Stark Raving Rulers is a series of profiles of twenty of the world’s most ruthless dictators. In many forgotten or ignored parts of the world, there are still men who have inherited entire countries from their families, or blatantly rig elections to stay in power. Like latter-day Roman Emperors, they rule according to their whim. - Uzbekistan, where political opponents are boiled to death. - Cameroon, where the President intervenes in the national football team selection. - Belarus, where rather than divorce his wife, the President had her arrested. - North Korea, where Kim Il-sung is still President – despite the fact that he’s been dead for ten years. - Mauritania, where slavery is still widely practised. - Equatorial Guinea, where the President claims to be in permanent contact with God. - Turkmenistan, where the President re-named Tuesday after his mother. - Libya, where Colonel al-Qadhafi threw five million dollars out the window of his car. All of them are fascinating characters. While they all share a ruthlessness, their personalities differ wildly: from the coldly messianic to the downright bizarre.

Jesus spent decades in India. - Ethiopians, not Jews, are the real chosen people. - A religion in Iran predicted the Virgin Birth, hundreds of years before Christ. - Abraham was an Iraqi. - Lenin was a Saint. - Worms have souls. - There’s no such thing as the Holy Trinity. - All religions are the same. These are not conspiracy theories – but the genuine beliefs of the some of the world’s major religions. In God: A Users’ Guide, broadcaster Sean Moncrieff takes us through the history and development of the twenty largest religions in the world – in the process demonstrating that the truth is far more compelling than the fictional accounts. In the name of religion, millions have been killed, and millions have been saved. Political dynasties have been built on the back of religious belief, or been destroyed because of them. The history of religion is one of tyranny, betrayal, sacrifice, generosity and faith: where the same ‘facts’ have often brought believers to dramatically different conclusions. From religions which have a multiplicity of Gods, to religions which have no God at all, God: A Users’ Guide demonstrates how the vast majority of the world’s religions did not develop in isolation, but were influenced by already existing belief systems. We have far more in common than you might think.

Madness and Power. Can the insane rule? Can insanity be a leadership quality? Scott Rank says yes (well, sometimes) in this fascinating look at nine of history’s most notorious rulers, from the Roman emperor Caligula to the North Korean Communist dictator Kim Jong-il. Rank paints intimate portraits of these deeply flawed but powerful men, examining the role that madness played in their lives, the repercussions of their madness on history, and what their madness can tell us about the times in which they lived. In History’s 9 Most Insane Rulers, you will meet: • King Charles VI of France, who thought he was made of glass • Sultan Ibrahim I, who was driven mad by the sadistic succession battles of the Ottoman Empire • Caligula, who built temples to himself and whose reign highlighted the lethal tensions between the power of the new Imperial Rome and the prerogatives of the old Roman Republic • The Russian tsar who became known as Ivan “the Terrible” • King George III of Britain, who not only lost his American colonies, but lost his mind as well • Bavaria’s “Mad” King Ludwig II, who left the world richer for his fabulous fairy tale castles and his patronage of the composer Richard Wagner Insane rulers did not die off with the last of the mad monarchs who inherited their power. Rank also examines the rise to power of crazed modern rulers, such as Idi Amin, who began as a lowly army cook and rose to the presidency of Uganda, and Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled Turkmenistan and promoted a bizarre cult of personality around himself. Both entertaining and illuminating, History’s 9 Most Insane Rulers is a must-read for anyone interested in the role insanity has played in history.

Stark Raving Obedience will change the way you listen for God’s voice. It is a down-to-earth, practical treatment of how to develop a listening ear, to discern the voice of the God who speaks. It teaches simple scriptural principles on: • developing a two-way communicating relationship with God. • discerning God’s will for everyday decisions • praying in faith in the situations you face • developing a lifestyle of obedience to God’s voice Above all, Stark Raving Obedience encourages and challenges the reader to pursue a passionate prayer relationship with Jesus Christ. If you follow its principles, this book will radically change your life as you learn to communicate and follow a speaking God.

What does it mean to be Irish?'We've been clever and stupid, principled and corrupt. We can be kind and cruel, guilty of dopey optimism and chronic fatalism. We're friendly, but near impossible to get to know. We're proud to be Irish but often crippled with self-loathing. We think we're great, but not really. We find ourselves fascinating. Of course we do. We're a paradox.'There's something about Irish people, about the way their minds work. But what does it mean to be Irish?In his search for the key to the Irish psyche, Sean Moncrieff roams far and wide – from the pub to the dole queue, the laboratory to the pulpit. Packed with offbeat anecdotes, observations and intriguing detours into the murkier recesses of Irish history and culture, The Irish Paradox is a roadmap for those struggling to make sense of a country defined as much by its contradictions as its sense of community.

An uproarious, eye-opening history of Europe's notorious royal houses that leaves no throne unturned and will make you glad you live in a democracy. Do you want to know which queen has the unique distinction of being the only known royal kleptomaniac? Or which empress kept her dirty underwear under lock and key? Or which czar, upon discovering his wife's infidelity, had her lover decapitated and the head, pickled in a jar, placed at her bedside? Royally dishing on hundreds of years of dubious behavior, Royal Babylon chronicles the manifold appalling antics of Europe's famous families, behavior that rivals the characters in an Aaron Spelling television series. Here, then, are the insane kings of Spain, one of whom liked to wear sixteen pairs of gloves at one time; the psychopathic Prussian soverigns who included Frederick William and his 102-inch waist; sex-fixated French rulers such as Philip Duke D'Oreleans cavorting with more than a hundred mistresses; and, of course, the delightfully drunken and debauched Russian czars - Czar Paul, for example, who to make his soldiers goose-step without bending their legs had steel plates strapped to their knees. But whether Romanov or Windsor, Habsburg or Hanover, these extravagant lifestyles, financed as they were by the royals' badgered subjects, bred the most wonderfully offbeat and disturbingly unbelievable tales - and Karl Shaw has collected them all in this hysterically funny and compulsively readable book. Royal Babylon is history, but not as they teach it in school, and it underlines in side-splitting fashion Queen Victoria's famous warning that it is unwise to look too deeply into the royal houses of Europe.

Want to make money from your creativity? Here's how If you're a blogger or podcaster, an artist or musician, or someone who creates any other type of online content and dream of earning income from your creative efforts, you have endless options on the Internet. But to seize them, you must become part businessperson--a creative entrepreneur. If that thought intimidates you, you're not alone. JD Frazer has been there, and he shares with you everything you must know about syndication, advertising, branding, merchandising, copyright protection, ethical considerations, how to attract consumers, and more. If you want to earn a living from what you create, here's what you need to do: * Make wise decisions that protect your intellectual property and your interests * Approach the subject of paying for content without alienating your audience * Understand the realities of self-syndication * Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of membership features on your Web site * Learn how branding and merchandising apply to your art * Be prepared for fame as well as anonymity, and the hazards of both * Recognize the ethical balance that exists between creator and consumer * Explore online resources that assist the creative entrepreneur Visit our Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks

Rooted in the creative success of over 30 years of supermarket tabloid publishing, the Weekly World News has been the world's only reliable news source since 1979. The online hub www.weeklyworldnews.com is a leading entertainment news site.

In 7th-century China, life is rife with magic, fox spirits, and demons. Xie, the demon lover of the empress Wu Zhao, believes he must possess the oracle bone, which will bestow immortal powers on him. In his way is Qilan, an eccentric Daoist nun, who is training the orphan girl Ling to avenge her parents’ murder.