About this product: Mention the word "grace" and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of "Amazing Grace."
The grace of which Philip Yancey writes is the freely given and unmerited favor and love of God. This grace seems a remote, almost sentimental concept, without a place in our lives or our society. It is a vague, slippery thing to us, probably because we seem to experience grace so rarely and have managed to leech the word of meaning. But Philip Yancey has set about to rescue grace in his book What's So Amazing About Grace?
This grace is the true message of Jesus. All faiths have virtues and creeds and justice and truth, but Jesus speaks merely of receiving the love that God has for us. Accepting it, not earning it or making ourselves worthy of it. And frankly, accepting something we have not earned or are not worthy of is not an easy thing for most of us.
In truth, grace is both utterly simple and utterly confounding. Little by little, Yancey guides us into a clearer understanding of grace by using stories, in much the same way Jesus did. We read stories of both grace and ungrace at work in people's lives. Sadly, it is stories of ungrace that are more prevalent today, the current culture wars painful acknowledgments of ungrace in our lives as Christians in this country. Yancey helps us understand that ungrace is that state of being in which self-righteousness and pride are a result of thinking that we have somehow earned God's approval and may now stand in judgment in his behalf.
Philip Yancey was awarded the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year award for this book in 1998 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Readers concurred with this decision, making this book an immediate bestseller. Believers and nonbelievers alike should accept Yancey's challenge to become agents of grace rather than agents of vengeance or judgment or anger. In truth, we are each starving for grace, ready to grasp it tightly. And it is through grace that all other hungers--for justice, for righteousness, for love--are satisfied. Yancey opens his book by telling us that "grace" is the last best word, and in What's So Amazing About Grace?, he proves that he's right. --Patricia Klein
About this product: Like the comic books that animate and inspire it, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is both larger than life and of it too. Complete with golems and magic and miraculous escapes and evil nemeses and even hand-to-hand Antarctic battle, it pursues the most important questions of love and war, dreams and art, across pages brimming with longing and hope. Samuel Klayman--self-described little man, city boy, and Jew--first meets Josef Kavalier when his mother shoves him aside in his own bed, telling him to make room for their cousin, a refugee from Nazi-occupied Prague. It's the beginning, however unlikely, of a beautiful friendship. In short order, Sam's talent for pulp plotting meets Joe's faultless, academy-trained line, and a comic-book superhero is born. A sort of lantern-jawed equalizer clad in dark blue long underwear, the Escapist "roams the globe, performing amazing feats and coming to the aid of those who languish in tyranny's chains!" Before they know it, Kavalier and Clay (as Sam Klayman has come to be known) find themselves at the epicenter of comics' golden age.
But Joe Kavalier is driven by motives far more complex than your average hack. In fact, his first act as a comic-book artist is to deal Hitler a very literal blow. (The cover of the first issue shows the Escapist delivering "an immortal haymaker" onto the Führer's realistically bloody jaw.) In subsequent years, the Escapist and his superhero allies take on the evil Iron Chain and their leader Attila Haxoff--their battles drawn with an intensity that grows more disturbing as Joe's efforts to rescue his family fail. He's fighting their war with brush and ink, Joe thinks, and the idea sustains him long enough to meet the beautiful Rosa Saks, a surrealist artist and surprisingly retrograde muse. But when even that fiction fails him, Joe performs an escape of his own, leaving Rosa and Sammy to pick up the pieces in some increasingly wrong-headed ways.
More amazing adventures follow--but reader, why spoil the fun? Suffice to say, Michael Chabon writes novels like the Escapist busts locks. Previous books such as The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys have prose of equal shimmer and wit, and yet here he seems to have finally found a canvas big enough for his gifts. The whole enterprise seems animated by love: for his alternately deluded, damaged, and painfully sincere characters; for the quirks and curious innocence of tough-talking wartime New York; and, above all, for comics themselves, "the inspirations and lucubrations of five hundred aging boys dreaming as hard as they could." Far from negating such pleasures, the Holocaust's presence in the novel only makes them more pressing. Art, if not capable of actually fighting evil, can at least offer a gesture of defiance and hope--a way out, in other words, of a world gone completely mad. Comic-book critics, Joe notices, dwell on "the pernicious effect, on young minds, of satisfying the desire to escape. As if there could be any more noble or necessary service in life." Indeed. --Mary Park
At just twenty-three years old, Shauna Reid weighed 351 pounds. Spurred into action by the sight of her enormous white knickers billowing on the clothesline, she created the hugely successful blog "The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl." Hiding behind her Lycra-clad, roly-poly alter-ego, her transformation from couch potato to svelte goddess began.
Today, eight thousand miles, seven years, and 175 pounds later, the gloriously gorgeous Shauna is literally half the woman she used to be. Hysterically funny and heart-wrenchingly honest, The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl includes travel tales from Australia to Paris to Red Square, plus romance when she meets the man of her dreams in a Scottish pub. This is the uplifting true story of a young woman who defeated her demons and conquered her cravings to become a real-life superhero to inspire us all.
About this product: Now in paperback, AMAZING GRACIE is a moving, funny, and inspirational canine rags-to-riches story. "Tears will stain the pages as you read about Gracie," says USA Today. The Chicago Tribune advises, "If you're short on inspiration, read Amazing Gracie." "You don't have to be obsessed with dogs to love this story" (Philadelphia Enquirer), "Two paws up" (Portland Oregonian), "humorous yet poignant" (ASPCA Animal Watch). Booklist comments that "Dog-loving teens, especially reluctant readers, will eat this up." AMAZING GRACIE was nominated as a Young Adult Choice for 2002 by The International Reading Association-proof that it's a great crossover book.
Gracie was a deaf and partially blind albino Great Dane with a delicate constitution and a penchant for small miracles. Dan is the man-sad over the loss of his last dog and trapped in a dead-end job-who adopted her. Three Dog Bakery is the burgeoning and much-publicized chain of canine bakeries that, inspired by Gracie, Dan and his friend Mark founded. A love story, AMAZING GRACIE describes how Dan saves Gracie, the loneliest pup in the litter, then how, over the next ten years, Gracie saves Dan and Mark, teaching them the real meaning of happiness. There's the moment of meeting, when Gracie gets to her feet like a clumsy foal and nuzzles Dan's nose. Gracie's romance with the pint-size Boston Terrier next door. And the eureka moment (born of Gracie's anorexia-inducing dislike for commercial dog food): Dan teaches himself to cook and within three days begins baking the dog cookies that will transform their lives. AMAZING GRACIE is a dog-lover's treat.
About this product: The children in this book defy the stereotypes of urban youth too frequently presented by the media. Tender, generous and often religiously devout, they speak with eloquence and honesty about the poverty and racial isolation that have wounded but not hardened them.
The book does not romanticize or soften the effects of violence and sickness. One fourth of the child-bearing women in the neighborhoods where these children live test positive for HIV. Pediatric AIDs, life-consuming fires and gang rivalries take a high toll. Several children die during the year in which this narrative takes place.
A gently written work, Amazing Grace asks questions that are at once political and theological. What is the value of a child's life? What exactly do we plan to do with those whom we appear to have defined as economically and humanly superfluous? How cold -- how cruel, how tough -- do we dare be?
About this product: “ANGELS AND Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers, look heavenward,” Maya Angelou writes, “and speak the word aloud. Peace.” Angelou’s moving poem is a radiant affirmation of the goodness of humanity. First read at the 2005 White House tree-lighting ceremony, it comes alive again as a fully illustrated children’s book, celebrating the promise of peace in the holiday season. In this simple story, a family joins with their community—rich and poor, black and white, Muslim and Jew—to celebrate the holidays.
About this product: "An outstanding book. . . . Meets the needs of those in-between or curious kids who are not ready, developmentally or emotionally, for IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL." — BOOKLIST (starred review)
How does a baby begin? What makes a baby male or female? How is a baby born? Children have plenty of questions about reproduction and babies — and about sex and sexuality, too. IT'S SO AMAZING! provides the answers — with fun, accurate, comic-book-style artwork and a clear, lively text that reflects elementary-school children's interest in how things work, while giving them a healthy understanding of their bodies. Created by the author and illustrator of IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL, this forthright and funny book — newly updated for its fifth anniversary — covers similar territory but with an eye toward younger children's concerns.
About this product: Join 30,000 other Kindle owners who have unlocked all the pleasures to Kindle ownership by downloading Stephen Windwalker's premier guide for Kindle owners. This full-length book is over 50,000 words -- the equivalent of 192 'print on paper' pages -- but it is a snap to navigate with a link-enabled table of contents and a detailed, link-enabled FAQ section. There is also a paperback version available for prospective Kindle owners.
Windwalker's guide was the first book about the Kindle for Kindle users, and it remains the gold standard. If you are trying to make a decision about which Kindle guide is right for you, be sure to try a free sample of this book on your Kindle by clicking on the yellow button above. Once you've checked the table of contents and seen the extensive reach of the information provided by Windwalker as well as its ease of navigation and clear writing style, your decision will be a snap.
Written for serious readers as well as early adopters and 'gadget heads', it is now also available in a handy paperback version: the perfect accessory for a Kindle owner who wants to use it alongside his Kindle or the prospective Kindle buyer seeking to complete her due diligence before making a purchase.
For authors and independent publishers who want to make the most of the Kindle publishing opportunity, you may want to consider the 2-for-1 Kindle offer of this book with 'The Complete Step-by-Step Guide To Publishing Books, Articles & Other Content for the Amazon Kindle under ASIN B001AXYLD8.
HIGHLIGHTS: -How to Use the Amazon Kindle for Email -Using Google Reader to Read Your Favorite Blogs on the Amazon Kindle -How to Get Free Content for Your Kindle with ManyBooks, Gutenberg and Over a Dozen Other Services -Traveling with Your Kindle -Complete Kindle Keyboard and Menu Shortcuts -The Kindle as a Writing, Editing, and Publishing Device -Taking Notes on the Kindle - It's All in the Thumbs -Annotation within a Kindle Document -Google Notebook -Annotating Your Working Documents -Writing and Annotation to Email -Saving, Printing, Editing and Working With Your Kindle Clippings, Annotations, and Highlighted Text -The Care and Feeding of Your Kindle's Battery -The Reset Button is Your First Tech Support Option -Access Wikipedia More Quickly and Smoothly -Using 'Locations' to Figure Where You Are in a Kindle Edition -Buying and Sampling Content for Your Kindle From the Amazon Kindle Store -Updating the Latest Version of Your Kindle s Operating Software -Adding an SD Card to Your Kindle -Getting Help with Your Kindle -Managing Your Kindle Content -The Amazon Kindle Basic Web Wireless Service: Why It Is a Revolutionary Feature, and Why Amazon Should Keep It Free or Cheap -Using the Kindle to Translate Foreign or Technical Words and Phrases -Making the Most of Your Kindle Connections Overseas or in a Sprint Wireless Dead Zone -Using the Kindle as a Travel Guide -The Kindle and GPS - Intriguing but Frustrating -Checking Sprint Wireless Coverage for the Kindle -Downloading Kindle Editions Via USB Cable -20 Steps to Publishing a Kindle Edition of Your Book or Document: How to Use Kindle, Amazon and the Web to Market Your Book and Connect with Readers -How Many Kindles? Estimating the Current and Future 'Installed Base' and Why It Is Important -The Golden Age of Kindle 2.0 and Beyond: Kindle Reading Subscriptions, Kindle Buffet, Shop the Amazon Store Through a Kindle Gateway, A Big Tent for Kindle Content Availability On Other Devices, Shop and Play Amazon Music and Audio, Folders and/or Labels, Size, Location and Configuration of Bars, Buttons, and Switches, Writeable Screen, Green Tax Credit, and More
The bestselling Amazing Machines series is now available in a charming box set. With ten mini editions inside, this collection is the perfect gift for any preschooler who loves machines. From airplanes to rockets to tractors, these critically acclaimed picture books are full of fun rhyming text, bright artwork, and wacky animal characters that will engage and delight young children as they learn about machines. Each book includes a helpful illustrated glossary of technical words to help build vocabulary.
About this product: In this revised edition of his best-selling book, formerly The Amazing Liver Cleanse, Andreas Moritz addresses the most common but rarely recognized cause of illness - gallstones congesting the liver. Twenty million Americans suffer from attacks of gallstones every year. In many cases, treatment merely consists of removing the gallbladder, at the cost of $5 billion a year. But this purely symptom-oriented approach does not eliminate the cause of the illness, and in many cases, sets the stage for even more serious conditions. Most adults living in the industrialized world, and especially those suffering a chronic illness such as heart disease, arthritis, MS, cancer, or diabetes, have hundreds if not thousands of gallstones (mainly clumps of hardened bile) blocking the bile ducts of their liver. This book provides a thorough understanding of what causes gallstones in the liver and gallbladder and why these stones can be held responsible for the most common diseases so prevalent in the world today. It provides the reader with the knowledge needed to recognize the stones and gives the necessary, do-it-yourself instructions to painlessly remove them in the comfort of one's home. It also gives practical guidelines on how to prevent new gallstones from being formed. The widespread success of The Amazing Liver & Gallbladder Flush is a testimony to the power and effectiveness of the cleanse itself. The liver cleanse has led to extraordinary improvements in health and wellness among thousands of people who have already given themselves the precious gift of a strong, clean, revitalized liver. Andreas Moritz is a Medical Intuitive and practitioner of Ayurveda, Iridology, Shiatsu and Vibrational Medicine. Author of The Amazing Liver & Gallbladder Flush, Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation, Lifting the Veil of Duality and It's Time to Come Alive. Founder of the innovative healing systems, Ener-Chi Art and Sacred Santèmony - Divine Chanting for Every Occasion.