I want a quiet life from now on. And I don't want to fall in love…. I think I shall do better to stay away from affairs of the heart. One can be so hurt. I don't want to go through that again. Ninian Whitmead, almost forty years old, has already loved deeply, then lost once in his life. He has resigned himself to life alone on his seaside Cornish estate, Polmawgan House, without wife or family. But he is not prepared for the ship­wreck of a Courteen pirate ship off the coast of Cornwall that leaves Parvati, a young Indian girl, stranded in a foreign land as its only survivor. At first out of charity, then out of growing affection, Ninian takes the lost girl into his home, and when his attachment deepens to love, he marries her and they have a son. Though Parvati adopts a Christian name and is baptized into the Anglican church, their solemn Puritan community finds her foreign blood and unfamiliar customs unacceptable. As the stirrings of Civil War in England increase, tragedy seems imminent. Anand's fourth radiant installment in The Bridge Over Time series follows the Whitmead family through the political and religious tumult of the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution. The Faithful Lovers “Valerie Anand has been building a remarkable body of work, a series of historical novels that have recreated England’s history both accurately and vividly.”—The Anniston Star

"A short story collection by renowned writer Massimo Bontempelli. From a young boy's memorable encounter with a pair of ghostly lovers, to an elderly woman's unsettling final bequest, these powerful stories illuminate Bontempelli's belief that the wonders of the world can be found all around us, dwelling within the realm of the everyday." from publisher

Dead Lovers Are Faithful Lovers is a tale of stifling passions, marital infidelity, and the empty conventionality of relations between the sexes in Jazz Age America. Set mainly in Atlanta and Richmond, its minimal plot unfolds through a stream-of-consciousness rendering of the thoughts and emotions of two women in love with the same man.

Despite all of his acknowledged greatness, almost no one reads Edmund Spenser (1552-99) anymore. Roy Maynard takes the first book of the 'Faerie Queene, ' exploring the concept of Holiness with the character of the Redcross Knight, and makes Spenser accessible again. He does this not by dumbing it down, but by deftly modernizing the spelling, explaining the obscurities in clever asides, and cuing the reader towards the right response. In today's cultural, aesthetic, and educational wars, Spenser is a mighty ally for twenty-first century Christians. Maynard proves himself a worthy mediator between Spenser's time and ours. (Gene Edward Veith)

More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups present a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. “This fine, valuable new gathering of ... tales is truly alive, mysterious, and wonderful—overflowing, that is, with wonder, mystery and life" (National Book Award Winner Peter Matthiessen). In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices.

On December 26, 2004, a massive tsunami triggered by an underwater earthquake pummeled the coasts of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and other countries along the Indian Ocean. With casualties as far away as Africa, the aftermath was overwhelming: ships could be spotted miles inland; cars floated in the ocean; legions of the unidentified dead -- an estimated 225,000 -- were buried in mass graves; relief organizations struggled to reach rural areas and provide adequate aid for survivors. Shortly after this disaster, researchers from around the world traveled to the region's most devastated areas, observing and documenting the tsunami's impact. The Indian Ocean Tsunami: The Global Response to a Natural Disaster offers the first analysis of the response and recovery effort. Editors Pradyumna P. Karan and S. Subbiah, employing an interdisciplinary approach, have assembled an international team of top geographers, geologists, anthropologists, and political scientists to study the environmental, economic, and political effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The volume includes chapters that address the tsunami's geo-environmental impact on coastal ecosystems and groundwater systems. Other chapters offer sociocultural perspectives on religious power relations in South India and suggest ways to improve government agencies' response systems for natural disasters. A clear and definitive analysis of the second deadliest natural disaster on record, The Indian Ocean Tsunami will be of interest to environmentalists and political scientists alike, as well as to planners and administrators of disaster-preparedness programs.

Like many young women in fifteenth- century England, Susannah Whitmead is sent away from home to be educated. Born of yeomen, Susannah's mother wants her only daughter to be raised a lady. But Susannah, who finds life at Hurleigh House to be horribly regulated, longs for home. One of her few comforts is a keepsake, a small badge with a curious design consisting of curved lines arching over wavy ones like a stylized bridge across a river. She is not sure of the badge's origins, but keeps it close to her as a link to her family. Susannah is married off to Sir James Weston of Ashdon manor. Although she doesn't love him, he is kind, and she falls in love instead with his house—a house she will fight to keep through the war, death, and treachery that surround her. Valerie Anand continues the intri­cate weave of history, politics, and passion in Women of Ashdon, the third novel in the acclaimed Bridges Over Time series. “Valerie Anand has been building a remarkable body of work, a series of historical novels that have recreated England’s history both accurately and vividly.” —The Anniston Star