New Releases by V.

The Marriage Checkup is designed to help couples assess the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship and to develop strategies for strengthening its health. Like physical health, the health of a relationship can be developed to greater levels of fitness and resilience to illness. Thus, even healthy couples can benefit from a marital health perspective by developing exercises for optimizing their health and fitness. This book primarily serves couples interested in improving the health of their relationship. Counselors and therapists may recommend that their couples-patients use the book. Additionally, the book may be of interest to professors of marriage and family counseling.

Vietnamese women are affected by Confucianism, colonialism, capitalism, communism, and wars. For a long time, the history of East Asian women paralleled that of Confucianism. Women participated in and bore witness to history; they wrote it through their work, sacrifices, sweat, blood, and lives. The history of Vietnamese women is the story of people in search of an elusive freedom for the last two millennia. And not writing about them would be similar to neglecting a big chunk of history for they were not only the guardians of conformity and social mores, they also bore past and present children as well as the future of the nation.

Completed in 1999 by a distinguished group of Arabists and historians of Islam, the annotated translation of al-T|abariμ’s History is arguably the most celebrated chronicle produced in the Islamic lands on the history of the world and the early centuries of Islam. This fortieth volume, the Index, compiled by Alex V. Popovkin under the supervision of Everett K. Rowson, serves as an essential reference tool. It offers scholars and general readers convenient access to the wealth of information provided by this massive work.

Shaping Truth, Reshaping Justice is the first scholarly analysis of the Nigerian truth commission and provides academic material for a comparative study of African truth commissions. It relates to other academic analyses of truth commissions by uniquely providing an exposition and examination of the Nigerian truth experience.

Feroces, crueles, valientes y apasionados, los cosacos hacen temblar la estepa bajo los cascos de sus caballos. Y entre ellos se encuentra Taras Bulba, un anciano lleno aún de fuerza e inteligencia que junto a sus hijos, Ostap y Andrí, avanzará por tierras polacas con intención de vengar su fe ortodoxa burlada por los católicos. Ninguna guarnición, ciudad amurallada o iglesia podrán detenerlos, hasta que la desgracia se cierna sobre ellos y el apuesto y enamoradizo Andrí haga que su padre maldiga el día en que lo engendró. Taras Bulba, una anomalía entre la obra más conocida de Gogol, es una aventura trepidante, una sinfonía en perpetuo crescendo, en la que cada capítulo es más intenso y sorprendente que el anterior. un fresco tan afinadamente dibujado y tan vívido que resulta absolutamente intemporal.

Twenty-?ve years have passed since the publication of the Russian version of the book Estimation of Dependencies Based on Empirical Data (EDBED for short). Twen- ?ve years is a long period of time. During these years many things have happened. Looking back, one can see how rapidly life and technology have changed, and how slow and dif?cult it is to change the theoretical foundation of the technology and its philosophy. I pursued two goals writing this Afterword: to update the technical results presented in EDBED (the easy goal) and to describe a general picture of how the new ideas developed over these years (a much more dif?cult goal). The picture which I would like to present is a very personal (and therefore very biased) account of the development of one particular branch of science, Empirical - ference Science. Such accounts usually are not included in the content of technical publications. I have followed this rule in all of my previous books. But this time I would like to violate it for the following reasons. First of all, for me EDBED is the important milestone in the development of empirical inference theory and I would like to explain why. S- ond, during these years, there were a lot of discussions between supporters of the new 1 paradigm (now it is called the VC theory ) and the old one (classical statistics).

The first multivolume encyclopedia to document the history of one of the most influential religious movements of the Middle Ages—the Crusades. The Crusades: An Encyclopedia surveys all aspects of the crusading movement from its origins in the 11th century to its decline in the 16th century. Unlike other works, which focus on the eastern Mediterranean region, this expansive four-volume encyclopedia also includes the struggle of Christendom against its enemies in Iberia, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic region, and also covers the military orders, crusades against fellow Christians, heretics, and more. This work includes comprehensive entries on personalities such as Godfrey of Bouillon, who refused the title "King of Jerusalem," and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who tore up his own clothing to make symbols of the cross for crusaders, as well as key events, countries, places, and themes that shed light on everything from the propaganda that inspired crusading warriors to the ways in which they fought. Special coverage of topics such as taxation, pilgrimage, warfare, chivalry, and religious orders give readers an appreciation of the multifaceted nature of these "holy wars."

A biography of the fourteen-year old golfer, Michelle Wie, who became the youngest, and only female to ever play on the PGA Tour.

This original study by distinguished scholar Vitaly V. Naumkin offers an authoritative analysis of the key militant Islamic organizations in Central Asia. Long veiled in secrecy, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Hizb at-Tahrir al-Islami, and the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan are illuminated here for the first time. Drawing on his extensive fieldwork and an unprecedented array of Central Asian primary sources, the author thoroughly compares their doctrines, power bases, and political practices. The book also explores the history of political Islam in Central Asia and explains the concurrent roots of Islamic militancy from the early disputes between Salafis and traditionalists, through the period of Islamic revival in the late 1980s when radical groups first emerged, and up to their growing strength today. Naumkin analyzes the human dimension in Central Asian Islam through the lives of the most significant theologians, mullahs, underground preachers, and teachers in the region, evaluating their role in the spread of Islamic radicalism. Providing fresh insight into the balance between peaceful and militant means of struggle for power used by Islamic movements, the author considers into the possibility of dialogue with the Islamists and the outcome of the "Tajik experiment" that brought former Islamic radicals into the government. All those interested in the development of political Islam will find this study an invaluable resource.

Yelena, about to be executed, is offered the job of food taster to the Commander of Ixia, but politics and magic keep threatening her life.

This comprehensive and accessible reference explores the greatest and most mysterious of civilizations, hailed for its contributions to science, mathematics, and technology. Each chapter is supplemented by an extensive bibliography as well as photos, original line drawings, and maps.

Logos and Power in Isocrates and Aristotle presents Isocrates'' vision of discourse as a worthy rival, rather than a mere precursor, of Aristotle''s Rhetoric. It argues that much of what Aristotle said about the status of rhetoric and the role of discourse may have been a reaction to Isocrates.

Hegel''s aim in this work is to interpret the varied phenomena of Nature from the standpoint of a dialectical logic. Those who still think of Hegel as a merely a priori philosopher will here find abundant evidence that he was keenly interested in and very well informed about empirical science.

Jay Pasachoff and Alex Filippenko combine extensive research experience (including years of research in such areas as radio astronomy, solar eclipses, supernovae, active galaxies, black holes, and cosmology), teaching experience, and textbook-writing experience to offer a book that is unparalleled in its ability to present the latest science in a way that students can understand. This brief and beautifully illustrated text - one of the briefest available for the course - offers concise coverage of a wide range of astronomical topics. An early discussion of the scientific method stresses its importance in the verification of observations. The authors emphasize the study of origins in this text, first by singling out specifics in the headings of each chapter and then by dealing with a variety of relevant material in the text itself. This new edition includes a new chapter on the dozens of exoplanets that are being discovered around other stars. Automatically packaged with TheSky™ CD-ROM and four months' free access to InfoTrac College Edition, the new edition extends student learning opportunities beyond the walls of the classroom.

An insightful, up-to-date look at creating in the digital environment In a practical, easy-to-understand format, The Art of 3-D Computer Animation and Effects covers every aspect of creating and outputting fully rendered three-dimensional computer still images or animations, including visual effects for live action. Along with helpful insights into the newest techniques available in the latest software programs and hardware, this new edition provides solid conceptual and critical basics through a combination of technical explanations and creative techniques. Creative vision can be brought to life on the screen through an easy-to-understand, step-by-step approach supported by full-color sample work by such leading companies as Pixar Animation Studios, Square, DreamWorks SKG, Fox, Disney, and many independent artists and studios. Isaac Victor Kerlow (Los Angeles, CA) is Director of Digital Production at the Walt Disney Company and a longtime active member of SIGGRAPH and the Visual Effects Society.

Can an orthodox Christian creed and ritual be combined with a liberal church administration and a tolerant civic acceptance of not-so-orthodox views and practices? This question—perennial among Catholics for the past two centuries and the goal of the Anglican quest for a via media—finds an affirmative answer in Zdenek V. David''s history of the Utraquist church of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Bohemia. This church declared its autonomy from the Roman church in 1415 after the Bohemian preacher Jan Hus, who had decried clerical abuses and opposed the pope''s doctrinal and juridical authority, was condemned by a Roman church council and executed. Sometimes called "Hussitist" (a usage David attacks for exaggerating Hus''s role; "Utraquist" is the Latinized form of the Czech name it adherents used) this Bohemian church administered its institutions and educated and managed its clergy independently of Rome for the next two hundred years. David''s book focuses on the middle course steered by the Utraquists after the onset of the Protestant Reformation. It rejected core Protestant beliefs, such as salvation by faith alone, and practices, going so far in emphasizing apostolic succession as to have its new priests ordained by Latin-rite or, in a few cases, Eastern-rite Uniate bishops. At the same time, the Utraquists pursued their orthodoxy by disputation rather than hurling anathemas and lived alongside Lutherans, the Unity of Brethren, and others. Ultimately the Utraquist church was reabsorbed into Roman Catholicism and its special features repressed in the Counter-Reformation.

This book explores the references to Egypt in the Pentateuch--twice as dense as in the rest of the Hebrew Bible--in the context of the production of the text''s final form during the Persian period. Here, as Greifenhagen shows, Egypt functions ideologically as the primary "other" over against which Israel''s identity is constructed, while its role in Israel''s formation appears as subsidiary and as a superseded stage in a master narrative which locates Israel''s ethnic roots in Mesopotamia. But the presentation of this powerful neighbour is equivocal: a dominant anti-Egyptian stance coexists with alternative, though subordinate, pro-Egyptian views, suggesting that the Pentateuchal narrative was produced within a context of ideological conflict over attitudes towards a land that provided a home for Jewish fugitives and emigrants.

The focus of this book is to educate the reader on the strategic principles fundamental to using information technology to gain market control. It provides case examples of how to use IT to enhance existing core competencies and strategies. The book is designed to help managers struggling with how to advantageously harness the new information revolution. It can also support executive and business education programs on managing technology when few such studies exist. While Internet and information technologies are currently hot topics many firms and executives are without the tools and know-how of how to actually use them to improve results. Some major firms have sophisticated strategies for using information technology to impact, control and even own their competitive environments. This book describes how major non-information technology companies are doing this and the strategic principles employed.

“Superb professional history that moves boldly beyond the scholar’s monograph to make the American past alive and exciting for the general reader.” —Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. [Remini] has produced a wonderful portrait, rich in detail, of a fascinating and important man and an authoritative . . . . account of his role in American History.” —New York Times Book Review The classic one-volume abridgement of the definitive, three-volume, National Book Award-winning biography of Andrew Jackson from esteemed historian Robert V. Remini.

The Western media, in particular, has cast Iran variously as an outlaw country or an outcast but seldom as a normal country, as least since the demise of the Shah or Iran. The United States doesn''t cotton to countries falling out of its sphere of influence, particularly if they happen to possess substantial oil reserves, as Iran does, and contain important listening posts on Russia. Add to that a fundamentalist Muslim regime, and the result is an outlaw or outcast label. Yet, could Iran perhaps represent the wave of the future for Muslim countries? Does the label itself tell more about the labellers than about Iran? This book presents papers which present facets of Iran''s political activities which might not normally reach Western readers.

Mielczarek (physics, George Mason U.) and science writer McGrayne explore the critical importance of the metal element in life from bacteria to humans. They report on recent discoveries about iron and magnetism in bacteria, in myriad animal and plant species, and in humans, such as that many migrating animals have minute deposits of magnetite inside them that are sensory navigators. They also, of course, discuss the role of iron in mammalian blood and the iron- related diseases of humans.

Butterfly enthusiasts, nature lovers, and curious general readers will perhaps be surprised to learn that Florida''s butterfly fauna is unique--and that, until the appearance of this volume, there has been no adequate field guide for the butterflies of this region. This guide simplifies identification by illustrating only species found in Florida--using superb photographs of live butterflies coupled with detailed range maps and identification data. It also offers, with unprecedented detail, much information on flight times and abundances for each of five Florida subregions, including reports on 70 localities in which to find butterflies. Lastly, discussions of the foodplants for each species along with suggestions for attracting these species to one''s garden make this work invaluable for all Florida gardeners interested in butterflies.

Written by one of America''s foremost political and legal theorists, Storm Over the Constitution examines the arguments of some of the leading proponents of the doctrine of "original intent." According to legal scholars such as Judge Robert Bork, Lino Gralia, Charles Cooper, and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a jurisprudence of original intent requires that judges bring no theory to the interpretation of the Constitution. In this brilliant new book, Harry Jaffa illustrates how judges under the influence of this definition of "original" intent particularly neglect the Declaration of Independence as a guide. Jaffa shows that this definition is, from the point of view of the American Founding, anything but original; moreover, it is openly hostile to the natural-rights theory of those who wrote and ratified the Constitution. The author implores Americans to follow the example set by Abraham Lincoln, who admired the Declaration of Independence more openly, interpreted it more deeply, and implemented it more practically than any other president before or since. Lincoln''s achievement fulfilled a tradition of civic understanding and scholarship closer in time and purpose to the founders, and was thus more "original."

In June 1994, the USA went to the brink of war with North Korea. Few Americans know the full details or realise the impact such an event could have had on the US''s post-Cold War foreign policy. This book offers an inside look at the crisis.

Available in paperback for the first time, these three volumes represent the definitive biography of Andrew Jackson. Volume One covers the role Jackson played in America''s territorial expansion, bringing to life a complex character who has often been seen simply as a rough-hewn country general. Volume Two traces Jackson''s senatorial career, his presidential campaigns, and his first administration as President. Volume Three covers Jackson''s reelection to the presidency and the weighty issues with which he was faced: the nullification crisis, the tragic removal of the Indians beyond the Mississippi River, the mounting violence throughout the country over slavery, and the tortuous efforts to win the annexation of Texas.

What kinds of behaviors and groups prompt intervention? What interpretive framework does the public apply to sexual behavior?

This important study compares and evaluates the nature of church-state relations in the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, and England. The authors conclude that the American conception of church-state separation, with its traditional emphasis on avoiding government establishment of religion, actually discriminates against religious groups by denying religious organizations, particularly schools, access to government services provided to other organizations.

This new edition of the standard work "The Englishman''s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament" is an improved and corrected edition that features a new, larger format. Now coded to "Strong''s, " it is invaluable in Bible study for those who do not know Hebrew. A new index of out-of-sequence "Strong''s" numbers allows the reader to quickly and easily locate any word by its "Strong''s "number. The Hebrew and English indexes have been retained.

Thomas V. Morris discusses life, death, religion, the nature of faith and more. This captivating book is ideal both for thoughtful unbelievers who consider Christianity unreasonable, and Christians wanting to know how to share their faith with sceptics. Writing in an engaging, conversational style, Morris takes an intriguing new look at the big questions that keep coming up -- questions about life, death, God, religion, the nature of faith, the formation of an adequate worldview, and the meaning of life. Morris explores these kinds of questions in an earnest yet thoroughly entertaining and easily readable way, relating numerous personal anecdotes, incorporating intriguing material from the films of Woody Allen and the journals of Tolstoy, and using the writings of the seventeenth-century genius Blaise Pascal as a central guide.