200 Years ago a Philadelphia newspaper claimed George Washington wasn't the "father of his country." It claimed John Adams really wanted to be king. Its editors were arrested by the federal government. One editor died awaiting trial. The story of this newspaper is the story of America. THE AMERICAN HISTORY WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KNOW In this monumental story of two newspaper editors whom Presidents Washington and Adams sought to jail for sedition, American Aurora offers a new and heretical vision of this nation's beginnings, from the vantage point of those who fought in the American Revolution to create a democracy--and lost.

The absorbing chronicle of America's first oppositionist newspaper from 1790 through 1800, "American Aurora" "tells the story of the first government assault on free speech, immigrant communities, religious minorities, and the political left" ("The Nation").

American Aurora explores the impact of climate change on early modern radical religious groups during the height of the Little Ice Age in the seventeenth century. Focusing on the life and legacy of Johannes Kelpius (1667-1707), an enormously influential but comprehensively misunderstood theologian who settled outside of Philadelphia from 1604 to 1707, Timothy Grieve-Carlson explores the Hermetic and alchemical dimensions of Kelpius's Christianity before turning to his legacy in American religion and literature. This engaging analysis showcases Kelpius's forgotten theological intricacies, spiritual revelations, and cosmic observations, illuminating the complexity and foresight of an important colonial mystic. As radical Protestants during Kelpius's lifetime struggled to understand their changing climate and a seemingly eschatological cosmos, esoteric texts became crucial sources of meaning. Grieve-Carlson presents original translations of Kelpius's university writings, which have never been published in English, along with analyses and translations of other important sources from the period in German and Latin. Ultimately, American Aurora points toward a time and place when climate change caused an eruption of esoteric thought and practice-and how this moment has been largely forgotten.

With hundreds of photographs, many historical and never-before published, this beautiful book celebrates the lives of a community that had lived out its faith in spare yet splendid ways.

Tragedy in Aurora is about the 2012 murder of budding sports journalist Jessica (Jessi) Redfield Ghawi in a public mass shooting, and the widening circle of pain it inflicted on her family, friends, police, medical first responders, and others. The book is at the same time a deep examination of the causes and potential cures of the quintessential 21st century American sickness—public mass shootings. At the heart of that examination is an unpacking of America’s deep polarization and political gridlock. It addresses head on the question of why? Why is American gun violence so different from other countries? Why does nothing seem to change? The “Parkland kids” inspired hope of change. But the ultimate questions stubbornly remain—what should, what can, and what will Americans do to reduce gun violence? Tragedy in Aurora argues that the answer lies in a conscious cultural redefinition of American civic order. Over recent decades, America has defined a cultural “new normal” about guns and gun violence. Americans express formalistic dismay after every public mass shooting. But many accept gun violence as an inevitable, even necessary, and to some laudable part of what it means to be “American.” Although Americans claim to be shocked with each new outrage, so far they have failed to coalesce around an effective way to reduce gun death and injury. The debate is bogged down in polarized and profoundly ideological political and cultural argument. Meanwhile, America continues to lead the globe in its pandemic levels of gun deaths and injuries. Combined with the cynical “learned helplessness” of its politicians, the result is gridlock and a growing roll of victims of carnage. Is there a path out of this cultural and political gridlock? Tragedy in Aurora argues that if America is to reduce gun violence it must expand the debate and confront the fundamental question of “who are we?” Tom Diaz gives a new understanding of American culture and the potential for change offered by the growing number and ongoing organization of victims and survivors of gun violence. Without conscious cultural change, the book argues, there is little prospect of effective laws or public policy to reduce gun violence in general and public mass shootings in particular.

Read about the movie, Americanese, based on Shawn Wong's book, at: http://www.americanesethemovie.com

AuroraSweetmanSubtitled: The Pentagons Secret Hypersonic Spyplane.Forget the rumors. Sweetman has pieced together the evidence, sightings and black budgets to reveal the Mach-5 spyplane in the most detailed accountin print. Sixty photos, conceptual drawings and informed data not only point to the existence of th e plane but also tell how it works. Sftbd., 7 1/4x 9 1/4, 96 pgs., 54 bandw ill.

Aurora Leigh is an aspiring poet of independent spirit, rebelling against the stifling constraints of Victorian middle-class society and struggling for self expression. This story exposes the hypocrisy and repressive social attitudes of Victorian England.

Authoritative account written for the general reader.