Reference works

The decline of institutionalized religion in the increasingly secularized West has been offset by the contemporary spiritual development understood in the form of emerging New Age movements.

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, commonly known as the Shakers, followed Mother Ann Lee to the United States in 1774 when life in England became difficult.

Whether it was Jane Campion's The Piano, Mel Gibson in Mad Max, Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee, or The Lord of the Rings saga, we have all experienced the cinema of Australia and New Zealand.

In the history of the United States, few periods could more justly be regarded as the best and worst of times than the Kennedy-Johnson era.

The Renaissance era was launched in Italy and gradually spread to the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, and other parts of Europe and the New World, with figures like Robert Campin, Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Albrecht Durer, and Albrecht Altdorfer.

Human beings have been concerned about nature and their place in it for millennia.

Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as the most important composer and lyricist of musical theater in the second half of the 20th century.

All places undergo change, but in few has this change been quite as sweeping as Ireland - both the independent Republic of Ireland and dependent Northern Ireland - so it is good to see where it is heading at present.

Mormonism is the unofficial name for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which originated in the early 1800s.

Croatia, a former republic of Yugoslavia, has been a self-declared independent state since July 25, 1991.

Oliver Stone has written and directed many memorable films while also developing a reputation for tackling controversial subjects, such as the Turkish prison system (Midnight Express), the Vietnam war (Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July), insider trading (Wall Street), presidential assassination (JFK), and a voyeuristic media (Natural Born Killers).

In 1898, documentary footage of a yacht race was shot by Robert A.

From Altar-Throne to Table: The Campaign for Frequent Holy Communion in the Catholic Church investigates what the celebrated scholar of liturgy Robert A.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) was one of the first Modern philosophers, and as such, one of the most significant.

The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo provides a comprehensive set of references on the country's history, politics, economics, and culture.

Now available in paperback!

Originating in India, the Gypsies arrived in Europe around the 14th century, spreading not only across the entirety of the continent but also immigrating to the Americas.

Not long after becoming public health concerns in the 1980s, HIV and AIDS were featured in a number of works of fiction, though such titles were written primarily for adult readers.

The Republic of Moldova claims a European lineage reaching back in time long before its 14th century accession to statehood.

While the earliest evidence of organized running can be traced back to Egypt in 3800 BCE, the modern sport of track and field evolved from rural games and church and folk festivals, and rules were drawn up in the final quarter of the 19th century in those advanced societies where enough people had the leisure time to indulge their fancies.

Members of the Church of England until the mid-16th century, the Puritans thought the Church had become too political and needed to be "e;purified.

Since the dawn of film in the 1890s, religious themes and biblical subjects have been a staple of cinema.

The nearly 150-year-old sport of cycling had its first competition in France in 1868.

Twelve novels and nine short stories define one of the most extraordinary fictional characters of all time, creating the basis for the most successful movie series in cinematographic history, watched by more than half the world's population.

The Bengali (Bangla) speaking people are located in the northeastern part of South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh and two states of India - West Bengal and Tripura.

The term "e;French theater"e; evokes most immediately the glories of the classical period and the peculiarities of the Theater of the Absurd.

Bangladesh (literally, the land of the Bengalis) is the most recent addition (in 1971) to the independent nations of South Asia.

Architecture, which can be understood in its most basic sense as a form of enclosure created with an aesthetic intent, first made its appearance in the Prehistoric Age.

This engaging reference examines the history of, the search for, and the discovery of Australia, taking full account of the evidence for and the speculation surrounding possible earlier contacts by the Ancient Egyptians, Arabs, and Chinese seamen.

Both traditions recognize and draw theological and historical lessons from some of the same narrative sources, but this is the first comparative resource to provide interdisciplinary coverage of the history and textual sources associated with prophets and prophecy.

Soccer is the world's most popular sport and one of the globe's best known cultural practices.

Ever since the end of World War II, and even more so since 1960, when 17 African colonies became independent of colonial rule, the African continent has been ravaged by a series of wars.

The relationship between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China is traced in this dictionary containing hundreds of cross-referenced entries on the presidents and prime ministers, the secretaries of state and foreign ministers, other key players, and the more significant institutions and events.

Aesthetics is not a "e;factual"e; discipline; there are no aesthetic facts.

Inspired by a vivid dream, Stephenie Meyer, a stay-at-home mom, wrote a manuscript that started a worldwide sensation that has yet to abate.

The period from 1913 to 1933 is not often seen as a coherent entity in the history of the United States.

Cote d'Ivoire remains one of the most intriguing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Spanish cinema is emerging as one of the most exciting, fascinating, and special cinemas in the world.

Few philosophers have been as popular, prolific, and controversial as Friedrich Nietzsche, who has left his imprint not only on philosophy but on all the arts.

The period from the outset of World War I to the end of World War II was among the most significant in the history of the United States.

Although China's intelligence activities may not have been well documented, they can be traced back to the ancient writings of Sun Tzu, and espionage has been a characteristic of Chinese domestic politics and international relations ever since.

William Jefferson Clinton's legacy remains a matter of significant contention among historians, political scientists, and pundits even after a decade of time to reflect.

British Intelligence is the oldest, most experienced organization of its kind in the world, the unseen hand behind so many world events, and glamorized by James Bond.

During the first century, Saint Mark brought Christianity to Egypt and in so doing, formed the basis for the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The period from 1925 to 1960 was the heyday of the American Radio Soap Opera.

Human beings have been concerned about nature and their place in it for millennia.

Russian literature is most celebrated for its Romantic and modernist poetry and 19th-century novels.

Benin is now perceived of as a model of democracy in Africa because it has successfully established a democratic political system based on consensus and regular and fair elections, and it continues to improve its electoral and parliamentary systems.

When we speak of "e;classical music"e; it often refers rather loosely to serious "e;art"e; music but at the core is really the music of the classical period running from about 1730 to 1800, give or take.

When the earliest filmgoers watched The Great Train Robbery in 1903, many of them shrieked in terror at the very last clip when one of the outlaws turns directly toward the camera and fires a gun, seemingly, directly at the audience.