The Everlasting Spring: Beyond Olympus is a trilogy. A continuing story of romance and true love in three epic sagas spanning two-thousand years in the tumultuous rise of Western Civilization. The storyteller is an old man who understands and appreciates the heroes and heroines; the saints and sinners, who made epic history, by sharing the love and self-sacrifice that enabled Western Culture to survive. When he was young and foolish; naïve and swaggering with false bravado, the old man frolicked in the good life, and took it for granted...until a cold Christmas Eve when a lovely young woman broke his heart and changed his mind. His soul was frozen, in the absence of hope, as the tragic death of romance brought darkness, with agony and despair. But the trajectory of his life was soon altered, blessed by the light from a star so bright, he was inspired by the vision, and started to write. He walked with his characters, the brave and bold, remembered by historians, the new and some old. He miraculously survived, four-score in events, with no worries...and a few sad regrets. His life was replete with trials and tribulations known only to those who dream, daring defeat; but find peace in their passion for truth everlasting. Once called a hero, he perished the thought. The old man knew better souls, those who risked all for true-love and blind justice between the dark-nights of their souls, and their time in the light. They were immortals, seeking knowledge with facts; and their odyssey touched all, as they followed the sun, moon and stars--like the old man was doing when he met Benjamin and Boudica; Colton and Blue Star, and two others too, then chronicled their journeys in a corps of discovery: to find spiritual treasure...the most precious of all.

Winnie Foster is in the woods, thinking of running away from home, when she sees a boy drinking from a spring. Winnie wants a drink too, but before she can take a sip, she is kidnapped by the boy, Jesse Tuck, and his family. She learns that the Tuck family are blessed with o or doomed to o eternal life since drinking from the spring, and they wander from place to place trying to live as inconspicuously as they can. Now Winnie knows their secret. But what does immortality really mean? And can the Tucks help her understand before it's too late? A beautiful paperback edition of the unforgettable classic of children's writing about what it truly means to live forever. Featuring illustrations by Melissa Castrillon.

A young man with an extraordinary gift. A zealous commune isolated from the world. What could possibly go wrong? Fifteen-year-old Joshua Moses has spent his life nestled in the cradle of the Eternal Spring. His commune family doesn’t know he harbors a dark and powerful secret. If they find out, they might hail him as a prophet—or cast him out forever. The Spring is all Joshua has ever known, and he believes in its message with his whole heart. However, he senses it stands in jeopardy because of a terrible secret the Reverend has been hiding from his flock. Marshall Hudson is an Army sergeant with a stellar career history and intuition he’s learned never to ignore. As he nears retirement, strange dreams summon him to the south. What lies ahead for him there is unknown, but Marshall has never shied away from danger. He hangs up his uniform and heads to the place in his visions. What he discovers is unlike anything he expected. There is a darkness hidden in Eternal Spring, one hungry for them all. Marshall and Joshua are the only ones capable of stopping this imminent danger. And Joshua has a plan to keep the commune alive. One that uses his power at any cost.

It is first-century Brittania as Christianity begins its rise in a pagan world. As a man and woman meet as enemies, they have only one thing in common: the Romans are dominating each of their respective homelands. Benjamin is an Israelite whose wife was murdered by Roman soldiers while on the annual Passover journey. Although Benjamin is rich in material terms, he has lost the spiritual comfort he once sought through Judaism. Now as he attempts to escape Roman tyranny, he is searching for a purpose he hopes will restore his desire to continue living in a world gone mad. Boudica is also doing her best to emerge from the darkness surrounding her plight. Now that her husband has died, the Queen of the Iceni Celts in Britton is dedicated to freeing her people from Roman imperialism. When fate guides the two adversaries to meet, their undeniable connection propels them forward into adventures, battles, betrayal, and a transcendent love that eventually sets into motion a series of events that will reveal the reason for their existence. In this historical saga, a Jewish man and Celtic woman embark on a journey to find peace during a time of great upheaval as evil spreads, causing dire consequences for the Liberty of millions in generations that follow. ..".A completely engaging story both emotionally and intellectually ..." --Tom Hyman, former magazine and book editor and author of six novels Praise for the debut volume of The Everlasting Spring: Beyond Olympus "The Everlasting Spring: Beyond Olympus--Book One, Benjamin and Boudica--strikes me as a winner with wide appeal. It's a completely engaging story both emotionally and intellectually, and certainly a rousing one in terms of level of action. The principal characters are vivid and compelling creations that will stick in a reader's mind for a long time; the supporting cast is also first-rate. The prose is consistently lively and evocative, and sometimes quite eloquent. The story's theme--the rise of Christianity following Christ's crucifixion in the twilight years of the Roman Empire--is powerfully articulated and presented. The plot is amazingly inventive and powerfully imagined. It is also solidly thought out and put together; the story arc is excellent, bringing the rising conflicts of the whole extraordinary adventure to a thunderous climax and resolution--and a very satisfying conclusion." Tom Hyman is a professional novelist of twenty-five years standing with six novels in print in over a dozen languages (Jupiter's Daughter, Prussian Blue, Seven Days to Petrograd, Riches and Honor, The Russian Woman, and Giant Killer). Tom is also a former magazine and book editor. In his years of editorial experience at LIFE Magazine and the publishing houses of Atheneum, Doubleday, and G.P. Putnam's, he has worked with the widest of talents, including a substantial number of best-selling authors, academics, historians and novelists.

The Garden of Perfect Brightness (Yuanming Yuan) in the western suburbs of the Quing capital, Beijing, was begun by the great Kangxi (r. 1661-1722) and expanded by his son, Yongzheng (r. 1722-1736) and brought to its greatest glory by his grandson, Qianlong (r. 1736-1796). A lover of literature and art, Qinglong sought an earthly reflection of his greatness in his Yuanming Yuan. For many years he designed and directed an elaborate program of garden arrangements. Representing two generations of painstaking research, this book follows the emperor as he ruled his empire from within his garden. In a landscape of lush plants, artificial mountains and lakes, and colorful buildings, he sought to represent his wealth and power to his diverse subjects and to the world at large. Having been looted and burned in the mid-nineteenth century by western forces, it now lies mostly in ruins, but it was the world’s most elaborate garden in the eighteenth century. The garden suggested a whole set of concepts—religious, philosophical, political, artistic, and popular—represented in landscape and architecture. Just as bonsai portrays a garden in miniature, the imperial Yuanming Yuan at the height of its splendor represented the Qing Empire in microcosm. Includes 62 color plates and 35 black & white photographs.

Everlastings is a celebration of the life of flowers, showcasing the ethereal beauty of dried flowers. Bex Partridge takes you on a journey, starting with practical advice on how to pick flowers both at your home and outdoors, with in-depth descriptions of the many methods of drying blooms, seed heads and foliage, before sharing her favourite ways to style with dried flowers in the home as well as wearable items such as floral crowns and hair clips. The main section of the book features over 20 projects to try at home, all accompanied with beautiful photography. Suitable for both those that have never worked with dried flowers before and the seasoned professionals, the projects span many levels of experience. Bex shares ideas on how to capture the memories and moments of special days, through the gathering and preserving of flowers, to be treasured for years to come. She also shares her knowledge of the ecological benefits of dried flowers, as well as chapters on foraging and thoughts on the meditative benefits of working with dried flowers. Filled with stunning imagery that Bex has become known for online, Everlastings presents a modern take on an age-old craft.

The Brill Jubilee volumes are being prepared to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the first scroll discoveries in Qumran Cave I. They will contain a comprehensive set of cutting-edge articles on topics that are archeological, historical, literary, sociological, or theological in character. The papers are being written by an international group of scholars who are actively engaged in the scrolls research today and are able to incorporate all of the Qumran evidence into their studies.