Illuminated in this monograph are over six hundred illustrations demonstrating the results of Jesse Waugh's attempts to create beauty. Beginning with an overview of his film and image works, and expanding into an encyclopaedic survey of his efforts in a variety of genres, JESSE WAUGH: Portrait of an Artist and His Strivings for Pulchrism is a tour de force offering a thorough overview of Waugh's oeuvre from 1991-2012.

Pulchrism is an art movement founded by Jesse Waugh which champions Beauty as the purpose of art. "Pulchrism: Championing Beauty as The Purpose of Art" illustrates - with images and words - the core meaning and value of the Pulchrist movement. Pulchrism realizes the highest, ultimate, and most absolute Truth - that "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,-that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

Known as Mitra to the Indians, Mithra and Zarathustra (Zoroaster in Greek) to the Iranians, and Mithras to the Romans, this is the oldest of all living deities. Mithras was recognized as the greatest rival of Christianity, a greater threat even than the religion of Isis. If Rome had not become Christian, it would have become Mithrasian. Mithraisians had a sacrament that included wine as a symbol of sacrificial blood. Bread in wafers, or small loaves marked with a cross, was used to symbolize flesh. The priestly symbols were a staff, a ring, a hat, and a hooked sword/ members were called brothers, and priests were called "Father." Mithras was born on December 25th. He offered salvation based on faith, compassion, knowledge, and valor. He appealed to the poor, the slave and the freeman, as well as to the Roman aristocracy, the militia, and even to some emperors. The Christians sacked his temples, burned his books, and attacked his followers--they desecrated his temples, and built their own churches on the same foundations as the old Mithraic temples. Cooper examines Mithras and his religion in the most complete study ever done. He explores the various forms of this godworshiped from Lisbon to modrn Bangladesh, from the Scottish border to the Russian Steppesand investigates the worship. This is an exciting journey into living mythology, the history of a living god, and will fascinate modern Western readers who want to know more about the spiritual pathwhether they want to better understand contemporary Christianity, the basis of many contemporary ideaologies, mythology, or the Western Mystery Tradition.

Tuscany is a landscape whose cultural construction is complicated and multi-layered. It is this very complexity that this book seeks to untangle. By revealing hidden histories, we learn how food, landscape and architecture are intertwined, as well as the extent to which Italian design and contemporary consumption patterns form a legacy that draws upon the Romantic longings of a century before. In the process, this book reveals the extent to which Tuscany has been constructed by Anglos — and what has been distorted, idealized and even overlooked in the process.

The sudden death of the Persian Emperor in 522 BCE is one of history’s great mysteries. Was his demise self-inflicted, accidental, an assassination or due to natural causes? The author contends that during this incident Siddhartha Gautama may have been the leader of Babylon's Magi, an interfaith order that assumes governance of the region. The situation explodes when Darius the Great seizes the throne. Simultaneously the Magi Order is purged as Siddhartha, prince of the Saka nation, heads back east to the Indus. Could this event have inspired the creation of Buddhism as a pacifist movement dedicated to the pursuit of self-transformation, goodwill, and universal compassion? The Buddha from Babylon: The Lost History and Cosmic Vision of Siddhartha Gautama uncovers new evidence that solves this ages-old mystery and discovers Babylonian influences in the Buddha's revelations.