Gigi's adventures continue as his fortunes change from being part of a traveling gypsy merry-go-round to life in an amusement park and a reunion with his beloved friend Lili.

Relates the adventures and travels of the most popular merry-go-round horse in the Wurstelprater in Vienna, whose mother was a pine tree and father was the wind that sweeps through the Vienna woods.

Many men dream of living out their James Bond fantasy, the screen version: exotic travel, adventure, hot women, and icy martinis shaken not stirred. Reality proves different as an innocent quest for a simpler, more spiritual life turns into a nightmare as two seekers, ordinary Americans, stumble across the path of the covert operations of two world powers and become unwilling spies. The story takes the reader through the nether world of the shadow government, all governments in fact, and the ruling classes. Accused by the woman he loves of using and betraying her, the damned hero of the story finds himself haunted by agents of the shadow government as he runs from Bora Bora seeking sanctuary off the gringo trail in Saudi Arabia. There, under the guidance of a top American lobbyist working for a Saudi billionaire, he assesses his options and composes an apology to his lost love. In the process he discovers the dirty truths of machinations behind the faade of democracy, equality, human rights and other myths. The cold, hard facts to back up the truths that hold this work together, the lavish descriptions of some of the most beautiful parts of the world, some of the most beautiful people, and the heros experience of the more spectacular aspects of civilization on the planet make for a rich, riveting story that holds ones interest through to the very end. Though primarily a fruit of extensive research, So Long America is also a novel that leaps off the page to entice and enthrall, and makes for a great deal of just plain enjoyment. NOTE: So Long America is a condensed version of the book Smarter than Snakes that Patrick wrote in response to requests by readers of his book The Train of the Fifth Era, who found the concepts and practices described in that book useful, but could not put them to good use, because habits are all but impossible to change. In Smarter than Snakes Patrick presented his Noosomatic model that provides some answers in the form of non-psychoanalytic approaches to changing beliefs, habits and expectations. As a result, Smarter than Snakes reached 586 pages covering essentially two different areas of interest: personal growth and sociopolitical issues such as the deep roots of the Enron scandal in the context of recent geopolitical developments. Though sociopolitical awareness is part of personal growth, a number of readers, despondent about the systematic demolition of social justice in the United States, skimmed over the part on non-psychoanalytic approaches to get to the issues threatening their quality of life. Thus Patrick adapted and transformed the book into a shorter, separate book he called So Long America.

The city of Buenos Aires has guaranteed all couples, regardless of gender, the right to register civil unions. Mexico City has approved the Cohabitation Law, which grants same-sex couples marital rights identical to those of common-law relationships between men and women. Yet, a gay man was murdered every two days in Latin America in 2005, and Brazil recently led the world in homophobic murders. These facts illustrate the wide disparity in the treatment and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations across the region. The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America presents the first English-language reader on LGBT politics in Latin America. Representing a range of contemporary works by scholars, activists, analysts, and politicians, the chapters address LGBT issues in nations from Cuba to Argentina. In their many findings, two main themes emerge: the struggle for LGBT rights has made significant inroads in the first decade of the twenty-first century (though not in every domain or every region); and the advances made were slow in coming compared to other social movements. The articles uncover the many obstacles that LGBT activists face in establishing new laws and breaking down societal barriers. They identify perhaps the greatest roadblock in Latin American culture as an omnipresent system of "heteronormativity," wherein heterosexuality, patriarchalism, gender hierarchies, and economic structures are deeply rooted in nearly every level of society. Along these lines, the texts explore specific impediments, including family dependence, lack of public spaces, job opportunities, religious dictums, personal security, the complicated relationship between leftist political parties and LGBT movements in the region, and the ever-present "closets," which keep LGBT issues out of the public eye. The volume also looks to the future of LGBT activism in Latin America in areas such as globalization, changing demographics, the role of NGOs, and the rise of economic levels and education across societies, which may aid in a greater awareness of LGBT politics and issues. As the editors posit, to be democratic in the truest sense of the word, nations must recognize and address all segments of their populations.

This book presents the narratives of four Taiwanese young women, all proficient in English, set against the background of the dynamics of multilingualism in Taiwan. It chronicles their strategies and struggles when utilizing cultural goods – in this case their linguistic resources – to differentiate themselves within Taiwanese society. The study provides a uniquely bottom-up perspective by focusing intently on just four focal participants, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of how the intersection of socioeconomic status, age and gender shape their identities, experiences and practices. The book highlights the impact of neoliberalism on the women’s attempts at distinction and is a timely contribution to debates on multilingualism and issues of gender and socioeconomic status.

Great journalism relies on a narrative arc to engage and inform the reader. Stories Can Save Us looks at how the best reporters and writers craft narrative literary journalism. Journalist Matt Tullis uses the material he gathered in the more than seventy-five interviews he conducted with the best narrative and literary journalists in the country through his podcast, Gangrey: The Podcast, to show how these professionals conceive and writesuch compelling stories. Through his podcast, Tullis interviewed Pulitzer Prizewinners, National Magazine Awardwinners, and many authors of books of narrative journalism, including New York Times best-selling authors. He also spoke with reporters of different races and backgrounds, styles and strengths—journalists who have been published in the most prestigious newspapers and magazines—to ask: How do they find story ideas? How do they reach out to potential story subjects? What are their interviewstrategies? How do they conduct other information gathering? How do they come up with their amazing and enticing leads? How do they develop story structure? How does the story change in the revision process? How do they make their stories great and make them into the types of stories that people read and talk about for years? Through Tullis’s conversations with these top-tier journalists, we are offered a window into their methods and practices as well as the motivations behind great journalism and how it speaks to the cultural climate of its time. Tullis’s goal was to expand the power and potential of what amazing reporting and narrative writing can do, believing that it can literally change a reader’s mood and, possibly, a reader’s life.

"The Jesuit review of faith and culture," Nov. 13, 2017-