A Plume book

A Ripple from the Storm (1958) is the third novel in British Nobel Prize in Literature-winner Doris Lessing five volume, semi-autobiographical, series, Children of Violence. The first volume is Martha Quest (1952), and the others are, A Proper Marriage (1954), Landlocked (1965), and The Four-Gated City (1969). The Children of Violence series, follows the life of protagonist Martha Quest "from girlhood to middle age". ([Wikipedia](

"In the first major biography of Stonewall Jackson in more than thirty years, Byron Farwell's research into the life of the most charismatic figure of the Civil War reveals a quirky, obsessive, dark personality radically different from the storybook version that grew up after Jackson's untimely death in 1863." "Jackson was an odd country boy who conquered his limitations of education and intellect by excluding any activity not crucial to his work, who showed an almost pathological indifference to danger during the Mexican War, who spent most of his career in disputes and litigation with his professional colleagues. An interesting sidelight on the private Jackson is that his sister, to whom he wrote almost daily for many years, divorced her husband for his secessionist beliefs." "Of Jackson's military genius, of his ability to extract superhuman effort from his troops, there can be no doubt. But the flaws here are fascinating as well: he did not follow orders precisely; he fell asleep at the oddest moments, as in church, or in staff meetings with General Lee; he did not communicate well with subordinate officers; and when Jackson was mortally wounded at Chancellorsville on the verge of a major victory, the advantage was lost because no one knew what he intended to do. One of the most controversial aspects of the book is Farwell's analysis of what would have happened had Jackson survived to fight at Gettysburg and beyond." "Farwell's lively narrative is balanced by careful research on every battle and facet of Jackson's life. The result is an honest, often unflattering, but nonetheless deeply sympathetic portrait of this legendary commander."--BOOK JACKET.

(New American Library,1980) Library Journal called it, “The best history of Zen ever written.” The truth of Zen has always resided in individual experience rather than in theoretical writings. To give the modern reader access to understanding of this truth, THE ZEN EXPERIENCE illumines Zen as it was created and shaped by the personalities, perceptions, and actions of its masters over the centuries. Beginning with the twin roots of Zen in Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism, we follow it through its initial flowering in China under the First Patriarch Bodhidharma; its division into schools of “gradual” and “sudden” enlightenment under Shen-hsui and Shen-hui; the ushering in of its golden age by Hui-neng; the development of “shock” enlightenment by Ma-tsu; its poetic greatness in the person of Han-shan; the perfection of the use of the koan by Ta-hui; the migration of Zen to Japan and its extraordinary growth there under a succession of towering Japanese spiritual leaders. Rich in historical background, vivid in revealing anecdote and memorable quotation, this long-needed work succeeds admirably in taking Zen from the library shelves and restoring its living, human form. (Free digital copies at www.thomashoover.info, Google Books, B&N, Amazon, Smashwords, Gutenberg)

Two girls who grow up to become women. Two friends who become something worse than enemies. In this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison tells the story of Nel Wright and Sula Peace, who meet as children in the small town of Medallion, Ohio. Their devotion is fierce enough to withstand bullies and the burden of a dreadful secret. It endures even after Nel has grown up to be a pillar of the black community and Sula has become a pariah. But their friendship ends in an unforgivable betrayal—or does it end? Terrifying, comic, ribald and tragic, Sula is a work that overflows with life.

Explains the fundamentals of logotherapy, describes its use as a treatment for neuroses, and discusses the feelings of emptiness found in modern existence.