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  Crusading against the Ottomans:...

  Editors Charles River

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  In terms of geopolitics, perhaps the most seminal event of the Middle Ages was the successful Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453. The city had been an imperial capital as far back as the 4th century, when Constantine the Great shifted the power center of the Roman Empire there, effectively establishing two almost equally powerful halves of antiquity’s greatest empire. Constantinople would continue to serve as the capital of the Byzantine Empire even after the Western half of the Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century. Naturally, the Ottoman Empire would also use Constantinople as the capital of its empire after their conquest effectively ended the Byzantine Empire, and thanks to its strategic location, it has been a trading center for years and remains one today under the Turkish name of Istanbul. 
  Naturally, the Byzantines and Europeans didn’t take the Ottoman incursions laying down, and in the generations before the Ottoman victory at Constantinople, European alliances frequently tried to check Ottoman advances, couching their campaigns in the terms of crusading. One of them came near the end of the 14th century, and it presaged what was to come in the 15th century. 
  The Ottoman campaigns of the 14th century would provide the context for the events that led to the Battle of Nicopolis. One of the last major crusades was launched in 1396 by Pope Boniface IX, and the timing was perfect for the European kingdoms to unite and form a strong threat to the Ottomans. The 100-year war between France and England was in a state of truce, and King Richard II had just married Princess Isabella of France. Thus, both the English and the Franks would be able to send forces to join in a crusade, and so would Hungary, Bulgaria, Venice, Genoa, Croatia, Wallachia, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Knights Hospitaller.

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  The Wisdom of the Ancients -...

  H.A. Drake

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  This book is about four cornerstones of modern thought that were put in place by people living in the ancient Mediterranean world. It covers approximately 2,000 years in time (from ca. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE) and spatially moves from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia (roughly, modern Iraq), through Greece and Rome, to the new Germanic states growing in what is now western Europe. 
   
   
   
  The four ideas, as author H. A. Drake proposes, are monotheism, the idea that there is only one god, not many; individual rights, the idea that there is a limit to what the state can order us to do; naturalized citizenship, the idea that the full rights and privileges of citizenship can be extended to people who have no birthright to them; and creation of a standard by which to judge the performance of states. It is easy, now, to take these ideas for granted. By discussing these ideas in their historical context with clarity and wit, The Wisdom of the Ancients reminds listeners how preposterous they were originally and how different our world would be if they had not taken hold.

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  I Want to Be a Veterinarian! -...

  Anonymous

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  Explore an Amazing Animal Career Path! 
  Does your child dream of a future working with pets, livestock, and incredible wildlife? Get them on the right path with "I Want to Be a Veterinarian!," the ideal guide to one of the most paw-some professions. 
  This exciting book introduces kids to the wonderful world of veterinary medicine. Going far beyond just the basics, it dives into: 
  -Exploring the different veterinary career paths, from caring for household pets to working with exotic animals 
  -The key traits and skills needed to become a successful veterinarian 
  -Discovering the educational journey to obtain a veterinary degree 
  -Peeking behind the scenes at the daily life of several different vets 
  -Hearing direct advice from real-life veterinarians 
  -And so much more! 
  Written in an engaging way that speaks directly to young readers' interests, this book takes kids on an interactive journey that explores every aspect of this fascinating profession. They'll thoroughly understand what it takes to improve animals' lives as a veterinarian. 
  With fun facts, practical tips, and stories that spark readers' imaginations, "I Want to Be a Veterinarian!" provides an unbeatable head start for any child aspiring to an exceptional animal-based career. Let it ignite their passion while teaching them how to make that dream a reality. 
  The perfect gift to encourage kids' interests and future goals! Don't miss this invaluable opportunity to inspire and educate the aspiring veterinarians in your life.

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  Tell Me about Your Bad Guys -...

  Michael Dowdy

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  Michael Dowdy perceives the world as a poet, one with an anxiety disorder. As a result he has rarely experienced fathering or his relationship with his daughter, A, as a linear narrative. Rather, his impressions of fathering coalesce in encounters with the conditions of our time, producing intense flashes of awareness and emotion. Critiquing his own fathering practices, Dowdy's essays move between simplicity—being present for his daughter—and complexity—considering the harrowing present of entrenched misogyny, school shootings, climate change, and other threats to childing and fathering with love, optimism, and joy. 
   
   
   
  The essays in Tell Me about Your Bad Guys do not provide easy answers. They follow instead an interrogative mode, guided by A's unruly questions and Dowdy's desire to avoid fatherhood literature's traps: false modesty, antic ineptitude, and defensive clowning. This means understanding fathering not as an ironclad identity or a cohesive story but as a process of trial and error, self-reflection, and radical openness. With measures of dark humor, the essays take seriously the literary, material, and political stakes of fathering and in doing so challenge patriarchal norms and one-dimensional accounts of fatherhood.

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  Aggression War and Conflict -...

  Bhikkhu Khantipālo

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  Aggression is rampant almost everywhere nowadays, sometimes in its legal and approved form and increasingly in illegal activities. Where it is approved, it may be called “getting on in the world,” that is, stepping on others’ heads so that you can get to the top. This is success in a worldly sense, but not in a Buddhist one. It is also approved of for men (though not by them for women!) as being a mark of mastery and virility, yet it will never bring happiness. For if people are mastered forcibly, then how will happiness follow for the one who inflicts suffering? The rationale is that “progress,” that materialistic god so widely worshipped, will not come about unless force and power are used. But this argument does not take into account the fact that, sooner or later, what is won by aggression will surely be lost through conflict. 
   
  The three essays in Bodhi Leaves No. 108 are: 
  1. Dealing with Aggression 
  2. War and Peace 
  3. Settling Conflicts

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  Secrets of Romani...

  Jezmina Von Thiele, Paulina Stevens

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  In Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling, Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele share the knowledge and personal experiences of being raised to be fortune-tellers. They share divination methods, tools, and techniques that have been created, adapted, or popularized by the Roma, including card reading, palmistry, dream divination, and tea-leaf and coffee reading. They share exercises to strengthen your intuition and discover your natural gifts, and explain how divination helps with shadow work, blockages, and self-awareness.  “Readers will gain a solid grounding in Romani divination practices and Romani spirituality. While much of our culture remains closed to outsiders, Jezmina and Paulina continue their mission of building bridges between the Romani and other cultures and helping others appreciate our beautiful, diverse traditions. Laćhi buti, phenja! (Good work, sisters!)” —Caren Gussoff Sumption, author of So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion and Three Songs for Roxy   Fortune-telling is both a job and a spiritual practice. The authors, cohosts of the Romanistan podcast, introduce the history of the Romani people and their infamous relationship to fortune-telling. Secrets of Romani Fortune-Telling features additional resources, enabling readers to further explore Romani culture and spiritual practices.

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