With each passing decade the stature of The Godfather" grows not just among film buffs but also among audiences throughout the world discovering or re-viewing the film on television & DVD. In repeated polls Coppolas masterpiece is ranked among the two or three greatest films ever brought to the screen. This saga of an Italian-American family & its immersion in Mafia traditions has been imitated & satirised
- but never equalled. How to explain the enduring appeal of " The Godfather" & its two sequels? This book concentrates on the elements that combined against all odds to make the Paramount production so successful when it appeared in 1972: the screenplay from Mario Puzos bestselling novel; a cast of actors who apart from Marlon Brando had not yet achieved celebrity; the vivid locations in New York & Sicily; & the inspired direction of Francis Ford Coppola (only 31 years old when shooting commenced). Containing many previously unseen behind-the-scene images from the Paramount Archives this book is also unique in containing over 15 facsimile documents."
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This book sets out to draw together psychology science & mysticism into the same river of human experience. In doing so it throws new light on questions that mankind has pondered for centuries. The authors take us on an exciting investigative voyage that produces clear reasons for why those who think human life is essentially meaningless are wrong. En route through the lens of evolution cultural history poetry psychology & a plethora of new scientific insights they not only throw fresh light on ancient mysteries the origin of creativity hypnosis spirituality religion & indoctrination but also meet head-on the central questions at the heart of science today. Science & mysticism are essential aspects of human functioning they say & both are linked with why we are so uniquely prone to mental illness & understanding this is a part of effective self-development. These are some of the key questions they explore (and answer). Why is it that we are capable of creating societies that foster the highest pinnacles of extraordinary individual & collective creative achievement yet so often let our cultures degenerate to the nadir of inhumanity & bestiality? Where is the 'nothing' that existed before 'something' first appeared? Where did the quantum information come from that made our vast universe & all forms of life possible? What is consciousness? How could consciousness arise from inanimate matter? Can the claims about the nature of reality made by mystics throughout the ages be reconciled with our best scientific insights? What is mysticism for? What does 'enlightenment' mean exactly? Can our individual consciousness survive death? Are ' God' & ' Godhead' useful terms? Is there a future for our species? What is 'destiny'? & how should one prepare oneself to meet it? ...

The use of God in moral debate is so problematic as to be almost worthless. We can argue with one another as to whether this or that alleged claim genuinely emanated from God but surely it is better to leave God out of the argument & find strong human reasons for supporting the systems we advocate. We need a sensible & practical approach that will help us pick our way through the moral maze that confronts us in the pluralistic society we live in. Godless Morality offers exactly this
- a human-centred justification for contemporary morality.
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Gods Demigods & Demons" is a concise yet wide-ranging encyclopedia of Greek mythology that promises hours of delight for the classics enthusiast. Names places & events are described in exciting briefly-told tales of the gods of the Olympian pantheon. Here too are the demigods demons heroes & many of the great cycles fables & nature myths. The entries are well-balanced readable & informative. They evoke the majesty as well as the all-too-human foibles of the Greek deities & their acolytes. At the same time they bring the colourful world of Greek myth to life without providing more detail than is required for maximum enjoyment of the stories. Whether they find themselves caught up by the single combat of Hector & Achilles before the looming walls of Troy; or find themselves transported like Odysseus by the haunting & deadly song of the Sirens; or are thrilled by the quest of Jason & his Argonauts for the fabled Golden Fleece
- fans of ancient history will find countless tales here to appreciate & return to again & again. " Gods Demigods & Demons" is both a helpful guide & a treasure-trove of pleasurable reading. It will be an indispensable companion to the ancient Greeks religion & the gods that they worshipped."
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Hylas couldnt take it in. Last night he & Issi had made a camp in a cave. Now his sister was missing his dog was dead & he was running for his life. The Black Warriors
- nightmares of black rawhide armour & bronze spears
- want him dead. He doesnt know why but their pursuit will be relentless. So begins his quest across land & sea with only Pirra the rebellious daughter of a High Priestess & a dolphin called Spirit for company. By the best-selling author of Wolf Brother Gods & Warriors is this years most hotly anticipated childrens novel. The first book in a breathtaking adventure series set in the Greek Bronze Age: a time when the lowliest goatherd could rise to become a hero.

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August 1845 in New York; enter the dark unforgiving city underworld of the legendary Five Points... After a fire decimates a swathe of lower Manhattan & following years of passionate political dispute New York City at long last forms an official Police Department. That same summer the great potato famine hits Irel&. These events will change the city of New York for ever. Timothy Wilde hadnt wanted to be a copper star. On the night of August 21st on his way home from the Tombs defeated & disgusted he is plotting his resignation when a young girl who has escaped from a nearby brothel crashes into him; she wears only a nightdress & is covered from head to toe in blood. Searching out the truth in the childs wild stories Timothy soon finds himself on the trail of a brutal killer seemingly hell bent on fanning the flames of anti-Irish immigrant sentiment & threatening chaos in a city already in the midst of social upheaval. But his fight for justice could cost him the woman he loves his brother & ultimately his life... ...

Lucius Falerius is dead & Rome in its entirety mourns the passing of its most powerful senator. It falls to his young son Marcellus to carry out his fathers legacy & restore the rights promised to the defeated Sicilian slaves yet there are those who will not see the honour of Rome compromised & the slaves assuaged. On the Roman border provinces there is trouble & the legions move north to neutralise the threat posed by the Celts. The confederation of Celtic tribes is united under one Chieftain the formidable & unpredictable Brennos yet there is a plot to see him dead & the confederation broken. For Brennos the treachery comes from within his own family for which he will exact a brutal & bloody revenge. ...

The ultimate Rome story Fresh from triumph in Britain & Gaul Caesar is marching on Rome with his legions of hardened veterans. To unseat Pompey now dictator of the empire he must make the terrible decision to wage war on his own people. The glory that Julius Brutus Mark Antony & Octavian enjoy is short lived. There are lands to conquer & choices to make that may yet tear them apart. What cost will Caesar suffer for the path he has walked? Who will make him pay? The final instalment in the bestselling Emperor series. ...

You have been had. A risk-prone privatised profit-driven economic model overseen by a largely unaccountable greedy & arrogant elite has resulted in one of the worst financial crises in history. The over-paid heroes of Wall Street & the City worshipped the gods of globalisation financialisation & speculation & during the years of economic growth we & our governments worshipped them too. But high in the boardrooms of Mount Olympus the reckless lust of banks for big bonuses & bigger profits led to excesses that have proved unsupportable. The warning signs were ignored
- now the Masters of the Universe are toppling & were footing the bill. Find out how an unregulated elite were able to run riot with your cash & find out how to stop it happening again. Markets are not magic. Debt is not freedom. The gods have failed. Its time to live without them.
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In Gods Without Men" Hari Kunzru the award-winning author of " The Impressionist" & " My Revolutions" takes you on a trip to the Mojave Desert where things are not always what they seem...A small autistic child goes missing. A British rock star goes quietly mad. An alien-worshipping cult is born. An Iraqi teenager takes part in a war game. In a remote town near a rock formation known as The Pinnacles lives intertwine stories entangle & echo & the search for meaning pattern & connection in a dying universe continues. "" Gods Without Men" is a dazed erudite & unforgettable novel". (David Mitchell). " Extraordinary smart innovative a revelation. Has the counterculture feel of a late-1960s US campus hit
- something by Vonnegut or Pynchon or Wolfe. Genuinely interesting & exhilarating... Will appeal to fans of David Mitchells " Cloud Atlas". Clever & extremely enjoyable". (" Guardian"). " Dizzying scope... It is a testament to Kunzrus ability as a writer that " Gods Without Men" presents so many characters sketched so vividly". (" New Statesman"). " The literary skills of Hari Kunzru are evident throughout this complex & disturbing novel... Careful readers will find Kunzru himself is something of a trickster". (Annie Proulx " Financial Times"). " Consistently atmospheric richly detailed... For all the wit this is a dark portrait of modern morals... Kunzru tenderly teases out the humanity to powerful emotional effect GQ Smartly sharp social detail high-fidelity dialogue vivid evocation of place.. .ironic wit & exuberant guyings of paranormal gobbledegook". (" The Sunday Times"). Hari Kunzru is the author of " The Impressionist" " Transmission" " My Revolutions" & the short story collection " Noise". He has won the Somerset Maugham British Book & Betty Trask awards. Granta named him one of the best young British novelists in 2003. He has written for " The New York Times" " Guardian" " New Yorker" " Washington Post" " Times of India" " Wired" & " New Statesman"."
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