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  Mayan Myths and Legends -...

  Odessa Nightshade

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  The Maya civilization is one of the most enigmatic and awe-inspiring cultures of the ancient world. Flourishing for thousands of years in the dense jungles of Mesoamerica, the Maya built vast cities, developed a sophisticated writing system, and mapped the heavens with astonishing accuracy. Yet, beyond their architectural and scientific achievements, the Maya were a deeply spiritual people, weaving a rich tapestry of myths, legends, and sacred beliefs that connected them to the cosmos. Their mythology was not mere storytelling—it was a living force, shaping their rituals, governance, and daily existence.  
  At the heart of Maya spirituality was a complex pantheon of gods and supernatural beings, each governing different aspects of life, death, and the afterlife. Unlike many Western traditions that separate the divine from the earthly realm, the Maya believed that the gods were intimately involved in every facet of existence. Deities such as Itzamná, the creator god, and Chaac, the bringer of rain, were both revered and feared, their influence reflected in ceremonies, offerings, and astronomical observations. The legendary Popol Vuh, often referred to as the “Maya Bible,” preserved many of these sacred stories, including the epic journey of the Hero Twins, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, who overcame the lords of the underworld, Xibalba, to restore cosmic order.  
  Maya mythology was deeply intertwined with their concept of time and destiny. Their intricate calendar system, which included the Tzolk’in (a sacred 260-day calendar) and the Long Count, was not merely a tool for marking days but a means of understanding cosmic cycles and divine will. Priests and scribes interpreted these calendars to determine auspicious dates for everything from coronations to warfare. Prophecies and celestial events were seen as messages from the gods, guiding the fate of individuals and entire kingdoms. 

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  On the Trail of Scotland's History

  David Ross

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  An essential read for those who are passionate about Scotland and its mysterious and beautiful tapestry of history and landscape.
  In this book David R. Ross tracks Scotland through the ages, detailing incidents, places and people that are key to Scotland's history, from the Dark Ages to Devolution. Leading his readers to ancient monuments and the stories surrounding them, to modern cities and the burial sites of kings, Ross guides us on a quest to discover the essentials of Scottish history – and to find things we never knew existed.
  From William Wallace's possible steps, the legend of King Arthur and the reign of Robert the Bruce, to rugged raging battlegrounds, moors and mountains, and Scottish film locations, Ross' journey around Scotland links the past to the present, bringing us face-to-face with the elements that have created the Scotland we know today.

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  W E B DuBois on Sociology and...

  W.E.B. DuBois

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  Historian, journalist, educator, and civil rights advocate W. E. B. Du Bois was perhaps most accomplished as a sociologist of race relations and of the black community in the United States. This volume collects his most important sociological writings from 1898 to 1910. The eighteen selections include five on Du Bois's conception of sociology and sociological research, especially as a tool in the struggle for racial justice; excerpts from studies of black communities in the South and the North, including The Philadelphia Negro; writings on black culture and social life, with a selection from The Negro American Family; and later works on race relations in the United States and elsewhere after World War II. This section includes a powerful fiftieth-anniversary reassessment of his classic 1901 article in the Atlantic in which he predicted that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line." The editors provide an annotated bibliography, a lengthy overview of Du Bois's life and work, and detailed introductions to the selections. "The most significant contribution of this book is its inclusive look at Du Bois as both academic and activist. . . . Individuals interested in the study of social issues and political sociology would benefit from reading and discussing this book."—Paul Kriese, Sociology: Reviews of New Books "Green and Driver, informing this volume with a 48-page essay that summarizes Du Bois' career and places him in the context of the profession, have intelligently organized his writings. . . . A welcome contribution that should have wide use."—Elliott Rudwick, Contemporary Sociology

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  Killer in the House - Ten Days...

  Kathryn Canavan

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  A meticulously researched page-turner about one of the Philadelphia suburbs' most shocking twentieth-century crimes. A gunman broke into Jack and Peggy Abt's house moments after the last family member left for the day. He took a seat in the living room and waited for eleven hours. 
   
  People expect things to go bump in the night, but, in 1976, most adults never fretted a stranger would invade the sanctity of their home in the middle of the day. Six people walked through the kitchen door one by one that afternoon, all expecting nothing more than a Friday night fish fry. The killer leaped out from behind the living room wall over and over and over and over and over and over again. He fired at them at a distance of less than eighteen inches. After each murder, he dragged the body to the basement. Then he sped back upstairs to tidy up for his next victim. 
   
  This story from a news reporter who was on the scene ninety minutes after the killer slipped away is built from autopsy reports, prison records, IQ tests, trial transcripts, the killer's own eidetic confession, interviews with witnesses, and the author's experiences covering the case. With that research, it was possible to reconstruct the six murders, minute by minute. Tension builds as the six innocent victims turn the kitchen doorknob at 3:30, 4:15, 4:40, 5:15, 6:10 and at 6:30.

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  The Illusory Bargain - Liberty...

  Ralph H. Lehman

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  Out-of-control debt. Populism. Political vitriol and corruption. Where did America go wrong? Or rather, when did America go wrong?
  
  1913. The Seventeenth Amendment is ratified, allowing the people of America to vote directly for their senators in the US senate. The same year, the Federal Reserve Act is passed, establishing a central bank to oversee monetary policy. In The Illusory Bargain, Ralph H. Lehman demonstrates that these seemingly empowering and people-serving pieces of legislature were just that-an illusion. Tracing the vision of the Founding Fathers as outlined in The Federalist Papers, Lehman reveals how the safety features of the original constitutional framework have eroded since and given way to rampant abuse of power and arbitrary, tyrannical law.
  
  Through fresh, historically informed insights and over twenty years of financial expertise, Lehman reexamines the nation's fundamental values and proposes what may be the only course of action left to restore our liberty.

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  Can the Mind Be Free? - Berkeley...

  Jiddu Krishnamurti

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  "Can the mind be free? - 3 February 1969 
  • The society in which we live is the result of our psychological state. • Where there is fear there is aggression. 
  • For most of us, freedom is something that we don’t want. 
  • Inaction is total action. 
  • What is the machinery that builds images? 
  Questions from the audience followed the talk."

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