Other books that might interest you

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  Son of Birmingham - A Memoir

  Randall Woodfin, Edward T. Bowser

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  Today's Birmingham—led by Mayor Randall Woodfin—is a phoenix rising from the ashes of systemic racism and white flight. This first Southern city to pluck the feathers off Jim Crow, where peaceful protesters endured attacks by police dogs, where high-pressure water hoses tore at the flesh of men and women marching for their rights, and where children locked arms and sang "We Shall Overcome," is a living, breathing redemption story. 
   
   
   
  In Son of Birmingham, Woodfin draws upon the street wisdom of his generation's Southern rap music; the power of family, friends, and faith; and his education at the historically Black Morehouse College to preach the progress every corner of our nation clamors for right now. He walks listeners through the streets of his Birmingham, bringing to light the daily joys and struggles of everyday people and revealing what spurred him to turn his education and Capitol Hill experience to the city of his youth. 
   
   
   
  A moving memoir of a young leader's perseverance in a city still battling racism and gun violence, which Woodfin experienced first-hand, Son of Birmingham is also a call-to-action across America—an appeal to Woodfin's unique brand of servant leadership and responsive government for equitable, inclusive, and prosperous cities where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

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  Symposium

  Plato

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  The Symposium by Plato is a philosophical dialogue that explores the various facets of love and its role in the attainment of higher truth. Through a series of speeches given by the characters, Plato's work provides an illuminating examination of eros and its potential as an agent for personal transformation. The text serves as an exploration into the nature of human emotion, offering insight into how one might pursue a meaningful life through cultivating intimate relationships with others. Read in English, unabridged.

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  Comedy on Stage and Screen - An...

  Wieland Schwanebeck

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  This book introduces readers to the genre of comedy, both on the stage and on the screen. It chronicles the history of comedy, starting with Ancient Greece, before summarising key chapters in Anglophone literary history, such as Shakespearean comedy, Restoration comedy, and Theatre of the Absurd. The book features an overview of key comic techniques (including slapstick, puns, and wit), as well as concise summaries of major theoretical debates (including the superiority theory and the Freudian account of laughter). The book works with many examples from the history of Anglophone comedy, including Oscar Wilde, Monty Python, and classic sitcoms. It addresses current research into cringe humour and the controversial topic of diversity in the field of comedy, and it connects classical tropes of comedy (like the fool or the marriage plot) to present-day examples. The book thus serves as an up-to-date study guide for everyone interested in comedy and its various subgenres.

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  Schmalkaldic War The: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  It has been famously pointed out that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, but it was also not an empire in the sense people expect when hearing the term. In theory, the emperor was the highest prince in Christendom, and his dominion extended the length and breadth of Western Europe. The empire had been created by the papacy in 801 when Pope Leo III famously crowned the supposedly unwitting Charlemagne in Saint Peter’s Basilica, intending to recreate the Western Roman Empire. In truth, the imperial power did not extend beyond central Europe, which by the beginning of the 16th century included Germany, northern Italy and the Netherlands. Even in these lands, however, the emperor struggled to command obedience. His dominion over northern Italy was theoretical only, the cities of the Netherlands were deeply conscious of their ancient rights and privileges, and Germany had long ceased to be compliant. The latter had become a collection of principalities, dukedoms and bishoprics which vied with each other and pursued their own agendas. They were, however, united in only one sense: denying the emperor power and resisting attempts to centralize the government.  
  	At the same time, major religious changes were happening within Germany in the early 16th century. Born shortly after the invention of the printing press, Martin Luther became one of Europe’s best selling authors, along with others like Erasmus, and his theology was mass produced across Europe. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money, known as indulgences, and he confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, one of the most important religious writings of all time. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the Pope and condemnation as an outlaw.

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  Teachers - The Ones I Can’t Forget

  Martin Fletcher

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  Teachers are the people Martin Fletcher met throughout his work as a news correspondent, often on the worst day of their lives. He watched as they picked up the pieces following personal tragedy and discovered the invaluable lesson of carrying on, no matter the circumstances.  Through intimate profiles, Martin Fletcher's Teachers details the struggles of everyday people in extraordinary circumstances—war, revolution, natural disasters and yes, life. Fletcher's writing is uplifting as he examines the truth of resilience despite hardship. These are the people he sought out in his international reporting, detailing their woes while celebrating their will to survive and recover.  Teachers offers a unique take on reporting, as it features a traveling photo exhibit that Fletcher created to accompany the book. Each chapter is paired with an extraordinary digital montage to illustrate the stories taken directly from his reporting from NBC news programs. At a time when news coverage is often dismissed as fake or biased, Teachers is a welcome reminder of the integrity, devotion and empathy that goes into true reporting of the world. As Tom Brokaw wrote, "Fletcher has a calling."

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  Catholic Church’s Most...

  Editors Charles River

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  For centuries, Christians and Muslims were embroiled in one of the most infamous territorial disputes of all time, viciously and relentlessly battling one another for the Holy Land. In the heart of Jerusalem sat one of the shining jewels of the Christian faith, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Legend has it that this was where their Savior had been buried before his fabled resurrection. What was more, it was said to house the very cross Jesus Christ had died upon. It was for precisely these reasons that fearless pilgrims, near and far, risked their lives and made the treacherous trek to Jerusalem.  
  	The Order of the Temple of Solomon, also known as the Templars or the Knights Templar, is one of the best-known and least-understood groups in history. They appear prominently in everything from novels (The Da Vinci Code) to films (as the Knights of the Cruciform Sword in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) to videogames (Assassin's Creed). In these stories, they are a sinister cult that manipulated historical events since the Middle Ages, via intimidation and assassination. They are usually connected to the Freemasons and, sometimes, to other historical cults like the Hindu Thuggees. 
  	The knights of the Teutonic Order have since been compared to the surreal creature that appeared to the biblical Ezekiel, one that bore 2 faces – one of a man's, and one of a lion's. The human side of the creature is said to symbolize the order's charity, whereas the lion was a metaphor for its valor and gallant spirit, which they relied on to vanquish the heathens of the world. 	Like other secretive groups, the mystery surrounding these military orders helped their legacies endure. While some conspiracy theorists attempt to tie the groups to other alleged secret societies like the Illuminati, other groups have tried to assert connections with them to bolster their own credentials.

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