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A compelling analysis of how World War I spurred the rise of atheism and the subsequent effect on Western theology, philosophy, literature, and art. The catastrophic Great War left humanity in a world no longer trustworthy and reassuring but seemingly meaningless and indifferent. Instead of redressing humanity’s cosmic alienation, postwar Western culture abandoned its concern for cosmic meaning, lost its confidence in human reason, and enabled the scientific worldview of neo-Darwinian materialism to emerge and eventually dominate the Western mind. According to the proponents of that worldview, science is the only source of genuine truth, nature is the product of a blind evolutionary proces...
This lavish illustrated volume presents a visual history of Seliger's commitment to biomorphic abstraction and documents his extraordinary career from his auspicious beginnings as the youngest artist exhibiting with the original artisit of the Abstract Expressionist movement, through the development of his signature style of complex and intimate abstractions. 217 colour illustrations
The true story behind Christina Baker Kline’s bestselling novel is revealed in this “engaging and thoughtful history” of the Children’s Aid Society (Los Angeles Times). A powerful blend of history, biography, and adventure, Orphan Trains fills a grievous gap in the American story. Tracing the evolution of the Children’s Aid Society, this dramatic narrative tells the fascinating tale of one of the most famous—and sometimes infamous—child welfare programs: the orphan trains, which spirited away some two hundred fifty thousand abandoned children into the homes of rural families in the Midwest. In mid-nineteenth-century New York, vagrant children, whether orphans or runaways, fille...
A literary thriller about an infamous desert art installation, the cult it inspired, and the search for a missing young woman that is “cinematic . . . readers will be compelled to start again at page one to discover how O’Connor pieces together his suspenseful, incredibly well–written narrative” (Library Journal, starred review). Los Angeles, the late 1970s: Jess Shepard is an installation artist who creates environments that focus on light and space, often leading to intense sensory experiences for visitors to her work. A run of critically lauded projects peaks with Zero Zone, an installation at the once upon a time site of nuclear bomb testing in the New Mexico desert. But when a s...
Previous writings on Charles Yelverton O'Connor, the farsighted Irish civil engineer who has become an almost legendary figure in the history of Western Australia, have tended to concentrate on the political, economic and engineering aspects of his life and work. Today, his works are revered and his memory honored, though whether this enduring interest stems as much from a fascination with the events surrounding his tragic suicide than with a genuine appreciation of his work is debatable. In this biography, the author seeks to focus more on the man himself, the quintessential Victorian, brimming with confidence and a belief that the great technical advances of the era, together with social reforms, would eventually bring harmony and prosperity to all. As a man of his age, his character can only be understood by understanding the aspirations of the age - the ideals and values that shaped his life and, ultimately, the manner of his untimely death.
Poet Charles Lamb described the pineapple as “too ravishing for moral taste . . . like lovers’ kisses she bites—she is a pleasure bordering on pain, from fierceness and insanity of her relish.” From the moment Christopher Columbus discovered it on a Caribbean island in 1493, the pineapple has seduced the world, becoming an object of passion and desire. Beloved by George Washington, a favorite of kings and aristocrats, the pineapple quickly achieved an elite status among fruits that it retains today. Kaori O’Connor tells the story of this culinary romance in Pineapple, an intriguing history of this luscious fruit. O’Connor follows the pineapple across time and cultures, exploring ...
The new edition of Health Psychology is the perfect introduction to this rapidly developing field. Throughout the book, the psychological processes that shape health-related behaviours, and affect core functions such as the immune and cardiovascular systems, are clearly explained. These relationships provide the foundation for psychological interventions which can change cognition, perception and behaviour, thereby improving health. The book is split into five sections, and builds to provide a comprehensive overview of the field: the biological basis of health and illness stress and health coping resources: social support and individual differences motivation and behaviour relating to patients Extensively revised to include new material on behavioural change, the role of stress, resilience and social support, recovery from work, and the care of people with chronic disease, the book also includes a range of features which highlight key issues, and engage readers in applying what we have learned from research. This is essential reading for any undergraduates studying this exciting field for the first time, and the perfect primer for those embarking on postgraduate study.
Classic Catholic Converts presents the compelling stories of over 25 well-known converts to Catholicism from the 19th and 20th centuries. It tells of powerful testimonials to God's grace, men and women from all walks of life in Europe and America whose search for the fullness of truth led them to the Catholic Church. It is the witness of brilliant intellectuals, social workers, scientists, authors, film producers, clergy, businessmen, artists and others who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, studied and prayed their way into the Church. Fr. Charles Connor writes insightful and wonderfully readable stories of a rich variety of converts who struggled greatly with many challenges as they embraced Catholicism, including rejection by loved ones, persecution from strangers, and misunderstanding by peers. But, once they responded to God's call, they experienced great inner peace, contentment and joy. Among the famous converts whose stories are told here include John Henry Newman, Edith Stein, Jacques Maritain, Dorothy Day, G.K. Chesterton, Elizabeth Seton, Karl Stern, Ronald Knox and many more.
A family of his own covers Edwin O'Connor's comfortable upbringing in Rhode Island, his formation at Notre Dame, his obscure years in radio and the Coast Guard during World War II, his adoption of Boston, his long association with his publishers at "Atlantic Monthly" and Little, Brown and Company, his toil in journalism and television reviewing, his several sojourns in Ireland, and his extraordinary dedication to his craft while living close to poverty. For the years after "The Last Hurrah," Duffy examines O'Connor's handling of newfound wealth and celebrity, his growing loneliness, the surprise and fulfillment of a late marriage, his failure on Broadway, and his return to fiction. Throughout his writing O'Connor's major subject was the family, especially the gains, losses, and conflicts within assimilated Irish America. Duffy examines the complex ways by which O'Connor's own experience of family and friendship formed essential patterns in his works.