Methodism was Born in Crisis. It was a religious response to political polarization, ecclesiastical lethargy, classism and privilege, wage slavery and economic disparity, as well as to prejudice, inequality, and exclusion based on gender and race. Among the crises that convulsed Georgian England were: 1) the debilitating effects of the political use of religious authority; 2) the challenges of keeping faith in an age of science and reason; 3) the decline of "main line" religion; 4) the painful and oppressive impact of class privilege; 5) the inequities caused by dramatic economic disparity; 6) the hopelessness of wage slavery; 7) the devaluing and structural exclusion of women; 8) racial prejudice, and the systematic oppression non-white people; 9) the social crisis caused by religious prejudice; and 10) the debilitating effects of popular culture and its pastimes. The current volume traces how each of these historic crises drew from the early Methodists theological, spiritual, moral, and organizational impulses that became part of their spiritual DNA and left them with family traits that have come down to us in this very day. In a subsequent volume, Shaped by Controversy, eight of the main internal struggles that caused familial strife within the Methodist tradition will be examined and assessed. Taken together, these volumes are like a "distant mirror" with which Methodists and other modern Christians might take a good look at themselves. As such this is an invitation to hope anew and for Methodists as well as Christians of all backgrounds to consider who they are and what they intend be for Jesus Christ in the world.

Methodism was Born in Crisis. It was a religious response to political polarization, ecclesiastical lethargy, classism and privilege, wage slavery and economic disparity, as well as to prejudice, inequality, and exclusion based on gender and race. Among the crises that convulsed Georgian England were: 1) the debilitating effects of the political use of religious authority; 2) the challenges of keeping faith in an age of science and reason; 3) the decline of “main line” religion; 4) the painful and oppressive impact of class privilege; 5) the inequities caused by dramatic economic disparity; 6) the hopelessness of wage slavery; 7) the devaluing and structural exclusion of women; 8) racial prejudice, and the systematic oppression non-white people; 9) the social crisis caused by religious prejudice; and 10) the debilitating effects of popular culture and its pastimes. The current volume traces how each of these historic crises drew from the early Methodists theological, spiritual, moral, and organizational impulses that became part of their spiritual DNA and left them with family traits that have come down to us in this very day. In a subsequent volume, Shaped by Controversy, eight of the main internal struggles that caused familial strife within the Methodist tradition will be examined and assessed. Taken together, these volumes are like a “distant mirror” with which Methodists and other modern Christians might take a good look at themselves. As such this is an invitation to hope anew and for Methodists as well as Christians of all backgrounds to consider who they are and what they intend be for Jesus Christ in the world.

This second installment of the Methodist story, Shaped by Controversy, examines eight of the major controversies that epitomize aspects of Methodism’s inter-family dialogue and trauma. These theological, ecclesial, and ethical controversies tried the values, tested the patience, and strained our familial relationships. Ultimately they divided the Methodist movement. Ironically, controversy was often rooted in something that was good and right about the Methodist movement—a commitment to addressing what had somehow gotten out of balance and become destructive. Internal struggles over matters related to class, economic status, gender, and race shook Methodism precisely because the inclusion of all people from diverse backgrounds and walks of life was a foundational aspect of the early Methodism. Contentious controversies have revolved around matters like: 1) the nature of spiritual life, faith, and good works; 2) predestination and the nature Christian assurance of salvation; 3) the difficulties of living out Christian Perfection in a world full of imperfect people; 4) the pain and trauma of ecclesiastical separation; 5) women’s leadership in the church; 6) the debilitating effects of racism and segregation; 7) governance and shared leadership; and 8) the affirmation and full inclusion of LGBTQ people. These controversies within the church family have challenged and pained Methodists deeply. They have also forced Methodists to examine their own priorities and clarify what matters most to them. How the Methodists responded to these controversies, for good or for ill, has shaped the identity of the Methodists as people of faith. Hopefully, both guidance and encouragement can be found in this history because the past is often like a distant mirror that reflects very clearly upon lives lived today.

This definitive analysis of the Lincoln-Douglas debates is “one of the most influential works of American history and political philosophy ever published (National Review). In Crisis of the House Divided, noted conservative scholar and historian Harry V. Jaffa illuminates the political principles that guided Abraham Lincoln from his reentry into politics in 1854 through his Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas in 1858. Through critical analysis of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Jaffa demonstrates that Lincoln’s political career was grounded in his commitment to constitutionalism, the rule of law, and abolition. A landmark work of American history, it “has shaped the thought of a generation of Abraham Lincoln and Civil War scholars." To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the original publication, Jaffa has provided a new introduction (Civil War History). "A searching and provocative analysis of the issues confronted and the ideas expounded in the great debates…A book which displays such learning and insight that it cannot fail to excite the admiration even of scholars who disagree with its major arguments and conclusions."—D. E. Fehrenbacher, American Historical Review

Shaped by the West is a two-volume primary source reader that rewrites the history of the United States through a western lens. America’s expansion west was the driving force for issues of democracy, politics, race, freedom, and property. William Deverell and Anne F. Hyde provide a nuanced look at the past, balancing topics in society and politics and representing all kinds of westerners—black and white, native and immigrant, male and female, powerful and powerless—from more than twenty states across the West and the shifting frontier. The sources included reflect the important role of the West in national narratives of American history, beginning with the pre-Columbian era in Volume 1 and taking us to the twenty-first century in Volume 2. Together, these volumes cover first encounters, conquests and revolts, indigenous land removal, slavery and labor, race, ethnicity and gender, trade and diplomacy, industrialization, migration and immigration, and changing landscapes and environments. Key Features & Benefits: Expertly curated personal letters, government documents, editorials, photos, and never before published materials offer lively, vivid introductions to the tools of history. Annotations, captions, and brief essays provide accessible entry points to an extraordinarily wide range of themes—adding context and perspective from leaders in the field. Highlights connections between western and national histories to foster critical thinking about America’s diverse past and today’s challenging issues.

A "riveting and illuminating" Bill Gates Summer Reading pick about how and why some nations recover from trauma and others don't (Yuval Noah Harari), by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the landmark bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel. In his international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in his third book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crises while adopting selective changes -- a coping mechanism more commonly associated with individuals recovering from personal crises. Diamond compares how six countries have survived recent upheavals -- ranging from the forced opening of Japan by U.S. Commodore Perry's fleet, to the Soviet Union's attack on Finland, to a murderous coup or countercoup in Chile and Indonesia, to the transformations of Germany and Austria after World War Two. Because Diamond has lived and spoken the language in five of these six countries, he can present gut-wrenching histories experienced firsthand. These nations coped, to varying degrees, through mechanisms such as acknowledgment of responsibility, painfully honest self-appraisal, and learning from models of other nations. Looking to the future, Diamond examines whether the United States, Japan, and the whole world are successfully coping with the grave crises they currently face. Can we learn from lessons of the past? Adding a psychological dimension to the in-depth history, geography, biology, and anthropology that mark all of Diamond's books, Upheaval reveals factors influencing how both whole nations and individual people can respond to big challenges. The result is a book epic in scope, but also his most personal yet.

The Media Convergence Handbook sheds new light on the complexity of media convergence and the related business challenges. Approaching the topic from a managerial, technological as well as end-consumer perspective, it acts as a reference book and educational resource in the field. Media convergence at business level may imply transforming business models and using multiplatform content production and distribution tools. However, it is shown that the implementation of convergence strategies can only succeed when expectations and aspirations of every actor involved are taken into account. Media consumers, content producers and managers face different challenges in the process of media convergence. Volume I of the Media Convergence Handbook encourages an active discourse on media convergence by introducing the concept through general perspective articles and addressing the real-world challenges of conversion in the publishing, broadcasting and social media sectors.

From the authors of the bestselling The Big Shift, a provocative argument that the global population will soon begin to decline, dramatically reshaping the social, political, and economic landscape. For half a century, statisticians, pundits, and politicians have warned that a burgeoning planetary population will soon overwhelm the earth's resources. But a growing number of experts are sounding a different kind of alarm. Rather than growing exponentially, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline. Throughout history, depopulation was the product of catastrophe: ice ages, plagues, the collapse of civilizations. This time, however, we're thinning ourselves deliberately, by choosing to have fewer babies than we need to replace ourselves. In much of the developed and developing world, that decline is already underway, as urbanization, women's empowerment, and waning religiosity lead to smaller and smaller families. In Empty Planet, Ibbitson and Bricker travel from South Florida to Sao Paulo, Seoul to Nairobi, Brussels to Delhi to Beijing, drawing on a wealth of research and firsthand reporting to illustrate the dramatic consequences of this population decline--and to show us why the rest of the developing world will soon join in. They find that a smaller global population will bring with it a number of benefits: fewer workers will command higher wages; good jobs will prompt innovation; the environment will improve; the risk of famine will wane; and falling birthrates in the developing world will bring greater affluence and autonomy for women. But enormous disruption lies ahead, too. We can already see the effects in Europe and parts of Asia, as aging populations and worker shortages weaken the economy and impose crippling demands on healthcare and social security. The United States is well-positioned to successfully navigate these coming demographic shifts--that is, unless growing isolationism and anti-immigrant backlash lead us to close ourselves off just as openness becomes more critical to our survival than ever before. Rigorously researched and deeply compelling, Empty Planet offers a vision of a future that we can no longer prevent--but one that we can shape, if we choose.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Discover the game-changing theory of the cycles of history and what past generations can teach us about living through times of upheaval—with deep insights into the roles that Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials have to play—now with a new preface by Neil Howe. First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history. William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next. Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.