This pioneering volume of essays explores the destruction of great libraries since ancient times and examines the intellectual, political and cultural consequences of loss. Fourteen original contributions, introduced by a major re-evaluative history of lost libraries, offer the first ever comparative discussion of the greatest catastrophes in book history from Mesopotamia and Alexandria to the dispersal of monastic and monarchical book collections, the Nazi destruction of Jewish libraries, and the recent horrifying pillage and burning of books in Tibet, Bosnia and Iraq.

A comprehensive resource by one of the world's most respected Ayurveda experts Ayurveda is the art of good life and gentle healing. It is a holistic system of medicine that includes prevention, psychology, diet, and treatment. Join Hans H. Rhyner, a leading authority on Ayurveda, as he explores the principles, therapies, and collected knowledge of this powerful approach to health and wellbeing, including: Anatomical Aspects (Rachana Sharira) Evolutionary Physiology (Kriya Sharira) Constitution (Prakruti) Pathology (Samprapti) Diagnostics (Nidana) Pharmacology (Dravya Guna) Treatment Strategies (Chikitsa) Nutritional Sciences (Annavijnana) Preventative Medicine (Swasthavritta) Quintet of Therapeutics (Panchakarma) Clinical Applications Filled with natural treatment suggestions and herbal remedies for dozens of conditions, Llewellyn's Complete Book of Ayurveda provides detailed explanations of the most important topics in the field, such as: The Legend of Ayurveda Creation and Evolution (Sankhya) Logic and Analysis (Nyaya-Vaisheshika) Yoga The Channel System (Srota) Vital Points (Marma) Seven Basic Tissues (Sapta Dhatus) Biological Fire (Agni) Toxic Wastes (Ama) Somatic Constitution Psychic Constitution Causes of Disease (Nidana) Six Stages of Pathogenesis (Kriya Kala) Observation and Examination Principles of Treatment Acupuncture and Moxibustion Eight Considerations on Food Diet for Your Constitution Kitchen Pharmacy Daily Healthy Habits (Dinacarya) Rules for Different Seasons (Rutacarya) Ethical Life (Sadvritta) Purificatory Treatments (Pradhanakarma) Dietetics (Pascat Karma) Ethics Spirituality in Psychotherapy (Vedanta) Ayurveda Surgery Ayurveda Psychiatry Vastu-Vedic Geomancy Medical Astrology And Much More

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An urgent wake-up call about the future of emerging viruses and a gripping account of the doctors and scientists fighting to protect us, told through the story of the deadly 2013–2014 Ebola epidemic “Crisis in the Red Zone reads like a thriller. That the story it tells is all true makes it all more terrifying.”—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction From the #1 bestselling author of The Hot Zone, now a National Geographic original miniseries . . . This time, Ebola started with a two-year-old child who likely had contact with a wild creature and whose entire family quickly fell ill and died. The ensuing global drama activated health professionals in North America, Europe, and Africa in a desperate race against time to contain the viral wildfire. By the end—as the virus mutated into its deadliest form, and spread farther and faster than ever before—30,000 people would be infected, and the dead would be spread across eight countries on three continents. In this taut and suspenseful medical drama, Richard Preston deeply chronicles the pandemic, in which we saw for the first time the specter of Ebola jumping continents, crossing the Atlantic, and infecting people in America. Rich in characters and conflict—physical, emotional, and ethical—Crisis in the Red Zone is an immersion in one of the great public health calamities of our time. Preston writes of doctors and nurses in the field putting their own lives on the line, of government bureaucrats and NGO administrators moving, often fitfully, to try to contain the outbreak, and of pharmaceutical companies racing to develop drugs to combat the virus. He also explores the charged ethical dilemma over who should and did receive the rare doses of an experimental treatment when they became available at the peak of the disaster. Crisis in the Red Zone makes clear that the outbreak of 2013–2014 is a harbinger of further, more severe outbreaks, and of emerging viruses heretofore unimagined—in any country, on any continent. In our ever more interconnected world, with roads and towns cut deep into the jungles of equatorial Africa, viruses both familiar and undiscovered are being unleashed into more densely populated areas than ever before. The more we discover about the virosphere, the more we realize its deadly potential. Crisis in the Red Zone is an exquisitely timely book, a stark warning of viral outbreaks to come.

A town under quarantine during the 1918 flu epidemic must reckon with forces beyond their control in a powerful, sweeping novel of morality in a time of upheaval “An American variation on Albert Camus’ The Plague.”—Chicago Tribune NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY USA TODAY AND CHICAGO TRIBUNE • WINNER OF THE JAMES FENIMORE COOPER PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION Deep in the mist-shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest is a small mill town called Commonwealth, conceived as a haven for workers weary of exploitation. For Philip Worthy, the adopted son of the town’s founder, it is a haven in another sense—as the first place in his life he’s had a loving family to call his own. And yet, the ideals that define this outpost are being threatened from all sides. A world war is raging, and with the fear of spies rampant, the loyalty of all Americans is coming under scrutiny. Meanwhile, another shadow has fallen across the region in the form of a deadly virus striking down vast swaths of surrounding communities. When Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against contagion, guards are posted at the single road leading in and out of town, and Philip Worthy is among them. He will be unlucky enough to be on duty when a cold, hungry, tired—and apparently ill—soldier presents himself at the town’s doorstep begging for sanctuary. The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value—love, patriotism, community, family, friendship—not to mention the town’s very survival, is imperiled. Inspired by a little-known historical footnote regarding towns that quarantined themselves during the 1918 epidemic, The Last Town on Earth is a remarkably moving and accomplished debut.