EMPIRE OF JAPAN AUTHOR · BUDDHISM · FICTION
Daisaku Ikéda
Also known as: 池田大作 いけだ だいさく, Daisaku Ikeda
Daisaku Ikeda (池田大作 いけだ だいさく Ikeda Daisaku) (born January 2, 1928) is president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a Buddhist association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and research institutions.
IN HER YOUTH FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE dreamed of a life of heroic action, and by strange chance her dream was realised during the Crimean War.
— from Florence Nightingale, 2003
Most acclaimed
Florence Nightingale
2003
Begun in the reign of George IV and ended in that of Edward VII, her life more than spanned the whole Victorian era. "Do you think you are improving?" had asked the Aga Khan. She would not have hesitated for an instant in her reply. Life for the majority had improved, was improving and would continue to improve. Grieved greatly by his imperfections, she still believed in the ultimate perfectibility of man. Few of the great Victorians brought about by their personal efforts more of the material improvements of the era than Florence Nightingale. Probably in her own mind the betterment of the soldiers' lot, in sickness and in health, that she had helped to bring about would have rated highest. Next to that would have come her efforts to better the health of the peasants of India. Today she is remembered first and foremost as the founder of the nursing profession in its modern form. Her 38 ragtag-and-bobtail women, who coped with the shambles at Scutari, and the 15 young ladies introduced into St. Thomas' in 1860, were the start of one of the greatest of all services to mankind. This was her achievement, and almost hers alone. - p. 246.
Prayer
" From New York Times-bestselling author Philip Kerr comes an amazing departure: an intense psychological thriller, sure to garner even more acclaim for this powerhouse author on the rise. Gil Martins, an agent with the FBI's Domestic Terrorism Unit in Houston, confronts the violence generated by extremism within our nation's borders every day. He sees hatred and destruction wrought by every kind of "ism" there is, and the zealots who kill in their names. Until now, he has always been a part of the solution-however imperfect-a part of justice. But when Gil discovers he played a key role in wrongly condemning an innocent man to death row, it shakes his faith-in the system, in himself, and in God-deeply. It even estranges him from his wife and son. Desperate, Gil offers up a prayer. To know God is there, not through a sign or physical demonstration but through the strength to cope with his ever-growing, ever-creeping doubts. His problems become more than personal as things heat up in Houston. A serial killer terrorizing the morally righteous turns out to have religious motivations, upping the case from homicide to domestic terrorism. A number of prominent secular icons die or are grievously injured abruptly and under suspicious circumstances, the latest of which is a New Atheist writer who's fallen into an inexplicable coma. Left and right, it seems Gil can't escape the power of God and murder. As Gil investigates both cases, he realizes that there may be a connection-answering his prayers in a most terrifying way. "--
One By One
One by one, they will get what they deserve... Claire Matchett needs this trip. It will be a break from work and raising children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubbing with friends at a luxurious hotel in the woods, disconnected from the pressures of real life. Then, on a lonely dirt road, Claire's minivan breaks down. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to walk the rest of the way to their remote accommodation. But the forest is dark and difficult to navigate and, hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost. As they venture deeper into the woods, the members of their party are struck down mysteriously, one by one. Are they being hunted? And by what―or who? As Claire's dream vacation descends into a nightmare, something becomes clear: only one of them will return home alive.