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A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book of 2020 A Padma Lakshmi Favorite Read of 2021 The captivating story of the valiant Noor Inayat Khan, daughter of an Indian Sufi mystic and unlikely World War II heroine. Raised in a lush suburb of 1920s Paris, Noor Inayat Khan was an introspective musician and writer, dedicated to her family and to her father’s spiritual values of harmony, beauty, and tolerance. She did not seem destined for wartime heroism. Yet, faced with the evils of Nazi violence and the German occupation of France, Noor joined the British Special Operations Executive and trained in espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. She returned to Paris under an assumed identity immediately be...
World War I left Berlin, and all of Germany, devastated. Charlatans and demagogues eagerly exploited the desperate crowds. Fascination with the occult was everywhere – in private séances, personalized psychic readings, communions with the dead – as people struggled to escape the grim reality of their lives. In the early 1930s, the most famous mentalist in the German capital was Erik Jan Hanussen, a Jewish mind reader originally from Vienna who became so popular in Berlin that he rubbed elbows with high ranking Nazis, became close with top Storm Troopers, and even advised Hitler. Called "Europe's Greatest Oracle Since Nostradamus," Hanussen assumed he could manipulate some of the more in...
The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish art student in wartime Berlin who not just survived but resisted—and retained his infectious zeal for life. Though Cioma Schonhaus was only 11 years old when the Nazis first came to power, his cleverness and resourcefulness eventually made him an unlikely hero and bon vivant. As a young adult staying one step ahead of the S.S., Cioma would dine in swanky restaurants and frequent trendy bars, and have plenty of romances -- all while sabotaging weapons in the munitions factory where he worked. He even bought a sailboat and taught himself how to sail. These hijinks never distracted Cioma from a deeper mission. Trained as an artist, Cioma’s fake...
This bold, pioneering book explores rites of passage in America by sifting through the accounts of influential thinkers who experienced them. Arthur J. Magida explains the underlying theologies, evolution, and actual practice of Jewish bar and bat mitzvahs, Christian confirmations, Hindu sacred thread ceremonies, Muslim shahadas and Zen jukai ceremonies. In rare interviews, renowned artists and intellectuals such as Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, holistic guru Deepak Chopra, singer Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), actress/comedienne Julia Sweeney, cartoonist Roz Chast, interfaith maven Huston Smith, and many more talk intimately about their religious backgrounds, the rites of passage they went throug...
A fascinating true-crime narrative about the first rabbi ever accused of murder and what the case says about the role of clergy in America. On the evening of November 1, 1994, Rabbi Fred Neulander returned home to find his wife, Carol, facedown on the living room floor, blood everywhere. He called for help, but it was too late. Two trials and eight years later, the founder of the largest reform synagogue in southern New Jersey became the first rabbi ever convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In a gripping examination of the misuses of the pulpit and the self-delusions of power, Arthur J. Magida paints a devastating portrait of a manipulative man who used his position of trust in the temple to attract several mistresses -- and to befriend a lonely recovering alcoholic, whom he convinced to kill his wife "for the good of Israel." The Rabbi and the Hit Man straddles the juncture of faith and trust, and confronts issues of sex, narcissism, arrogance, and adultery. It is the definitive account of a charismatic clergyman who paid the ultimate price for ignoring his own words of wisdom: "We live at any moment with our total past ... What we do will stay with us forever."
The indispensable guidebook to help the well - meaning guest when visiting other people's religious ceremonies - updated and revised. New edition We North Americans live in a remarkably diverse society, and it's increasingly common to be invited to a wedding, funeral or other religious service of a friend, relative or coworker whose faith is dif...
He preaches a dynamic message of African-American empowerment and self-reliance, offering discipline and hope to those most in need. At the same time, he outrages mainstream America with his fiery rhetoric and unrestrained criticism of whites, Jews, and Catholics, whom he blames for the ongoing oppression of blacks. He is the Reverend Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, and his voice shakes the nation.Prophet of Rage penetrates the rhetoric that surrounds this enigmatic figure to reveal his personal story, tracing his life from his birth as Eugene Walcott in the Bronx through his childhood in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, his training as a classical violinist, and his career as a calypso singer. It then follows his remarkable political career, recounting his indoctrination into the Nation of Islam, during which time he took the name “Louis X”; explaining his involvement with the assassination of Malcolm X; and chronicling his rise to power as a powerful orator, political leader, and self-proclaimed prophet.
NVIDIA's Full-Color Guide to Deep Learning: All You Need to Get Started and Get Results "To enable everyone to be part of this historic revolution requires the democratization of AI knowledge and resources. This book is timely and relevant towards accomplishing these lofty goals." -- From the foreword by Dr. Anima Anandkumar, Bren Professor, Caltech, and Director of ML Research, NVIDIA "Ekman uses a learning technique that in our experience has proven pivotal to success—asking the reader to think about using DL techniques in practice. His straightforward approach is refreshing, and he permits the reader to dream, just a bit, about where DL may yet take us." -- From the foreword by Dr. Crai...
In the Name of Elijah Muhammad tells the story of the Nation of Islam—its rise in northern inner-city ghettos during the Great Depression through its decline following the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975 to its rejuvenation under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan. Mattias Gardell sets this story within the context of African American social history, the legacy of black nationalism, and the long but hidden Islamic presence in North America. He presents with insight and balance a detailed view of one of the most controversial yet least explored organizations in the United States—and its current leader. Beginning with Master Farad Muhammad, believed to be God in Person, Gardell examines th...
Reconstructs the life of the French literary genius whose writing changed opinions and fueled fierce debate on both sides of the Atlantic during the period of the American and French revolutions.