Most Popular Books by Michael White

The acclaimed author of From Jesus to Christianity reveals how—and why—the gospels were written in this groundbreaking work of Biblical scholarship. The greatest story ever told was honed like any good performance, on the road in front of audiences. In Scripting Jesus, acclaimed scholar of early Christianity L. Michael White demonstrates that the gospel stories of Jesus were never meant to be straightforward historical accounts, but instead they were each crafted with particular theological agendas for the ears of particular listeners. White challenges us to read the gospels as they were intended—as performed stories of faith, not factual accounts—and illuminates the agendas that motivated each of their authors. A fresh account of the gospels that have shaped centuries of Christian belief, Scripting Jesus offers important insight into how we can understand Jesus''s story today.

Starting from the assumption that people experience emotional problems when the stories of their lives, as they or others have invented them, do not represent the truth, this volume outlines an approach to psychotherapy which encourages patients to take power over their problems.

..".[This is] the kind of book that inspires and invites change... the ''tipping point'' that students need to become more aware, involved, and engaged in their schools, communities and societies." -Jennifer Klein, DePaul UniversityThis Second Edition of The Engaged Sociologist: Connecting the Classroom to the Community brings the public sociology movement into the classroom by showing students how to use the tools of sociology to become effective participants in our democratic society. Through exercises and projects, authors Kathleen Korgen and Jonathan M. White encourage students to apply these tools to get hands-on training in sociology and to develop their sociological imaginations as they work for a more just and civil society. *10% of the proceeds from this book will be donated to Free the Children*New and Retained Features *new* Updated and additional exercises and projects, including more global activities, allow students to connect the sociological knowledge they are learning to their campus and the larger community. Each chapter contains both hands-on data collection exercises (surveys, interviews, observations) and library-based research. *new* Increased connection to theory helps students see how their practical efforts are grounded in sociological research and theory. *new* Enhanced "Sociologist in Action" sections include powerful examples of how sociology students and professional sociologists use sociology in efforts to improve society. More examples of student "Sociologists in Action" have been added to this edition. *new* More material on the environment, including expanded discussions of Hurricane Katrina and its outcomes as well as of global warming, provides more coverage of a hot-button topic of concern to many students, engaging their interest and encouraging them to act to improve environmental issues. Discussion questions challenge students to ponder and converse about what they''ve learned and to use their sociological imagination to relate the issues covered in each chapter to their individual lives. Ancillaries - *new* Instructors'' Resources on CD-Rom, featuring a test bank, are available to qualified instructors by contacting Customer Care at 1-800-818-SAGE (7243) between 6 am - 5 pm, PST. - *new* A new student study site at www.pineforge.com/korgen2study features Web addresses that link to helpful organizations; additional exercises for several chapters; a survey, a scoring sheet, and interview guidelines for the last chapter; and resources for job and volunteer opportunities. Intended Audience: This is an ideal supplement or affordable, brief stand-alone, core text for courses in which the instructor wishes to include a public sociology component, particularly Introduction to Sociology, Principles of Sociology, Social Problems, or Applied Sociology. "The Engaged Sociologist will help students connect their own lives to the larger society, as they learn about the ''sociological imagination'' and the power it has to positively affect the community."-SirReadaLot.org

A Gripping Account Of A Physicist Whose Speculations Could Prove As Revolutionary As Those Of Albert Einstein... It Can Be Consulted As A Clear And Authoritative Guide Through Three Decades Of Hawking S Central Contributions To Cosmology. - Bernard Dixon In The New Statesman & Society Excellent... From The Opening Pages, Which Relate The Occasion When Shirley Maclaine Sought An Audience With Her Hero In A Cambridge Restaurant, To The Final Chapter On Hollywood, Fame And Fortune , The Book Is Well-Nigh Unputdownable... [It] Ought To Be Read Alongside A Brief History Of Time As A Kind Of Explanatory Supplement. - Heather Cooper In The Times Educational Supplement Fascinating... What Makes This Book So Rewarding Is The Way That The Authors Have Blended Their Account Of Hawking S Science With That Of His Life, Giving A Picture Of A Remarkable Scientist As A Remarkable Person. - Tony Osman In The Spectator It S Compulsive Reading, Maybe Because Hawking Towers Above It All, A Complex And Fascinating Character Who Remains Strangely Elusive: Boyish Yet Indomitable, Stubborn Yet Charming, A Private Man Revelling In Fame. - Clare Francis In The Sunday Express [Their Book] Conveys How Scientific Research Is Not Just A Dry Intellectual Pursuit But An Adventure Full Of Joy, Despair And Humour, And Fraught With The Sort Of Inter-Personal Problems And Rivalries Which Mark All Human Endeavours. - Bernard Carr In The Independent On Sunday Few Scientists Become Legends In Their Own Lifetime. Stephen Hawking Is One. It Is Good To Have This Well-Documented And Immensely Readable Biography To Remind Us That The Media-Hyped Mute Genius In The Wheelchair Is In Fact A Sensitive, Humorous, Ambitious And Occasionally Wilful Human Being. - Paul Davies In The Times Higher Education Supplement

This historical survey of political philosophy explores the theme of how political philosophy relates to the nature of man. It illustrates how great political thinkers have always grounded their political thought in what the author terms a "normative anthropology," which typically has not only ethical but also metaphysical or theological components.

Argues that the great "renaissance man" was in fact the first great modern man of science.

In the crypt of the Medici Chapel, palaeopathologist, Edie Granger, and her uncle, Carlin Mackenzie, discover something out of place about the mummified remains of one of the most powerful families in Renaissance Italy. This novel meshes past and present, cryptic clues and constant menace to produce a fast-paced thriller.

Michael White, one of the founders of narrative therapy, is back with his first major publication since the seminal Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends, which Norton published in 1990. Maps of Narrative Practice provides brand new practical and accessible accounts of the major areas of narrative practice that White has developed and taught over the years, so that readers may feel confident when utilizing this approach in their practices. The book covers each of the five main areas of narrative practice-re-authoring conversations, remembering conversations, scaffolding conversations, definitional ceremony, externalizing conversations, and rite of passage maps-to provide readers with an explanation of the practical implications, for therapeutic growth, of these conversations. The book is filled with transcripts and commentary, skills training exercises for the reader, and charts that outline the conversations in diagrammatic form. Readers both well-versed in narrative therapy as well as those new to its concepts, will find this fresh statement of purpose and practice essential to their clinical work.

Los dos grandes territorios que Epston y White exploran para nosotros en este libro son los siguientes: por un lado, el asunto de la externalizacion del problema; por otro, y consecuentemente, la variedad de formas en que podemos usar terapeuticamente la palabra escrita. De este modo, y a traves de numerosos ejemplos, el lector puede elegir entre una gran variedad de nuevas intervenciones y cosechar asi los frutos de un nuevo terreno que ya ha sido cuidadosamente arado, regado y sembrado para nosotros. Al final, Epston y White nos invitan a preguntarnos: ?como podemos hacer posible la escritura de relatos personales y colectivos que liberen y curen, cuando los relatos dominantes estan tan saturados de problemas? Al publicar este libro, los autores estan compartiendo algunos de sus descubrimientos en relacion con este interrogante. ?Cual es la disposicion del profesional a unirse a ellos en esta exploracion y a dotarse de habilidades en el uso de medios literarios para reanimar la vida de sus clientes y de sus familias?

A giant of science, Galileo''s achievements allow him to be bracketed alongside Newton, Einstein, and Darwin. A devout Roman Catholic, his genius threw him into conflict with his Church and his refusal to back down turned him into a martyr for many. Here, bestselling author Michael White gets to grips with the man and the world he challenged. Both biography and exploration of a time when religious and scientific understanding had become deeply and dangerously intertwined, Galileo Antichrist traces the path that led to its subject''s denunciation as a heretic. While it is perfectly possible to view Galileo''s collision with the Catholic Church as near inevitable, White draws on evidence recently discovered in the Vatican archives to question the accepted reasons for his trial. In doing so he shows why Galileo became such a contentious figure that, centuries later, the Pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, felt driven to declare the process against the father of science as “reasonable and just.”

The financial deregulation of the last quarter century has meantlarge flows of funds around the world seeking the highestrisk-adjusted return for investors. Real estate is now establishedas an important asset class and advances in information technologyprovide the necessary tools to complement global developments inreal estate finance and investment. A variety of investment vehicles have emerged, andReal EstateFinance in the New Economy examines these along withfinancing and risk in the context of globalization, deregulationand an increasingly integrated international world economy byexploring questions like: How have real estate financial structures evolved as economiesgrow and become internationalised? What role do economic change and financial systems play in thedevelopment of real estate investment? Are the risks associated with the ‘new economy’really new? What is the future direction for real estate financing? The authors develop an economic framework for discussions onindividual financial products to examine how real estate financialstructures change with economic growth and internationalisation andalso to show how developments in real estate finance impacteconomic growth.

"A blue print on the steps that must be taken to make America great again."--Page viii.

Unknown to all but a few, Newton was a practicing alchemist who dabbled with the occult, a tortured, obsessive character who searched for an understanding of the universe by whatever means possible. Sympathetic yet balanced, Michael White''s Isaac Newton offers a revelatory picture of Newton as a genius who stood at the point in history where magic ended and science began.

The world''s most exclusive detective agency opens a new office-in Australia! With the best detectives in the business, cutting edge technology and offices around the globe, there is no investigation company quite like Private. Now, at a glittering launch party overlooking the iconic Opera House, Private Sydney throws open its doors. Craig Gisto and his newly formed team have barely raised their glasses, however, when a young Asian man, blood-soaked and bullet-ridden, staggers into the party, and what looks like a botched kidnapping turns out to be a whole lot more. Within days the agency''s caseload is full. But it is a horrific murder in the wealthy Eastern Suburbs and the desperate search for a motive that stretches the team to the limit. Stacy Friel, friend of the Deputy Commissioner of NSW Police, isn''t the killer''s first victim-and as the bodies mount up she''s clearly not the last . . .

Continuing their successful series of biographies of famous scientists, the authors present a lucid and accessible account of Darwin''s life and work. This work is an enlightening synthesis of biography and science that reveals the personality and scientific contributions of a great and controversial modern figure.

Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) was a mystic, philosopher and scientist whose ideas were decades ahead of their time. A proponent of a unificatory vision of science, he was both a champion of the occult as Newton would be after him, and a torch-bearer for the sort of holistic dreams that Leonardo had cherished before him. As such he is perfect material for the third in Michael White''s loose trilogy of science biographies - after Newton, the last sorcerer, and Leonardo, the first scientist, we have Bruno, science''s first martyr. THE POPE AND THE HERETIC re-creates not just the vibrancy of intellectual life at the height of the Renaissance but also the horrific cost of pursuing ideas which ran counter to the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church. After almost eight years'' imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Inquisition, Bruno was burned at the stake for his beliefs - or rather, his refusal to accept that intellectual investigation was limited by the dictats of Rome. His life and martyrdom are the subjects of this fascinating book.

The story of the trial of visionary philosopher Giordano Bruno. “A nice overview of the conflict between religion and philosophy in the Renaissance.” —Publishers Weekly Giordano Bruno challenged everything in his pursuit of an all-embracing system of thought. This not only brought him patronage from powerful figures of the day but also put him in direct conflict with the Catholic Church. Arrested by the Inquisition and tried as a heretic, Bruno was imprisoned, tortured, and, after eight years, burned at the stake in 1600. The Vatican “regrets” the burning yet refuses to clear him of heresy. But Bruno’s philosophy spread: Galileo, Isaac Newton, Christiaan Huygens, and Gottfried Leibniz all built upon his ideas; his thought experiments predate the work of such twentieth-century luminaries as Karl Popper; his religious thinking inspired such radicals as Baruch Spinoza; and his work on the art of memory had a profound effect on William Shakespeare. Chronicling a genius whose musings helped bring about the modern world, Michael White pieces together the final years—the capture, trial, and the threat the Catholic Church felt—that made Bruno a martyr of free thought. “White’s book is exemplary for its discussions of the period’s intellectual beliefs and social structure and for its vivid detail and illuminating look at Bruno’s trial and subsequent death.” —Library Journal “Riveting.” —Birmingham Post

The authors present both a vivid portrait of Einstein the man and the most accesible explanation of his scientific thought ever published. They provide startling revelations, including material on Einstein''s troubles with the FBI, his illegitimate child, his two marriages, and evidence that he may have suffered from schizophrenia.

Fiction or Nonfi ction, You read it and decide yourself I dont have to try to justify my story for I lived thru and experienced this chain of events.

White''s thesis is that the greatest advances in science come about through the stress of rivalry, whether between individual scientists, groups of scientists, institutions or even international communities of scientists. Not in this book do we have the thunderbolt of divine inspiration, or the placid, sterile and rather dull world in which it is popularly imagined the scientist lives: for White, great scientific advancements often find their origin and progression into the wider world through the very human battles for supremacy among the experts in any particular field, battles which can be born of jealousy, pettiness and simple personality clashes, as well as more noble instincts. The book deals with eight instances in the history of science and technology which changed the world, all of which have acute rivalry at their heart: Newton and Leibniz, Lavoisier and Priestley, Darwin and Wallace, Edison and Tesla, the race for the Atom Bomb, Crick and Watson, the Space Race and Gates and Ellison.

Isaac Asimov dominated science fiction for over half a century. He wrote over 400 books during the course of his career and was honored with every prize and award the science fiction community could give him. By his late teens, he had already embarked upon the works that would make him world-famous: the Robot stories, in which he laid down the Three Laws of Robotics, which are still accepted today by researchers into artificial intelligence; "Nightfall," arguably the best science fiction short story ever written; and the Foundation novels, where he established the idea of warring galactic empires, changing the face of science fiction forever. Bestselling author Michael White''s probing first-ever biography of this extraordinary writer takes us from Asimov''s troubled childhood in New York to his ascendancy to the rank of "Grand Master," the highest honor in the science fiction world. With the success of last summer''s hit film I, Robot and more Asimovian movies in the works, the founding father of science fiction is as influential and popular today as he was in the 1950s.

Lawyers and law students need to think lucidly and write clearly. Undergraduate “prelaw” students who aspire to become law students and someday lawyers can do the former by practicing the latter. If writing is like thinking, then studying writing is like studying thinking. This book is a study of legal writing and the law school admissions process, which provides candid advice on navigating the LSAC.org application process, the LSAT, and a style of writing called “FIRAAC.” The FIRAAC formula can help prelaw students learn to write (think) like a law student. FIRAAC can also help law students pass “race-horse” exams and bar candidates pass the bar exam. If your goal is to go to law school, graduate, pass the bar exam, and become a lawyer who writes (thinks) lucidly and clearly, then this book is for you!

This well-respected professor of early Christianity delves into what preceded the Gospels of the New Testament, which documents were written first and why, and what debates and personalities influenced what was ultimately chosen for inclusion in the Bible.