The old adage, "never discuss religion and politics," is roundly rejected in this incisive exploration of presidential history and religious faith. The Presidents & Their Faith is a fascinating and informative look at how every U.S. president exercised their personal faith, exerted presidential power, and led a religiously diverse nation. Has there ever been a stranger prayer than Truman's, offered upon America's successful development of the atom bomb: "We pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes"? At the nation's founding, Northeast Presbyterians demanded explicit mention of Jesus in the Constitution. George Washington refuted them, saying that religious piety "was a matter best left between an individual and his God; religious instruction was the responsibility of religious societies, not the civil state." What drove Washington to make that argument, and what if he had lost? Who wouldn't feel like the exasperated FDR when he said, "I can do almost everything in the 'Goldfish Bowl' of the President's life, but I'll be hanged if I can say my prayers in it. It bothers me to feel like something in the zoo being looked at by all the tourists in Washington when I go to church...No privacy in that kind of going to church, and by the time I have gotten into that pew and settled down with everybody looking at me, I don't feel like saying my prayers at all." But even more importantly, what's real, what's a show, and why does it matter when it comes to faith and politics? > These questions and more are unpacked and examined, leading to a whole new understanding of how religion and politics interfaced through America's history, and how they will play out in our future. In this climate of religious and political tensions, The Presidents & Their Faith casts a civil, yet entertaining, and insightful spotlight on the unique mix (and frequent mix-ups) of politics and religion in America.
The old adage, "never discuss religion and politics," is roundly rejected in this incisive exploration of presidential history and religious faith. The Presidents & Their Faith is a fascinating and informative look at how every U.S. president exercised their personal faith, exerted presidential power, and led a religiously diverse nation. Has there ever been a stranger prayer than Truman's, offered upon America's successful development of the atom bomb: "We pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes"? At the nation's founding, Northeast Presbyterians demanded explicit mention of Jesus in the Constitution. George Washington refuted them, saying that religious piety "was a matter best left between an individual and his God; religious instruction was the responsibility of religious societies, not the civil state." What drove Washington to make that argument, and what if he had lost? Who wouldn't feel like the exasperated FDR when he said, "I can do almost everything in the 'Goldfish Bowl' of the President's life, but I'll be hanged if I can say my prayers in it. It bothers me to feel like something in the zoo being looked at by all the tourists in Washington when I go to church...No privacy in that kind of going to church, and by the time I have gotten into that pew and settled down with everybody looking at me, I don't feel like saying my prayers at all." But even more importantly, what's real, what's a show, and why does it matter when it comes to faith and politics? > These questions and more are unpacked and examined, leading to a whole new understanding of how religion and politics interfaced through America's history, and how they will play out in our future. In this climate of religious and political tensions, The Presidents & Their Faith casts a civil, yet entertaining, and insightful spotlight on the unique mix (and frequent mix-ups) of politics and religion in America.
The great City of Penance is the oldest settlement on the Forge, literally containing millions of years of history in its deep hulking mass. Though nearly forty million souls call the city home, less than half of one percent of the city's locations are inhabited. The bulk of the Pedestal is a madly stacked and sprawling ruin, only superficially explored by the relentless rafters and treasure-seekers of the surface world. Every home in the city has a hundred others lost beneath it, and every city street stands atop an incredible three-dimensional maze of corridors, alleyways, and crawlspaces - a maze where time has left nothing unchanged, eroding and distorting the framework of magic and even the laws of physics themselves.Long past the grasp of any human control, the ruins of Penance have become a true landscape, vast, beautiful, and unforgiving, with their own unique ecosystem and their own set of hazards and comforts. Strange plants and creatures have evolved in the eternally darkened streets below the city, and prey upon those foolish enough to step out of the city's gilded cage of civilization.Wrack and Ruin is an essential guidebook for anyone intoxicated by the forgotten secrets of the past, or by the potential power lost within the great city's crumbling majesty. Don't leave your Bloodhold without it!
Dozens of indigenous fruits, vegetables, nuts, and game animals are waiting to be rediscovered by American epicures, and Appalachia stocks the largest pantry with an abundance of delectable flavors. In Eating Appalachia, Darrin Nordahl looks at the unique foods that are native to the region, including pawpaws, ramps, hickory nuts, American persimmons, and elk, and offers delicious and award-winning recipes for each ingredient, along with sumptuous color photographs. The twenty-three recipes include: Pawpaw Panna Cotta, Pawpaw Whiskey Sour, Chianti-Braised Elk Stew, Pan-Fried Squirrel with Squirrel Gravy, Ramp Linguine, and Wild Ginger Poached Pears, among others. Nordahl also examines some of the business, governmental, and ecological issues that keep these wild, and arguably tastier, foods from reaching our tables. Eating Appalachia profiles local chefs, hunters, and locavores who champion these native ingredients and describes food festivals—like the Pawpaw Festival in Albany, Ohio; the Feast of the Ramson in Richwood, West Virginia; and Elk Night at Jenny Wiley State Park in Prestonsburg, Kentucky—that celebrate them.
Every Day Is Mother's Day is the ultimate tribute to the most important woman in everyone's life. This charming illustrated volume offers mom dozens of ways to unwind from the stresses of her day and helpful tips for a more harmonious household. Relaxation expert Darrin Zeer customizes his signature massage, meditation, and pampering techniques for busy women to be enjoyed at home, in the office, or even while driving the kids to soccer practice. Throughout, delightful quotes from kids of all ages express in so many ways what each of us wants to say on Mother's Day and every day: "Thanks, Mom, I love you!
The modern world is wondrous. Its factories produce ten thousand cars every hour and ten trillion transistors every second. We carry supercomputers in our pockets, and nearly a million people are in the air at any time. In Civilization Critical, Darrin Qualman takes readers on a tour of the wonders of the 21st century. But the great strength of our modern word is also its great weakness. Our immense powers to turn resources and nature into products and waste imperil our future. And plans to double and redouble the size of the global economy veto sustainability. So, is our civilization doomed? No. Doom is a choice. We can make different choices. Qualman demonstrates that a 19th- and 20th-century transition to linear systems and away from the circular patterns of nature (and of all previous civilizations) is the foundational error—the underlying problem, the root cause of climate change, resource depletion, ocean’s full of plastics, and a host of mega-problems now intensifying and merging, with potentially civilization-cracking results. In this sweeping work, Qualman reinterprets and re-explains the problems we face today, and charts a clear, hopeful path into the future.
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