Originally published in Poland in 1948, and acclaimed as one of the finest postwar Polish novels, Ashes and Diamonds takes place in the spring of 1945, as the nation is in the throes of its transformation to People' Poland. Communists, socialists, and nationalists; thieves and black marketeers; servants and fading aristocrats; veteran terrorists and bands of murderous children bewitched by the lure of crime and adventure--all of these converge on a provincial town's chief hotel, a microcosm of an uprooted world.

THE FINCH FAMILY did not know that five refugees landed from Africa on the day they went to the airport to welcome the family sponsored by their church. The Finch family only knew about the four refugees they were meeting - Andre, Celestine, Mattu, and Alake - mother, father, teenage son and daughter.Soon Jared realizes that the good guys are not always innocent, and he must make a decision that could change the fate of both families. This story presents many points of view and a fresh perspective on doing the right thing.

The culture of burial and mourning is presently in a state of flux. The idea of using the cremated remains of loved ones to form jewelry no longer belongs to the realm of science fiction but has become a fact of modern life. Today, many countries are open to allowing the ashes of the dead to be turned into ornamental objects. Technically, this produces remembrance artifacts representing the dead. The new aspect is that the mortal remains continue to exist after death in the form of such an artifact, for which previous burial culture has no precedent. How do such "ash diamonds" figure into the mourning process? How do relatives deal with this phenomenon? What is the role of esthetics? How does the social environment react to this "metamorphosis"? And does this represent the renewal of the idea of relics? This book is based on interviews held with persons who decided to go this route of remembering their deceased loved ones. The authors also visited the production facilities of these precious stones, talked with experts about the process, and attended the delivery rituals. In addition to practical, theological, and sociological assessments, the volume includes case studies that provide a forum for those concerned to voice their opinions.

With 'The Proposal' Magid attempts to bring together Barragán's professional and personal archives by probing the architect's official and private selves, and the interests of various individuals and governmental and corporate entities who have become the archives? guardians. Magid, with permission of the Barragán family, commissioned a small amount of Barragán's cremated remains to be transformed into a diamond. The stone, set in a gold ring, was offered to Zanco in exchange for the return of the professional archive to Mexico. Magid's artwork directly engages the intersections of the psychological and the judicial, national identity and repatriation, international property rights and copyright law, authorship and ownership, the human body and the body of work

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Merci Suarez in this smart young middle-grade mystery about a diamond gone missing from the Louvre and the sweet and spunky girl who cracks the case.

Werner Herzog came to fame in the 1970s as the European new wave explored new cinematic ideas. With films like Signs of Life (1968); Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972); The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974); and Fitzcarraldo (1982), Herzog became the subject of public debate, particularly due to his larger than life characters, often played by the wild Klaus Kinski. After the success of his documentary Grizzly Man (2005), Herzog became a leading force in a new form of hybrid documentary, and his tough attitude toward life and film made him a director’s director for a new generation of aspiring filmmakers. Kristoffer Hegnsvad’s award-winning book guides the reader through films depicting gangster priests, bear whisperers, shoe eating, revolutionary filmmakers . . . and a penguin. It is full of rare insights from Herzog’s otherwise secretive Rogue Film School, and features interviews with Herzog.

Diamonds from the King is a book of stories. Stories from the life of an ordinary Christian who loves God and is looking to find Him in her everyday life. Stories of God intervening miraculously to bring hope from disappointment and to teach about promise and identity. Stories of God coming through in the hardest of circumstances and bringing jewels out of tragedy and challenge. The diamonds of the title are the beautiful truths that God has given her through her different life experiences, transforming that which seemed useless into something precious. You will be encouraged as you read this to look for the diamonds that God has been developing in your own life as you share in the truths that He has taught her. With reflection questions at the end of each chapter, this is a book that will become your story as well.