A SCIENTIST’S CASE FOR THE AFTERLIFE

Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.

Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human—shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back.

Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself.

Alexander’s story is not a fantasy. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition.

This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.

Svetlana Aleksievici s-a născut la 31 mai 1948 la Ivano-Frankivsk (fost Stanislav), în vestul Ucrainei. După ce tatăl ei a fost demobilizat din armată, familia – tatăl bielorus si mama ucraineancă – s-a stabilit în Bielorusia, unde părinţii au lucrat ca profesori la sat. A studiat jurnalismul la Minsk, considerând facultatea de profil drept lucrul „cel mai apropiat de o şcoală de scriere”. După absolvire, a lucrat în redacţii din provincie şi apoi din capitală. Prima ei carte, compusă din mărturiile unor oameni care şi-au părăsit locurile natale, a fost retrasă din librării de autorităţi. Următoarea apariţie, Războiul nu are chip de femeie (1985), publicată simultan la Moscova şi la Minsk, are la bază interviuri cu femeile care au luptat în Armata Roşie în al Doilea Război Mondial şi a reprezentat o ieşire din cadrele mitologiei sovietice din epocă. Titlul cărţii a fost folosit de Mihail Gorbaciov într-un discurs oficial. Băieţii din zinc (1990) cuprinde mărturii ale militarilor sovietici care au participat la războiul dus de URSS în Afganistan (1979-1989). În 1997 a publicat Dezastrul de la Cernobîl. Mărturii ale supravieţuitorilor, rezultat al unei documentări începute în 1986, imediat după accidentul nuclear din Ucraina. La începutul anilor 2000 a plecat din Bielorusia, atât în semn de protest faţă de dictatura lui Aleksandr Lukaşenko, cât şi pentru a se putea dedica plenar scrisului. După perioade petrecute în Italia, Germania, Spania şi Suedia, a revenit, în 2011, la Minsk.

În 2015 i s-a decernat Premiul Nobel pentru Literatură, pentru „scrierile sale polifonice, un monument dedicat suferinţei şi curajului în zilele noastre”. A devenit astfel unul dintre puţinii scriitori distinşi pentru nonficţiune. Vremuri second-hand (2013), cea mai recentă carte a sa, întregeşte seria „Vocile Utopiei”, consacrată de autoare celor care s-au aflat timp de aproape un secol sub semnul ideologiei comuniste.

Een uitermate dynamische vrouw is zuster Pelagia, een non met veel talenten. Van tijd tot tijd wordt er een beroep op haar gedaan om ingewikkelde mysteries op te lossen in de haastige werkelijkheid buiten het klooster. In De witte buldog moet Pelagia - in opdracht van haar 'baas' bisschop Mitrofani - erachter zien te komen wie de drie witte buldoggen van een plaatselijke aristocratische familie heeft vergiftigd. En vooral: met welk motief? Het ziet ernaar uit dat de moord op de buldoggen als een waarschuwing bedoeld is.

Bebels einflussreichstes Werk war Die Frau und der Sozialismus (1879) mit zahlreichen Neuauflagen bis in die Gegenwart. Allein zu seinen Lebzeiten erschienen 52 Ausgaben. Darin fordert er die berufliche und politische Gleichberechtigung der Frau. Eingearbeitet hat Bebel zahlreiche Aspekte aus Medizin, Naturwissenschaften, Rechtswissenschaften und der Geschichte. Er verband seine Schilderung der Lage der Frau im Zeitverlauf mit der Kritik an der bestehenden gesellschaftlichen Ordnung. Erst eine sozialistische Gesellschaft bringe das Ende der Frauendiskriminierung. Schließlich skizzierte Bebel den sozialistischen Zukunftsstaat. Nach der Aufhebung des Privateigentums an Produktionsmitteln würden auch zahlreiche gesellschaftliche Übel abgestellt, staatliche Organisationen überflüssig, und die Religion würde verschwinden. (aus wikipedia.de) Die Serie "Meisterwerke der Literatur" beinhaltet die Klassiker der deutschen und weltweiten Literatur in einer einzigartigen Sammlung. Lesen Sie die besten Werke großer Schriftsteller,Poeten, Autoren und Philosophen auf Ihrem elektronischen Lesegerät. Dieses Werk bietet zusätzlich * Eine Biografie/Bibliografie des Autors.

'Miracles of Life' opens and closes in Shanghai, the city where J.G.Ballard was born, and where he spent the most of the Second World War interned with his family in a Japanese concentration camp. In the intervening chapters Ballard creates a memoir that is both an enthralling narrative and a detailed examination of the events which would profoundly influence his work. Beginning with his early childhood spent exploring the vibrant surroundings of pre-war Shanghai, Ballard charts the course of his remarkable life from the deprivations and unexpected freedoms of the Lunghua Camp to his return to a Britain physically and psychologically crippled by war. He explores his subsequent involvement in the dramatic social changes of the 1960s, and the adjustments to life following the premature death of his wife. In prose displaying his characteristic precision and eye for detail, Ballard recounts the experiences which would fundamentally shape his writing, while simultaneously providing an striking social analysis of the fragmented post-war Britain that lies behind so many of his novels. 'Miracles of Life' is an utterly captivating account of an extraordinary writer's extraordinary life.

Ein Gehirnschlag beendete Ende letzten Jahres das alltägliche, das «normale» Leben des vierundvierzigjährigen Jean-Dominique Bauby, der bis dahin Chefredakteur der Zeitschrift «Elle» war und von da an nur noch vier Monate zu leben hatte. Bauby nutzte seine Zeit, um alles, was ihn bewegte, zu Papier zu bringen. Doch er selber sollte dazu gar nicht mehr in der Lage sein, war er doch vollständig gelähmt und dazu verdammt, nur noch mit dem linken Auge zu blinzeln.

Mittels eines Spezialalphabets, das sich an der Häufigkeit der Vokale und Konsonanten im Französischen orientierte, diktierte er der Lektorin Claude Mendibil fortan alles, was ihn bewegte – mittels Lidschlag: Aus seiner abgeschirmten Taucherglocke heraus funkte bzw. blinzelte er auf diese Weise empfindsame letzte Nachrichten an eine Welt, die für ihn schon unerreichbar weit weg war.

The editor-in-chief of French Elle, Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a stroke that resulted in locked-in syndrome when he was 43 years old. He died just two days after the French publication of his book.

Beschrijving Esther Bakker vertrekt met haar man naar Swaziland waar hij aan de slag kan bij een hulporganisatie. Na vijf jaar van kinderen krijgen, hard werken en in de rij staan bij Albert Heijn, ziet het vooruitzicht om een tijdje in Afrika te wonen er aanlokkelijk uit. Esther Bakker is beroepsreizigster, maar verder dan een huisje in Drenthe komt ze niet met haar jonge gezin. Dan liever een huisje tussen de olifanten, koppig doorwerken terwijl haar tuin in vlammen opgaat en in de rij staan bij de lokale Spar, maar dan in het donker omdat de electriciteit weer eens is uitgevallen. Recensie(s) NBD|Biblion recensie De auteur woont met haar drie kleine kinderen en echtgenoot in Swaziland. Deze laatste werkt voor een hulporganisatie en speelt in dit boek een kleine rol. De auteur (ik-figuur) beschrijft in veertig prettig lezende hoofdstukken haar ervaringen als Nederlandse huisvrouw en moeder in een Afrikaanse wereld. Zij brengt de kinderen naar school en haalt ze weer op, doet boodschappen, voelt zich alleen, heeft soms contact met andere blanke vrouwen ('met die grote suv's'). Boeiend zijn haar ervaringen met Julia, haar hulp, die weduwe is (haar echtgenoot is overleden aan aids) en moeder. Julia haalt de broodkorsten van de kinderen uit het afval en vindt dat haar mevrouw slordig is. Dit boek is niet spectaculair, maar geeft een scherp beeld van het leven van een blanke vrouw in dergelijke omstandigheden. (NBD|Biblion recensie, Harrie M. Leyten)

Charrière fut faussement accusé de meurtre en 1931 et condamné à perpétuité au bagne en Guyane française. Le régime là, dit « le chemin de la pourriture », était affreux. Résolu qu'il n'y appartiendrait jamais, il s'évada. Sa récompense fut d'abord un cachot inondé de la mer toutes les marées, puis un séjour à la réclusion, « la mangeuse d'hommes », où il fut puni par la quasi-famine. Mais il désira tant sa liberté que, n'importe combien de ses essais aient échoué, il tenta une évasion après l'autre.

Вы держите в руках увлекательный опус Иоанны Хмелевской об азарте, о страсти к игре, которой одержимы миллионы людей, в том числе и сама знаменитая писательница. Рулетка и покер, блэк-джек и кости – теперь вы можете хоть сутками напролет прожигать свою жизнь, подобно персонажам этой книги. Она обращена ко всем – и к заядлым игрокам, и к зеленым новичкам, жаждущим выиграть свой первый миллион, и к несчастным, что проиграли последнюю рубаху. Но прежде всего – к поклонникам Иоанны Хмелевской, которые устали осаждать издательство вопросом, когда же они смогут узнать, что такое азарт. Трудно найти более сведущего знатока игры и азарта, чем Хмелевская, – пани Иоанна самолично посетила все крупнейшие казино мира, поиграла во всевозможные азартные игры и теперь желает поделиться своим опытом с читателями. Игра – занятие не только азартное, но еще и крайне веселое, вот главный вывод Иоанны Хмелевской. Правда, проиграть вам не удастся, поскольку «Азарт» пани Иоанны – это верный выигрыш.

Jacques Chirac ne parle pas facilement de lui-même. Pudique et secret, il se raconte ici pour la première fois. Dans un style vivant et direct, non dénué d’humour, il évoque ses origines familiales, sa jeunesse aventureuse et ses débuts en politique, depuis son élection en 1967 comme député de Corrèze, qui lui a permis de s’imposer très vite dans un milieu pour lequel il ne se sentait pas prédestiné.

Ce volume couvre les soixante-trois premières années de sa vie, jusqu’à son élection à la présidence de la République en 1995. On y voit naître et se former un homme politique hors normes et s’élaborer sa réflexion profondément marquée par les valeurs conjointes du radicalisme et du gaullisme.

Jacques Chirac revient sur ses relations privilégiées avec Georges Pompidou, ses rapports conflictuels avec Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, sa cohabitation à la fois orageuse et complice avec François Mitterrand, son affrontement avec Édouard Balladur. Il lève le voile sur les années de solitude qui, nonobstant les trahisons, l’ont conduit en 1995 à la tête de l’État. C’est avec la même franchise qu’il révèle ses échanges avec divers chefs d’État étrangers. Jacques Chirac consacre aussi une large place dans ce livre à ses souvenirs personnels, brossant un portrait intime et émouvant de ses parents, de son épouse Bernadette et de ses filles Laurence et Claude. Il nous fait entrer dans son « jardin secret » en expliquant les raisons de son goût pour l’Asie et les arts premiers, qui a largement fondé sa vision humaniste du monde et de l’Histoire.

In this newest installment of the Battlefields & Blessings series, is a 365 day collection of inspiring stories of courage perseverance and faith based on first-hand accounts of more than seventy individuals who have served in the war. Through multiple, never-before-told stories, readers will uncover the personal challenges of the battlefield. In you will discover the experiences and perspectives of deployed soldiers, chaplains, military wives and parents, organizers of humanitarian efforts, and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

It has won the prestigious 2010 Gold Medal Award from the MWSA (Military’s Writers Society of America) and the 2010 Silver Medal Award from the Branson Stars and Flags Book Award.

Through multiple, never-before-told stories, readers will uncover the personal challenges of the battlefield. In you’ll find the experiences and perspectives of deployed soldiers, chaplains, military wives and parents, organizers of humanitarian efforts, veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, loved ones of fallen soldiers, and more. You'll meet:

• The crew member on a Marine transport vessel combating a dust storm during the invasion.

• A major overcoming bureaucratic challenges to stand up the Iraq Air Force.

• A three-star general motivating his team to build a stronger Iraq through reconstruction projects.

• The mother of a Navy SEAL who herself demonstrated tremendous courage under fire after her son’s death.

• And a congressman heralding the founding principles of our nation, ones he passed along to his son who served in Iraq.

Readers will come away appreciating those who have lived loudly for liberty.

In this newest installment of the Battlefields & Blessings series, is a 365 day collection of inspiring stories of courage perseverance and faith based on first-hand accounts of more than seventy individuals who have served in the war. Through multiple, never-before-told stories, readers will uncover the personal challenges of the battlefield. In you will discover the experiences and perspectives of deployed soldiers, chaplains, military wives and parents, organizers of humanitarian efforts, and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

It has won the prestigious 2010 Gold Medal Award from the MWSA (Military’s Writers Society of America) and the 2010 Silver Medal Award from the Branson Stars and Flags Book Award.

Through multiple, never-before-told stories, readers will uncover the personal challenges of the battlefield. In you’ll find the experiences and perspectives of deployed soldiers, chaplains, military wives and parents, organizers of humanitarian efforts, veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, loved ones of fallen soldiers, and more. You'll meet:

• The crew member on a Marine transport vessel combating a dust storm during the invasion.

• A major overcoming bureaucratic challenges to stand up the Iraq Air Force.

• A three-star general motivating his team to build a stronger Iraq through reconstruction projects.

• The mother of a Navy SEAL who herself demonstrated tremendous courage under fire after her son’s death.

• And a congressman heralding the founding principles of our nation, ones he passed along to his son who served in Iraq.

Readers will come away appreciating those who have lived loudly for liberty.

A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's 73 recently discovered notebooks, including illustrations, deleted extracts, and two unpublished Poirot stories. When Agatha Christie died in 1976, aged 85, she had become the world's most popular author. With sales of more than two billion copies worldwide in more than 100 countries, she had achieved the impossible - more than one book every year since the 1920s, every one a bestseller. So prolific was Agatha Christie's output - 66 crime novels, 20 plays, 6 romance books under a pseudonym and over 150 short stories - it was often claimed that she had a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort over those 55 years to more mundane methods of working out her ingenious crimes? Following the death of Agatha's daughter, Rosalind, at the end of 2004, a remarkable secret was revealed. Unearthed among her affairs at the family home of Greenway were Agatha Christie's private notebooks, 73 handwritten volumes of notes, lists and drafts outlining all her plans for her many books, plays and stories. Buried in this treasure trove, all in her unmistakable handwriting, are revelations about her famous books that will fascinate anyone who has ever read or watched an Agatha Christie story. What is the 'deleted scene' in her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles? How did the infamous twist in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, really come about? Which very famous Poirot novel started life as an adventure for Miss Marple? Which books were designed to have completely different endings, and what were they? Full of details she was too modest to reveal in her own Autobiography, this remarkable new book includes a wealth of extracts and pages reproduced directly from the notebooks and her letters, plus for the first time two newly discovered complete Hercule Poirot short stories never before published.

Based on a decade of research and on interviews with many of Mao’s close circle in China who have never talked before — and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him — this is the most authoritative life of Mao ever written. It is full of startling revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing a completely unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology; his intimate and intricate relationship with Stalin went back to the 1920s, ultimately bringing him to power; he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China; and he schemed, poisoned and blackmailed to get his way. After Mao conquered China in 1949, his secret goal was to dominate the world. In chasing this dream he caused the deaths of 38 million people in the greatest famine in history. In all, well over 70 million Chinese perished under Mao’s rule — in peacetime.

Combining meticulous research with the story-telling style of , this biography offers a harrowing portrait of Mao’s ruthless accumulation of power through the exercise of terror: his first victims were the peasants, then the intellectuals and, finally, the inner circle of his own advisors. The reader enters the shadowy chambers of Mao’s court and eavesdrops on the drama in its hidden recesses. Mao’s character and the enormity of his behavior toward his wives, mistresses and children are unveiled for the first time.

This is an entirely fresh look at Mao in both content and approach. It will astonish historians and the general reader alike.

Kerry Cohen is eleven years old when she recognizes the power of her body in the leer of a grown man. Her parents are recently divorced and it doesn’t take long before their lassitude and Kerry’s desire to stand out—to be memorable in some way—combine to lead her down a path she knows she shouldn't take. Kerry wanted attention. She wanted love. But not really understanding what love was, not really knowing how to get it, she reached for sex instead.

Loose Girl is Kerry Cohen’s captivating memoir about her descent into promiscuity and how she gradually found her way toward real intimacy. The story of addiction—not just to sex, but to male attention— is also the story of a young girl who came to believe that boys and men could give her life meaning. It didn't matter who he was. It was their movement that mattered, their being together. And for a while, that was enough.

From the early rush of exploration to the day she learned to quiet the desperation and allow herself to love and be loved, Kerry's story is never less than riveting. In rich and immediate detail, re-creates what it feels like to be in that desperate moment, when a girl tries to control a boy by handing over her body, when the touch of that boy seems to offer proof of something, but ultimately delivers little more than emptiness.

Kerry Cohen’s journey from that hopeless place to her current confident and fulfilled existence is a cautionary tale and a revelation for girls young and old. The unforgettable memoir of one young woman who desperately wanted to matter, Loose Girl will speak to countless others with its compassion, understanding, and love.

Revolutionizing women's dress, Gabrielle "Coco'' Chanel was the twentieth century's most influential designer. Her extraordinary and unconventional journey-from abject poverty to a new kind of glamour- helped forge the idea of modern woman.

Unearthing an astonishing life, this remarkable biography shows how, more than any previous designer, Chanel became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style. Her numerous liaisons, whose poignant and tragic details have eluded all previous biographers, were the very stuff of legend. Witty and mesmerizing, she became muse, patron, or mistress to the century's most celebrated artists, including Picasso, Dalí, and Stravinsky.

Drawing on newly discovered love letters and other records, Chaney's controversial book reveals the truth about Chanel's drug habit and lesbian affairs. And the question about Chanel's German lover during World War II (was he a spy for the Nazis?) is definitively answered.

While uniquely highlighting the designer's far-reaching influence on the modern arts, Chaney's fascinating biography paints a deeper and darker picture of Coco Chanel than any so far. Movingly, it explores the origins, the creative power, and the secret suffering of this exceptional and often misread woman.

In A Jane Austen Education, Austen scholar William Deresiewicz turns to the author's novels to reveal the remarkable life lessons hidden within. With humor and candor, Deresiewicz employs his own experiences to demonstrate the enduring power of Austen's teachings. Progressing from his days as an immature student to a happily married man, Deresiewicz's A Jane Austen Education is the story of one man's discovery of the world outside himself.

A self-styled intellectual rebel dedicated to writers such as James Joyce and Joseph Conrad, Deresiewicz never thought Austen's novels would have anything to offer him. But when he was assigned to read Emma as a graduate student at Columbia, something extraordinary happened. Austen's devotion to the everyday, and her belief in the value of ordinary lives, ignited something in Deresiewicz. He began viewing the world through Austen's eyes and treating those around him as generously as Austen treated her characters. Along the way, Deresiewicz was amazed to discover that the people in his life developed the depth and richness of literary characters-that his own life had suddenly acquired all the fascination of a novel. His real education had finally begun.

Weaving his own story-and Austen's-around the ones her novels tell, Deresiewicz shows how her books are both about education and themselves an education. Her heroines learn about friendship and feeling, staying young and being good, and, of course, love. As they grow up, they learn lessons that are imparted to Austen's reader, who learns and grows by their sides.

A Jane Austen Education is a testament to the transformative power of literature, a celebration of Austen's mastery, and a joy to read. Whether for a newcomer to Austen or a lifelong devotee, Deresiewicz brings fresh insights to the novelist and her beloved works. Ultimately, Austen's world becomes indelibly entwined with our own, showing the relevance of her message and the triumph of her vision.

Gerald Durrell was born in India in 1925. His family settled on Corfu when he was a boy and he spent his time studying its wildlife. He relates these experiences in the trilogy beginning with My Family and Other Animals, and continuing with Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods. He writes with wry humour and great perception about both the humans and the animals he meets.

On leaving Corfu, Durrell returned to England to work at Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. His adventures there are told with characteristic energy in Beasts in My Belfry. A few years later, he began organizing his own animal-collecting expeditions. The first, to the Cameroons, was followed by expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. He recounts these experiences in a number of books including The Drunken Forest. He also visited many countries while shooting various television series.

In 1959 Durrell realized a lifelong dream when he set up the Jersey Zoological Park, followed a few years later by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, renamed the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in 1999.

Whether in a factual account of an expedition or a work of non-fiction, Durrell’s style is exuberant, passionate and acutely observed. Gerald Durrell died in 1995.

Gerald Durrell (1925–95) moved from England to Corfu with his family when he was eight. He immediately became fascinated by the island’s natural history and spent much of his time studying the local wildlife and keeping numerous, and often unusual, pets. He grew up to be a famous naturalist, animal-collector, and conservationist.

Durrell dedicated his life to the conservation of wildlife and it is through his efforts that creatures such as the Mauritius pink pigeon and the Mallorcan midwife toad have avoided extinction. Over his lifetime he wrote thirty-seven books, went on dozens of animal-collecting trips and presented numerous tv shows. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in 1959 as a centre for the conservation of endangered species – of which his wife Lee is still Honorary Director. He was awarded the OBE in 1982.

My Family and Other Animals

Birds, Beasts, and Relatives

The Garden of the Gods

После выхода в 1992 году фильма “Бешеные псы” на голливудском небосводе неожиданно и ярко зажглась звезда Квентин Тарантино, бывшего еще так недавно продавцом видеокассет ставшего знаменитым режиссером. О его триумфальном пути высшим ступеням “фабрики грез” рассказывает в этой книг Джефф Доусон.

SUMMARY: Le Roi de fer, premier volume du cycle, a pour figure centrale Philippe IV le Bel, roi d'une beauté légendaire qui régnait sur la France en maître absolu. Tout devait s'incliner, plier ou rompre devant l'autorité royale. Mais l'idée nationale logeait dans la tête de ce prince calme et cruel pour qui la raison d'État dominait toutes les autres. Sous son règne, la France était grande et les Français malheureux.