Devastated that his wife and writing partner of 25 years left him on the eve of the new millennium, Lionel Rolfe set pen to paper in an attempt to make sense of the dance between men and women. But, as he began writing, a deeper understanding took hold the Grim Reaper stopped by. And not just once, but again and again. The deaths of Carl Kessler, the unrepentant Stalinist and trade union organizer, and Nieson Himmel, a close friend and veteran nighttime police reporter for the Los Angeles Times, hit him hard. But it was the death of Rolfe's uncle, the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin, that turned his life upside down. In the end, the emotional ordeal was a blessing in disguise. After all, without it, the world would not have DEATH AND REDEMPTION IN LONDON & L.A. an engrossing tale of one mans search for redemption in the only place it has ever been found within the soul. Come along with the author as he strives to deal with a life half-lived and dreams perpetually deferred. Youll laugh, youll cry. But most of all, youll see the world through the eyes of a man truly in touch with his sensibilities; a man wholl change your worldview forever.

With the Vice President's recent death and President DeWitt's health worsening by the day, the precarious balance of power between the Democratic President and a Republican-controlled Congress has moved to the right. Albert Wantner, the politically shrewd Speaker of the House, will ascend to the Presidency if the ill and elderly President dies before a new "veep" is appointed. For this reason, Wantner plans to delay Congressional approval of any candidate, and the President realizes that he must choose a person so politically pure that the public will clamor for his confirmation and punish Wantner for any delay. Enter Roberto Huerta, a disillusioned first-term, Democtratic congressman from Texas, who recently became American's newest celebrity by rescuing a woman from an assault by Washington street thugs. After some soul searching, Huerta accepts the President's offer, and a bitter - but ultimately successful - bid for Congressional approval takes place. Soon after Huerta is sworn in, the President drops a bombshell in a speech to a joint session of Congress, leaving a frightened and somewhat astonished Huerta struggling to establish a Capra-esque executive branch that is truly directed "...by the people...".

This title was first published in 2003: Death Liturgy and Ritual is a two-volume study of Christian funerary theology and practice, presenting an invaluable account of funeral rites and the central issues involved for compilers and users. Paul Sheppy writes from direct experience of conducting funerals and of drafting liturgical resources for others. In Volume I: A Pastoral and Liturgical Theology, Sheppy argues that the Church ought to construct its theological agenda in dialogue with other fields of study. He proposes a Christian statement about death that finds its basis in the Paschal Mystery, since human death must be explained by reference to Jesus' death, descent to the dead, and resurrection. Using the three phases of van Gennep's theory of rites of passage, the author shows how the Easter triduum may be seen as normative for Christian liturgies of death. The companion volume, Volume II: A Commentary on Liturgical Texts, reviews a wide range of current Christian funeral rites and examines how they reflect both the Church's concern for the death and resurrection of Christ and the contemporary secular demand for funerals which celebrate the life of the deceased.

Publisher Description

This interdisciplinary study follows an international and ecumenical meeting of twenty-one scholars held in New York at Easter 2003: the Redemption Summit. After an opening chapter, which explores seven central questions for writers on redemption, five chapters are dedicated to the scriptural roots of the doctrine. A section on the patristic and medieval periods then examines the interpretation of redemption through the centuries. The volume moves on to foundational and systematic issues: the problem of horrendous evil, karma and grace, and differing views on justification. Studies on the redemption in literature, art, music, and preaching form the final part. There is a fruitful dialogue between experts in a wide range of areas and the international reputation of the participants reflects and guarantees the high quality of this joint work. The result is a well researched, skilfully argued, and, at times, provocative volume on the central Christian belief: the redemption of human beings through Jesus Christ.

The Companion to Historiography is an original analysis of the moods and trends in historical writing throughout its phases of development and explores the assumptions and procedures that have formed the creation of historical perspectives. Contributed by a distinguished panel of academics, each essay conveys in direct, jargon-free language a genuinely international, wide-angled view of the ideas, traditions and institutions that lie behind the contemporary urgency of world history.