"Some 55 scholars, mostly Japanese but with a considerable number from the US and Europe, write about the ethnicity, theories of origin, history, economies, art, religious beliefs, mythology, and other aspects of the culture of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, now principally found in Hokkaido and smaller far northern islands. Hundreds of photographs and paintings, mostly in excellent quality color, show a wide variety of Ainu people, as well as clothing, jewelry, and various artifacts."--"Choice". "The most in-depth treatise available on Ainu prehistory, material culture, and ethnohistory." - "Library Journal".--Amazon.com (2001 ed, book description).

An essential guide to expand your spiritual practices for followers of Norse Paganism, Heathenry, Asatru, and other Northern Traditions. Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner is a groundbreaking look at devotional work in religions from Theodism to Asatru to Norse Paganism, all of which comprise the umbrella of the Northern Tradition. Although interest in devotional and experiential work within these traditions has been growing rapidly in the past few years, this is the first book to show the diverse scope of such practices as a living, modern-day religion. It features an in-depth exploration of altar work, prayer, prayer beads, ritual work, sacred images, and lore, and a thorough examination of common cosmology that forms the foundation of belief for Northern Tradition communities and related Heathen practices. Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner is not denomination-specific: rather, it seeks to provide an entry into interior practice for anyone involved in a branch of this broad family of traditions of the ancient Norse, Germanic, and Saxon peoples, using material suitable for the solitary, independent practitioner. Those outside of the Northern Tradition who wish to deepen their own devotional practice will find this book helpful in their own work, as well.

This book endeavors to capture the very essence of the railways in the northern UK, exploring in photographs their imprint upon the landscape. Railways are illustrated as they traverse the bleak fells, pass by traditional cotton mills and industrial heritage, stride over iconic viaducts crossing vast windswept valleys and coastal estuaries, and as they share the grandeur of iconic cathedrals of both religious and railway station designs, whilst not forgetting the intricate network of canals intertwining with the rails that eventually carried the very traffic that kept these waterways in use. Here is a personal selection which I trust helps explore all that characterizes and reveals the moods and atmosphere which conjure the heart and “Spirit” of railways traversing our northern climes. Locomotives, train designs and liveries past and present will help recall the rails of the 1980’s and 90’s and offer an interesting contrast to the more modern images of the present millennium. With a mix of traction and train fleets, both in use on passenger and freight consists, this selection of images reveals their participation in capturing the heart of railways in the north. Readers are invited to share this fascinating adventure and indeed the inherent “Northern Spirit” which permeates throughout such a journey.

In this New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, the son of working-class Mexican immigrants flees a life of labor in fruit-packing plants to run in a Native American marathon from Canada to Guatemala in this "stunning memoir that moves to the rhythm of feet, labor, and the many landscapes of the Americas" (Catriona Menzies-Pike, author of The Long Run). Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noé Álvarez worked at an apple–packing plant alongside his mother, who “slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives.” A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first–generation Latino college–goer, Álvarez struggled to fit in. At nineteen, he learned about a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group of Dené, Secwépemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O’odham, Seri, Purépecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Álvarez writes about a four–month–long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He writes not only of overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear—dangers included stone–throwing motorists and a mountain lion—but also of asserting Indigenous and working–class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities. Running through mountains, deserts, and cities, and through the Mexican territory his parents left behind, Álvarez forges a new relationship with the land, and with the act of running, carrying with him the knowledge of his parents’ migration, and—against all odds in a society that exploits his body and rejects his spirit—the dream of a liberated future. "This book is not like any other out there. You will see this country in a fresh way, and you might see aspects of your own soul. A beautiful run." —Luís Alberto Urrea, author of The House of Broken Angels "When the son of two Mexican immigrants hears about the Peace and Dignity Journeys—'epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America'—he’s compelled enough to drop out of college and sign up for one. Spirit Run is Noé Álvarez’s account of the four months he spends trekking from Canada to Guatemala alongside Native Americans representing nine tribes, all of whom are seeking brighter futures through running, self–exploration, and renewed relationships with the land they’ve traversed." —Runner's World, Best New Running Books of 2020 "An anthem to the landscape that holds our identities and traumas, and its profound power to heal them." —Francisco Cantú, author of The Line Becomes a River

During the great war between the ancient Lich, the Eastern Emperor, along with the twelve Ancestral Mages, perished together. A tiny bit of his truesoul was protected by the Primal Chaos Bell, preventing it from perishing completely.However, the True Spirits within the Primal Chaos Bell were being targeted by the Jade Emperor, who had found the Chaotic Bell.With no better option, Taiyi could only send his Imperial Censor, the Chaos Bell, to break through space and escape into chaotic space.Seeing that his True Spirit was about to dissipate, the Primal Chaos Bell was anxious. It chose the corpse of the youth from another world, Lu Feng, and assisted in the rebirth of the True One's body.After being reincarnated, he had been very lucky. He had borrowed the name of Lu Feng to begin his own path of cultivation ...

At a time of despair about our national pastime, the Northern League of Professional Baseball is a beacon of hope - an independent league, unaffiliated with the majors, where the games are for the fans and not between the owners and players. In his memorable debut book, Stefan Fatsis takes you inside the Northern League, and in the process discovers how very much baseball still means to America. Commentator Peter Gammons calls the Northern League "the past and future of grassroots baseball in America." Revived in 1993 by a group of minor league executives fed up with the politics of their sport, it has restored baseball to six communities in the upper Midwest and Canada, which have embraced their teams with a fervor any major league team would envy. More than that, the league has breathed new life into a game that, at the major league level, has lost its way and abandoned its fans. The Northern League's startling success has inspired a movement that could, in time, change the face of baseball, as other independent leagues are forming rapidly in its wake. Wild and Outside tells the Northern League's story, from the events that created it through its tumultuous and triumphant second season. Fatsis writes with the authority of a trusted insider, having closely followed the league since its inception. The result is a book as rich in insights into baseball's problems as it is full of indelible portraits of the people who make the Northern League special; a book that blends the texture and history of grassroots baseball with the many dramas of the league's 1994 season.