'A hugely entertaining and well-written tour of the links between math and literature. Hart's lightness of touch and passion for both subjects make this book a delight to read. Bookworms and number-lovers alike will discover much they didn't know about the creative interplay between stories, structure and sums.' - Alex Bellos
Through the lens of Rowe's relationships with two Kenyan conservationists - Wangari Maathai and Daphne Sheldrick - THE ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM surveys a number of prejudices that many of us who are fortunate to be born with the privileges attached to our skin colour, sex and access to resources don't like to deal with: race, misogyny and the legacy of empire. By examining the two women's memoirs (Un
Foreword by Brian May.For four decades, Kim Stallwood has had a front seat in the animal rights movement, starting at the grassroots in England and working his way up to leadership positions at some of the best-known organisations in the world, including Compassion In World Farming, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Yet, as Stallwo
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, fighter for democratic space, founder of the Green Belt Movement and inspiration for women and grassroots activists throughout the world, the environmentalist, Wangari Maathai, (1940–2011) was a complex and multifaceted figure. In this book, fellow Kenyan, Namulundah Florence, offers an expansive examination of Maathai's role as a public figure, teacher inside and beyon
In 1985, socialites Derek and Nancy Haysom were found brutally stabbed to death in their home in Virginia. When suspicion turned to the Haysoms' beautiful, but troubled, daughter, Elizabeth, and her German boyfriend, Jens Soering, their case became one of the most notorious in the Commonwealth's history. After fleeing with Elizabeth to Europe, Jens ultimately confessed to the crime, under the illu
“If it is true that one knows oneself best by observing how one treats others then this book of poems by Gretchen Primack is essential reading. Read these poems for the truth they tell about our relationship to and treatment of the creatures we take to be our property; read this book and ponder its many questions, for example 'Who are the beasts?' and 'What can I do?'”—Kazim AliKIND is the kind of
Colin Greer knows a lot about a lot. His rich life as an educator and author/playwright, emersed in the social and political justice trenches, is reflected in his latest poetry book alongside his wordily wisdom. The author muses on the human condition through verse, taking the lucky reader through the ordinary, the personal, the sublime, and tragic alike. IF BUT MY GAZE COULD HEAL's 150 poems are
Brooks Brown was a contemporary and friend of the killers, and gives first-hand insight into what happened that day, the toxic culture at Columbine that fed the alienation and hatred expressed by the killers, and disposes of the myths and prejudices that continue to color our reactions to school shootings.
On April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, two seniors at Columbine High School in
After his overwhelming and life-altering encounters with Shams of Tabriz, Rumi, the great thirteenth-century mystic, poet, and originator of the whirling dervishes, let go of many of the precepts of formal religion, insisting that only a complete personal dissolving into the larger energies of God could provide the satisfaction that the heart so desperately seeks. He began to speak spontaneously i
In 1970, John Lennon introduced to the world Alejandro Jodorowsky and the film El Topo that he wrote, starred in and directed. The film and its author instantly became a counterculture icon. The New York Times said it “demands to be seen,” and Newsweek called it “An Extraordinary Movie!” But that was only the beginning of the story and the controversy of El Topo and the journey of its brilliant cr
Shri Mahant Swami Ganeshanand Saraswati Giri (ca. 1895–1988) was known to all who loved and studied with him simply as Ganesh Baba. At the age of four, he was brought back from death through an initiation by Lahiri Mahasaya and through this initiation descends from the same Kriya Yoga lineage as Paramahansa Yogananda. He became a swami under his guru Sivananda and later went on to run the Anandama
After travelling at age 18 from his native California to India in 1969, Rampuri was drawn to the Naga Babas, an ancient and wild order of naked yogis whom he calls the “Hell's Angels of Indian Spirituality.” Organized into a sect by Adi Shankara in the 5th century BC, the Naga Babas see themselves as the ultimate protectors of the Sanatan Dharma, or what we call the Hindu religion. Rampuri became
· Explores the shamanic use of healing songs, psychoactive plants and vision quests at the heart of the Odyssey and the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien· Examines odysseus's encounters with plant divinities, altered consciousness, animal shapeshifting and sacred topography - all concepts vital to shamanism· Reveals how the Odyssey emerged precisely at the rupture between modern and primal conscio
Margaret De Wys first became aware of ecstatic trance healing when she was a young girl fascinated by the rapture of the Holy Rollers. However, it would be decades before she would be called to explore that early fascination. At a gathering in Upstate New York thirty years later she was spontaneously possessed by a sacred Zulu necklace—a gift from one of the most powerful shamans in Africa, Vusama
When composer and Bard College music professor, Margaret De Wys, learned she had breast cancer, the diagnosis shattered her comfortable life. Seized by fear, crushed by existential loneliness, she couldn't respond when her loved ones reached out to her. To everyone's concern, the illness propelled her away from her family and deep into the Amazon to work with Carlos, a charismatic Shuar shaman and