One lonely Christmas morning, Kristin Ohlson wandered into a downtown Cleveland church for mass. Once there, she was moved by the traditions of her childhood, but more than that, her curiosity was captured by a group of cloistered nuns. They were the Poor Clares—a tiny, threadbare congregation of elderly nuns with one mission: to pray day and night for the sorrows of the world. As Ohlson, a longtime skeptic, opens up to the Poor Clares, she opens herself to the possibility of the sacred. The result is an inspiring personal journey as well as a poignant reflection on the power of church and faith.

Thousands of years of poor farming and ranching practices—and, especially, modern industrial agriculture—have led to the loss of up to 80 percent of carbon from the world’s soils. That carbon is now floating in the atmosphere, and even if we stopped using fossil fuels today, it would continue warming the planet. In The Soil Will Save Us, journalist and bestselling author Kristin Ohlson makes an elegantly argued, passionate case for "our great green hope"—a way in which we can not only heal the land but also turn atmospheric carbon into beneficial soil carbon—and potentially reverse global warming. As the granddaughter of farmers and the daughter of avid gardeners, Ohlson has long had an appreciation for the soil. A chance conversation with a local chef led her to the crossroads of science, farming, food, and environmentalism and the discovery of the only significant way to remove carbon dioxide from the air—an ecological approach that tends not only to plants and animals but also to the vast population of underground microorganisms that fix carbon in the soil. Ohlson introduces the visionaries—scientists, farmers, ranchers, and landscapers—who are figuring out in the lab and on the ground how to build healthy soil, which solves myriad problems: drought, erosion, air and water pollution, and food quality, as well as climate change. Her discoveries and vivid storytelling will revolutionize the way we think about our food, our landscapes, our plants, and our relationship to Earth.

Winner of the 1997 National Jewish Book Award for Jewish Thought, "Stalking Elijah" traces Rodger Kamenetz's rollicking and profound cross-country journey in search of the great teachers revitalizing Judaism today.

Christine M. Panyard thought she was studying Michelangelo and Renaissance art, but she was actually being moved towards God. The gothic cathedral is a metaphor for spiritual development in Stalking Michelangelo, Finding God. Her story began outside the church, where she was for many years. It takes the reader on a journey around and through the cathedral to the altar, much as she moved from being a lapsed Catholic to formation as a Secular Discalced Carmelite. Christine became an author and award-winning photographer on her way to God.

Edited by Rebecca Skloot, award-winning science writer and New York Times bestselling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and her father, Floyd Skloot, an award-winning poet and writer, and past contributor to the series, The Best American Science Writing 2011 collects into one volume the most crucial, thought-provoking, and engaging science writing of the year. Culled from a wide variety of publications, these selections of outstanding journalism cover the full spectrum of scientific inquiry, providing a comprehensive overview of the most compelling, relevant, and exciting developments in the world of science. Provocative and engaging, The Best American Science Writing 2011 reveals just how far science has brought us—and where it is headed next.

Presents an anthology of the best travel writing published in the previous year, selected from magazines, newspapers, and web sites.

Paul K. Moser proposes a new approach to inquiry about God, including a new discipline of the ethics for such inquiry.

Who or What is Behind the Cattle Mutilations? The cattle mutilation phenomenon is an ongoing mystery that has endured for almost 50 years. What have we learned, if anything, from the countless reports filed? Who or what is behind the death and disfigurement of livestock reported as mutilated around the globe? Are these deaths simply attributable to natural predators and scavengers? Or is the military/government somehow involved; perhaps monitoring “mad cow disease”? Are the deaths the action of ritual “cultists” as police say the evidence would suggest? Is it possible that alien predators are involved, as some researchers and the media have suggested? Are black helicopters or UFOs related to the cattle mutilation phenomenon as many witnesses have claimed? Regardless of who or what is responsible, what are the motivations behind perpetrating what may be the greatest unsolved serial crime spree of all time? Stalking the Herd addresses these questions in depth and also offers an objective look at the history of our venerated relationship with cattle, the first domesticated livestock. Is there a connection between these ritualistic cattle deaths and humankind’s ancient practice of animal sacrifice? Why are there no Brahman cattle mutilations in India where cattle are revered to this day? Are aliens gathering genetic material for unknown purposes? What about the thousands of pounds of scientific forensic evidence? Are some hidden sections of the military conducting secret projects that—for some reason known only to them—involve the mutilation of hundreds of cattle in an area that includes Colorado Springs, the NORAD command base inside Cheyenne Mountain and the strange little town called Dulce on a small Apache Reservation?

For those desiring a deep relationship with God, Calvin Miller guides us beyond three superficialities of modern culture: our misdirected appetites, the allure of material things, and the tyranny of the urgent. This is a selection from Into the Depths of God.