Best Selling Books by Peter Brown

This classic biography was first published forty-five years ago and has since established itself as the standard account of Saint Augustine''s life and teaching. The remarkable discovery of a considerable number of letters and sermons by Augustine cast fresh light on the first and last decades of his experience as a bishop. These circumstantial texts have led Peter Brown to reconsider some of his judgments on Augustine, both as the author of the Confessions and as the elderly bishop preaching and writing in the last years of Roman rule in north Africa. Brown''s reflections on the significance of these exciting new documents are contained in two chapters of a substantial Epilogue to his biography (the text of which is unaltered). He also reviews the changes in scholarship about Augustine since the 1960s. A personal as well as a scholarly fascination infuse the book-length epilogue and notes that Brown has added to his acclaimed portrait of the bishop of Hippo.

Here is the national bestseller that Newsday called “the most authoritative and candid look yet at the personal lives…of the oft-scrutinized group.” In The Love You Make, Peter Brown, a close friend of and business manager for the band—and the best man at John and Yoko’s wedding—presents a complete look at the dramatic offstage odyssey of the four lads from Liverpool who established the greatest music phenomenon of the twentieth century. Written with the full cooperation of each of the group’s members and their intimates, this book tells the inside story of the music and the madness, the feuds and the drugs, the marriages and the affairs—from the greatest heights to the self-destructive depths of the Fab Four. In-depth and definitive, The Love You Make is an astonishing account of four men who transformed the way a whole generation of young people thought and lived. It reigns as the most comprehensive, revealing biography available of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Includes 32 pages of rare and revealing photos A Literary Guild® Alternate Selection

A preliminary report on continuing research into the political, cultural, and religious milieu of the later Roman Empire, from a humanist historiographic perspective. Discusses autocracy and the elites, power, poverty, and the forging of a Christian empire. Does not assume a knowledge of Latin. Paper edition (unseen), $12.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This tenth anniversary revised edition of the authoritative text on Christianity’s first thousand years of history features a new preface, additional color images, and an updated bibliography. The essential general survey of medieval European Christendom, Brown’s vivid prose charts the compelling and tumultuous rise of an institution that came to wield enormous religious and secular power. • Clear and vivid history of Christianity’s rise and its pivotal role in the making of Europe • Written by the celebrated Princeton scholar who originated of the field of study known as ‘late antiquity’ • Includes a fully updated bibliography and index

In this groundbreaking work, Peter Brown explores how the worship of saints and their corporeal remains became central to religious life in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. During this period, earthly remnants served as a heavenly connection, and their veneration is a fascinating window into the cultural mood of a region in transition. Brown challenges the long-held “two-tier” idea of religion that separated the religious practices of the sophisticated elites from those of the superstitious masses, instead arguing that the cult of the saints crossed boundaries and played a dynamic part in both the Christian faith and the larger world of late antiquity. He shows how men and women living in harsh and sometimes barbaric times relied upon the holy dead to obtain justice, forgiveness, and power, and how a single sainted hair could inspire great thinkers and great artists. An essential text by one of the foremost scholars of European history, this expanded edition includes a new preface from Brown, which presents new ideas based on subsequent scholarship.

This New York Times bestselling modern classic explores the perennial topic of environmentalism in an urban world, from the creator of The Wild Robot and Mr. Tiger Goes Wild One boy''s quest for a greener world... one garden at a time. While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world. This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.

"A powerful and uncompromising story about survival, loss, fear, and what happens when hope is only the bleakest sliver of light. You will not soon forget Little McCardell or his unwavering spirit."--Kathleen Glasgow, "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Girl in Pieces."

Check out this bestselling, rollicking, and humorous twist on the classic "first pet" story about a young bear and her favorite pet boy! When Lucy, a young bear, discovers a boy in the woods, she''s absolutely delighted. She brings him home and begs her mom to let her keep him, even though her mom warns, "Children make terrible pets." But mom relents, and Lucy gets to name her new pet Squeaker. Through a series of hilarious and surprising scenes, readers can join Lucy and Squeaker on their day of fun and decide for themselves whether or not children really do make terrible pets.

Rising sophomore Travis and his best friend, Creature, spend a summer in a Eugene, Oregon, trailer park dealing with cancer, basketball, first love, addiction, gang violence, and a reptilian infestation.

Wall-E meets Hatchet in this New York Times bestselling illustrated middle grade novel from Caldecott Honor winner Peter Brown Can a robot survive in the wilderness? When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is--but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island''s unwelcoming animal inhabitants. As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home--until, one day, the robot''s mysterious past comes back to haunt her. From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.

Winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction, 2010. The title, A Bright Soothing Noise, refers to the sound that fire makes, promising not only warmth and light but also violence and destruction. Brown''s greatest hero is Frank O''Connor, and like O''Connor''s his stories uncover the final bleakness of a national life but in the same moment glow with its promise of love and life and belonging. Brown''s Americans will try almost anything to connect. They tend to drink too much, to drive too fast, are a little too violent in their passions and even a little too religious. Too often they believe, they trust--and then again they don''t, depending not so much on what''s getting proffered as who''s proffering. They are always on the verge of something better. They only want a little more, only a little too much, and while we as readers want with all our hearts for them to get it, we also fear they might. "This highly entertaining collection of stories has the scenic intensity and quality of Tennessee Williams''s one-act plays. Meet a varied cast of characters in strange settings, and enjoy their provocative and witty company."--Josip Novakovich, author of April Fool''s Day: A Novel and judge Number Nine: Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction

Get ready to go out and play… Based on the author’s acclaimed Integrated Outdoor Program, Let Them Be Eaten by Bears is Peter Hoffmeister’s inspiring guide to helping kids enjoy nature and appreciate the great outdoors. Drawing from his personal and professional background as an educator, guide, writer, and father, and focusing on fun rather than fear, Hoffmeister offers an approachable, fun reintroduction to hiking, camping, and all-around exploring that will help parents and kids alike feel empowered and capable. Whether you’re a veteran outdoorsperson, a first-time hiker, or anything in between, get ready to put on your sneakers, turn off your video games, and rediscover the simple, powerful joy of going out to play.

Tenaya has never left Yosemite Valley. He was born in a car by the Merced River, and grew up in a hidden camp with his parents, surviving on fish, acorns, and unfinished food thrown away by the park''s millions of tourists. But despite its splendor, Tenaya''s Yosemite is a visceral place of opposites, at once beautiful, dangerous, and violent. When he meets Lucy, a young woman from the south side of the park, Tenaya must choose between this new relationship and the Valley, terrorism and legend, the sacred versus the material. In this modern retelling of Samson and Delilah, Graphic the Valley explores mythical strength, worldly greed, love, lust, and epic destruction. Set entirely in the majestic Yosemite Valley, Hoffmeister recalls Edward Abbey''s vivid sense of place and urgent call for preservation of one of the world''s most spectacular sites.

In the Jhanctum galaxy, far beyond ours, a highly communicable contagion called the Wehtiko Influence has inexplicably escalated in its infection rate that is normally manageable by the unwavering vigilances of an alien military Corp. called the Qi-Tahh Supremacy. This outbreak began thousands of years ago, but its origin remains unknown, its actions are unpredictable and the cure is still as elusive as the contagion itself. This insidious strain does not affect all who are exposed, it cannot be eradicated and once Influenced, neither the host nor their planet can ever be completely cleansed of its barbarous effects.The Wehtiko is not an organism or a viral-based pathogen, it is an affliction of evil that unleashes the darkest nature of those Influenced. To combat the threat, the Ohdens, the Governing Council Authority mobilized the Supremacy who fights to maintain order over the populists gone mad and unravel the mystery behind the escalation. Planet Thada Argen is discovered to be ground zero, and is home to two peaceful species, the Dir-nays, a pygmy race, and the Eanois; humanoids with whom they have shared friendship and trade for decades. The Zahnobein Qi-Tahh, Wild Cards as good as their flag ship, are sent to inoculate the Influenced and prevent the Wehtiko from becoming a full-blown contagion that if not stopped here, will engulf their galaxy and spread beyond unchecked. However, during a skirmish with the Pygmies, the Elphah and eight Pridesmen are mysteriously whisked away leaving the remaining Pride to cope with the Dir-nays and an unforeseen circumstance that jeopardizes the success of their mission. They must delay searching for their missing family and complete the inoculation assignment within the allotted time, or the Life Protectors will be forced to destroy the planet and kill everyone on itincluding their own Pride.

"An intellectual autobiography by Peter Brown, one of the most eminent historians of the last 50 years, who is credited with having created the field of study know as Late Antiquity, the period during which Rome fell, the three major monotheistic religions took shape, and Christianity spread across Europe situating it in the major developments in historiography and the study of the religion in the 20th century and the minds behind them"--

Dirty Enlightenment is a stripped-down, radical presentation of the Nature of Reality and your spiritual place in it. In actuality, you are a miraculously present infinite field of transcendental being presenting itself to itself as subtle radiant energy of pure intelligence. This truth is consonant with the view of Dzogchen, Kashmir Shaivism, Kundalini Yoga, primal Buddhism, and with all radical spiritual traditions. Since this is already and eternally the sole condition, the spiritual challenge is merely to recognize that this is the case. With the simple recognition of the nature of your actual condition, you are freed from the confused implications of any misinterpretations of what your condition is, that you may have been laboring under. The apparent "imperfection" that you may believe your life to be, is in fact already and inherently an entirely transcendental, miraculous eternal perfection, and it can be easy to discover this fact with self-verifying certainty.

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year A Tablet Book of the Year Marking a departure in our understanding of Christian views of the afterlife from 250 to 650 CE, The Ransom of the Soul explores a revolutionary shift in thinking about the fate of the soul that occurred around the time of Rome’s fall. Peter Brown describes how this shift transformed the Church’s institutional relationship to money and set the stage for its domination of medieval society in the West. “[An] extraordinary new book...Prodigiously original—an astonishing performance for a historian who has already been so prolific and influential...Peter Brown’s subtle and incisive tracking of the role of money in Christian attitudes toward the afterlife not only breaks down traditional geographical and chronological boundaries across more than four centuries. It provides wholly new perspectives on Christianity itself, its evolution, and, above all, its discontinuities. It demonstrates why the Middle Ages, when they finally arrived, were so very different from late antiquity.” —G. W. Bowersock, New York Review of Books “Peter Brown’s explorations of the mindsets of late antiquity have been educating us for nearly half a century...Brown shows brilliantly in this book how the future life of Christians beyond the grave was influenced in particular by money. —A. N. Wilson, The Spectator

Computer Law covers topics as: hardware acquisition, financing/maintenance, software licensing, development/maintenance, antitrust law, copyright, patent/trade secret protection of software, and more.

The Girl from Andros was the Roman comic playwright Terence’s first play and shows him as already a master dramatist. It contains much plotting and counter-plotting, two boys in danger of losing the girls they love, and a girl searching for her family. This is the first detailed commentary on the play for nearly sixty years.

An instant New York Times bestseller! The sequel to the bestselling The Wild Robot, by award-winning author Peter Brown Shipwrecked on a remote, wild island, Robot Roz learned from the unwelcoming animal inhabitants and adapted to her surroundings--but can she survive the challenges of the civilized world and find her way home to Brightbill and the island? From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed sequel to his New York Times bestselling The Wild Robot, about what happens when nature and technology collide.

One of the only books on this subject to focus on XML''s value as a business tool rather than the technology. This book deals with important management issues and focuses on demonstrating XML''s value as a business tool. It emphasizes processes and business logic, and will show you how to go about introducing this technology and what must be done to achieve a smooth implementation. * Offers a management driven approach to XML-based information systems architecture * Discusses important related standards such as RDF, topic maps, and XML * Schema * Describes the building blocks of an XML-based architecture * Provides a blueprint for an organizational model of the roles and responsibilities of those involved in setting up an XML-based architecture * Presents a management framework and methodology for developing XML-based information systems

Central to the repertoire of Western art music since the 18th century, the symphony has come to be regarded as one of the ultimate compositional challenges. Surprisingly, heretofore there has been no truly extensive, broad-based treatment of the genre, and the best of the existing studies are now several decades old. In this five-volume series, A. Peter Brown explores the symphony from its 18th-century beginnings to the end of the 20th century. Synthesizing the enormous scholarly literature, Brown presents up-to-date overviews of the status of research, discusses any important former or remaining problems of attribution, illuminates the style of specific works and their contexts, and samples early writings on their reception. The Symphonic Repertoire provides an unmatched compendium of knowledge for the student, teacher, performer, and sophisticated amateur. The series is being launched with two volumes on the Viennese symphony. Volume II The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert Volume II considers some of the best-known and most universally admired symphonies by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, who created what A. Peter Brown designates as the first golden age of the Viennese symphony during the late 18th and first three decades of the 19th century. The last two dozen symphonies by Haydn, half dozen by Mozart, and three by Schubert, together with Beethoven''s nine symphonies became established in the repertoire and provided a standard against which every other symphony would be measured. Most significantly, they imparted a prestige to the genre that was only occasionally rivaled by other cyclic compositions. More than 170 symphonies from this repertoire are described and analyzed in The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony, the first volume of the series to appear.

And introduction -- Inventory applications of current plans -- Approaches for maintaining inventories -- Alternative plans for maintaining fighter inventories.

A preeminent classical scholar on the emergence of one of our most familiar social divisions.

His illuminating analysis of religious change as the art of the possible has a wide relevance for other periods and regions.

Applying Cultural Anthropology: An Introductory Reader is a collection of articles that provide compelling examples of applied research in cultural anthropology. In this age of globalization and increased cultural intolerance, the basic messages of public anthropology are more important than ever. The eighth edition offers 8 new readings and a new chart at the beginning of the text to help instructors and students locate key themes and topics.

Published by Boydell & Brewer Inc.

The author links Chaucer''s writings with the medieval optical tradition in its various forms (scholastic texts, encyclopedias, exempla, vernacular poetry) both in general cultural terms and through the discussion of specific examples. He shows how the science of optics, or perspectiva, provides an account of spatial perception, including visual error, and demonstrates how these aspects of optical theory impact on Chaucer''s poetry. He provides detailed and sustained analysis of the spatial content of narratives across the range of Chaucer''s works, relating them to optical ideas and making use of Lefebvre''s theory of the production of space. The texts discussed include the Book of the Duchess, House of Fame, Knight''s Tale, Miller''s Tale, Reeve''s Tale, Merchant''s Tale, Squire''s Tale and Troilus and Criseyde.

''Chaucer at Work'' provides an introduction to ''The Canterbury Tales'', avoiding excessive amounts of background information and involves both lecturer and student in the discovery of how Chaucer composed his famous work.

From New York Times bestselling author Peter Brown comes a hilarious and heartwarming story that introduces a uniquely endearing character: a weird but loveable bulldog who learns to make friends by being true to his quirks. As hard as he tries, Chowder has never managed to fit in with the other neighborhood dogs. While the neighborhood dogs are content to fetch newspapers and take walks, Chowder spends his days on the computer, dancing with his headphones, and using his favorite toy of all, his telescope. But being different makes Chowder lonely. When a petting zoo opens, Chowder is determined to make friends with the zoo animals. And with a strong kick and a flying leap, Chowder finally finds a place where he can be comfortable being his silly, slobbery self.