A Cass Canfield book

xxi, 361 p. ; 22 cm

The Alcestiad by Thornton Wilder tells the story of Admetus, King of Thessaly (rich in horses), his wife Alcestis, and the triumphs and tragedies they endure as favorites of the god Apollo. Every major event in their marriage is a direct result of the interference of Apollo, though this is not made clear in The Alcestiad. Rather, the extent of Apollo{u2019}s involvement is made clear in the accompanying satyr play, The Drunken Sisters. --readingandruminations.wordpress.com.

Character sketches of Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Jay, Madison, and Hamilton emphasize their reasons for turning against Britain and their prominence in the American Revolution.

The Author recalls the misadventures and pleasures of her two-week cruise on a barge on the river Shannon.

"Christopher Hibbert draws on every known contemporary source to provide a minutely detailed look at the fascinating writer Samuel Johnson. Using facts and anecdotes, Hibbert delivers intimate glimpses into Johnson's time as a schoolboy, his eccentricities as an undergraduate at Oxford, his struggle as a poor writer in London, and his slow rise to the legendary figure with a court of admirers and a steady stream of visitors. Hibbert combines personal stories with an examination Johnson's writing, offering a compelling and readable account."--Product description, Amazon.com.

The recent release of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ has provoked powerful responses from believing Christians and non-believers alike. The Publishers feel it appropriate to reissue at this time a probing work that examines from another perspective these events that can fairly be said to have changed the course of Western history. A justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, writing as an expert on Jewish legal history, who is proud of Jesus' here challenges the descriptions and interpretations of the trial and death of Jesus as presented by the Evangelists in the New Testament. Subjecting the Gospel reports to close forensic examination, Justice Cohn scrutinizes the texts in the light of information we possess from other sources concerning the laws and procedures (both Jewish and Roman) then prevailing; the political, ideological and religious motivations which may have prompted the actors to act; and the causes and purposes for which the Evangelists may have given the accounts they did. By thus placing the trial of Jesus in the context of known legal, political and religious facts, he is able to reconstruct the events as they may really have happened. And in so doing, he makes the case that "perversion of justice" traditionally ascribed to the trial itself must more truthfully be attributed to the aftermath of the trial - namely, the prejudice and persecutions of centuries. Whether we ultimately accept or reject Justice Cohn's conclusions, his incisive analysis and extraordinary command of historical evidence provides a context to deepen and challenge our interpretations of the Gospel narrative.