An Afternoon in May is the true story of four companies of heroes. In May of 1864 the Corps of Cadets, mostly teenagers, from the Virginia Military Institute helped turn the tide of battle at an obscure Virginia town called New Market. Though little-known outside the South, their story is arguably one of the most compelling military stories in American history. This book should, therefore, capture the attention of not only historians but of anyone with an interest in the War Between the States. But it should also command the attention of a wider audience. It is a must-read for anyone seeking examples of inspiration. NOTE: this book is available in ebook format!

DIVDIVFrom one of the world’s classic authors of romantic suspense comes an edge-of-your-seat story about a young wife and mother who begins to question her sanity in the wake of mysterious happenings/divDIV On a warm, dreamlike mid-July day, Ella Simpson and her six-year-old daughter, Kitty, come upon an abandoned house. They hear a terrified scream from inside . . . and an owl flies out. That night, Ella can’t sleep. Has her mind been playing tricks on her ever since her miscarriage, as her husband, Max, insists? Or is there another explanation? Then a woman disappears. Such things aren’t supposed to happen in their peaceful suburban town. And Ella can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. When she starts getting anonymous calls, she wonders if she really islosing her grip on reality. Her next-door neighbor Booth Bramwell is the only one who believes she isn’t going mad. But it isn’t until her daughter vanishes that Ella starts putting the pieces together. /div/div

Much of this book is a record of the time the author spent between 1965 and 1970 as an English teacher in Aneiza – a provincial town in central Saudi Arabia. In an entertaining series of anecdotes, he describes the daily life and customs of its people, his relations with colleagues and students at the local secondary school, and the events leading up to his ‘removal’ from the town he had come to regard as home, his transfer to Riyadh, and final departure from the country. In the 1960s Aneiza was still living partly in the age of Charles Doughty, the 19th-century explorer who stayed there for some weeks in the 1870s, and architecturally the town had changed little over the intervening decades. On the other hand, its mid-20th-century inhabitants were very much aware of what was happening in the wider world and felt deeply involved with events in the region. This involvement is reflected in a chapter on inter-Arab politics, the Six-Day War of June 1967, and its causes and aftermath. The author’s story does not end in 1970. In ‘Journey to Makkah’ he writes of his transition from agnosticism to Islam and gives us an account of his pilgrimage to Makkah in 1996 in the company of one of his old students from Aneiza. Finally, in ‘Aneiza Revisited’, he describes the town in its 21st-century incarnation during his return visit in 2011. Despite Aneiza’s material transformation, however, with its concrete and glass buildings and fast food outlets, he found that, despite looking very different, it had still managed to retain its intimate social character and essential congeniality.

Not only are the techniques for both copper foil and mosaic stained glass completely demystified here, but all 25 projects take only an afternoon to complete. Start with a Tulip Panel, the perfect first project, so simple and pleasing. Learn and use the proper tools, cut, assemble, solder, frame, and finish. You'll be proud as a peacock of your lovely Peacock Lampshade. "Plus: corner accents, beautiful boxes, welcome signs, bird baths and more.

"On the Beijing opera stage, every human sound uttered is song, and every movement is dance; realism is taboo and real-life objects are banned." In fascinating detail, jingju aficionado Chengbei Xu, examines the cultural and artistic themes of Beijing Opera. Xu's expert eye unveils the mystery through a dizzying array of observations that only an experienced opera-goer can spot: themes and stories, characters, movement, makeup, props, action, voice, and music. Filled with color performance photos, this is an indispensable reference and definitive guide to perhaps the pinnacle of Chinese performance art.

Meet Mitch Jasper, a fifty-something divorced advertising executive recently retired to Minneapolis, and watch his life be transformed in the two years since he attended his 40th class reunion. Mitch and his close high school friend David Logan drifted apart over the years, but now become reconnected in an even tighter bond as Mitch's life falls apart and David mentors his friend by helping him understand his depression and manage the healing elements of body, soul, and spirit.