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Laurie M. Johnson argues that America’s culture wars may seem to have erupted in the past couple of decades, but they go back centuries. For those who think that Christian nationalism (or right-wing populism) is the problem to be solved, that some people simply need to understand Christianity or politics better and become reasonable, read on. Christian nationalism and other ideological extremes are symptoms of major economic, technological, spiritual, and psychological shifts that have left too many people uprooted, disenchanted, and precarious. There are no easy answers, but Johnson tries to show a path out that enlists not only individuals, but also church and state. Without leadership and structure provided at the levels of the church and state, Christians, and those impacted by them, will remain part of the problem and not the solution. Johnson says to Christians: change is not talk, it’s action, and Christian action can only happen with leadership that creates a context where we can work together, rather than wasting our time in culture wars.

A charming holiday classic. See how this little tree unexpectedly discovers the meaning of love, family, and Christmas traditions.

This book of compilations is the companion to my previous volume Here's Richness - The Funny Side of Charles Dickens. Not that I have deliberately avoided humour; that would be near to impossible, since Dickens possesses a rare ability to bring a certain lightness into even the darkest part of a story without lessening his impact, indeed making the impact even greater. I have concentrated this time on his great descriptive powers, his deft painting of vivid and perceptive word-pictures. Dickens' unique gifts as an observer were with him from boyhood, living with his loving family in Chatham. His family circle and early environment influenced his writing for the rest of his life. With next to no education it is truly remarkable that only his innate literary genius enabled him to create an unrivalled gallery of wonderfully rich characters and evocative pictures. No other British novelist, in my opinion, combines so successfully the power to move the emotions through great descriptive writing, and the wit to create so lively a tapestry of wonderfully funny characters and their idiosyncratic dialogue. When the Dickens family moved to London, when Charles was ten years old, he was thrown into a new kaleidoscope maelstrom, exhilarating and daunting. It was the beginning of a life long love affair with the great city of London. Reflecting the remarkable breadth of his vision, I have included some examples from Dickens' very earliest writings in Sketches by Boz, to illustrate the keen social awareness of a young man of twenty-one, and to compare his attitudes then with his writings later in life. They serve to underline the range of his genius. Laurie Johnson June 2011

Sisters, writes every woman's Relief Society president Fonda AlaMode, I hope that you will not be offended, but I have been thinking lately. In ten missives to the Parley P. Pratt Park South Fourth Ward, Sister AlaMode shares the fruits of her deepest thoughts. I do feel, she writes, that the Ward is truly a place of open inquisition in which sisters may exercise the sweet spirits with which they are possessed. Of course, when the brethren offer counsel, Fonda sees to it that sisters turn their thinking around three hundred and sixty degrees.Among numerous tips on homemaking and special womanly values, Fonda gives a synopsis of recent Relief Society meetings, including prayers: And please remember all those who are sick of our ward; lessons, such as: Motherhood: The Greatest Calling Given Unto Mankind; and special thoughts: Premarital intimacy is foul, filthy, and disgusting and should be saved for the one we love most.Fonda reassures readers that she is not what anyone would call an intellectualist. Sixty snapshots accompany the text, showing, for instance, Fonda bearing her testimony: I am not padding the truth, she says, when I say that my cup is truly full. This priceless inspiration truly belongs to the deep thoughts genre.

Reader's Guides are clear, concise and accessible introductions to classic works of philosophy. Each book explores the major themes, historical and philosophical context and key passages of a major philosophical text, guiding the reader toward a thorough understanding of often demanding material. Ideal for undergraduate students, the guides provide an essential resource for anyone who needs to get to grips with a philosophical text. Thomas Hobbes is widely considered to have been ahead of his time and his huge contribution to political philosophy has only recently been fully recognised. His most enduring work, Leviathan, is a key text in the study of political philosophy and a hugely important and exciting, yet challenging, piece of philosophical writing. In Hobbes's 'Leviathan': A Reader's Guide, Laurie M. Johnson Bagby explains the philosophical background against which the book was written and the key themes inherent in the text. The book then guides the reader to a clear understanding of the text as a whole, before exploring the reception and influence of this classic philosophical work. This is the ideal companion to study of this most influential and challenging of texts.

Offers not only an analytical study of the films of Herzog, perhaps the most famous living German filmmaker, but also a new reading of Romanticism's impact beyond the nineteenth century and in the present. Werner Herzog (b. 1942) is perhaps the most famous living German filmmaker, but his films have never been read in the context of German cultural history. And while there is a surfeit of film reviews, interviews, and scholarly articles on Herzog and his work, there are very few books devoted to his films, and none addressing his entire career to date. Until now. Forgotten Dreams offers not only an analytical study of Herzog's films but also a new reading of Romanticism's impact beyond the nineteenth century. It argues that his films re-envision and help us better understand a critical stream in Romanticism, and places the films in conversation with other filmmakers, authors, and philosophers in order to illuminate that critical stream. The result is a lively reconnection with Romantic themes and convictions that have been partly forgotten in the midst of Germany's postwar rejection of much of Romantic thought, yet are still operative in German culture today. The film analyses will interest scholars of film, German Studies, and Romanticism as well as a broader public interested in Herzog's films and contemporary German cultural debates. The book will also appeal to those interested in the ongoing renegotiation - by Western and other cultures - of relationships between reason and passion, civilization and wild nature, knowledge and belief. Laurie Ruth Johnson is Professor of German, Comparative and World Literature, and Criticism and Interpretive Theory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Johnson presents 30 vocabulary units to help teachers develop their students' English vocabulary in a logical, thematic environment. Each unit contains 32 new words, and each word is paired with a picture. Focused toward the junior high, high school, and adult education student levels.--p. 1, [56].