A homesick hero, a pair of friendly rivals, a triumphant bridegroom, and a golden maiden populate the pages of this treasury, a collection of awe-inspiring stories from Finnish mythology. Assembled by educator James Baldwin, a specialist in adapting ancient narratives into captivating prose, these 38 entrancing tales are drawn from the oral traditions of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.The Kalevala spans many ages, from the beginning of the earth to the remote past, long before its legends were sung and chanted in humble homes and grand palaces alike. Its tales of heroes and gods center on the fate of a sampo, a highly prized and jealously guarded magical artifact. J. R. R. Tolkien was much influenced by this fantasy cycle of the Far North, and readers of all ages continue to fall under its spell. This edition of the beloved classic features four magnificent illustrations by N. C. Wyeth.

War has spread from the borders of India to the forests in the very heart of the country. Combining brilliant analysis and reportage by one of India's iconic writers, Broken Republic examines the nature of progress and development in the emerging global superpower, and asks fundamental questions about modern civilization itself - in three incisive essays:Mr Chidambaram's War'The low, flat-topped hills of south Orissa have been home to the Dongria Kondh long before there was a country called India or a state called Orissa . . . 'Walking with the Comrades'The terse, typewritten note slipped under my door in a sealed envelope confirmed my appointment with "India's single biggest internal security challenge". I'd been waiting for months to hear from them . . . 'Trickledown Revolution'In the early morning hours of 2 July 2010, in the remote forests of Adilabad, the Andhra Pradesh State Police fired a bullet into the chest of a man called Cherukuri Rajkumar, known to his...

What if the world fell asleep and only one person was awake. What would the last man on the planet do if everyone around him were like a still photograph. When Andy, a frustrated office worker awakens to find the world around him completely immobilized and in some kind of coma, he must find a way through the nightmare to survive and stay sane.

Hired to kill a killer, a discreet murderer tracks down the beautiful but deadly Thamesis. But what is the secret of her fatal allure? And in the end, who will assassinate who?Who is the beautiful and mysterious Thamesis, born from the dirty waters of London's mighty river? Why does death persue those who love her? What is the secret of her fatal allure?When a discreet murderer is hired to kill her, the preternatural enigma of her life begins to unfold. But when two assassins are set against each other, who will assassinate who?

Australian Denny Banister had it all; a successful career, a passion for the guitar, and Sonya - the love of his life. Tragically, Denny is struck down with inoperable cancer. Andy DeVries has almost nothing; alienated from his family, moving through a dangerous Chicago underworld dealing in drugs, battling addiction while keeping a wavering hold on the only thing that matters to him: a place at a prestigious conservatory for classical guitar in Chicago. As Andy recovers from a near fatal overdose, he is plagued by dreams - memories of a love he has never felt, and a life he's never lived. Driven by the need for redemption and by the love for a woman he's never met, he begins a quest to find her, knowing her only by the memories of a stranger and the dreams of a place called Hambledown...

In Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law, Alan Dershowitz—#1 New York Times bestselling author and one of America's most respected legal scholars—analyses the unremitting efforts by political opponents of Donald Trump to "get" him—to stop him from running in 2024—at any cost. Alan Dershowitz has been called "one of the most prominent and consistent defenders of civil liberties in America" by Politico and "the nation's most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights" by Newsweek. Get Trump makes clear that unconstitutional efforts to stop Trump from retaking the presidency challenge the very foundations of our liberty: due process, right to counsel, and free speech. Those who justify these dangerous departures from the rule of law argue that the threat posed by a second Trump presidency is...

At first, Willy was stoic when the doctor told him that he had pancreatic cancer and only six months left to live. But Willy rebelled against his own mind and philosophy, and he made a decision; With the time left to him he would do what he had spent a lifetime denying – he would have some fun! With that thought in his mind Willy's Bucket List was created.William J. Demeter received the news of his death with the same stoicism that he demonstrated in all areas of his life. When the doctor told him that he had pancreatic cancer he accepted it with stoic resolve, and when the doctor told him he had only six months left to live he accepted that news the same way. It was only after rereading Voltaire's Candide that doubts started to creep in. The question hadn't crossed his mind in many years, in fact it had laid long buried in his subconscious for most of his adult life, but the genie had been re-released and could not be put back into the bottle with any success - “if God is both All-powerful and Good, why is there evil in the world? As Voltaire had railed against Pope's “Clear truth that what is, is right” and Leibnitz’s belief that “this was the best of all possible worlds” Willy now rebelled against his own mind and philosophy, and he made a decision.With the time left to him he would do what he had spent a lifetime denying – he would have some fun! With that thought in his mind Willy's Bucket List was created. “If I am going to die soon then what is the point of denying myself anything that would make that time more pleasant?”

Torn between loyalty to her sister and the man she loves, Damiah hopelessly pours out her heart to a golden canary - without realising that her little bird's song is full of the hope she lacks.Inspired by the twelfth century lais of Marie de France, this modern folktale tells of Damiah, a young woman torn between loyalty to her sister and the man she loves. One day she hopelessly pours out her heart to a golden canary - without realising that her little bird's song is full of the hope she lacks.

At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, Baldwin shows the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable.   For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theater lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. An adored older brother vanishes into prison. There are love affairs with a white woman and a younger black man, each of whom will make irresistible claims on Leo's loyalty. And everywhere there is the anguish of being black in a society that at times seems poised on the brink of total racial war. Overpowering in its vitality, extravagant in the intensity of its feeling, Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone is a major work of American literature.  

The Road to Wigan Pier is a book in two parts: the first half is Orwell's description of working-class life in industrial communities of the north of England, the second examines his own political views.Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by Amelia Gentleman.The Road to Wigan Pier is an insightful and powerful account of lives lived in poverty and deprivation in a time of low wages and meagre government support. Orwell describes dismal housing (including the lodging house where he stays), harsh working conditions and the devastating effects of unemployment. And he also vividly describes the courage and dignity of the people he meets. In the second half of the book, Orwell examines his own political and social affiliations with an impressive ability to...

Once there was a legend.Long ago, in a time the world of men no longer remembers, an evil was born in the lands of Sul. Shadows came into the world; ice and snow covered the earth in eternal, damnable winter. A prophecy was laid down: a messiah would be born to the Witch Queen of Sul, a child who could destroy the Dark Lord who arose in the West. A price would be paid, a life for a life.I was there. I remember when darkness came into the world, when it unleashed a plague of damnation upon the races to which the world was given. I remember when the unholy heir of darkness was born, and when her father fell.A second war begins. The cold grip of death stretches over the world in ice and winter, for the heart of evil and the heart of the world are bound to one another. The heir of darkness rises as her father, and blood flows in rivers upon the frozen earth. A prophesied messiah rises to stand against the gathering dark. The tears of the fairies fall for the world that is frozen.

The Cross of Redemption is a revelation by an American literary master: a gathering of essays, articles, polemics, reviews, and interviews that have never before appeared in book form. James Baldwin was one of the most brilliant and provocative literary figures of the past century, renowned for his fierce engagement with issues haunting our common history. In The Cross of Redemption we have Baldwin discoursing on, among other subjects, the possibility of an African-American president and what it might mean; the hypocrisy of American religious fundamentalism; the black church in America; the trials and tribulations of black nationalism; anti-Semitism; the blues and boxing; Russian literary masters; and the role of the writer in our society. Prophetic and bracing, The Cross of Redemption is a welcome and important addition to the works of a cosmopolitan and canonical American writer who still has much to teach us about race, democracy, and personal and national identity. As Michael Ondaatje has remarked, “If van Gogh was our nineteenth-century artist-saint, Baldwin [was] our twentieth-century one.”

Mayasa knows she is as skilled as any male hunter in her tribe, and she aims to prove it by hunting the high-dwelling antelope of Mount Meru. Of course, to do that, she must enter the jealously guarded territory of Wawindaji Pepo, guardian of the mountain. Mngwa is the third story in the Bestiary Tales.Bored in the Breakroom is a compilation of flash fiction and slightly longer stories that I have written, most of which had already been published on my blogs as well as blogs run by others.Originally this collection had no theme and was instead just a glom of everything I thought worthwhile. During the editing process, Matt DeBenedictis mentioned the strong presence of academic and office life in many of the stories. We decided to do much pruning here and add some detail there to make the content less burdensome. The result is a more cohesive narrative about the lives of academics and young, urban professionals.All stories written by Jay DiNitto.Edited by Matt DeBenedictis.