The gospel like you've never experienced it before. "Jesus, are you just strolling on the lake?" They heard a hearty laugh. "I guess I am. It's invigorating! You should try it!"

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Everybody tells you to live for a cause larger than yourself, but how exactly do you do it? The author of The Road to Character explores what it takes to lead a meaningful life in a self-centered world. “Deeply moving, frequently eloquent and extraordinarily incisive.”—The Washington Post Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy—who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape. They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb. Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark, to experience personal happiness. But when they get to the top of that mountain, something happens. They look around and find the view . . . unsatisfying. They realize: This wasn’t my mountain after all. There’s another, bigger mountain out there that is actually my mountain. And so they embark on a new journey. On the second mountain, life moves from self-centered to other-centered. They want the things that are truly worth wanting, not the things other people tell them to want. They embrace a life of interdependence, not independence. They surrender to a life of commitment. In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments. Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence. He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose. In short, this book is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives. But it’s also a provocative social commentary. We live in a society, Brooks argues, that celebrates freedom, that tells us to be true to ourselves, at the expense of surrendering to a cause, rooting ourselves in a neighborhood, binding ourselves to others by social solidarity and love. We have taken individualism to the extreme—and in the process we have torn the social fabric in a thousand different ways. The path to repair is through making deeper commitments. In The Second Mountain, Brooks shows what can happen when we put commitment-making at the center of our lives.

Dark magic heats up the holiday season as two sizzling New York Times bestselling authors team up for a seductive Christmas collection! Magic is in the air this Christmas—but is it good or evil? In this sexy yuletide anthology from two of the hottest names in paranormal romance, animal instincts take over... In Christine Feehan’s “Rocky Mountain Miracle,” the sparks flying on a remote ranch could melt all the snow in Wyoming when an injured horse brings together a rugged womanizer with a dangerous reputation and an irresistible veterinarian rumored to cast spells. But does her magic touch work on animals and men? A small-town woman is shocked when the injured wolf she takes back to her kennel turns into a man in Susan Sizemore’s “A Touch of Harry.” The only thing more difficult to hide than his stunning escape is the burning desire she feels for this stranger who brings out her wild side.