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The Big Book of Christmas Novels, Stories, Myths & Carols' is a monumental anthology that captivates the spirit of Christmas through a broad spectrum of literary forms, encompassing the timeless work of renowned authors from various periods and cultures. It is a collection that spans the gamut from the evocative and solemn to the joyous and lighthearted, effectively capturing the multifaceted essence of Christmas. The inclusion of works by literary giants such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Leo Tolstoy, alongside tales by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, showcases the anthologys rich diversity in storytelling and its profound grasp on themes of love, redemption, and the human condition. This anthology encapsulates an unparalleled literary experience, dwelling into the heart of Christmas and its universal appeal across different epochs and societies. The contributors to this anthology bring with them a Kaleidoscope of backgrounds, from the victorian elegance of Dickens and the poignant realism of Tolstoy to the pioneering American voices of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. These authors, hailing from disparate geographical locales and writing in divergent styles, collectively contribute to a multifaceted exploration of Christmas traditions, folklore, and the inherent message of peace and goodwill toward all. Their stories, enriched by their unique cultural, historical, and religious contexts, present a unified narrative that celebrates the enduring spirit of the holiday season, while highlighting the diverse ways in which it is observed and cherished around the world. 'The Big Book of Christmas Novels, Stories, Myths & Carols' extends an open invitation to readers everywhere to immerse themselves in a comprehensive celebration of Christmas literature. It is a unique opportunity to explore the depth and breadth of Yuletide narratives that have shaped our understanding and celebration of the holiday. This anthology is not just a read; it is an experience that promises to elevate the readers spirit and deepen their appreciation for the rich literary traditions that Christmas has inspired over the centuries. It is an essential addition to the collection of anyone who cherishes Christmas and the profound storytelling it has inspired.

The Santa's Great Treasure Chest: 450+ Christmas Novels, Tales, Carols & Legends represents an unparalleled assemblage of literary jewels, carefully curated to capture the essence and breadth of Christmas literature. Spanning centuries and encompassing a wide range of genres from poetry and carols to legends and novels this anthology celebrates the multifaceted nature of Christmas storytelling. The collection weaves together the traditional and the contemporary, the celebratory and the reflective, encapsulating the spirit of Christmas in its myriad forms. Standout pieces traverse the emotional landscape of the season, offering readers a panoramic view of Christmas through the ages and across cultures. The contributing authors and editors, hailing from diverse backgrounds and periods, bring a rich tapestry of voices to the anthology. From Dickens' quintessential Victorian Christmas to Andersen's poignant fairy tales, and from the reverent compositions of Isaac Watts to the pioneering realist narratives of Tolstoy and Chekhov, the collection underscores significant historical and cultural movements. It reflects the evolution of Christmas literature, showcasing how each era's social, political, and religious contexts have shaped storytelling traditions. This confluence of perspectives creates a unique narrative harmony, deepening our understanding of Christmas and its impact on the literary canon. For readers seeking to explore the depth and diversity of Christmas literature, The Santa's Great Treasure Chest offers an unrivaled opportunity. This anthology not only provides a compendium of festive stories but also serves as a lens through which the evolution of the holiday and its literature can be viewed. It invites readers to embark on a scholarly journey through the snow-draped landscapes of literary history, uncovering the myriad ways in which Christmas has inspired some of the greatest writers across time. Engrossing, enlightening, and profoundly moving, this collection is a must-have for anyone wishing to delve into the heart of Christmas storytelling.

The importance of house prices to households, real estate developers, banks and policy-makers cannot be overemphasised. House price changes affect consumer spending and business investment patterns, which in turn affect the wider macro economy and the entire business cycle. Measuring and understanding house prices is therefore essential to a functioning economy, but researchers continue to disagree on the best methodological approach for constructing real estate indices. This book argues the need for more accurate house price indices, outlines the various methods used to construct indices and discusses the existing house price indices around the globe. It shows how the raw data of property transactions can be prepared for the purpose of constructing indices, discusses various applications of property price indices and empirically demonstrates how the index numbers can be used to model the supply of new houses and to estimate the price elasticity of supply. Essential reading for economists, real estate professionals and researchers, and policy-makers.

New York Times bestselling author Piers Anthony's Man from Mundania, concludes the trilogy within his fan-favorite Xanth fantasy series, following Vale of the Vole and Heaven Cent. For a bored, young princess of Xanth, there's nothing more exciting than a Quest. Especially when all you do is sit around Castle Roogna. But when Ivy uses the Heaven Cent, it takes her not to the top of Mount Rushmost, where the winged monsters gather, not to the sea where the merfolk swim--but to Mundania, a world much like out own (that is, boring). It is here that she meets a young college student so dull that he doesn't even believe in magic, or princesses, or Xanth! Does he have a lot to learn. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

An NPR Favorite Book of the Year “Breaks new ground on social and educational questions of great import.” —Washington Post “An essential work, humane and candid, that challenges and expands our understanding of the lives of contemporary college students.” —Paul Tough, author of Helping Children Succeed “Eye-opening...Brings home the pain and reality of on-campus poverty and puts the blame squarely on elite institutions.” —Washington Post “Jack’s investigation redirects attention from the matter of access to the matter of inclusion...His book challenges universities to support the diversity they indulge in advertising.” —New Yorker The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors—and their coffers—to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to admit these students? In this bracing exposé, Anthony Jack shows that many students’ struggles continue long after they’ve settled in their dorms. Admission, they quickly learn, is not the same as acceptance. This powerfully argued book documents how university policies and campus culture can exacerbate preexisting inequalities and reveals why some students are harder hit than others.

Since its inception, the study of ad th conducted by scholars trained in the Western academic tradition has been marked by sharp methodological debates. A focal issue is the origin and development of traditions on the advent of Islam. Scholars' verdicts on these traditions have ranged from late fabrications without any historical value for the time concerning which the narrations purport to give information to early, accurately transmitted texts that allow one to reconstruct Islamic origins . Starting from previous contributions to the debate, the studies collected in this volume show that, by careful analysis of their texts and chains of transmission, the history of Muslim traditions can be reconstructed with a high degree of probability and their historicity assessed afresh.

This book is an examination of the traditions and legends concerning early Islam’s first and most infamous heretic, the Yemenite Jew known as ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sabaʾ. Tracing the evolution and transformation of the many stories and narratives about Ibn Sabaʾ as adapted by Sunnī and Shīʿī scholars alike, this work attempts for the first time to give a comprehensive account of the formation of the image of Ibn Sabaʾ as the quintessential heretic of Islam’s early years. It also offers a new interpretation of the historical importance and beliefs of Ibn Sabaʾ and those early Shīʿa reviled as his followers, the Sabaʾīya. The end result is a revolutionary, new portrait of Shīʿite origins and early Islamic sectarianism.

Existential questions are deep and profound, philosophical questions that concern our very existence, such as “How did we get here”? “What is the meaning and purpose of my life’? “Is there a God”? and “What happens to me when I die”? Humans have been asking these questions for as long as we have been able to think and reason, and each possible answer spawns a host of additional questions. Existential questions are perhaps ultimately unanswerable, but we must accept the challenge and try, and must entertain the possibility that they may be. The author looks to science and philosophy for answers to such questions. Both modes of thought seek knowledge in their own manner, but philosophers must develop a greater tolerance for ambiguity than scientists because they ask many questions that are only partially amenable, or not at all, to empirical testing, and for which there are no universally agreed upon answers. Philosophy thus ventures into areas that science cannot or will not go. Scientists and philosophers work with different goals and are judged by different standards, although they both share the tools of logic, conceptual analysis, and rigorous argumentation. Questions for which we can acquire definite answers though mathematics and experimentation are the realm of science; questions for which we have no definite answers are the grist for the philosopher’s mill. It is this intellectual uncertainty in which the value of philosophy resides because it engages a liberating doubt.

This superb volume in the New International Greek Testament Commentary series provides the most detailed, definitive, and distinctive commentary on 1 Corinthians available in English to date. One of the world's most respected Christian theologians, Anthony Thiselton here provides in-depth discussion of the language of 1 Corinthians, presents his own careful translation of the Greek, traces the main issues of interpretation from the church fathers to the present, and highlights topics of theological, ethical, and sociohistorical interest today, including ethics and "rights," marriage, divorce and remarriage, "headship," gender, prophecy, and many others. No other commentary on 1 Corinthians embodies the wealth and depth of detail presented in Thiselton's work, which takes account of nearly all scholarly research on 1 Corinthians and incorporates substantial bibliographies throughout. In his commentary Thiselton indeed addresses virtually every question that thoughtful, serious readers -- scholars, students, pastors, teachers -- may wish to ask of or about the text of 1 Corinthians. His work truly offers a fresh, comprehensive, and original contribution to our understanding of this major epistle and its contemporary relevance.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way... Christmas is here, and so are we with our biggest ever Christmas basket. There's something for everyone - novels, short stories, poems, and carols - for a cozy and wonderful holiday enjoyment. So grab a cup of coffee and soak into the spirit of festive cheer with our "The Big Christmas Basket": Novels: Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (L. Frank Baum) Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (L. Frank Baum) Little Lord Fauntleroy (Frances Hodgson Burnett) Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery) Black Beauty (Anna Sewell) Christmas-Tree Land (M.L. Molesworth) Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame) Peter Pan and Wendy (J. M. Barrie) Oliver Twist Pollyanna (Eleanor H. Porter) At the Back of the North Wind (George MacDonald) A Versailles Christmas-Tide (A. S. Boyd) The Man Who Forgot Christmas (Max Brand)... Short Stories: A Merry Christmas & Other Christmas Stories (Louisa May Alcott) The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry) Papa Panov's Special Christmas (Leo Tolstoy) Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions (Charles Dickens) The Tailor of Gloucester (Beatrix Potter) The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter) The Christmas Guest (Selma Lagerlöf) At Christmas Time (Anton Chekhov) Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe Toinette and the Elves (Susan Coolidge) The Heavenly Christmas Tree (Dostoevsky) The Princess and the Goblin The Nutcracker and the Mouse King The Little Match Girl Little Jean (Francois Coppe) How the Fir Tree Became the Christmas Tree The Magi in the West and Their Search for the Christ The Little Shepherd... Poems & Carols: Silent Night The Three Kings (H. W. Longfellow) Christmas Bells (Longfellow) Christmas at Sea (Stevenson) Christmas in the Olden Time (Walter Scott) Old Santa Claus (Clement Clarke Moore) The Twelve Days of Christmas Minstrels (Wordsworth) Ring Out, Wild Bells (Tennyson) Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity (John Milton) A Christmas Carol (Coleridge)...