Luay Hamza Abbas: Iraqi author, born in Basra, Iraq in 1965. He received his Ph.D. in Arabic Literature, in 2002 from the University of Basra. He is the author of four short-story collections and four novels. In addition to his works of fiction, he has published four texts of literary and cultural criticism.

A little tiger takes an imaginative journey The little tiger lay on his back in the tall grass. "Close your eyes, little tiger," said his mother, "and go to sleep." But the little tiger is worried about what sleep might bring. His mother reassures him that once he closes his eyes, he will dream of magical places. And when he awakens, she will be right there, waiting for him. Alternating between real-life scenes with the baby tiger and his mother and enchanted dream scenes of sleep's possibilities, Kate Banks's simple, comforting text and Georg Hallensleben's bright, colorful illustrations make this a charming bedtime story for small children. Close Your Eyes is a 2002 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2003 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Award-winning journalist and author Michele Weldon offers a distinctly honest and articulate portrayal of the domestic violence she experienced in a nine-year marriage to a man many considered to be the perfect husband. As an assistant professor of journalism at the Medill School, Northwestern University since 1996, public speaker, journalist for magazines and newspapers and seminar leader for The OpEd Project, Weldon defies the mythology about abuse victims. She conveys a poignant portrayal of a woman caught in abuse and her victorious escape to raise her three children alone. Working to understand and explain why and how this would happen, she offers hope to all women with similar stories, modeling the courage to break free, move forward and live a joyful life full of love.

"Draw It with Your Eyes Closed: the Art of the Art Assignment, is a unique and wide-ranging anthology featuring essays, drawings, and assignments from over 100 contributors including: John Baldessari, William Pope. L, Mira Schor, Rochelle Feinstein, Bob Nickas, Chris Kraus, Liam Gillick, Amy Sillman, James Benning, and Michelle Grabner. Practical and quixotic in equal parts, the art assignment can resemble a riddle as much as a recipe, and often sounds more like a haiku, or even a joke, than a clear directive. From introductory exercises in perspective drawing to graduate-level experiments in societal transformation, the assignment coalesces ideas about what art is, how it should be taught, and what larger purpose it might, or might not, serve. The book is a written record of an evolving oral tradition. Bringing together hundreds of assignments, anti-assignments, and artworks from both teachers and students from a broad range of institutions, Draw It with Your Eyes Closed serves as an archive and an instigation, a teaching tool and a question mark, a critique and a tribute."--Amazon.

An eight-time national chess champion and world champion martial artist shares the lessons he has learned from two very different competitive arenas, identifying key principles about learning and performance that readers can apply to their life goals. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

The Mind Illuminated is a comprehensive, accessible and - above all - effective book on meditation, providing a nuts-and-bolts stage-based system that helps all levels of meditators establish and deepen their practice. Providing step-by-step guidance for every stage of the meditation path, this uniquely comprehensive guide for a Western audience combines the wisdom from the teachings of the Buddha with the latest research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Clear and friendly, this in-depth practice manual builds on the nine-stage model of meditation originally articulated by the ancient Indian sage Asanga, crystallizing the entire meditative journey into 10 clearly-defined stages. The book also introduces a new and fascinating model of how the mind works, and uses illustrations and charts to help the reader work through each stage. This manual is an essential read for the beginner to the seasoned veteran of meditation.