Other books that might interest you

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  Catholics and Contempt - How...

  John L. Allen Jr.

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  The culture of contempt—the lust to wound perceived opponents who are seen not just as wrong but as evil—has become global in scope. Fed by the rise of “cheap speech” in media, seismic shifts in digital technology, and a boom industry based on selling outrage, people are increasingly unable to understand, much less dialogue with, their ideological rivals. The Catholic Church understands itself as the evangelizer of culture; yet this culture of contempt has evangelized much of the Church. A distressing range of Catholic media platforms and commentators have introduced the poison of contempt into the heart of Catholic life—and with exacting fidelity. In this timely and important new book, Vatican journalist and Crux Editor John L. Allen Jr. offers a bracing analysis of our fractured Catholic media landscape. Examining six case studies of the culture of contempt wounding the Church—four from around the globe, and two from the United States—Allen offers not only a sobering look at the direction Catholic media has headed, but an urgent call for it to change course.

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  Supes Ain't Always Heroes -...

  Lynn S. Zubernis, Matthew Snyder

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  Go deeper inside the hit TV show The Boys and its characters with psychologists, media experts, filmmakers, and more—including the original comic series' cocreator and the actors behind Soldier Boy and Stormfront. 
   
   
   
  Supes Ain't Always Heroes offers a fresh look at The Boys, delving into the show's unflinching depiction of celebrity, politics, social media, corporate greed, racism, sexism, and more: 
   
   
   
  ● The true difference between Homelander and Billy Butcher—and who the show's biggest villain really is 
   
   
   
  ● What Soldier Boy's characterization says about how we define masculinity 
   
   
   
  ● How today's media landscape has contributed to The Boys' success 
   
   
   
  ● What the evolutions of Hughie, Starlight, A-Train, Mother's Milk, and other show standouts reflect about addiction, family, identity, and self-acceptance 
   
   
   
  PLUS: Exclusive interviews with The Boys comics cocreator Darick Robertson and actors Jensen Ackles, Jim Beaver, Aya Cash, and Nathan Mitchell provide a unique glimpse behind the scenes. Comments from editor interviews with more of the show's stars give further insight into their experiences in bringing these complex characters to life.

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  Wards of the State - The Long...

  Claudia Rowe

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  Told through the stories of six former foster youth, a jolting exploration of a broken system from an award-winning journalist 
    
  By the time Maryanne was 16 years old, she had been arrested for murder. In and out of foster and adoptive homes since age 10, she’d run away, been trafficked and assaulted, and finally pointed a gun at the latest man to take her into his car. She pulled the trigger and fled. But with no family to turn to and few reliable friends, it didn’t take long for the police to catch up with her. 
    
  In court, the defense blamed neither traffickers, nor Maryanne, but Washington state itself—or rather, its foster care system, which parents thousands of children every year. The courts didn’t listen to that argument, but award-winning journalist Claudia Rowe did. Washington state isn’t alone, of course. Each year, hundreds of thousands of children grow up in America’s $30 billion foster care system, only to leave and enter its prisons, where a quarter of all inmates are former foster youth. 
    
  Weaving Maryanne’s story with those of five other foster kids across the country—including an 18-year-old sleeping on the New York City subways; a gangbanger-turned graduate student; and a foster child who is now a policy advisor to the White House—Rowe paints a visceral survival narrative showing exactly where, when, and how the system channels children into locked cells. Balanced with accounts from psychologists, advocates, judges, and foster parents, Wards of the State paves a road to reform by pulling back the curtain on our country’s longstanding foster care-to-prison pipeline and the searing realities faced by kids who may be sitting in classrooms next to your own children. 
    
  “An eloquent and compelling call for change."—Booklist

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  History of Marathas EP03 -...

  Vikrant Pande

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  Badi Saheba addressed the august gathering, 'Usne asmzat-e-shahi ko lalkara hai. 'The very might of Bijapur has been challenged.' We need to take our revenge; put him in his place. It is for the sake of our religion. This kafir needs to be punished. Who is the brave man who can do this? Huh? Come on, I am waiting for one of you to pick up the paan.'
  
  Little did Afzal Khan know that Shivaji was well prepared and was going to kill him.

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  The Truht Is in Love

  Sergiy Zhuravlov

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  The narrative is based on real events during the unification of Spain. Spain, led by Ferdinand the Second and Isabella of Castile, soared to the height of its power. The policy of the cunning king bore rich fruit. The whole country was taken away from the king of Portugal. By deceit the southern fiefdoms were cut off from France. The master of southern Europe and northern Africa he - King Ferdinand, or rather by his hands and the instruction of Isabella, brought out of slumber and made all-powerful "Manu interpida" - the Inquisition. And now this mechanism was bringing into the king's treasury, first one-third, and now more than two-thirds of all the confiscated goods. And henceforth no one, whether grandee, marquis, or prince, could feel safe. Forsaken, beware - they are coming for you! Young Merinda, who did not wish to become Esteban Junior's mistress, was thrown into prison. Esteban the elder - the second man after the king - so wished. The sentence is ready, all that is left is to disfigure the maiden and then burn her at the stake. But something goes wrong. Fernando, an incorruptible knight of the Hospitaller Order, is in charge of the case. An obvious lie, not proof of guilt. All turn against Fernando the Inquisitor. Fernando has no choice but to save the girl at the cost of his career and even his life. He flees from pursuit along with Merinda. The couple is put on the wanted list. Whoever shelters or helps the fugitives ends up behind bars himself. The new inquisitor hires an assassin to find and kill the fugitives without publicity. The former favourite of the King of Spain, the Countess of Alba, writes a letter to his Highness and admits that she bore his daughter in secret. She asks the King for help in finding her daughter who has disappeared. The King entrusts his confidant, the Marquis Diego, with the task. The Marquis finds the trail - the King and Countess´ daughter is none other than Merinda! The King dismisses the false accusation. But the Inquisition's Purgatory flywheel is unwound. Merinda and Fernando are driven into the mountains and their doom is certain. The pair stand on a precipice above a precipice. The crossbowmen have them in their sights. The Marquis gets there in time. He stops the execution. He untwists the chain of false witnesses. This leads him to plot against the king. He writes a letter to the king and sends it with a messenger. On the way the messenger stops for a drink of water and water for his horse. He is killed by an assassin hired by the Inquisition. He reads the letter and sells it to the conspirators. He then sells the information to the Marquis that the conspirators have intercepted the letter. The Marquis learns through his agents that Admiral Esteban and his goons have followed the trail of Merinda and Fernando and wish to kill everyone. The plot is averted. The King accepts a payoff from the repentant accomplices. It turns out the murderer is not dead from the poison, seeking a meeting with the Marquis for revenge. Such a moment arrives. The Marquis is stunned. A lung is punctured. Merinda dismisses the court physicians. She saves the Marquis´ life herself with the help of herbal infusions and extracts of mould. Merynda is slandered by the physicians as a sorceress. The Queen throws the young Countess into prison. The King himself is powerless against the Queen. Merinda´s death is imminent. But then, passing through the cheering crowd of the townspeople, the King is tried to be killed by his old hater. The wound seems trifling. But after twenty-four hours, the king is taken ill and falls into unconsciousness. The queen realises that the court physicians are powerless, and so are the prayers. She decides to enlist Merinda's help. Nothing is more important to the king's daughter than saving her father's life. Two weeks later, the king is back on his feet. The queen is pleased with the king's recovery, but still wants to get rid of Merinda...

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  Six Memos for the Next Millennium

  Italo Calvino

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  Italo Calvino's brilliant reflection on what makes great literature, from the classics to more contemporary works, punctuated with personal details about Calvino's own writing processes. 
   
  At the time of his death, Italo Calvino was at work on six lectures setting forth the qualities in writing he most valued, and which he believed would define literature in the century to come. Here, in Six Memos for the Next Millennium, are the five lectures he completed, forming not only a stirring defense of literature, but also an indispensable guide to the writings of Calvino himself. 
   
  Calvino devotes one “memo” each to the concepts of lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, and multiplicity, drawing examples from his vast knowledge of myth, folklore, and works both ancient and modern. Readers will be astonished by the prescience of these lectures, which have only gained in relevance as Calvino’s “next millennium” has dawned.

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