First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Technology is shaping our culture and controlling our lives -- for better or for worse. Often, technology's benefits far outweigh its negative impacts, and technological advances can seem boundless. But the scientificÐtechnological worldview tends to override other value systems. Indeed, this technological way of thinking has influenced many contemporary ideas, beliefs, values, habits, and ways of communicating. Furthermore, in addition to technology's well-known environmental impacts, social, aesthetic, and spiritual consequences are now emerging. How can we balance positive physical effects of technology with other ambiguous or negative impacts? Some of the decisions we face have no precedent from which to draw wisdom. For this reason, the resources of Scripture and the Christian tradition must be brought to bear on technological questions: How is technology used and abused today? Does technological progress lead to human progress? How can Scripture help us, both individually and collectively, to manage technology's impact in proactive ways? Swearengen uncovers a comprehensive scriptural mandate for managing technology. On his way to a theology of technology, he evaluates which advances are moving society in directions consistent with God's purposes. 'Beyond Paradise: Technology and the Kingdom of God' aims to provide practical means for assessing technology's influence and for steering technology and its effects toward biblical ends.

From Robert Kagan, a leading scholar of American foreign policy, comes an insightful analysis of the state of European and American foreign relations. At a time when relations between the United States and Europe are at their lowest ebb since World War II, this brief but cogent book is essential reading. Kagan forces both sides to see themselves through the eyes of the other. Europe, he argues, has moved beyond power into a self-contained world of laws, rules, and negotiation, while America operates in a “Hobbesian” world where rules and laws are unreliable and military force is often necessary. Tracing how this state of affairs came into being over the past fifty years and fearlessly exploring its ramifications for the future, Kagan reveals the shape of the new transatlantic relationship. The result is a book that promises to be as enduringly influential as Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.

This book adds a new dimension to the discussion of the relationship between the great powers and the weaker states that align with them—or not. Previous studies have focused on the role of the larger (or super) power and how it manages its relationships with other states, or on how great or major powers challenge or balance the hegemonic state. Beyond Great Powers and Hegemons seeks to explain why weaker states follow more powerful global or regional states or tacitly or openly resist their goals, and how they navigate their relationships with the hegemon. The authors explore the interests, motivations, objectives, and strategies of these 'followers'—including whether they can and do challenge the policies and strategies or the core position of the hegemon. Through the analysis of both historical and contemporary cases that feature global and regional hegemons in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Asia, and that address a range of interest areas—from political, to economic and military—the book reveals the domestic and international factors that account for the motivations and actions of weaker states.

"Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus," wrote foreign policy guru Robert Kagan famously in his book Of Paradise and Power, which became an instant NewYork Times bestseller last year. Taking Kagan one step further, prominent foreign policy specialists - such as Walter Russell Mead, Timothy Garton Ash, and Francis Fukuyama - here provide multiple perspectives on the state of the transatlantic relationship after the war.

When Jesus said It is finished, what did he mean? Where did he go from that pivotal moment of earth-shattering revelation? As the story of our redemption through his blood comes to fruition, Beyond Paradise takes readers on a deeper biblical journey that explores lingering questions begging for answers. When, where, and why was Jesus Cursed? What is paradise, and what is beyond it? Author William Chandler presents his exploration through biblical events and theologies in a direct and fast-paced fashion. His focus on ease of understanding complements the simple truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Beyond Paradise is a great starting place for those who are seeking further answers to difficult questions. Readers will be encouraged to go deeper and push past a level of complacent contentment. William Chandler currently resides in Tucson, Arizona with his wife.

The first Latin American actor to become a superstar, Ramon Novarro was for years one of Hollywood's top actors. Born Ramon Samaniego to a prominent Mexican family, he arrived in America in 1916, a refugee from civil wars. By the mid-1920s, he had become one of MGM's biggest box office attractions, starring in now-classic films, including The Student Prince, Mata Hari, and the original version of Ben-Hur. He shared the screen with the era's top leading ladies, such as Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer, and he became Rudolph Valentino's main rival in the “Latin Lover” category. Yet, despite his considerable professional accomplishments, Novarro's enduring hold on fame stems from his tragic death—his bloodied corpse was found in his house on Halloween 1968 in what has become one of Hollywood's most infamous scandals. A lifelong bachelor, Novarro carefully cultivated his image as a man deeply devoted to his family and to Catholicism. His murder shattered that persona. News reports revealed that the dashing screen hero had not only been gay, but he was dead at the hands of two young, male hustlers. Since then, details of his murder have achieved near mythic proportions, obscuring Novarro's professional legacy. Beyond Paradise presents a full picture of the man who made motion picture history. Including original interviews with Novarro's surviving friends, family, coworkers, and the two men convicted of his murder, this biography provides unique insights into an early Hollywood star—a man whose heart was forever in conflict with his image and whose myth continues to fascinate today.