Author: Christine M. Boyer File Type: pdf

Author: Jim Harrison File Type: epub An epic tale that pits a son against the legacy of his familys desecration of the earth, and his own fathers more personal violations, Jim Harrisons True North is a beautiful and moving novel that speaks to the territory in our hearts that calls us back to our roots.The scion of a family of wealthy timber barons, David Burkett has grown up with a father who is a malevolent force and a mother made vague and numb by alcohol and pills. He and his sister Cynthia, a firecracker who scandalizes the family at fourteen by taking up with the son of their Finnish-Native American gardener, are mostly left to make their own way. As David comes to adulthood-often guided and enlightened by the unforgettable, intractable, courageous women he loves-he realizes he must come to terms with his forefathers rapacious destruction of the woods of Michigans Upper Peninsula, as well as the working people who made their wealth possible. Jim Harrison has given us a family tragedy of betrayal, amends, and justice for the worst sins. True North is a bravura performance from one of our finest writers, accomplished with deep humanity, humor, and redemptive soul.**From Publishers WeeklyIf the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, what should a son do to provide moral recompense? In Harrisons earnest, initially riveting new novel, narrator David Burkett decides as a teenager in the 1960s that he must rectify the ecological damage done to his beloved Upper Peninsula area of Michigan by his rapacious timber baron ancestors. More immediately, he vows to tell the world about the rapes and abuses committed by his alcoholic father, a charismatic Yale graduate with an egregious sense of entitlement. After a foray into organized religion, David finds spiritual solace in the stark natural world, described by Harrison in soaring prose. Unable to sustain emotional connection with any woman other than his older sister, David has brief liaisons with four women, but he feels more pain over the death of his dog than of his marriage. Meanwhile, he spends decades working on a history of his despised family, only to realize that he is a dud as a writer. By this time, hes in his late 30s, a man who has never achieved maturity because his father hangs like an albatross around his neck. A master of surprise endings (Dalva, etc.), Harrison pulls off a bravura climax when David attempts to reconcile with his feckless father. By this time, though, the reader may have tired of the monochromatic narrative, composed mainly of Davids anguished introspection and depressed dreams. Still, Harrisons tragic sense of history and his ironic insight into the depravities of human nature are as potent as ever and bring deeper meaning to his (eventually) redemptive tale. Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. From Bookmarks MagazineTrue North, says the Boston Globe, has its moments, which sums up general reaction to this novel. Almost everyone found something to like, be it the passionate narration or the novels strong sense of place. However, most reviewers also found serious flaws. While some praised Harrisons writing, a few pointed out its sloppiness. And nearly all were frustrated with the novels structure, complaining that Harrison reveals key events too early and allows the story to founder as Burkett painstakingly searches his soul. Harrison has called American readers grotesquely plot-oriented, and those who fit this description should avoid his newest novel. But for those who dont mind a long walk through the woods, theres True North. 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Author: Donald Michael Kraig File Type: epub For over two decades, Donald Michael Kraigs Modern Magick has been the worlds most popular step-by-step guide to working real magick. Tens of thousands of individuals and groups have used this course as their primary instruction manual. Now, greatly revised and expanded, this set of lessons is more complete and relevant to your life than ever.Written with respect for the student, Modern Magick will safely guide youeven if you know little or nothingthrough a progressive series of practical exercises and rituals, complemented by the knowledge, history, insights, and theory you need to become a successful ceremonial magician. Firmly rooted in the Western magickal tradition yet designed to be fully compatible with your contemporary practice, this book will help you attain full mastery of all core topics in magickThe inner mysteries of the Kabalah The most powerful rituals of magick How to create and perform your own rituals True meditation Magickal ethics Astral projection Tools of magick Evocation of spirits Pathworking Tantra and sex magick The importance of the Tarot Talismans and amulets Secrets of visualization Alchemy Psychic self-defense Healing ritualsFilled with personal stories and helpful illustrations, along with updated and brand-new material, this new edition of Modern Magick features a completely new lesson that reveals the concepts, techniques, and rituals of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Chaos Magick, and Postmodern Magick. Ideal for beginning, intermediate, or advanced students, and perfect as a manual for magickal temples, this is essential reading for every true magician.Modern Magick is a modern-day classic. It has become the standard textbook of practical magickal knowledge for magicians all over the world. We highly recommend it to beginner and adept alike.Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, authors of Experiencing the Kabbalah andSelf-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition **

Author: Ken Freeman File Type: pdf Written for the educatednon-scientist and scientist alike, it spans a variety of scientific disciplines, from observational astronomy to particle physics. Concepts that the reader will encounter along the way are at the cutting edge of scientific research. However the themes are explained in such a way that no prior understanding of science beyond a high school education is necessary.ReviewFrom the reviews Foremost amongst our talents is deduction. Using logic and reasoning, a truth can be determined without direct evidence. Ken Freeman ands Geoff McNamara in their book showcase this talent. Given the state of unknown portrayed, this book would be a great tool to lure undergraduate students into the field of astronomy. Throughout, there are well appointed photographs to entice the reader . the book will bring fundamental answers about our existence and likely a lot of fame to the finder. (www.universetoday.com, December, 2006) Pinning down exactly how much dark matter there is in the Universe, and discovering what this enigmatic stuff is made of, has to be among the most important issues in modern astronomy. Arguments are presented simply so this is a read that is suitable for a beginner without patronizing those already familiar with many of the ideas. In Search of Dark Matter really is an excellent little book. (Alan Longstaff, Astronomy Now, September, 2006) In Search of Dark Matter has a textbook feel . It is a concise chronicle of the discovery of dark matter and the efforts to find out what it is and what part it plays in the Universe, from the Big Bang to the present. (Helen Close, Astronomy and Space, January, 2007) This little book (158 p.) is an excellent introduction for non-specialists to the search of dark matter, and more generally to modern observational cosmology. More than 30 illustrations, photographs and sketches, accompany the text, in a pleasant and effective way. The book is thus both accessible to readers with little academic training in physics, and useful to physicists to whom it provides a lot of information on this fascinating and rapidly expanding field. I warmly recommend it. (Pierre Marage, Physicalia Magazine, Vol. 29 (2), 2007) About the AuthorKen Freeman is Duffield Professor of Astronomy at the Australian National University (Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Mount Stromlo Observatory) in Canberra. He studied mathematics at the University of Western Australia and theoretical astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, followed by a postdoctoral year at McDonald Observatory (University of Texas) with G. de Vaucouleurs and a year as a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He returned to Australia in 1967 and has been there ever since. His research interests are in the formation and dynamics of galaxies and globular clusters, and particularly in the problem of dark matter in galaxies he was one of the first to point out (1970) that spiral galaxies contain a large fraction of dark matter. Since then, he has written many papers on dark matter in spiral and elliptical galaxies. He was a founding member of the MACHO collaboration which used microlensing techniques to search for galactic dark matter in the form of compact stellar-mass objects. For his current research, he uses the optical and radio telescopes in Australia, and also observes with the Hubble Space Telescope and large optical telescopes in Spain, Chile, and Hawaii. He has written about 500 research articles. Geoff McNamara has been writing about and teaching science and technology since the mid-1980s. He has had approximately 150 articles published in magazines ranging from Electronics Australia, Astronomy, Sky & Space, and Nature Australia. In 1997 he coauthored a popular level science book Ripples on a Cosmic Sea - the search for gravitational waves with Associate Professor David Blair (Allen & Unwin, 1997), and contributed a chapter to The Universe Revealed (Mitchell Beazley, 1998). He taught Ophthalmic Optics at Sydney Institute of Technology from 1987 to 1999, and has presented many courses and talks on astronomy for the public. He has been teaching science at Campbell High School in Canberra since 2000. In 2003 he began teaching Astronomy and the course has continued to grow in popularity. In 2005 the Astronomy courses were completed by approximately 130 students.