Maya and the Great Light is the story of how one girl, caught up in a dystopian future, survives with her faith intact, despite having to endure terrible loss and adversity. Her journey takes her through hostile, gang-controlled territory, where only physical strength is valued, to a secure but shallow society where appearance and the acquisition of power and wealth are treasured above all else. When that society is then conquered by a nation that sees little value in people, other than how much they could be worked before requiring disposal, can she go against all her instincts and abandon those she loves, to instead allow the wisdom of the Great Light to guide her? Good people of all faiths should find encouragement in her story, as doing what is right, as opposed to what one wants, is a universal struggle.

"The bold story of Maya Lin, the artist-architect who designed the Vietnam War Memorial"--

Level up your skills with powerful texturing and lighting techniques Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition leads you through the latest advanced techniques for adding realistic detail to your models. This new edition is up-to-date with the latest Maya texturing, lighting, and rendering features, including an exploration of the Node Editor, new Maya utility nodes and expanded coverage of mental ray shaders, and render settings. The proven tutorials are culled from real-world experience and refined to give you the ultimate in practical skills. You'll learn workflow tips and tricks, the construction of custom shading networks, and the application of time-saving tools that bring your project from concept to reality. The companion website features several gigabytes of Maya scene files, texture bitmaps, and QuickTime movies that support the exercises in the book, giving you everything you need to advance your animation skillset. This book helps you take your rendering skills to the next level with the advanced tools and techniques that take animation from good to great. Learn the theory behind expert lighting design Understand shadows, shading components, and texture mapping Work with node networks, raytracing, and global illumination Try new approaches to rendering using Maya Software and mental ray If you're ready to take a big step forward and fine-tune your style, Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition is the practical, hands-on guide you need.

This is the first complete version in English of the "Book of the People" of the Quiche Maya, the most powerful nation of the Guatemalan highlands in pre-Conquest times and a branch of the ancient Maya, whose remarkable civilization in pre-Columbian America is in many ways comparable to the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean. Generally regarded as America's oldest book, the Popol Vuh, in fact, corresponds to our Christian Bible, and it is, moreover, the most important of the five pieces of the great library treasures of the Maya that survived the Spanish Conquest. The Popol Vuh was first transcribed in the Quiche language, ·but in Latin characters, in the middle of the sixteenth century, by some unknown but highly literate Quiche Maya Indian-probably from the oral traditions of his people. This now lost manuscript was copied at the end of the seventeenth century by Father Francisco Ximénez, then parish priest of the village of Santo Tomás Chichicastenango in the highlands of Guatemala, today the most celebrated and best-known Indian town in all of Central America. The mythology, traditions, cosmogony, and history of the Quiché Maya, including the chronology of their kings down to 1550, are related in simple yet literary style by the Indian chronicler. And Adrian Recinos has made a valuable contribution to the understanding and enjoyment of the document through his thorough going introduction and his identification of places and people in the footnotes.

Tirumantiram is one of the seminal texts of Saiva Siddhanta which has powerfully influenced millions of southern Indians for generations. Its author, Tirumular, was a legendary yogi who through his famous mantra ‘God is Love’ preaches that God is one and so is mankind. A Tamil classic of 3047 verses, Tirumantiram is categorised under 9 Tantras and each Tantra into chapters. The introduction gives a bird’s eye view of the text and detailed notes on Tirumular, Saiva Siddhanta and the Tantras. Apart from its literary merits, the book blazes a number of spiritual trails brimming with devotion. This English translation, along with some of the notes, are by Dr. B. Natarajan, a profound Tamil scholar. Sri M. Sundararaj has written a commentary incorporated in the introduction and some of the notes. Dr N. Mahalingam is the General Editor of the book. This book is meant for students of Saivism and devotional literature all over the world.

One of the most extraordinary works of the human imagination and the most important text in the native languages of the Americas, Popul Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life was first made accessible to the public 10 years ago. This new edition retains the quality of the original translation, has been enriched, and includes 20 new illustrations, maps, drawings, and photos.

The world reels from a shocking assassination. The Aelarian Empire is cracking. From the ashes of a burnt world, warlords, barbarians, and rebels emerge to claim the remains. Outside the walls of Aelar, different factions converge. Tribal warriors prepare to shatter the gates. Valentina, a senator's daughter, seeks to enter the city and rebuild the Republic. Prince Seneca, the last scion of a mighty house, battles his rivals to the throne and strives to hold the Empire together. Meanwhile, within the walls, dark magic and conspiracies brew. In the distant desert, the kingdom of Zohar crumbles. The Empire musters to grind Zohar's cities into dust. Epher, King of Zohar, and his sister Maya, a powerful magic-user, fight desperately to defeat the Empire's legions. Yet their greatest enemy might be the mysterious, shadowy figure that roams their ancient land. In smoldering battlefields, crows feast and humans squabble for the last shreds of power. Yet can the splendor of past glory ever shine again, or will the final victors rule from halls of shadow?

Game of Thrones meets Spartacus in an epic saga of sand and splendor. This bundle contains the first three novels of Kingdoms of Sand, a fantasy series from a USA Today bestselling author. That's over 1,000 pages of battles, intrigue, and magic. Sweeping from snowy forests to cruel deserts, from bazaars of wonder to fields of war, here is a tale of legionaries and lepers, priests and paupers, kings and crows. Here a girl travels across endless dunes, seeking magic; a cruel prince struggles to claim a bloodstained throne; and a young soldier fights to hold back an overwhelming host. The fate of all civilization stands upon a knife's edge, for under the storm of war, even the greatest nations are but kingdoms of sand.