A collection of letters written between Maria von Wedemeyer and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, while he was in prison before being executed for his part in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The letters written by Dietrich show his passionate and romantic side.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria von Wedemeyer came from urbane, highly educated families. By 1933, when Hitler came to power, Bonhoeffer had earned his doctorate, traveled widely, served a church in Spain, and had taken a position as lecturer and student chaplain at the University of Berlin. He was twenty-seven years old. Two days after Hitler's inauguration, Bonhoeffer preached a radio sermon condemning the German leader's policies. The transmission was interrupted. In 1935, Bonhoeffer was appointed head of an underground seminary at Finkenwalde. The Gestapo closed the school two years later, but Bonhoeffer's resistance activities continued. Bonhoeffer had met Maria von Wedemeyer years before, but when they became acquainted again in 1942 they fell in love. Shortly after their engagement in early 1943, he was arrested. Dietrich and Maria would never see each other again outside prison walls. But through their correspondence their relationship grew deeper, more affectionate, and more passionate. Volumes have been written about Bonhoeffer the theologian and martyr, but none of these works reveals the side of the man known by his fiancee. As we read these letters, we glimpse hopes, dreams, longings, and fears - and we witness a timeless love story.

A staggering love illuminating the dark corners of a Nazi prison Renowned German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is famous for his resistance to the Nazi regime and for his allegiance to God over government. But what few realize is that the last years of his life also held a love story that rivals any romance novel. Maria von Wedemeyer knows the realities of war. Her beloved father and brother have both been killed on the battlefield. The last thing this spirited young woman needs is to fall for a man under constant surveillance by the Gestapo. How can she give another piece of her heart to a man so likely to share the same final fate? Yet when Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an old family friend, comes to comfort the von Wedemeyers after their losses, she discovers that love isn't always logical. Dietrich himself has determined to keep his distance from romantic attachments. There is too much work to be done for God, and his involvement in the conspiracy is far too important. But when he encounters a woman whose intelligence and conviction match his own, he's unprepared for how easy it is to give away his heart. With their deep love comes risk--and neither Dietrich nor Maria is prepared for just how great that risk soon becomes. Based on detailed historical research, this true love story is at once beautiful and heartrending. My Dearest Dietrich sheds new light on a world-famous theologian . . . and the woman who changed his life.

"A ... memoir of love and faith from Hannah Brencher ... who has dedicated her life to showing total strangers that they are not alone in the world. Fresh out of college, Hannah Brencher moved to New York, expecting her life to look like a scene from Sex and the City. Instead, she found a city full of people who knew where they were going and what they were doing ... Lonely and depressed, she noticed a woman who looked like she felt the same way on the subway. Hannah did something strange--she wrote the woman a letter. She folded it, scribbled 'If you find this letter, it's for you...' on the front and left it behind. When she realized that it made her feel better, she started writing and leaving love notes all over the city ... [eventually sending 400 handwritten letters as a result of an Internet post and starting the website The World Needs More Love Letters]"--

A new look at a beloved classic film that explores the philosophical dynamics of Casablanca Celebrating its eightieth anniversary this year, Casablanca remains one of the world’s most enduringly favorite movies. It won three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is still commonly quoted: “We’ll always have Paris” and “Here’s looking at you, kid” And who can forget, “You must remember this...a kiss is just a kiss.” Yet no one expected much to come of this little film, certainly not its blockbuster stars or even the studio producing it. So how did this hastily cranked-out 1940s film, despite its many limitations, become one of the greatest films ever made? How is it that year after year, decade after decade, it continues to appear in the lists of the greatest movies ever produced? And why do audiences still weep when Rick and Ilsa part? The answer, according to Casablanca’s Conscience, is to paraphrase Rick, “It’s true.” Much has already been written about the film and the career-defining performances of Bogart and Bergman. Casablanca is an epic tale of love, betrayal, and sacrifice set against the backdrop of World War II. Yet decades later, it continues to capture the imagination of filmgoers. In Casablanca’s Conscience, author Robert Weldon Whalen explains why it still resonates so deeply. Applying a new lens to an old classic, Whalen focuses on the film’s timeless themes—Exile, Purgatory, Irony, Love, Resistance, and Memory. He then engages the fictional characters—Rick, Ilsa, and the others—against the philosophical and theological discourse of their real contemporaries, Hannah Arendt, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Albert Camus. The relationships between fictional and historical persons illuminate both the film’s era as well as perennial human concerns. Both the film and the work of the philosophers explore dimensions of the human experience, which, while extreme, are familiar to everyone. It’s the themes that resonate with the viewer, that have sustained it as an evergreen classic all these years.

Who better to face the greatest evil of the 20th century than a humble man of faith? As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and author. In this New York Times bestselling biography, Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer's life--the theologian and the spy--and draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil. In Bonhoeffer, Metaxas presents the fullest account of Bonhoeffer's life, including his: heart-wrenching decision to leave the safe haven of America to return to Hitler's Germany involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in "Operation 7," the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland lifelong dedication to sharing the tenets of his faith This edition, revised and with a new introduction from the author, shares the deeply moving story through previously unavailable documents, including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts to reveal never-before-seen dimensions of Bonhoeffer's life and work. Praise for Bonhoeffer: "Metaxas has created a biography of uncommon power--intelligent, moving, well researched, vividly written, and rich in implication for our own lives. Or to put it another way: Buy this book. Read it. Then buy another copy and give it to a person you love. It's that good." --Archbishop Charles Chaput, author, First Things "Metaxas tells Bonhoeffer's story with passion and theological sophistication." —Wall Street Journal "Metaxas presents Bonhoeffer as a clear-headed, deeply convicted Christian who submitted to no one and nothing except God and his Word." --Christianity Today "Metaxas has written a book that adds a new dimension to World War II, a new understanding of how evil can seize the soul of a nation and a man of faith can confront it." --Thomas Fleming, author, The New Dealers’ War

The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. This movie tie-in edition features cover art from the movie and exclusive Q&A with members of the cast, including Taylor Swift, Brenton Thwaites and Cameron Monaghan.

A tale as old as time is made new in Ashley Poston's fresh, geeky retelling of Beauty and the Beast—now with a bonus Starfield story! Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills. On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he’s forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read. When Vance’s and Rosie’s paths collide, sparks do not fly. But as they begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

Prince Jones, a self-professed teen love doctor known for his radio segment on the local hip-hop station, believes he can get the bookish, anti-romance Dani Ford to fall in love with him in three dates.