Celebrated mock heroic poem now available in English translation.

First English collection of celebrated contemporary Polish poet.

Winner of the PEN Translation Prize A “sweeping . . . irreverent” masterpiece of postwar Polish literature that “chronicles the modernization of Poland and celebrates the persistence of desire” (The New Yorker) Hailed as one of the best ever books in translation, Stone Upon Stone is Wieslaw Mysliwski’s grand epic in the rural tradition—a profound and irreverent stream of memory cutting through the rich and varied terrain of one man’s connection to the land, to his family and community, to women, to tradition, to God, to death, and to what it means to be alive. Wise and impetuous, plainspoken and compassionate, Szymek recalls his youth in their village, his time as a guerrilla soldier, as a wedding official, barber, policeman, lover, drinker, and caretaker for his invalid brother. Filled with interwoven stories and voices, by turns hilarious and moving, Szymek’s narrative exudes the profound wisdom of one who has suffered, yet who loves life to the very core.

China’s most sophisticated system of computational astronomy was created for a Mongol emperor who could neither read nor write Chinese, to celebrate victory over China after forty years of devastating war. This book explains how and why, and reconstructs the observatory and the science that made it possible. For two thousand years, a fundamental ritual of government was the emperor’s “granting the seasons” to his people at the New Year by issuing an almanac containing an accurate lunisolar calendar. The high point of this tradition was the “Season-granting system” (Shou-shih li, 1280). Its treatise records detailed instructions for computing eclipses of the sun and moon and motions of the planets, based on a rich archive of observations, some ancient and some new. Sivin, the West’s leading scholar of the Chinese sciences, not only recreates the project’s cultural, political, bureaucratic, and personal dimensions, but translates the extensive treatise and explains every procedure in minimally technical language. The book contains many tables, illustrations, and aids to reference. It is clearly written for anyone who wants to understand the fundamental role of science in Chinese history. There is no comparable study of state science in any other early civilization.

Illustrated devotions to enrich your understanding of the Nativity narratives. This devotional guide for the days from Advent to Candlemas builds on the popularity of the ancient Christian tradition of walking the Stations of the Cross. Readings and prayers will help individuals and groups walk the Stations of the Nativity, from the vision of Zecharias in the temple to the return of the Holy family to Galilee. Along the way readers can pray and meditate on the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth of John the Baptist, Joseph’s dream, the Nativity, the appearance of the angels, the shepherds and Magi at the manger, the Presentation, the flight into Egypt, and the massacre of the innocents. Each station includes an opening sentence and a response, a Bible reading, a reflection, prayers, a longer meditation, and a short closing prayer. Striking engravings or woodcuts provide a visual meditation on each station.

Written in the spirit of The Diary of Anne Frank and beginning where the bestseller Hitler's Willing Executioners leaves off, Stations along the Way is a true story chronicling the spiritual transformation of former Hitler Youth leader Ursula Martens. Consumed with guilt and shame over having been used by Adolf Hitler and Nazis during WWII, Ursula travels to America, where she experiences prejudice similar to that forced upon the Jews in Nazi Germany. Confused about what lies ahead, she suddenly discovers self-forgiveness in the most unlikely of places--through the love of three Holocaust survivors. One has romantic intentions; the other two accept her despite her past. As God becomes the essence of her life, Ursula turns full circle from worshipping the swastika to now worshipping the cross.