorian compromise”—the ascendancy of the middle class.
The book was reconstructed and edited by Dr. Jeffrey Wollock from Ewen’s final manuscript. It includes the author's own reference citations throughout, a reconstructed bibliography, and an updated “further reading” list.
This is Ewen’s last work, the long-lost companion to his Heroic Imagination. Together, these books present a panorama of the social, political, and artistic aspects of European Romanticism, especially foreshadowing and complementing recent work on the relation of Marxism to romanticism. Anyone interested in what Lukacs called “Romantic anticapitalism,”; who appreciates such books as Marshall Berman's Adventures in Marxism or E.P. Thompson's The Romantics (1997), will find Ewen’s work a welcome addition.

Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2008
A Half-Century of Greatness paints a vivid and dramatic picture of the creative thought of mid- to late nineteenth century Europe and the influence of the unsuccessful revolutions of 1848. It reveals often unexpected links between novelists, poets, and philosophers from England, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine—especially Dickens, Carlyle, Mill, the Brontës, and George Eliot; Hegel, Strauss, Feuerbach, Marx, Engels, Wagner, and several German poets; the Hungarian poet Sándor Petöfi; Gogol, Dostoevsky, Bakunin, and Herzen in Russia, and the great Ukrainian poet Shevchenko. Ewen goes on to trace the transition from Romanticism to Victorianism, or what he calls “the Victorian compromise”—the ascendancy of the middle class.
The book was reconstructed and edited by Dr. Jeffrey Wollock from Ewen’s final manuscript. It includes the author's own reference citations throughout, a reconstructed bibliography, and an updated “further reading” list.
This is Ewen’s last work, the long-lost companion to his Heroic Imagination. Together, these books present a panorama of the social, political, and artistic aspects of European Romanticism, especially foreshadowing and complementing recent work on the relation of Marxism to romanticism. Anyone interested in what Lukacs called “Romantic anticapitalism,”; who appreciates such books as Marshall Berman's Adventures in Marxism or E.P. Thompson's The Romantics (1997), will find Ewen’s work a welcome addition.

A Hand Not Shortened is a comprehensive theological book on the creative workings of the grace of God in ten of the great individuals of the Bible. Very few books examine exegetically the dynamics of the grace of God in such detail. The primary theme of the book is that God adjusts the workings of His grace to each of these great individuals’ situations. Theologically speaking, God’s grace is not restricted to parameters that apply only to pristine individuals or to those who were raised in privileged circumstances. Rather, God’s grace is characterized by great flexibility to reach any individual in a variety of circumstances. This fact has grand theological and practical implications. It gives hope to the theologian whose primary declaration is that 'God is Love' and stirs the aspirations of the seeker who longs to hear that God really cares. This book focuses of the lives of many great individuals from the Bible including Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, and others as well. This book will have a deep impact upon both the theologian and the seeker.

A Hand Not Shortened is a comprehensive theological book on the creative workings of the grace of God in ten of the great individuals of the Bible. Very few books examine exegetically the dynamics of the grace of God in such detail. The primary theme of the book is that God adjusts the workings of His grace to each of these great individuals’ situations. Theologically speaking, God’s grace is not restricted to parameters that apply only to pristine individuals or to those who were raised in privileged circumstances. Rather, God’s grace is characterized by great flexibility to reach any individual in a variety of circumstances. This fact has grand theological and practical implications. It gives hope to the theologian whose primary declaration is that 'God is Love' and stirs the aspirations of the seeker who longs to hear that God really cares. This book focuses of the lives of many great individuals from the Bible including Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, and others as well. This book will have a deep impact upon both the theologian and the seeker.

This popular book is a useful and practical resource for Steiner-Waldorf teachers with detailed suggestions and checklists for teaching all lessons for Classes 1 to 8.

The extensive appendix features a compilation of planners for the Waldorf teacher's use, as well as a collection of example record tables for both students and their teachers.

Avison's often witty advice provides an interesting and easy-to-navigate handbook for creative classroom activities and management.

This book builds on the debut A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine and isn't simply a compilation of recommended du'as. Instead, it is a carefully considered framework that aligns our emotions with the most beautiful du'as, all of which have a profound constructive purpose: the aim is to transport us smilingly and with the noblest etiquette towards the ma'arifat (higher knowledge of Allah SWT) and istiqamah (steadfastness) that every Muslim seeks, deep down. This is the perfect Islamic book if you want your du'as to become accepted. 

This book builds on the debut A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine and isn't simply a compilation of recommended du'as. Instead, it is a carefully considered framework that aligns our emotions with the most beautiful du'as, all of which have a profound constructive purpose: the aim is to transport us smilingly and with the noblest etiquette towards the ma'arifat (higher knowledge of Allah SWT) and istiqamah (steadfastness) that every Muslim seeks, deep down. This is the perfect Islamic book if you want your du'as to become accepted. 

This first volume of a two-volume Handbook treats a challenging, largely neglected subject at the crossroads of several academic fields: biblical studies, reception history of the Bible, and folklore studies or folkloristics. The Handbook examines the reception of the Bible in verbal folklores of different cultures around the globe. This first volume, complete with a general Introduction, focuses on biblically-derived characters, tales, motifs, and other elements in Jewish (Mizrahi, Sephardi, Ashkenazi), Romance (French, Romanian), German, Nordic/Scandinavian, British, Irish, Slavic (East, West, South), and Islamic folkloric traditions. The volume contributes to the understanding of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the New Testament, and various pseudepigraphic and apocryphal scriptures, and to their interpretation and elaboration by folk commentators of different faiths. The book also illuminates the development, artistry, and “migration” of folktales; opens new areas for investigation in the reception history of the Bible; and offers insights into the popular dimensions of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities around the globe, especially regarding how the holy scriptures have informed those communities’ popular imaginations.

Food today is over-corporatized and under-regulated. It is involved in many immoral, harmful, and illegal practices along production, distribution, and consumption systems. These problematic conditions have significant consequences on public health and well-being, nonhuman animals, and the environment, often simultaneously.

In this insightful book, Gray and Hinch explore the phenomenon of food crime. Through discussions of food safety, food fraud, food insecurity, agricultural labour, livestock welfare, genetically modified foods, food sustainability, food waste, food policy, and food democracy, they problematize current food systems and criticize their underlying ideologies.

Bringing together the best contemporary research in this area, they argue for the importance of thinking criminologically about food and propose radical solutions to the realities of unjust food systems.

Food today is over-corporatized and under-regulated. It is involved in many immoral, harmful, and illegal practices along production, distribution, and consumption systems. These problematic conditions have significant consequences on public health and well-being, nonhuman animals, and the environment, often simultaneously.

In this insightful book, Gray and Hinch explore the phenomenon of food crime. Through discussions of food safety, food fraud, food insecurity, agricultural labour, livestock welfare, genetically modified foods, food sustainability, food waste, food policy, and food democracy, they problematize current food systems and criticize their underlying ideologies.

Bringing together the best contemporary research in this area, they argue for the importance of thinking criminologically about food and propose radical solutions to the realities of unjust food systems.

This Handbook brings together the viewpoints of academics, practitioners, artists and people seeking refuge in Scotland to explore the global learnings that can be gained from this context. The book engages with the challenge of delivering integration as multi-directional processes within a broader setting in which forced migration is often criminalised. Situating its analysis of integration in Scotland, the book combines chapters based in theory, which explore issues ranging from the concept of integration to law, borders and integration policy, with creative and practical responses to these issues. The book offers hopeful alternatives to current realities of forced migration, and a compelling challenge to dominant narratives related to refuge and integration. It will be of interest to practitioners, policymakers and scholars working with refugees and asylum seekers around the world.

This book will be open access under a CC BY ND licence.

This Handbook brings together the viewpoints of academics, practitioners, artists and people seeking refuge in Scotland to explore the global learnings that can be gained from this context. The book engages with the challenge of delivering integration as multi-directional processes within a broader setting in which forced migration is often criminalised. Situating its analysis of integration in Scotland, the book combines chapters based in theory, which explore issues ranging from the concept of integration to law, borders and integration policy, with creative and practical responses to these issues. The book offers hopeful alternatives to current realities of forced migration, and a compelling challenge to dominant narratives related to refuge and integration. It will be of interest to practitioners, policymakers and scholars working with refugees and asylum seekers around the world.

This book will be open access under a CC BY ND licence.

The Handbook surveys the whole of Pali Theravada Buddhist literature (Ceylon, South East Asia). It reviews previous research in the field, and then concentrates on new methodological approaches and a treatment of later Pali literature (after the twelfth century).

This deeply personal and spiritually grounded work journeys through over 50 emotional and spiritual states, each beginning with a raw, honest declaration such as "I am lonely", "I am insecure", "I am spiritually lost". These are not just passing feelings; they are reflections of real, often unspoken inner battles we face in today's fast-paced, hyperconnected, and spiritually distracted world.  

Drawn from the Qur'an and authentic ahadith (Prophetic sayings), each chapter is a journey in itself, gently structured to guide the reader through to the other side. 

The first book is inspired by Imam al-Ghazali's (RA) masterful writings which illustrate those devilish, undesirable traits that hold us back. The 'Handbook of Spiritual Medicine' offers a convenient breakdown of the symptoms, remedies, and exceptions for each. The second book in the series is a condensed compendium of du'as (prayers) with a context for their deployment: they are chosen for their effectiveness in soothing the soul and achieving acceptance with Allah Most High (SWT). Each supplication has been carefully selected from the Qur'an and Prophetic sayings: this 'Handbook of Accepted Prayers' refers regularly to inspirational past luminaries such as Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (RA). 

Structured, accessible, and drawn from Qur'anic verses and authentic ahadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), these reliable handbooks offer surety for the seeking heart of any age group. To use them with guidance from a shaykh (a senior scholar and guide) or mentor would be a cast-iron way to steer away from the dark addictions and emotional afflictions of the modern world.

The first book is inspired by Imam al-Ghazali's (RA) masterful writings which illustrate those devilish, undesirable traits that hold us back. The 'Handbook of Spiritual Medicine' offers a convenient breakdown of the symptoms, remedies, and exceptions for each. The second book in the series is a condensed compendium of du'as (prayers) with a context for their deployment: they are chosen for their effectiveness in soothing the soul and achieving acceptance with Allah Most High (SWT). Each supplication has been carefully selected from the Qur'an and Prophetic sayings: this 'Handbook of Accepted Prayers' refers regularly to inspirational past luminaries such as Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (RA).

Step into the heart of New Orleans, where legends of vampires, witches, spells, and curses are as alive as the city itself. But what if there’s a nugget of truth to the stories?

Alard Fairchild isn’t your average man—he’s a fairy prince from the Kingdoms of Earth and Sky, hiding in plain sight as a poverty lawyer in the French Quarter. All he wants is a normal, human life. That is, until he meets Razi Miller, a hot tourist with a wild side who’s looking for a little adventure—and ends up entangled in something far more dangerous than he ever expected.

After one unforgettable night together, Raz wakes up to find himself magically bonded to Alard by an ancient marriage tattoo. Neither of them knows how it happened or why, but one thing’s for sure: the consequences are far-reaching—and deadly.

As Raz is dragged into a hidden world of legendary creatures and mystical portals between realms, he faces a terrifying new reality: Alard is already betrothed to Meyda, the ruthless Princess of Fire and Ice. Their accidental marriage could ignite a brutal war between the kingdoms, and Raz is now a pawn in a deadly political game.

With danger closing in, Alard and Raz must work together to undo the chaos they’ve unwittingly unleashed. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize the one thing neither of them can control… is love.

Packed with sizzling romance, high-stakes adventure, and dark magic, A Happy Beginning will keep you hooked until the very last page.

Step into the heart of New Orleans, where legends of vampires, witches, spells, and curses are as alive as the city itself. But what if there’s a nugget of truth to the stories?

Alard Fairchild isn’t your average man—he’s a fairy prince from the Kingdoms of Earth and Sky, hiding in plain sight as a poverty lawyer in the French Quarter. All he wants is a normal, human life. That is, until he meets Razi Miller, a hot tourist with a wild side who’s looking for a little adventure—and ends up entangled in something far more dangerous than he ever expected.

After one unforgettable night together, Raz wakes up to find himself magically bonded to Alard by an ancient marriage tattoo. Neither of them knows how it happened or why, but one thing’s for sure: the consequences are far-reaching—and deadly.

As Raz is dragged into a hidden world of legendary creatures and mystical portals between realms, he faces a terrifying new reality: Alard is already betrothed to Meyda, the ruthless Princess of Fire and Ice. Their accidental marriage could ignite a brutal war between the kingdoms, and Raz is now a pawn in a deadly political game.

With danger closing in, Alard and Raz must work together to undo the chaos they’ve unwittingly unleashed. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize the one thing neither of them can control… is love.

Packed with sizzling romance, high-stakes adventure, and dark magic, A Happy Beginning will keep you hooked until the very last page.

Everyone has a story—but not everyone tells it like this.

In A Happy Ending, retired pastor Russ Fish invites people on a poetic and poignant journey through the twists, trials, and triumphs of a life lived under the mysterious providence of God. With wit, humility, and unflinching honesty, Russ reflects on everything from the traumas of youth to the quiet joys of old age, revealing not just what happened, but what it all means.

Told in a voice reminiscent of Rick Bragg, this deeply personal story blends memoir, meditation, and ministry. From heartbreak to healing, from faith tested to faith found again, A Happy Ending is a soulful tapestry of memory and meaning—comforting, challenging, and gloriously human.

If you’ve ever wondered where God was during your hardest seasons, or how to tell your own story with grace and grit, Russ Fish’s A Happy Ending offers both encouragement and example.

“Intrepid and empathetic, gifted with the dispassionate gaze of a born observer…a  harmonious collage of worldview and character, a wunderkammer of experiences in a life fully lived.” —Melissa Febos, The New York Times

Winner of the 2023 Lowell Thomas Award

“DeSanctis encounters spies and love interests, but it’s her lushly polished writing that makes this book a joy to read.” —The Washington Post

Vogue's Best Books of 2022

The Washington Post’s Best Travel Books of 2022

Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between the past and the present, between traveling the world and staying home.

Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and ending on a West Texas trail in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda, spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses us in places waiting to be experienced and some that may be more than we’re up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.

“Intrepid and empathetic, gifted with the dispassionate gaze of a born observer…a  harmonious collage of worldview and character, a wunderkammer of experiences in a life fully lived.” —Melissa Febos, The New York Times

Winner of the 2023 Lowell Thomas Award

“DeSanctis encounters spies and love interests, but it’s her lushly polished writing that makes this book a joy to read.” —The Washington Post

Vogue's Best Books of 2022

The Washington Post’s Best Travel Books of 2022

Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between the past and the present, between traveling the world and staying home.

Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and ending on a West Texas trail in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda, spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses us in places waiting to be experienced and some that may be more than we’re up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.

“Intrepid and empathetic, gifted with the dispassionate gaze of a born observer…a  harmonious collage of worldview and character, a wunderkammer of experiences in a life fully lived.” —Melissa Febos, The New York Times

Winner of the 2023 Lowell Thomas Award

“DeSanctis encounters spies and love interests, but it’s her lushly polished writing that makes this book a joy to read.” —The Washington Post

Vogue's Best Books of 2022

The Washington Post’s Best Travel Books of 2022

Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between the past and the present, between traveling the world and staying home.

Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and ending on a West Texas trail in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda, spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses us in places waiting to be experienced and some that may be more than we’re up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.

Someone walked up to Joe "Shoe" Schumacher's best friend, Patrick O'Neill, in a Vancouver restaurant and shot him dead. It looks like a professional hit, but who wanted O'Neill dead? Was it, as police believe, a "settling of accounts"? Was it Victoria, O'Neill's beautiful but damaged wife? Or was it O'Neill's boss, industrialist William Hammond, with whom O'Neill had a falling-out and with whom Victoria had once had a short-lived affair? Former cop, chauffeur, and bodyguard Joe Shoe sets out to find Patrick's killer, and along the way he uncovers dark secrets going back years -secrets some people will kill to keep.

The black ghetto is thought of as a place of urban decay and social disarray. Like the historical ghetto of Venice, it is perceived as a space of confinement, one imposed on black America by whites. It is the home of a marginalized underclass and a sign of the depth of American segregation. Yet while black urban neighborhoods have suffered from institutional racism and economic neglect, they have also been places of refuge and community.

In A Haven and a Hell, Lance Freeman examines how the ghetto shaped black America and how black America shaped the ghetto. Freeman traces the evolving role of predominantly black neighborhoods in northern cities from the late nineteenth century through the present day. At times, the ghetto promised the freedom to build black social institutions and political power. At others, it suppressed and further stigmatized African Americans. Freeman reveals the forces that caused the ghetto’s role as haven or hell to wax and wane, spanning the Great Migration, mid-century opportunities, the eruptions of the sixties, the challenges of the seventies and eighties, and present-day issues of mass incarceration, the subprime crisis, and gentrification. Offering timely planning and policy recommendations based in this history, A Haven and a Hell provides a powerful new understanding of urban black communities at a time when the future of many inner-city neighborhoods appears uncertain.

The black ghetto is thought of as a place of urban decay and social disarray. Like the historical ghetto of Venice, it is perceived as a space of confinement, one imposed on black America by whites. It is the home of a marginalized underclass and a sign of the depth of American segregation. Yet while black urban neighborhoods have suffered from institutional racism and economic neglect, they have also been places of refuge and community.

In A Haven and a Hell, Lance Freeman examines how the ghetto shaped black America and how black America shaped the ghetto. Freeman traces the evolving role of predominantly black neighborhoods in northern cities from the late nineteenth century through the present day. At times, the ghetto promised the freedom to build black social institutions and political power. At others, it suppressed and further stigmatized African Americans. Freeman reveals the forces that caused the ghetto’s role as haven or hell to wax and wane, spanning the Great Migration, mid-century opportunities, the eruptions of the sixties, the challenges of the seventies and eighties, and present-day issues of mass incarceration, the subprime crisis, and gentrification. Offering timely planning and policy recommendations based in this history, A Haven and a Hell provides a powerful new understanding of urban black communities at a time when the future of many inner-city neighborhoods appears uncertain.

Elena Monroe is spending a glorious summer in Italy with her boyfriend Ethan, but it’s not just the prospect of meeting his sisters and his twin brother making her feel nervous… she’s been keeping a secret from Ethan that could change their lives forever. A secret that is bound to come out.

Amelie Goodwin is head over heels in love with her boyfriend Skye, and she can’t remember a time in her life when she’s been happier. When he's reuinited with his ex-service dog Dallas, everything seems perfect. But what will happen when Amelie makes a life-changing decision?

Cat Goodwin has been long-distance dating the handsome German professor Stefan Hurst since his visit to the ranch six months ago. He seemed perfect. But if they're made for one another, why is he so reluctant to come back to Italy?

Travel back to Heart of the Hills ranch with the third book in this fantastically uplifting series about family, friendship, and love.

Under the Italian sun, the past comes calling...

Amelie Goodwin has been back home in Italy for six months, but she’s still reeling from leaving her fiancé the night before their wedding. She wants to move on. She wants to find a way to be useful on the ranch, and to finally go on a real date with her childhood sweetheart Skye Anderson. But just as she’s on the verge of her happy ever after, an unexpected visitor throws everything into turmoil.

Cat Goodwin has made the momentous decision to contact her biological mother. Scared about what she’ll discover, but desperate to connect with her past, she agrees to meet the woman who gave her up when she was just two-years-old. At first, Aida seems too good to be true. As the weeks pass, however, Cat starts to wonder whether her mother is telling her the truth.

Skye Anderson is finally happy. He has left his Army career behind him, is living on a beautiful Italian ranch, and has fallen for the girl of his dreams. But when a face from his past turns up unannounced, Skye is forced to confront memories he would rather forget.
Will Amelie, Cat, and Skye overcome the hurdles in front of them?

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The second book in the  Heart of the Hills series revisits the Goodwin family and follows their lives, loves, families and friendships.

A Heart Full of Memories is a cosy contemporary romance novel with strong themes of family and friendship.

An escapist romance with family, and the Italian sunshine, at its heart.

Six months ago, Rose Goodwin’s husband ran away in the dead of the night. After thirty years of marriage, all he left behind was an eye-watering pile of debts and a note asking for forgiveness. Now, with their family business in trouble, Rose is facing an impossible decision. Does she sell their beloved home to protect their future? Or does she stay and risk losing everything?

While Rose tries to navigate this impossible crossroads, her youngest daughter, Amelie, is struggling too.

In just a few weeks’ time, Amelie will be marrying Jed – the man of her dreams – at her parents' home in Italy. Except something is making her nervous... and not the good kind of nervous. She hopes that being back in Tuscany, with her mum and her siblings, will help. But when she bumps into her childhood crush – Skye Anderson – on the plane over, things get even more complicated.

As the Goodwins come together for Amelie’s wedding, and family secrets are finally laid bare, will Rose find her way back to the husband she loved for so many years? And will Amelie follow her heart or her head?