George Ambrose, a middle-aged journalist with The London Times, a veteran of the last Judean uprising now back in London. Ambrose is a once famed and revered reporter on the way to becoming a hack, an also-ran. Suffering from the aftereffects of kidnapping, he is just going through the motions of a half-life, subconsciously looking for a way back. One day, a letter is delivered to the London office. His son from a long ago failed marriage, a junior correspondent in Judea, has gone missing. Fearing the worst, he heads back to the land of his nightmares. What he finds is more than a son. An old friend, soon to be a new enemy. An enigmatic preacher with an astounding message. What he finds will change his life forever and set him on a collision course with the might of Rome. Friends become enemies, the stranglehold of the religious rulers is questioned and a new order will emerge to challenge the establishment. A modern retelling of a story that changed the world forever and, if you let it, will change yours as well.

Hofmannsthal’s comedy An Impossible Man is by common consent considered his stage masterpiece and has assumed the status of a classic in German-speaking countries. It is a play both about the passing historical moment which marked the end of the Habsburg era, together with its culture and class structure, whilst it is also a finely gauged critique of language as the badge of that culture. The highly polished, crafted diction the playwright employs shows up language as the awed but indispensable vehicle of social communication. Hofmannsthal’s dramatic technique is comparable to Chekhov’s, since he uses conversation mainly for expository purposes with largely static effect, and by his choice of an essentially passive hero who is a problem to himself and to others. The problematic nature of language (a constant theme in Hofmannsthal’s work and most consummately expressed in A Letter of 1902) is identified with and given voice through the complicated character of the hero Hans Karl. Moral seriousness is so finely interfused with a lightness of ironic texture in this comedy that no trace of gravity remains.

Recognized by readers of his novel, The Taqwacores, as the godfather of American Muslim punk, Michael Muhammad Knight is a voice for the growing number of teenagers who choose neither side of the “Clash of Civilizations.” Knight has now written his personal story, a chronicle of his bizarre and traumatic boyhood and his conversion to Islam during a turbulent adolescence. Impossible Man follows a boy’s struggle in coming to terms with his father—a paranoid schizophrenic and white supremacist who had threatened to decapitate Michael when he was a baby—and his father’s place in his own identity. It is also the story of a teenager’s troubled path to maturity and the influences that steady him along the way. Knight’s encounter with Malcolm X’s autobiography transforms him from a disturbed teenager engaged in correspondence with Charles Manson to a zealous Muslim convert who travels to Pakistan and studies in a madrassa. Later disillusioned by radical religion, he again faces the crisis of self-definition. For all its extremes, Impossible Man describes a universal journey: a wounded boy in search of a working model of manhood, going to outrageous lengths to find it.

This title, by John Saward, explores foolishness and fools in Catholic and Orthodox spirituality.

Every significant Marvel Comics character, location, weapon, gadget, and vehicle: one ultimate encyclopedia. Packed full of incredible facts and stunning images, this authoritative encyclopedia contains more than 650 entries and features a foreword by the legendary comic book writer Roy Thomas. All of Marvel's iconic superheroes and villains are here, from Captain Marvel to Corvus Glaive and Iron Man to Gwenpool. Amazing vehicles are examined, such as the Avengers' Quinjets and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers. Magical artifacts, including Thor's hammer Mjolnir, are analyzed and extraordinary locations, such as Wakanda and Asgard, are explored. Advanced technology is explained, including Iron Man's incredible armor, and key events in the Marvel Comics universe are richly unpacked. Ultimate Marvel is an ideal go-to resource for enthusiasts who wish to brush up on their Marvel knowledge, and for a new generation of fans eager to start delving into the world of Marvel comics. © 2017 MARVEL