This book is an opening - a portal - into your own being. It is likewise a vehicle for your calm passage through the Great Storm. Look through its lens to find where you already are - now - in another world. There you are ready for awakening, ready to find that the storm clouds have long-since parted. Many adventures await you on the other side - while you are finishing the adventures on this side. Be of courage, for your soul is living in that world of peace and joy as we speak. May you find its vibrant presence here within, in the space behind all words.

If you have ever wondered what is happening to humanity on this planet Earth or how tomorrow may differ from today, this book is for you. In its pages you will find a description of the times you are living in--from the vantage point of 500 years in the future. The story of these Letters is startling, yet abundantly affirming and hopeful. Enter into the adventure yourself. Go into the Letters and appreciate what is being delivered. There is no need to wait for the future. It is here, now!

The importance of A. W. N. Pugin (1812-52) in architecture and design in England and beyond is incontestable. The leading architect of the Gothic Revival, Pugin is one of the most significant figures of the mid-nineteenth century and one of the greatest designers. His correspondence furnishes more insight into the man and more information about his work than any other source. This volume, the last of five, contains letters from 1851 and the first months of 1852; after that, Pugin's health failed and he died in September. In the great event of the period, the international exhibition held in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, the display of objects made to Pugin's design, which he planned and oversaw, was an outstanding success, bringing substantial commercial benefit to his colleagues and spreading Pugin's influence even more widely than before. The value of his judgment was recognized in his appointment to two committees in connection with the Great Exhibition. Frantic though the preparations for what came to be known as the Medieval Court were, Pugin made time to write for publication. He issued letters and pamphlets in explanation, defence, and support of the Catholic Church and its re-established hierarchy, and turned again to the conundrum that had long teased him, the relation between the faith and the form, not only architectural, in which it found expression. He completed the book on chancel screens conceived some years before. At home in The Grange at Ramsgate, he continued to design stained glass windows, for other architects as well as his own clients, and supervised the production of cartoons; he poured out designs in his usual fields of metalwork, ceramics, furniture, carving, and wallpaper, and branched out, not always happily, into new areas such as embroidery and the decoration of piano cases. The demand for drawings for Westminster, where the House of Commons was due to open early in 1852, was as incessant as ever. His last child, Edmund Peter, was born in 1851 only a few months before his first grandchild, Mildred. Both were baptized in the church of St Augustine which he was still building next to his house and where he himself was soon to be laid in the vault he provided for the purpose. The volume also includes some letters which have come to light too late for inclusion in their proper chronological places and some texts of doubtful authenticity.

Published to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, The Several Lives of Joseph Conrad is a brilliant and highly readable biography of a literary figure of world-wide reputation. Conrad’s impact has been so profound and far-reaching that, eighty years after his death, he remains an essential cultural reference point. Such phrases as “heart of darkness” and “The horror! The horror!” have entered the language, often cited without an awareness of their original contexts. His popular legacy extends to Latin American fiction, to the spy novel, to the terrorist and anarchist character, and to film. The writers he has influenced range from T. S. Eliot to William Faulkner to V. S. Naipaul and John Le Carré. For a writer of “difficult” fiction he has enjoyed a remarkably wide impact, yet as Marlow proclaims in Lord Jim of the figure whose story he tells,“he was one of us,” and so Conrad remains in fascinating ways. Stape’s biography – an intimate portrait, including previously unpublished photographs – offers a Conrad for our times, a man with a deep sense of otherness, of multiple cultural identities and, writing in his third language, a working writer, whose novels and stories are a cornerstone of literary modernism and, indeed, of modernity itself.

Thoughtful and provocative, 'Realizing the Promise of Corporate Portals' illustrates the vast potential of corporate portals and what your company can do to implement them for business success. Based on the authors' extensive backgrounds and consulting focused on implementing corporate portals this exciting new book extends IT theory into business strategy. Terra and Gordon explore the components and architecture of typical corporate portals and fundamental issues in knowledge management. Geared for decision makers at the executive level, this book provides a comprehensive view of the market landscape, powerful and detailed case studies, and collected best practices and lessons learned to help organizations successfully implement corporate portals. The book also includes detailed checklists necessary for selecting and implementing appropriate corporate portal technical solutions. Learn from their detailed case studies of hugely successful corporate portal implementations, including: * ADC Telecommunications Inc. * Bain & Company * Bank of Montreal * Context Integration * Eli Lilly * Hill & Knowlton * Nortel Networks * SERPRO * Siemens * Texaco * Xerox