Few cities are so dramatically identified with their environment as San Francisco—the landscape of hills, the expansive bay, the engulfing fog, and even the deadly fault line shifting below. Yet most residents think of the city itself as separate from the natural environment on which it depends. In Our Better Nature, Philip J. Dreyfus recounts the history of San Francisco from Indian village to world-class metropolis, focusing on the interactions between the city and the land and on the generations of people who have transformed them both. Dreyfus examines the ways that San Franciscans remade the landscape to fit their needs, and how their actions reflected and affected their ideas about nature, from the destruction of wetlands and forests to the creation of Golden Gate and Yosemite parks, the Sierra Club, and later, the birth of the modern environmental movement. Today, many San Franciscans seek to strengthen the ties between cities and nature by pursuing more sustainable and ecologically responsible ways of life. Consistent with that urge, Our Better Nature not only explores San Francisco’s past but also poses critical questions about its future. Dreyfus asks us to reassess our connection to the environment and to find ways to redefine ourselves and our cities within nature. Only with such an attitude will San Francisco retain the magic that has always charmed residents and visitors alike.

Theology done in today's context is strikingly different from past evangelical approaches. In this new project John Franke, writing with our postmodern world in mind, reflects these directions. He offers an introduction to theology that covers the usual territory, but does so attuned to today's ecclesial and cultural context. In contradistinction to more traditional works, Franke: - critiques traditional evangelical theological conceptions - emphasizes the "local" nature of theology - engages the postmodern context - contrasts conservative and postconservative approaches - interacts with the broader faith community Sure to provoke intense discussion, The Character of Theology will help Christians to be faithful in a world in which the spiritual and intellectual landscape is ever changing.

"The Forbidden Gift is defining that intangible knowing, that unmistakable feeling that tells you there is more, more than you have previously ever had the chance to fully conceptually digest and savor defining that feeling behind whose many masks lie layer upon layer of uncomfortable sensations that, as you progressed through life, you merely adapted to and incorporated into the you that you are today." "Who are you? Each chapter of this book is a walk through your life and the life of humankind in general. 'Who am I?' is naturally followed by 'What is my purpose for living, for being? Who is responsible for all this? What is the reason?' To answer these questions we must look into the heart, the source of your reality, and venture beyond the known into the unknown." "That is what this book is all about-liberation from the unconscious forces that cause you to behave, think, feel and live in fashions that are not productive, but counterproductive to realizing the whole essence of your highest potential. If you open your heart and mind to what is said, you will experience personal insights and a loosening of the very dense jungle of chronic, deeply rooted scripting that controls your entire orientation and self-creation in the life process." "The strength to make impact, the strength and methodology to pull your own strings, and the ability to sense your own power and apply it intelligently and with sensitivity-even passion-is my theme." -ANTTARR