In Extra Lives, acclaimed writer and life-long video game enthusiast Tom Bissell takes the reader on an insightful and entertaining tour of the art and meaning of video games. In just a few decades, video games have grown increasingly complex and sophisticated, and the companies that produce them are now among the most profitable in the entertainment industry. Yet few outside this world have thought deeply about how these games work, why they are so appealing, and what they are capable of artistically. Blending memoir, criticism, and first-rate reportage, Extra Lives is a milestone work about what might be the dominant popular art form of our time.

I've written this book because "smoking-related disease" continues to destroy millions of smokers and families worldwide every year with no accountability. I believe that many if not most of those deaths are preventable with a new, evidence-based approach - regulating pesticides in Tobacco Cartel products using existing consumer product pesticide residue limits as the standard. Ludicrously, Tobacco Cartel products are exempt from pesticide regulation. This book documents what the Cartel has known and kept secret for generations: that smoking-related disease and death may be caused not as much by Tobacco as by exempted & concealed super-toxic xenobiotics used by Cartel companies purely to boost profits, free of any effective regulation. I don't claim that smoking Tobacco, even organic Tobacco is safe; I do say that inhaling a proven carcinogenic/neurotoxic/genotoxic fungicide/insecticide cocktail a hundred times or more a day, from whatever source, combusted or vaporized, will surely and certainly destroy human energy, health & life. This book offers hard evidence, new facts, and numerous peer-reviewed research citations to raise awareness that the Tobacco Cartel has, in plain view, engaged in a trans-generational conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity on a scale beyond imagination. I hope that you'll consider the evidence on its merits.

The cigarette is the most lethal consumer product in history. The movement to extinguish smoking, however, has become alarmingly illiberal. Smoking bans have spread beyond restaurants and bars to parks, beaches, and sidewalks; rising cigarette taxes rob the wages of society's least well-off; moral panic threatens smokers' access to potentially life-saving e-cigarettes; and smokers are discriminated against, stigmatized, and made to feel unwelcome in society. What if there's a better way? The Rediscovery of Tobacco is a moderate manifesto against the extremes of the anti-smoking movement. This contrarian take on smoking makes the case for respecting the choices of consenting adults, acknowledging the genuine pleasures of pipes and cigars, and encouraging an innovative market for lower-risk competitors that will finally end the deadly reign of the cigarette.

In the spring of 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, a hotheaded young newcomer to Virginia, led a revolt against the colony's Indian policies. Bacon's Rebellion turned into a civil war within Virginia--and a war of extermination against the colony's Indian allies--that lasted into the following winter, sending shock waves throughout the British colonies and into England itself. James Rice offers a colorfully detailed account of the rebellion, revealing how Piscataways, English planters, slave traders, Susquehannocks, colonial officials, plunderers and intriguers were all pulled into an escalating conflict whose outcome, month by month, remained uncertain. In Rice's rich narrative, the lead characters come to life: the powerful, charismatic Governor Berkeley, the sorrowful Susquehannock warrior Monges, the wiley Indian trader and tobacco planter William Byrd, the regal Pamunkey chieftain Cockacoeske, and the rebel leader himself, Nathaniel Bacon. The dark, slender Bacon, born into a prominent family, soon earned a reputation in America as imperious, ambitious, and arrogant. But the colonial leaders did not foresee how rash and headstrong Nathaniel Bacon could be, nor how adept he would prove to be at both inciting colonists and alienating Indians. As the tense drama unfolds, it becomes apparent that the struggle between Governor Berkeley and the impetuous Bacon is nothing less than a battle over the soul of America. Bacon died in the midst of the uprising and Governor Berkeley shortly afterwards, but the profoundly important issues at the heart of the rebellion took another generation to resolve. The late seventeenth century was a pivotal moment in American history, full of upheavals and far-flung conspiracies. Tales From a Revolution brilliantly captures the swirling rumors and central events of Bacon's Rebellion and its aftermath, weaving them into a dramatic tale that is part of the founding story of America.

""Places in the World a Woman Could Walk" is deeply felt and bitingly precise. The author's dual professions of farmer and poet give the stories two gifts: an intimate, gritty sense of life on the land and a skill with language that amounts to alchemy."--Anne Tyler The women in Janet Kauffman's spirited stories are unafraid to look closely at their flawed lives. Burdened by the struggles of a rural existence, they are determined to embrace the simplest pleasures with a true heart. Whether slaughtering a favorite cow or leaving a violent husband, these characters make tough choices and live with the consequences. "A distinctive voice both quirky and down-to-earth, totally unsentimental and capable of rendering reality's baffling undertones."--"Library Journal"

A companion to Anthony De Mello’s all-time bestselling work of inspiration, Awareness. Anthony De Mello was one of the most important spiritual writers of the 20th century. Since his death in 1987, his stature has only increased. His books, including Song of the Bird, Sadhana, and the international bestselling Awareness are considered by many to be some of the most influential spiritual teachings of the last 50 years. Now, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his passing, Image Books is proud to present what may very well prove to be the last published work of this beloved spiritual teacher. Based on a lecture given just months before his death, Rediscovering Life invites us to unlock the deeper meaning of our lives. By becoming aware of the circuitous and habitual nature of our limiting thoughts, we can find simple solutions that will release us from feelings of isolation, anger, sadness and depression. In short, De Mello offers us a new way to look at the world and God that will transform our lives. Rediscovering Life is a timeless and compassionate book that will awaken you to the beauty of human experience and increase your ability to see God in all things.