Scholars and the faithful have many honest differences about the authorship and authenticity of the Gospel stories. Were they revealed by God? Were they shaped, edited, and chosen by those who survived persecution and eventually organized the church? What might have been omitted from among all the events—known and unknown—that swirled around Jesus’ short life? This novel reimagines key aspects of the life of Jesus using sixteen “tales” told by minor characters mentioned or implied in the Bible. These witnesses tell of his birth, the development of his belief system, and their own roles in the miracles that later became glorified in the Bible. What emerges is Jesus’ humanistic ethic—compassion for the poor and marginal, primacy of love over hate and power, and essential worth of both sexes. The novel imagines conversations Jesus might have had with these witnesses, with his doubts, humility, and faith displayed in terms we might understand today. These forgotten stories help him emerge from the shadows as the true Son of Man.

Come travel back in time with me to explore the stories of the forgotten. From suicides to drownings, accidents and natural deaths to unsolved murders, these fatalities occurred under the most bizarre and mysterious circumstances. From chapter to chapter, you will delve into each story with their own tumultuous twists and turns. Find out what really happened to Octavia Hatcher and Julia Legare, both rumored to have been buried alive. Read the details of the three equally mysterious drownings of Alida Ghirardelli, Ella Newton, and Agnes Jaycoax. Be shocked by the story of Rose De Fabrizio, the young bride who collapsed while walking up the steps of the church to be married. Find out the truth behind Savannah's own mystery encircling the life and death of Corinne Elliott Lawton. In San Diego County, let me show you the facts surrounding the Hotel Del Coronado's "Beautiful Stranger," as well as the puzzling account of Emma LeDoux, the infamous Black Widow of Amador County, and many more. Besides these narratives, I have covered many popular urban legends known throughout the country. See how I reveal the truth behind Burrillville, Rhode Island's more recent folklore encompassing the tale of Bathsheba Sherman. Take a closer look at the origins of other urban legends within Niles Canyon, located near Fremont, California. In each case, I present to you a thoroughly researched accounting of every story. This allows you to draw your own conclusions, and find out where many of their graves can be found in cemeteries within the United States.

Join pastor and bestselling author Charles Swindoll as he explores the lives of 13 biblical hidden figures whose stories have remained in the shadows of history for long enough. Somehow life has taught us poorly. We're trained to think that the most significant people are star athletes, actors, and musicians--the ones we applaud, those whose autographs we seek, or those who have worldly fame. But Swindoll teaches us that most often, the people really worth noting are those who turn from a 'nobody' into a 'somebody' but never receive credit. Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives reminds us of a core truth: success in God's kingdom and in the church depends upon faithful people the public rarely knows. The Old Testament contains numerous fascinating stories of forgotten lives--unsung heroes whose actions, sacrifices, or battles failed to ascribe them worldly applause. These great lives, however, reveal significant people whom God honors in the pages of His Word and, therefore, deserve our serious attention and emulation. From the misfortunes of Esau to the bravery of Abigail, each of these unlikely heroes has four unique elements in common: A selfless sense of devotion A mission A love of harmony A contagious joy Join Swindoll in this eighth volume of the bestselling Great Lives from God's Word series as he examines little-remembered Bible characters and events, helping you discover biblical principles and practical applications for living so that you can be who you already are in God's eyes--a person of true significance.

The gripping and elegiac stories of eight lost books, and the mysterious circumstances behind their disappearances. They exist as a rumour or a fading memory. They vanished from history leaving scarcely a trace, lost to fire, censorship, theft, war or deliberate destruction, yet those who seek them are convinced they will find them. This is the story of one man's quest for eight mysterious lost books. Taking us from Florence to Regency London, the Russian Steppe to British Columbia, Giorgio van Straten unearths stories of infamy and tragedy, glimmers of hope and bitter twists of fate. There are, among others, the rediscovered masterpiece that he read but failed to save from destruction; the Hemingway novel that vanished in a suitcase at the Gare du Lyon; the memoirs of Lord Byron, burnt to avoid a scandal; the Magnum Opus of Bruno Schulz, disappeared along with its author in wartime Poland; the mythical Sylvia Plath novel that may one day become reality. As gripping as a detective novel, as moving as an elegy, this is the tale of a love affair with the impossible, of the things that slip away from us but which, sometimes, live again in the stories we tell.

In this provocative, bitingly funny debut collection, people attempt to use technology to escape their uncontrollable feelings of grief or rage or despair, only to reveal their most flawed and human selves An architect draws questionable inspiration from her daughter’s birth defect. A content moderator for “the world’s biggest search engine,” who spends her days culling videos of beheadings and suicides, turns from stalking her rapist online to following him in real life. At a camp for recovering internet trolls, a sensitive misfit goes missing. A wounded mother raises the second incarnation of her child. In You Will Never Be Forgotten, Mary South explores how technology can both collapse our relationships from within and provide opportunities for genuine connection. Formally inventive, darkly absurdist, savagely critical of the increasingly fraught cultural climates we inhabit, these ten stories also find hope in fleeting interactions and moments of tenderness. They reveal our grotesque selfishness and our intense need for love and acceptance, and the psychic pain that either shuts us off or allows us to discover our deepest reaches of empathy. This incendiary debut marks the arrival of a perceptive, idiosyncratic, instantly recognizable voice in fiction—one that could only belong to Mary South.

Hidden gems from Chicago’s past Tales of Forgotten Chicago contains twenty-one fascinating, little-known stories about a great city and its people. Richard C. Lindberg has dug deeply to reveal lost historical events and hidden gems from Chicago’s past. Spanning the Civil War through the 1960s, the volume showcases forgotten crimes, punishments, and consequences: poisoned soup that nearly killed three hundred leading citizens, politicians, and business and religious leaders; a woman in showbiz and her street-thug husband whose checkered lives inspired a 1955 James Cagney movie; and the first police woman in Chicago, hired as a result of the senseless killing of a young factory girl in a racially tinged case of the 1880s. Also included are tales of industry and invention, such as America’s first automobile race, the haunting of a wealthy Gilded Age manufacturer’s mansion, and the identity of the telephone’s rightful inventor. Chapters on the history of early city landmarks spotlight the fight to save Lakefront Park and how “Lucky” Charlie Weeghman’s north side baseball park became Wrigley Field. Other chapters explore civic, cultural, and political happenings: the great Railroad Fairs of 1948 and 1949; Richard J. Daley’s revival of the St. Patrick’s Day parade; political disrupter Lar “America First” Daly; and the founding of the Special Olympics in Chicago by Anne Burke and others. Finally, some are just wonderful tales, such asa touching story about the sinking of Chicago's beloved Christmas tree ship. Engrossing and imaginative, this collection opens new windows into the past of the Windy City.

I opened the box with hundreds of unknown, unsolved and forgotten stories. Every one of them is unique and I don't want to believe that they are true, but with every story I read for this stupid job, the thought that all these creatures and supernatural sightings aren't the fruits of sick imaginations, grows bigger and bigger...

“Well written fantasy with strong character emphasis and empathy” from the author of the sci-fi classic Escape to Witch Mountain (Kirkus Reviews). At night, Little Jon’s people go out to watch the stars. Mesmerized by a meteor shower, he forgets to watch his step and falls through a moss-covered door to another land: America. He awakes hurt, his memory gone, sure only that he does not belong here. Captured by a hunter, Jon escapes by leaping six feet over a barbed-wire fence. Hungry and alone, he staggers through the darkness and is about to be caught when he is rescued by a kind family known as the Beans. They shelter him, feed him, and teach him about his new home. In return, he will change their lives forever. Although the Beans are kind to Little Jon, the townspeople mistrust the mysterious visitor. But Jon has untold powers, and as he learns to harness them, he will show his newfound friends that they have no reason to be afraid.

In a tropical island empire where wealth defines worth, a troubled mercenary and a dying magnate's nightmares hold the keys to preventing a catastrophe.

A contemporary and provocative examination of the life of the Buddha highlighting the influence of women from his journey to awakening through his teaching career--based on overlooked or neglected stories from ancient source material. In this retelling of the ancient legends of the women in the Buddha’s intimate circle, lesser-known stories from Sanskrit and Pali sources are for the first time woven into an illuminating, coherent narrative that follows his life from his birth to his parinirvana or death. Interspersed with original insights, fresh interpretations, and bold challenges to the status quo, the stories are both entertaining and thought-provoking—some may even appear controversial. Focusing first on laywomen from the time before the Buddha’s enlightenment—his birth mother and stepmother, his co-wives, and members of his harem when he was known as Prince Siddhartha—then moving on to the Buddha’s first female disciples, early nuns, and to female patrons, Wendy Garling invites us to open our minds to a new understanding of their roles.