The French writer Arnold van Gennep first called attention to the phenomena of status passages in his Rites of Passage one hundred years ago. In Status Passage, first published in 1971, the movement of individuals and groups in contemporary society from one status to another is examined in the light of Gennep's original theory. Glaser and Strauss demonstrate that society emerges as a comparative order. In this order, every organized action, collective or individual, can be seen as a form of status passage.From one status to another-from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, from being single to being married, movement from one income group, social class or religion to another-there are passages that entail movement into different parts of a social structure and loss or gain in privileges. Types of status passage are described by their proper ties. The authors present a formal theory of status passage in the form of a running theoretical discussion.The concepts and categories discussed in Status Passage are illuminated by a large number of examples chosen from a wide range of human behavior, and the applicability of the theory to still other examples is made apparent. The result is a stimulating and provocative book that will interest a wide range of sociologists, social psychologists, and other social scientists, and will be useful in a variety of courses.

* Winner of the first Barbara Savage Memorial Award * Stunning color photos of the journey * Look into the heart of the top of the world This is the story of two young couples who embarked on a free-form journey through Tibet, Nepal, China, India and Pakistan. Their goal: to circumnavigate the Himalayas by bike, foot, truck by any means necessary, the slope of the world's greatest mountain range their only guide. Along the way they experienced a region steeped in ancient tradition but permanently altered by its confrontation with the 20th century; they discovered all that is exotic and mundane, funny and tragic, and beautiful and brutal about this vast territory. Jeremy Schmidt's humorous, evocative narrative recounts bureaucrats, knife-wielding Khampas, lamas-in-training, and mystics of every stripe. With stunning photographs by Patrick Morrow, Himalayan Passage reveals a place imbued with meaning and reality far beyond anything in the world below: the mysterious, turbulent Himalayas, the gates to God. Also available in hardcover.

The Andromeda Strain meets The Stand in this startling and stunning thriller that brings to life a unique vision of the apocalypse and plays brilliantly with vampire mythology, revealing what becomes of human society when a top-secret government experiment spins wildly out of control. At an army research station in Colorado, an experiment is being conducted by the U.S. Government: twelve men are exposed to a virus meant to weaponize the human form by super-charging the immune system. But when the experiment goes terribly wrong, terror is unleashed. Amy, a young girl abandoned by her mother and set to be the thirteenth test subject, is rescued by Brad Wolgast, the FBI agent who has been tasked with handing her over, and together they escape to the mountains of Oregon. As civilization crumbles around them, Brad and Amy struggle to keep each other alive, clinging to hope and unable to comprehend the nightmare that approaches with great speed and no mercy. . .

Includes extra sessions.

One of those rare, unforgettable novels that are as chilling as they are insightful, as thought-provoking as they are terrifying, award-winning author Connie Willis's Passage is an astonishing blend of relentless suspense and cutting-edge science unlike anything you've ever read before. It is the electrifying story of a psychologist who has devoted her life to tracking death. But when she volunteers for a research project that simulates the near-death experience, she will either solve life's greatest mystery -- or fall victim to its greatest terror. At Mercy General Hospital, Dr. Joanna Lander will soon be paged -- not to save a life, but to interview a patient just back from the dead. A psychologist specializing in near-death experiences, Joanna has spent two years recording the experiences of those who have been declared clinically dead and lived to tell about it. It's research on the fringes of ordinary science, but Joanna is about to get a boost from an unexpected quarter. A new doctor has arrived at Mercy General, one with the power to give Joanna the chance to get as close to death as anyone can. A brilliant young neurologist, Dr. Richard Wright has come up with a way to manufacture the near-death experience using a psychoactive drug. Dr. Wright is convinced that the NDE is a survival mechanism and that if only doctors understood how it worked, they could someday delay the dying process, or maybe even reverse it. He can use the expertise of a psychologist of Joanna Lander's standing to lend credibility to his study. But he soon needs Joanna for more than just her reputation. When his key volunteer suddenly drops out of the study, Joanna finds herself offering to become Richard's next subject. After all, who better than she, a trained psychologist, to document the experience? Her first NDE is as fascinating as she imagined it would be -- so astounding that she knows she must go back, if only to find out why this place is so hauntingly familiar. But each time Joanna goes under, her sense of dread begins to grow, because part of her already knows why the experience is so familiar, and why she has every reason to be afraid.... And just when you think you know where she is going, Willis throws in the biggest surprise of all -- a shattering scenario that will keep you feverishly reading until the final climactic page is turned.

Humboldt offered the world a vision of humans & nature as integrated halves of a single whole. He espoused the idea that while the univerise of nature exists apart from human purpose, its beauty & order are human achievements. Laura Dassow Walls traces the emergence of this philosophy to Humboldt's 1799 journey to America.

Provides information on drug and alcohol use, shares the stories of families who have lived through addiction, and teaches readers how to navigate peer pressure and stress.

Volume 1 of The Caves of Thailand covers the eastern and north-eastern provinces of Amnat Charoen, Bueng Kan, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chonburi, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Loei, Mahasarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nong Bua LamPhu, Nong Khai, Prachinburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Sisaket, Surin, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani and Yasothon. Over 1,100 caves, rock shelters, stream sinks, resurgences and other sites of speleological interest are fully detailed, supported by 78 surveys and a bibliography with over 200 references.