Jerusalem, 1099 AD, was the central focus of the First Crusade, the holy war between Christian Crusaders and the Saracens. Passionately motivated by the sight of their Holy City, the Crusaders stop and wait for orders to assault the city's stone walls. In that moment of hesitation, wing-walkers Kate Phillips and Jen Fillmore are pulled from twenty-first century Earth World and hurled into the land of Domar in Bigna World. The two find their lives caught in a world of medieval knights and scaly beasts, far from their high tech world. Brought to Domar to find a cure for the Bás plague spreading throughout Domar, Kate and Jen are plunged into the deep, mystical chambers of Rapio, the sinister, dark Prince of Bigna. The fate of Jerusalem 1099 AD hangs on their actions in Domar. Blasting Trumpets, the second book in The Locket Chronicles, is a continuation of the life journey of two characters, Kate and Jen, who first appeared in The Morgan Chronicles, the first series by Carole Bailey.

Joe Conzo and David A. Perez luminously recreate the life of widely acclaimed Afro-Cuban and jazz musician Tito Puente in the biography "Mambo Diablo - My Journey with Tito Puente." The authors chronicle the life of the popular and combative New York Puerto Rican multi talented musician and entertainer who climbed from his obscure and poor environment in East Harlem (El Barrio), New York to international fame and recognition. Countless stories have been written about Tito Puente's percussive musical abilities, but rarely has the talent, intuition, mishaps and controversies been presented in a vivid and personal biography. Joe Conzo was Tito's close friend, confidant and chronicler for nearly 40 years - no one was closer to Tito or knew him better, not even his family. Joe tells the story of a man and his music the way it has never been told. David A. Perez sets down Joe's personal recollections and fits them into the context of the social milieu and revolving world. Hundreds of articles have been written about Puente, and three books Powell, Josephine. Tito Puente - When The Drums are Dreaming, Authorhouse, 2007 (Information re: Tito is based on her conversations with Tito Puente. The book is self-published and chronicles many of his activities on the West Coast. There are many inconsistencies, mis-quotes, and errors of fact.) Loza, Steven. Tito Puente and the Making of Latin Music, University of Illinois Press, 1999 (A technical work that is based on interviews with people who knew Tito. The life of Puente is glanced over; the musicians he worked with are almost overlooked. Joe Conzo is among those interviewed.)Payne, Jim. Tito Puente - The King of Latin Music, Hudson Music, 2000. (Is presented as an overview of Tito Puente's music and includes a DVD with footage of Tito discussing his 50-year career. Joe Conzo provided much of the information for this endeavor.) record some of his achievements. None of them touch on the personal life of the man, expose his weaknesses, reveal his intensity for perfection, and describe the musical brilliance in such a delicate and personal way. Joe and David reveal the inner Tito Puente through his music, his musical associations and present a man that is more than a flamboyant percussionist. Tito played piano - and he played it well. Tito played the saxophone and often sat in the sax section of his orchestra. Tito played the vibes and had an incomparable style that was exciting, romantic and jazzy. He composed about 500 tunes, probably more. And, yet in the realm of American jazz historians, writers and critics ignore, brush over and avoid the importance of Tito's music and his contributions. A prime example of this is Ken Burn's television documentary about jazz - he virtually ignores Afro-Cuban music, Afro-Cuban jazz. Joe and David reveal Tito's rightful place in the history of music and give an unbiased, on-the-mark portrait of Puente's complexities like no book before it. Author and journalist Pete Hamill sets the stage for the journey in the preface.

The powerful prophetic book shows you how the Feasts of Israel point to the Lord Jesus and the destiny He has prepared for all humankind. A Prophetic Calendar presents the biblical feasts as a mural of God's ageless desire to draw all people to Him. In this intimate invitation, you are provided in-depth biblical teaching and fresh prophetic understanding that beautifully links the Old and New Testaments and you to His divine plan for the ages. The feasts foreshadow the ministry of Jesus the Messiah and give a unique revelation of His redemptive purposes-past, present, and future.

A visionary new approach to the Americas during the age of colonization, made by engaging with the aural aspects of supposedly “silent” images Colonial depictions of the North and South American landscape and its indigenous inhabitants fundamentally transformed the European imagination—but how did those images reach Europe, and how did they make their impact? In Sound, Image, Silence, noted art historian Michael Gaudio provides a groundbreaking examination of the colonial Americas by exploring the special role that aural imagination played in visible representations of the New World. Considering a diverse body of images that cover four hundred years of Atlantic history, Sound, Image, Silence addresses an important need within art history: to give hearing its due as a sense that can inform our understanding of images. Gaudio locates the noise of the pagan dance, the discord of battle, the din of revivalist religion, and the sublime sounds of nature in the Americas, such as lightning, thunder, and the waterfall. He invites readers to listen to visual media that seem deceptively couched in silence, offering bold new ideas on how art historians can engage with sound in inherently “mute” media. Sound, Image, Silence includes readings of Brazilian landscapes by the Dutch painter Frans Post, a London portrait of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison’s early Kinetoscope film Sioux Ghost Dance, and the work of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School of American landscape painting. It masterfully fuses a diversity of work across vast social, cultural, and spatial distances, giving us both a new way of understanding sound in art and a powerful new vision of the New World.

“Reads like a novel. A fast-paced page-turner, it has everything: sex, wit, humor, and adventures. But it is an impressively researched and important story.” —David Fromkin, author of Europe’s Last Summer Vienna, 1814 is an evocative and brilliantly researched account of the most audacious and extravagant peace conference in modern European history. With the feared Napoleon Bonaparte presumably defeated and exiled to the small island of Elba, heads of some 216 states gathered in Vienna to begin piecing together the ruins of his toppled empire. Major questions loomed: What would be done with France? How were the newly liberated territories to be divided? What type of restitution would be offered to families of the deceased? But this unprecedented gathering of kings, dignitaries, and diplomatic leaders unfurled a seemingly endless stream of personal vendettas, long-simmering feuds, and romantic entanglements that threatened to undermine the crucial work at hand, even as their hard-fought policy decisions shaped the destiny of Europe and led to the longest sustained peace the continent would ever see. Beyond the diplomatic wrangling, however, the Congress of Vienna served as a backdrop for the most spectacular Vanity Fair of its time. Highlighted by such celebrated figures as the elegant but incredibly vain Prince Metternich of Austria, the unflappable and devious Prince Talleyrand of France, and the volatile Tsar Alexander of Russia, as well as appearances by Ludwig van Beethoven and Emilia Bigottini, the sheer star power of the Vienna congress outshone nearly everything else in the public eye. An early incarnation of the cult of celebrity, the congress devolved into a series of debauched parties that continually delayed the progress of peace, until word arrived that Napoleon had escaped, abruptly halting the revelry and shrouding the continent in panic once again. Vienna, 1814 beautifully illuminates the intricate social and political intrigue of this history-defining congress–a glorified party that seemingly valued frivolity over substance but nonetheless managed to drastically reconfigure Europe’s balance of power and usher in the modern age.

'A remarkable series' SFFANZ She's the Empress of the Fall . . . and her empire is falling apart. Represents modern epic fantasy at its best - Fantasy Book Critic Lyra, Queen of Rondelmar, has fought enemies without and within, dealt with grief and loss, embraced forbidden magic, found her father and borne a child - and still it isn't enough. Her enemies are on the march and the Rondian Empire is collapsing. But a more dangerous adversary is out there . . . and he is winning. Ervyn Naxius, amoral genius, has unleashed war on two continents and is now laughing as the world of Urte tears itself apart. Kings and priests dance to his tune and his daemonic followers are spreading through the lands, but still he isn't satisfied. His ultimate goal - absolute control of all life - is finally within his reach . . . Are these the Last Days, when the daemons rise up to claim the world? From snowbound Mollachia to the beleaguered walls of Norostein, from the poisonous court of the new sultan to the deadly intrigues of Pallas, the omens are clear. Only Lyra and a handful of other heretical dwymancers have grasped the true danger - and they won't give up until every last hope is buried . . .

DEATH RODE A WHITE HORSE starts with the Creation story only Lucifer is a playboy who does back flips off the high dive. Creator is a little forgetful and leaves scalpels in some of his creations. Some of his creations have to be destroyed before their waste pollutes the earth, but when he creates Adam, his creation is perfect until Eve and Lucifer screw the whole thing up. Adam and Eve are driven out of the Garden of Eden before they give birth to Cain and Able. By the way, when Cain is born, Creator has to rest up by going fishing. As you can see, the characters in this novel are humorous, pathetic, and sometimes downright human like you and me. While Adam and Eve and their son, Cain, tends the farm, Able takes his animals to warmer climes in the winter and cooler places in the summer. While in the Kargos Mountains, Able rescues a princess and marries her. Fixed up with a nice wife, his life is idyllic until his mother-in-law sticks her nose into the story. In a short time Cain gets the hots for the queen and all hell breaks loose! You must read the book to find out why jealousy drives Cain to kill his brother, Able. By the way, the ending should run chills up your spine. To add to the excitement Creator and Gabriel fly through the air in a chariot throwing lightning bolts at poor old Lucifer. If you read this, the Bible should never be a dull book again.