I only wish I had your paper before me when I wrote Silicon Snake Oil"--Clifford Stoll. "Ultimately, " says Earl Lee, "libraries are involved in the quest for truth, but conceptualize it in a way very different from most. Library professionals pursue a philosophy of inclusion, trying to have as many versions of Truth as possible, in the hopes that somewhere in the mass of material, something meaningful may be found by some discerning reader. But in recent years the mass of data has grown to bury truth and defeat the discerning. Librarians have lost sight of what is important." The uncontrollable mass of data, the transformation of the library to an information center, the demise of the card catalog, the meretriciousness of publishers offerings, the dumbing down of textbooks, the decision by the Library of Congress to use the OCLC online system exclusively--these are all the subjects of thought-provoking and unsweetened opinions, welcome reminders of the rich tradition of intellectual freedom in the profession.
The origins of modern religion in human sacrifice, ritual cannibalism, visionary intoxication, and the Cult of the Dead • Explores ancient practices of producing sacred hallucinogenic foods and oils from the bodies of the dead for ritual consumption and religious anointing • Explains how these practices are deeply embedded in the symbolism, theology, and sacraments of modern religion, specifically Christianity and the Eucharist • Documents the rites of Cults of the Dead from the prehistoric Minoans on Crete to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews to early and medieval Christian sects such as the Cathars Long before the beginnings of civilization, humans have been sacrificed and their flesh used to produce sacred foods and oils for use in religious rites. Originating with the sacred harvest of hallucinogenic mushrooms from the corpses of shamans and other holy men, these acts of ritual cannibalism and visionary intoxication are part of the history of all cultures, including Judeo-Christian ones, and provided a way to commune with the dead. These practices continued openly into the Dark Ages, when they were suppressed and adapted into the worship of saintly bones--or continued in secret by a few “heretical” sects, such as the Cathars and the Knights Templar. While little known today, these rites remain deeply embedded in the symbolism, theology, and sacraments of modern religion and bring a much more literal meaning to the church’s “Holy Communion” or symbolic consumption of the body and blood of Christ. Documenting the sacrificial, cannibalistic, and psychoactive sacramental practices associated with the Cult of the Dead from the prehistoric Minoans on Crete to the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews and onward to early and medieval Christian sects, Earl Lee shows how these religious rites influenced the development of Western religion. In particular, he reveals how Christianity originated with Jesus’s effort to restore the sacred rites of Moses, including the Marzeah, or Feast for the Dead. Examining the connections between these rites and the mysterious funeral of Father Sauniere in Rennes-le-Château, the author explains why the prehistoric Cult of the Dead has held such power over Western civilization, so much so that its echoes are still heard today in our literature, film, and arts.
For nearly a century, the original version of Upton Sinclair's classic novel has remained almost entirely unknown. When it was published in serial form in 1905, it was a full third longer than the censored, commercial edition published in book form the following year. That expurgated commercial edition edited out much of the ethnic flavor of the original, as well as some of the goriest descriptions of the meat-packing industry and much of Sinclair's most pointed social and political commentary. The text of this new edition is as it appeared in the original uncensored edition of 1905. It contains the full 36 chapters as originally published, rather than the 31 of the expurgated edition. A new foreword describes the discovery in the 1980s of the original edition and its subsequent suppression, and a new introduction places the novel in historical context by explaining the pattern of censorship in the shorter commercial edition.
A sci-fi, alternative history on the American Revolution and Civil War In 1859, after the British army conquered the last free colony of Virginia, they move to defeat the remaining Confederate states. After burning much of Nashville to the ground, General McArthur and his 80,000 men meet little resistance as they enter the Confederate capital of Memphis, Tennessee. As General Lee retreats from the combined British, Colonial, and Federal forces, a futuristic time bomb goes off that creates overlapping realities from the 19th through 24th centuries. From the future, Dr. O'Neil Pfister and his nephew Leo9, are genetically and bionically enhanced British soldiers. While their technology is from the 24th century, they face overwhelming odds in the 19th century—not only the Confederate soldiers who pursue them, but hordes of were-men, zombified civilians, and other creatures. Unable to hold Memphis, the British begin a panicked retreat to the east while hoping to reach the safety of British-occupied coastal states. The doctor and his nephew have to take the captured prototype of the time-bomb back to the British scientists—or face an altered landscape and the prospect of world-wide nuclear war.
Set in Kansas in the year 2039, this science fiction novel places ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances when an earthquake that has slowed down time forces two protagonists to confront their pasts to fix their broken lives in the present. Using a combination of natural resources, ancient rituals, and futuristic technology, one character revises his past decisions to alter his present self. This narrative shows how individual choices can alter wider reality, and how community and local economy can offer an alternative to the economic and environmental dystopia the characters find themselves in.
In The Club, a young boy grows up to be a thug, who later becomes a man of character. He decides to leave that life behind and start fresh. Fresh starts come with a price, and its a price that he might not be willing to pay
Capt. Ramrod Steel believes his family has vanished in The Rapture. Several dishonest people use this belief for their own ends. Meanwhile the Antichrist begins his conquest of the world. By the author of Drakulya, and Libraries in the age of mediocrity.
Changes at the global, federal, state, and municipal level are pushing forward the reparations movement for people of African descent. The distinguished editors of this volume have gathered works that chronicle the historical movement for reparations both in the United States and around the world. Sharing a focus on reparations as an issue of justice, the contributors provide a historical primer of the movement; introduce the philosophical, political, economic, legal and ethical issues surrounding reparations; explain why government, corporations, universities, and other institutions must take steps to rehabilitate, compensate, and commemorate African Americans; call for the restoration of Black people’s human and civil rights and material and psychological well-being; lay out specific ideas about how reparations can and should be paid; and advance cutting-edge interpretations of the complex long-lasting effects that enslavement, police and vigilante actions, economic discrimination, and other behaviors have had on people of African descent. Groundbreaking and innovative, Reparations and Reparatory Justice offers a multifaceted resource to anyone wishing to explore a defining moral issue of our time. Contributors: Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Hilary McDonald Beckles, Mary Frances Berry, Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, Chuck Collins, Ron Daniels, V. P. Franklin, Danny Glover, Adom Gretachew, Charles Henry, Kamm Howard, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Jesse Jackson, Sr., Brian Jones, Sheila Jackson Lee, James B. Stewart, the Movement 4 Black Lives, the National African American Reparations Commission, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, the New Afrikan Peoples Organization/Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Hess tells the full story of "Pettigrew's Brigade," perhaps the best-known and most successful of North Carolina's units during the Civil War. The brigade played a central role in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg and also fought with distinction during the Petersburg campaign and in later battles including the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor.
There has always been a debate about the Power of God, not only about what He is like, but about whether the Power of God exists at all. But whatever is right to say about God, it is quite clear that many men have wondered whether He has power at all. Perhaps therefore the simplest conclusion is that He has no power at all. What we have to reckon with is the fact that many men for much of the time have talked as if He has all power. We have learned that talk does not necessarily have to refer to anything beyond itself and so the simplest and most reasonable conclusion is to stop talking about whether He has power and that would be the end of the debate.On the other hand, it might be said that the reasonable conclusion to draw, not only from the quantity but also much more especially from the quality of much talk about the Power of God and from the fact that the debate never seems to come to a final conclusion, is that the Power of God always has and always will exist. The constant debate about the Power of God arises from the fact that God being God, He is infinitely difficult to talk about, and that man, being not only finite man but in some sense or other sinful man, finds the Power not only difficult but also distasteful to talk about. This book By Bishop Dr. William Earl Lee is one man's attempt to offer as clear an account as possible of how he at present is able to make sense of the debate, in the hope that it may be of some assistance to others in making their approach. That is why it has been given the title of The Power of God. It is offered as an attempt to help people not to feel completely bewildered by the debate or completely unable to enter into it. It is my prayer that upon completion of the reading of this book that the Power of God will be recognized in your life.
Earl J.Hess's study of armies and fortifications turns to the 1864 Overland Campaign to cover battles from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor. Drawing on meticulous research in primary sources and careful examination of battlefields at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Bermuda Hundred, and Cold Harbor, , Hess analyzes Union and Confederate movements and tactics and the new way Grant and Lee employed entrenchments in an evolving style of battle. Hess argues that Grant's relentless and pressing attacks kept the armies always within striking distance, compelling soldiers to dig in for protection.
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