New Text/trade Books

Jason Blake is an autistic twelve-year-old living in a neurotypical world. Most da

Brief, practical, and wonderfully readable, The Art and Craft of Fiction gives aspiring writers all they need -- in under 400 pages. Michael Kardos focuses on technique and presents fiction writing as a teachable (and learnable) art. With an organization built on methods and process rather than traditional literary elements, Kardos helps students begin their stories, write strong scenes, use images and detail, revise for aesthetics and mechanics, and finish and polish their own stories. He delivers clear instruction, effective examples, and assignments that build toward finished work in a tone reviewers praise as "pitch perfect." A brief fiction anthology at the back of the book -- of 15 works that Kardos draws on in his instruction -- provides stories that students will love to be inspired by.

"Makoto Fujimura's art and writings have been a true inspiration to me. In this luminous book, he addresses the question of art and faith and their reconciliation with a quiet and moving eloquence."--Martin Scorsese

"[An] elegant treatise. . . . Fujimura's sensitive, evocative theology will appeal to believers interested in the role religion can play in the creation of art."--Publishers Weekly

Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura's broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of "making." What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise.

Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, Mark Rothko, and Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how, unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God's being and God's grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman's words, an "accidental theologian," one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

Art Song: Linking Poetry and Music is extremely useful as an "unofficial" text for college/university vocal literature classes, as an excellent resource for singers and voice teachers, and of interest to all those who are fascinated by the rich legacy of the art song genre.

"Kimball's book gets to the heart of why we sing and gives us a process to follow in achieving greater understanding of poetry and its relationship to song...Kimball asks the right questions to direct the reader's mind toward every necessary angle that should be explored."--American Music Teacher

"With her latest book, Kimball makes another valuable contribution to the field with an exploration of the nature of art song...The author strikes a careful balance between practical and aesthetic issues...The successful performance of art song, explains Kimball, has many demands: thorough preparation of the text and music, a collaborative kinship with the pianist, charisma, humility, and dramatic imagination. The potential rewards for both the performers and the audience, however, are prodigious. 'Because individuality is our greatest asset, we actually own every song we sing ' she writes. That ownership comes from a deep understanding of both the poetry and music. Art Song: Linking Poetry and Music is an outstanding guide to developing that comprehension. It is highly recommended."--Journal of Singing

"An admirable analysis. It presents, in succinct form, the results of a generation of study of this chapter of our history and summarizes fairly the conclusions of that study."--Henry Steele Commager, New York Times Book Review

Simple Questions to Ask Every Time You Open Your Bible

We all know that we should read our Bibles--yet at times we struggle with knowing exactly how, no matter how long we've followed Jesus. In this empowering book, Professor Matthew Harmon walks us through two simple sets of questions to ask every time we open our Bibles:

Understanding the Bible:
1. What do we learn about God?
2. What do we learn about people?
3. What do we learn about relating to God?
4. What do we learn about relating to others?

Applying the Bible:
1. What does God want me to understand?
2. What does God want me to believe?
3. What does God want me to desire?
4. What does God want me to do?

Arming you with practical ways to get to the heart of any passage, this book will help position you to experience the joy that results from being transformed by God's Word.

The ideal one-semester astrophysics introduction for science undergraduates--now expanded and fully updated

Winner of the American Astronomical Society's Chambliss Award, Astrophysics in a Nutshell has become the text of choice in astrophysics courses for science majors at top universities in North America and beyond. In this expanded and fully updated second edition, the book gets even better, with a new chapter on extrasolar planets; a greatly expanded chapter on the interstellar medium; fully updated facts and figures on all subjects, from the observed properties of white dwarfs to the latest results from precision cosmology; and additional instructive problem sets. Throughout, the text features the same focused, concise style and emphasis on physics intuition that have made the book a favorite of students and teachers.

Written by Dan Maoz, a leading active researcher, and designed for advanced undergraduate science majors, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is a brief but thorough introduction to the observational data and theoretical concepts underlying modern astronomy. Generously illustrated, it covers the essentials of modern astrophysics, emphasizing the common physical principles that govern astronomical phenomena, and the interplay between theory and observation, while also introducing subjects at the forefront of modern research, including black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and gravitational lensing.

In addition to serving as a course textbook, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is an ideal review for a qualifying exam and a handy reference for teachers and researchers.

Christianity's role in furthering racism in early America.

In The Baptism of Early Virginia, Rebecca Anne Goetz examines the construction of race through the religious beliefs and practices of English Virginians. She finds the seventeenth century a critical time in the development and articulation of racial ideologies--ultimately in the idea of "hereditary heathenism," the notion that Africans and Indians were incapable of genuine Christian conversion. In Virginia in particular, English settlers initially believed that native people would quickly become Christian and would form a vibrant partnership with English people. After vicious Anglo-Indian violence dashed those hopes, English Virginians used Christian rituals like marriage and baptism to exclude first Indians and then Africans from the privileges enjoyed by English Christians--including freedom.

Resistance to hereditary heathenism was not uncommon, however. Enslaved people and many Anglican ministers fought against planters' racial ideologies, setting the stage for Christian abolitionism in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Using court records, letters, and pamphlets, Goetz suggests new ways of approaching and understanding the deeply entwined relationship between Christianity and race in early America.

Clear. Understandable. Carefully organized. Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar by William D. Mounce is the standard textbook for colleges and seminaries. Since its initial publication in 1993 its integrated approach has helped more than 250,000 students learn New Testament Greek.

The fourth edition of Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar has been updated throughout based on continuing feedback from professors, students, self-learners, and homeschoolers, making it even more effective for today's students. Other improvements have been made based on recent developments in scholarship.

The key to the effectiveness of Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar in helping students learn is in how it introduces them to the language. Students learn about the features of the Greek language in a logical order, with each lesson building upon the one before it. Unnecessary obstacles that discourage students and hinder progress are removed, such as rote memorization of endless verbal paradigms. Instead, students receive encouragement along the way to assure them they are making the necessary progress. Detailed discussions are also included at key junctures to help students grasp important concepts.

By the time students have worked their way through Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar they will have learned:

A robust suite of learning aids is available for purchase to be used alongside the textbook to help students excel in their studies. These include a workbook, video lectures for each chapter featuring the author, flashcards keyed to vocabulary in each chapter, a laminated quick study sheet with key concepts, and audio of the vocabulary for each chapter to aid in acquisition.

Bates' Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking, 13th Edition, provides complete and authoritative guidance on performing physical examinations successfully and builds student confidence through a variety of learning tools designed to master the skills needed for effective clinical practice.

Lippincott(R) Connect enhances your student experience in an all-in-one learning solution combining an interactive eBook, multimedia content, and assessment. Instructors can customize the course, create assignments, and track your progress. Students maximize efficiency through valuable feedback and remediation. Key performance insights are reported in a user-friendly dashboard that allows you to tailor your learning experiences.

"This book is one of the most worthwhile and immediately usable reads I have come across in a long time." -Kiplinger

Want to stand out from the crowd? We have studied 30,000 top leaders and have discovered the 12 habits they share that make them as rare as a unicorn. Learn these habits, and you'll be one of the best at whatever you do!

How do I stand out? How do I become irreplaceable? With a crowded workforce, an unstable job landscape, and the rise of AI, these questions are the ones that everyone either is or should be asking.

William Vanderbloemen has asked these questions over the past 15 years while running one of the world's top executive search firms. Through extensive research of over 30,000 top leaders and proprietary data, Vanderbloemen has identified the 12 habits that the best of the best have in common. Traits such as authenticity, responsiveness, agility, and the ability to problem solve, among others.

Each habit includes information on What We Know (the hard data behind why the habit is so transformative), What We've Seen (first-hand accounts by high-achieving professionals on how they live the habit), and What We Do (simple ways to build this habit into your daily routine). Be the Unicorn will help you: