"This book concerns a cohort of ultra-orthodox Jews based in the greater New York area who, while retaining membership and close familial and other ties with their strictly observant communities, seek out secular knowledge about the world on the down low (so to speak), both online and via in-person encounters. Ayala Fader conducted her ethnographic research in these rarified social circles for years, developing relationships of trust with the mostly young married men and women who have taken to clandestine methods to find alternative social spaces in which to question what it means to be ethical and what a life of self-fulfillment looks like. Fader's book reveals the stresses and strains that such "double-lifers" experience, including the difficulty these life choices inject into relationships with wives, husbands, and one's children. Not all of these "double-lifers" become atheists. Fader's interlocutors can be placed on a broad spectrum ranging from religiously observant but open-minded at one end to atheism on the other. The rabbinical leadership of these ultra-orthodox communities are well aware of this phenomenon and of how unfiltered internet access makes such alternative forms of seeking an ever-present temptation. (Some ultra-orthodox rabbis have been sounding the alarm for years, claiming that the internet represents more of a threat to community survival today than the Holocaust did in the last century.) Fader's book examines the institutional responses of ultra-orthodox communities to the double-lifers. These include what is typically referred to as a Torah-based type of "religious therapy" conducted by trained members of these communities who as therapists and "life coaches" blend elements of modern psychiatry with ultra-orthodoxy and "treat" troubling, potentially life-altering doubt and skepticism as symptoms of underlying emotional pathology"--

Traces the decline of Christianity in America since the 1950s, posing controversial arguments about the role of heresy in the nation's downfall while calling for a revival of traditional Christian practices.

The occult, the paranormal, UFOs and aliens, the weird and wonderful are all covered in this remarkable and insightful book with new angles on the old and ideas that are only just coming to the fore in modern science. Brian Allan has spent decades going where other researchers fear to tread and asking difficult questions. Now in this all-encompassing book he discovers the depth of those our religious ancestors once called heretics. There was more to their often seemingly strange language; there was insight in those peculiar rituals; there was truth locked away in those arcane ideas. This book is a must for any serious researcher of the paranormal, an absolute requirement for UFO believers and a fantastic first port of call for those still lost on the esoteric highway of life.

This collection of essays analyzes film representations of the Crusades, other medieval East/West encounters, and the modern inheritance of encounters between orientalist fantasy and apocalyptic conspiracy. From studies of the filmic representations of popular figures such as El Cid, Roland, Richard I, and Saladin to examinations of such topics as Templar romance and the role of set design, location and landscape, the essays make significant contributions to our understanding of orientalist medievalism in film. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The work of Omar Castaneda epitomized the new era of Latino writing that combined heart and art: hyper-arte and hyper-corazon. This anthology fulfills his vision of a collection of fiction and cross-genre prose by contemporary Latino/a writers on "unspeakable" topics.