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Leap of Faith
Richard Benyo
University of Scranton Press, 2009

Eastern Pennsylvania during the 1950s: King Coal has been dethroned, the railroads are all but defunct, and the region is in an economic depression. Fathers are forced to commute many miles to work, while at home the kids know no other pastime but to run wild in the woods. From the same author who intrigued readers with his whimsical stories of childhood in Jim Thorpe Never Slept Here comes an all-new batch of coming-of-age tales in Leap of Faith.

            In these eight stories, the adults are often offstage, leaving the children to make up the rules as they go. From the story of an unrepentant bully who gets more than he deserves to the tale of a boy who finds serenity in short bursts of flight, Richard Benyo captures a time and a place where small triumphs are enormous, where the strong rule and the swift survive, and where the outside world—beyond the mountains that enclose Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania—seldom intrudes.

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Christianity, Wilderness, and Wildlife
Susan Bratton
University of Scranton Press, 2009
In Christianity, Wilderness, and Wildlife, Susan Bratton brings to life the tradition of Christian wilderness spirituality, from Noah’s and Moses’ experiences in the Old Testament to Celtic monasteries and the Franciscan order. She traces a long history of divine encounters in biblical literature such as visions, providential protection, spiritual guidance and calls to leadership—all of which highlight the importance of nature in Christian thought. This book will command the attention of the growing audience for works at the intersection of environment and spirituality.
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The Law of Love
From Autonomy to Communion
Stephen F. Brett
University of Scranton Press, 2010

With an interdisciplinary combination of philosophy, theology, and family law, The Law of Love explores the impact of secular conceptions of autonomy on sexuality and family. Drawing from the thought of Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, Aquinas, and the modern theologian Servais Pinckaers, Stephen F. Brett argues that the divorce of freedom from virtue has caused cultural relativism, and that a potent and healthy mix of temperance, chastity, and modesty is the antidote. Styled accessibly and quite cleverly with a broader audience in mind, The Law of Love will appeal to intellectuals of all faiths who are interested in facing the ambiguities and problems of contemporary life in a secularized society.

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Aquinas
God and Action
David B. Burrell
University of Scranton Press, 2008
First published 30 years ago and long out of print, Aquinas: God and Action appears here for the first time in paperback. This classic volume by eminent philosopher and theologian David Burrell argues that Aquinas’s is not the god of Greek metaphysics, but a god of both being and activity. Aquinas’s plan in the Summa Theologiae, according to Burrell, is to instruct humans how to find eternal happiness through acts of knowing and loving. Featuring a new foreword by the author, this edition will be welcomed by philosophers and theologians alike.
 
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Learning to Trust in Freedom
Signs from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Traditions
David B. Burrell
University of Scranton Press, 2010

True religious faith cannot be confirmed by any external proofs. Rather, it is founded on a basic act of trust—and the common root of that trust, for Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, is a belief in the divine creation of the universe. But with Learning to Trust in Freedom, David B. Burrell asks the provocative question: How do we reach that belief, and what is it about the universe that could possibly testify to its divine origins? Even St. Augustine, he points out, could only find faith after a harrowing journey through the lures of desire—and it is that very desire that Burrell seizes on as a tool with which to explore the origin and purpose of the world. Delving deep into the intertwinings of desire and faith, and drawing on St. John of the Cross, Edith Stein, and Charles Taylor, Burrell offers a new understanding of free will, trust, and perception.

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Next-Generation Leadership
A Toolkit for Those in Their Teens, Twenties, & Thirties, Who Want to be Successful Leaders
William J. Byron
University of Scranton Press, 2010

Drawing on his five decades of leadership experience, William Byron outlines in this volume the theory, practice, and purpose of leadership. Intuition, humility, empathy, simplicity of lifestyle, and sound speaking and writing skills are all essential for effective leadership, and Byron devotes separate, in-depth chapters to each. Aimed at an audience now largely overlooked by leadership literature, Next Generation Leadership will appeal to the business, government, religion, and nonprofit leaders of tomorrow.

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Creating a Human World
A New Psychological and Religious Anthropology In Dialogue with Freud, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard
Ernest Daniel Carrere
University of Scranton Press, 2006
In Creating a Human World, Trappist monk and scholar Ernest Daniel Carrere explores what it means to be fully human, to live in a shared world, and to resist the easy tendency to flee reality and seek pleasure in material pursuits. To do so he examines the writings of three great modern thinkers—Sigmund Freud, Martin Heidegger, and Søren Kierkegaard—and proposes a new reading of their work in light of his own understanding of New Testament teachings.

Carrere elucidates the paradoxical spiritual truth that salvation lies not in an escape from humanity, but in embracing it.  An interdisciplinary tour de force, this book will appeal to anyone interested in philosophy, psychology, religion, or cultural anthropology.
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Greater Than a Mother's Love
The Spirituality of Francis and Clare of Assisi
Gilberto Cavazos-González
University of Scranton Press, 2010

Although there are several studies dedicated to the lives of Francis and Clare of Assisi, Gilberto Cavazos-González’s Greater Than a Mother’s Love is the first to investigate their spirituality in the context of family relationships. He delves into the writings of Francis and Clare and illustrates how both used observations of their various human relationships to understand their experiences with God. Accompanying this study is an exhaustive bibliography and several appendices that enhance this unique treatment of these two beloved and admired religious figures.

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NT Greek
A Systems Approach
John Clabeaux
University of Scranton Press, 2009

For many years now John Clabeaux has been perfecting his technique for teaching New Testament Greek—using his classrooms at St. John’s Seminary College, Harvard Divinity School, and the Pontifical College Josephinum as language laboratories. The comprehensive, meticulous, and user-friendly text NT Greek: A Systems Approach is the fruit of these efforts.

            NT Greek is designed to be used both as a classroom text and as a reference manual for those students pursuing degrees in theological and biblical studies. The text includes a Greek index, an English index, a Greek-to-English glossary, verb maps, noun and adjective declension charts, and a list of helpful hints and rules. A digitally mastered CD of Greek recitations comes with every book to assist students with their pronunciations.

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Death with Dignity
Ethical and Practical Considerations for Caregivers of the Terminally Ill
Peter A. Clark
University of Scranton Press, 2010

End-of-life issues and questions are complex and frequently cause confusion and anxiety.  In Death with Dignity,theologian, medical ethicist, and pastoral caregiver Peter A. Clark examines numerous issues that are pertinent to patients, family members, and health care professionals, including physiology, consciousness, the definition of death, the distinction between extraordinary and ordinary means, medical futility, “Do Not Resuscitate” orders, living wills, power of attorney, pain assessment and pain management, palliative and hospice care, the role of spirituality in end-of-life care, and physicians’ communication with terminal patients. Patients, family members, medical students, and health care professionals will find in Death with Dignity thepractical and ethical knowledge they need to capably and confidently cope with end-of-life challenges.

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Realism for the 21st Century
A John Deely Reader
Paul Cobley
University of Scranton Press, 2009

Realism for the 21st Century is a collection of thirty essays from John Deely—a major figure in contemporary semiotics and an authority on scholastic realism and the works of Charles Sanders Peirce. The volume tracks Deely’s development as a pragmatic realist, featuring his early essays on our relation to the world after Darwinism; crucial articles on logic, semiotics, and objectivity; overviews of philosophy after modernity; and a new essay on “purely objective reality.”

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Passion of Israel
Jacques Maritain, Catholic Conscience, and the Holocaust
Richard Francis Crane
University of Scranton Press, 2010

In his lifetime, French philosopher Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) achieved a reputation as both a leading Catholic intellectual and as an outspoken critic of antisemitism. Here historian Richard Francis Crane traces the development of Maritain’s opposition toward antisemitism and analyzes the Catholic appreciation of Judaism that animated his stance. Crane probes the writings and teachings of Maritain—from before, during, and after the Holocaust—and illuminates how his ideas altered Christian perceptions of Jews and Judaism during his lifetime and continue to do so today.

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A Privilege of Intellect
Conscience and Wisdom in Newman’s Narrative
D. A. Drennen
University of Scranton Press, 2010

Based on decades of research, A Privilege of Intellect is D. A. Drennen’s portrait of the English cardinal John Henry Newman (1801–90), whose conversion to the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 significantly boosted the presence of the Catholic Church in England and caused many Anglicans to follow his example. Newman—who will be beatified this fall—devoted his life both to the Church and to the university, demonstrating that religious faith and intellectual pursuits could exist in harmony. Drennen’s biography combines theology with psychology and philosophy and will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.

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The Sacred Cosmos
Theological, Philosophical, and Scientific Conversations in the Twelfth Century School of Chartres
Peter Ellard
University of Scranton Press, 2007

The School of Chartres was a bold intellectual movement of the twelfth century that introduced the World Soul and the Chartrian cosmology to Christendom. In his controversial book, The Sacred Cosmos, theologian Peter Ellard analyzes the most radical aspects of Chartrian thought and traces their relation to classical and late-antique philosophers such as Boethius and Plato. In addition, Ellard investigates the Cathedral of Chartres as an important proof and example of Chartrian theology in this essential volume for anyone interested in the intersection of spirituality and philosophy.

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The Metaphysics of Media
Toward an End of Postmodern Cynicism and the Construction of a Virtuous Reality
Peter K. Fallon
University of Scranton Press, 2009

In The Metaphysics of Media, award-winning media critic Peter K. Fallon tackles the complicated question of how a succession of dominant forms of media have supported—and even to some extent created—different conceptions of reality. To do so, he starts with the basics: a critical discussion of the very idea of objective reality and the various postmodern responses that have tended to dominate recent philosophical approaches to the subject. From there, he embarks on a survey of the evolution of communication through four major eras: orality; literacy; print; and electricity. 

Within each era, Fallon argues, the dominant form of media supported particular ways of understanding the world, from the ascendance of reason that followed the development of alphabets to the obliteration of space and time that we associate with electronic communications. Fallon concludes with a hard look at the mass ignorance that prevails today despite (or perhaps because of) the sea of information with which contemporary life is surrounded. 

A stirring, philosophically rich investigation, The Metaphysics of Media offers not only a clear picture of where our society has been but also a road map to a more engaged, informed, and fully human future.

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Nazi-Looted Jewish Archives in Moscow
A Guide to Jewish Historical and Cultural Collections in the Russian State Military Archive
David E. Fishman
University of Scranton Press, 2010
During their ascendency and subsequent occupation of much of Europe, the Nazis plundered the documents and cultural treasures of Jewish organizations as well as other groups and individuals they deemed to be enemies of the Reich. When the Nazis were crushed, many of these looted collections, as well as records of Nazi state agencies that persecuted and murdered Jews, were discovered by the Soviet Army, then transferred to Moscow and held for decades in closed, secret archives. This catalog and guide supplies the first comprehensive, collection-by-collection English-language description of this historical and cultural documentation, which the Nazis meant to be among the only vestiges of the millions of victims they annihilated.  Scholars and lay researchers will find this reference a unique and indispensable guide to the invaluable remains of a rich world brutally destroyed.
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Damasio's Error and Descartes' Truth
An Inquiry into Consciousness, Metaphysics, and Epistemology
Andrew L. Gluck
University of Scranton Press, 2007
The question of the relationship between mind and body as posed by Descartes, Spinoza, and others remains a fundamental debate for philosophers. In Damasio’s Error and Descartes’ Truth, Andrew Gluck constructs a pluralistic response to the work of neurologist Antonio Damasio. Gluck critiques the neutral monistic assertions found in Descartes’ Error and Looking for Spinoza from a philosophical perspective, advocating an adaptive theory—physical monism in the natural sciences, dualism in the social sciences, and neutral monism in aesthetics. Gluck’s work is a significant and refreshing take on a historical debate.
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Religion, Fundamentalism, and Violence
An Interdisciplinary Dialogue
Andrew L. Gluck
University of Scranton Press, 2010

In Religion, Fundamentalism, and Violence, Andrew Gluck brings together distinguished scholars to address a fiercely debated topic: the intersection of religion and violence. Among the contributions is an anthropological analysis of the violence associated with the Abrahamic monotheistic religions of the Middle East, a compelling essay accounting for the violence in Hindu religious traditions, an informative look at the Israeli-Palestinian tensions of more recent times, and an essay on the Catholic just war theory. Each chapter is followed by a commentary and reply, making this volume indispensable for students and scholars of the history of religions.     

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I'll Fly Away
A World War II Pilot's Lifetime of Adventures From Biplanes to Jumbo Jets
William Hallstead
University of Scranton Press, 2006
After an exciting career flying dozens of different aircraft to destinations as near as midwestern cornfields and as far as Middle Eastern deserts, veteran aviator Jack Race regales us with his unique experiences in I’ll Fly Away, an engaging biography written with acclaimed novelist William Hallstead.

From his adventures flying for the Allies in World War II to his work as head pilot trainer for Ariana Afghan Airlines, Race has logged more than six decades in the air. I’ll Fly Away tracks his travels around the globe, encompassing his post-war job as crop duster and bush pilot, his thirty-four years as a commercial airline pilot for Pan American World Airways, his consultancy to King Hussein for Royal Jordanian Airlines, and the eight years in which he served as lead pilot for Orbis, an eye hospital on wings that served thirty-one countries. In 1989 Race notably retraced Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 20,000-mile goodwill tour, flying his Spirit of Orbis biplane to all forty-eight of the continental U.S. states.

A remarkable and wholly readable biography of an American original, I’ll Fly Away will be essential for the bookshelf of every aviation enthusiast.

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front cover of Transforming the Personal, Political, Historical and Sacred in Theory and Practice
Transforming the Personal, Political, Historical and Sacred in Theory and Practice
Personal, Political, Historical, and Sacred
Manfred Halpern
University of Scranton Press, 2009
The eminent political scientist Manfred Halpern (1924–2001) viewed politics as belonging to each of us, as part of the nature of being human. In A Comprehensive Philosophy of Transformation, his magnum opus, Halpern elucidates the interconnected “four faces of our being”: the political, personal, historical, and sacred. This momentous volume identifies several modes of political activity, warns against the dangers of leaving politics to professional politicians, and urges us to build networks of compassion that include everyone in a just society. Overall, Halpern calls for a transformative politics achieved through enhanced participation and understanding.
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Nonprofit Governance
The Why, What, and How of Nonprofit Boardship
Thomas J. Harvey
University of Scranton Press, 2009

This thorough volume offers up-to-date information and practical guidelines for board members and executives of nonprofit organizations large and small. Among the topics addressed are the historical roots of the voluntary sector in America, a complete discussion of the key responsibilities of nonprofit boards, suggestions for board organization, appropriate protocol for meetings, legal issues affecting nonprofit groups, and useful tools for self-assessment. This guide will be indispensable to the almost two million nonprofit organizations existing in the United States today.

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Biosemiotics
An Examination into the Signs of Life and the Life of Signs
Jesper Hoffmeyer
University of Scranton Press, 2008
Recent debates surrounding the teaching of biology divide participants into three camps based on how they explain the appearance of the human race: evolution, creationism, or intelligent design. Biosemiotics discovers an intriguing higher ground respecting those opposing theories by arguing that questions of meaning and experiential life can be integrated into the scientific study of nature. This groundbreaking book shows how the linguistic powers of humans imply that consciousness emerges in the evolutionary process and that life is based on sign action, not just molecular interaction. Biosemiotics will be essential reading for anyone interested in the nexus of linguistic possibility and biological reality. 
 
 
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What Brings a Marriage into Existence?
An Historical Re-examination of the Canon Law of the Latin Church
Brendan Killeen
University of Scranton Press, 2010

Of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, matrimony is the most discussed, debated, disputed, and adjudicated in all of canon law. In this book, Brendan Killeen employs the fundamental question “What brings a marriage into existence?” as the legal and scholarly means to explore the very nature of marriage within the framework of the canon law of the Catholic Church.

            Killeen conducts his exploration in two phases. First he scrutinizes the canon law’s primary sources—texts dating as far back as the Roman Empire—and gives readers a fresh perspective of the law’s historical progression. He then examines the papers from the Second Vatican Council and offers both an objective evaluation of the law at present and some possible amendments for its future.

            Noteworthy for its diligent research and in-depth analysis, What Brings a Marriage into Existence? will be useful to both newcomers to the canon law of marriage as well as seasoned scholars.

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Thomism and Tolerance
John F. X. Knasas
University of Scranton Press, 2010

In this incisive study, John F. X. Knasas grounds the ideal of tolerance in Aquinas’s natural law ethics and connects the virtue of civic tolerance to the concept of being. If God is the source of being, argues Knasas, then we are the articulation of being, and it is in this capacity that we recognize our bond with other people and thus acknowledge our duty to be tolerant of one another. An important contribution to practical metaphysics and the philosophical foundations of political theory, Thomism and Tolerance will appeal to philosophy scholars and students at the undergraduate and graduate level.

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Edith Stein
Philosopher and Mystic
Josephine Koeppel
University of Scranton Press, 2007

The twentieth anniversary of the beatification of Edith Stein (1891–1942), the accomplished Jewish philosopher who made a spiritual journey from atheism to agnosticism before eventually converting to Catholicism, will be celebrated in 2007. In Edith Stein: Philosopher and Mystic, Josephine Koeppel chronicles the life of this influential saint from her secular youth and entrance into a German monastery to her tragic death at Auschwitz. This accessible work will reward readers of all faiths interested in the life of a remarkable woman who changed the modern conception of sainthood.

 

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Cassian's Prayer for the 21st Century
John Levko
University of Scranton Press, 2000
Though Saint John Cassian lived and wrote centuries ago (c. 360-435), his spiritual writings continue to be important to contemporary church life and personal spirituality.  The rich religious traditions of Eastern Christianity influenced the course and development of monasticism in the West. Today, all Christians can, through Saint Cassian's focus on prayer, reach a higher state.
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Vessel of Clay
The Inspirational Journey of Sister Carla
Jacqueline Hansen Maggiore
University of Scranton Press, 2010

Jacqueline Hansen Maggiore presents in this volume the biography of her lifelong friend Carol Piette, known throughout Chile and El Salvador as Sister Carla. Drawing from the memories of those who knew her and excerpts from her letters and diaries, Vessel of Clay chronicles Sister Carla’s extraordinary life, highlighting her dedication to the poor of Latin America but also revealing her struggles with self-doubt and emotional frailty. Vessel of Clay will appeal to both lay and religious readers interested in peace and social justice, spiritual formation and development, women’s issues, liberation theology, and mission service.

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Sexuality and Authority in the Catholic Church
Monica Migliorino Miller
University of Scranton Press, 1995
Monica Migliorino Miller articulates a theology that breaks open the essence of ecclesial authority.  Authority, if it is authority at all, derives from and exists for authentic Christian worship, namely, the Holy Eucharist.
 
If authority is derived from Eucharistic worship, then authority is fundamentally the authority of a covenant.  This book shows that this covenant is spoken according to a primordial sexual language rooted in creation itself.
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The Drug, the Soul, and God
A Catholic Moral Perspective on Antidepressants
John-Mark Miravalle
University of Scranton Press, 2010

With The Drug, the Soul, and God, John-Mark Miravelle examines the stance of the Catholic Church regarding the prescription and consumption of antidepressants. After a careful investigation of Catholic moral theology and philosophy, Miravelle argues that treating depression with medication alone fails to address the underlying causes of the depression and does not facilitate the cognitive, interpersonal, and environmental changes necessary for a patient’s long-term health. In addition, he suggests that such medication may deprive sufferers of providential opportunities for personal and communal conversion and sanctification. This controversial volume will engage theologians and medical professionals alike.

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The West Side Carbondale, Pennsylvania Mine Fire
Kathleen Purcell Munley
University of Scranton Press, 2010

In early 1947 residents of the west side of Carbondale, Pennsylvania began noticing a peculiar steam escaping from the ground. An investigation into this phenomenon revealed that Carbondale was slowly but steadily being destroyed by a burning inferno deep below its surface—a fire raging through the deserted anthracite coal mine shafts that twisted and turned beneath that part of the city. After several years of attempting to contain the fire by flushing, municipal leaders decided that the only sure way of eliminating the threat to the community was by digging it out. To eradicate the burning menace, hundreds of homes and buildings were purchased and destroyed, and what was once a vibrant neighborhood became an abandoned wasteland.

            
Historian Kathleen Purcell Munley narrates here the story of this great fire, identifying its source, tracing its history, and, through personal interviews with former Carbondale residents, reveals its physical and psychological toll. The mine fire destroyed the West Side as it was, but this volume will keep its memory alive and preserve an important chapter in the history of Carbondale and Pennsylvania.

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Kazakhstan's New Economy
Post-Soviet, Central Asian Industries in a Global Era
Jay Nathan
University of Scranton Press, 2013
Kazakhstan has faced severe economic challenges since it gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Kazakhstan’s New Economy explores how the country might shed the outdated business practices that continue to hamper its growth. Jay Nathan first provides a historical overview of the economy and then delves deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of nine major industries, including oil and gas, banking, telecommunications, and transportation. Nathan’s careful analysis and recommendations will provide valuable insight for anyone interested in Central Asia’s economic growth. 

“An excellent resource on major industries in Kazakhstan.”—Byrganym Aitimova, Minister of Education and Science, the Republic of Kazakhstan

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A Mysticism of Kindness
The Lucie Christine Story
Astrid M. O’Brien
University of Scranton Press, 2010

On the surface, Lucie Christine—the pseudonym given to a nineteenth-century Frenchwoman named Mathilde Boutle—was a very ordinary upper-middle-class woman, fulfilling her daily responsibilities to her husband and children. But underneath, Lucie Christine was an extraordinary human being. In A Mysticism of Kindness, Astrid M. O’Brien tells the life story of this remarkable woman, revealing how her experiences as a mystic allowed her to persevere as a wife and mother in the midst of constant verbal and physical abuse from her alcoholic husband. Her story will inspire all those who struggle to find a way to live a strong spiritual life in an often difficult and troubling world.

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The Catholic Church and American Culture
Why the Claims of Dan Brown Strike a Chord
Eric A. Plumer
University of Scranton Press, 2009

More than fifty books debunking the religious claims of The Da Vinci Code have been published.  Thisis the first book devoted to the fundamentally more interesting question: if those claims are so unfounded and erroneous, why have they resonated so strongly with millions of intelligent readers and filmgoers?

From the sexual abuse scandal that shook the foundations of the Catholic Church to the 9/11 terrorist attacks that cast a cloud over a troubled nation, Eric Plumer’s The Catholic Church and American Culture: Why the Claims of the DaVinci Code Struck a Chord investigates the contemporary events, ideas, and movements that fostered Dan Brown’s unprecedented dominance of best-seller lists and dinner-table conversation. This ambitious book considers the feminist movement, radical individualism, twelve-step programs, the authority of science and psychology, and other cultural developments that paved the way for The Da Vinci Code craze. It also reflects on the recent publication of the Gnostic Gospels, including the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Plumer’s engaging book is sure to stimulate further discussion about the role of religion in contemporary life.

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Sonnets to Orpheus
Rainer Maria Rilke
University of Scranton Press, 2007
Rainer Maria Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus, first published in German in 1923, has been hailed by critics as some of the finest lyrical verse of the twentieth century. Rick Anthony Furtak’s translation of this legendary collection is the first edition for an English-speaking audience to situate the poems in a philosophical context, lending unexpected depth and a fresh perspective to Rilke’s magnum opus.
Furtak’s rich translations skillfully evoke the haunting, enigmatic nature of these poems that bridge the gap between the romantic and the modern, as his introduction guides the reader through the abundant mystical and spiritual insights to be found in Rilke’s sonnets. This new edition of a literary masterpiece will be essential reading for anyone interested in the philosophical implications of verse.
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Bruges-la-Morte
Georges Rodenbach
University of Scranton Press, 2007
Bruges-la-Morte is the story of one man’s obsession with his dead wife and his soul’s struggle between an alluring young dancer—his late wife’s double—and the beautiful, melancholy city of Bruges, whose moody atmosphere mirrors his mourning.  This hallmark of Belgian symbolist literature, first translated into English by Philip Mosley to great acclaim twenty years ago, is now back in print for the next generation of English readers to discover.

With penetrating psychological force and richly metaphorical language, Bruges-la-Morte draws a haunting picture of love, grief, and murder in what has become a “dead city,” severely Catholic and once proud. The source of the famous opera Die tote Stadt and endless inspiration for Belgian and French artists, this novella will enthrall both the imaginations and heartstrings of an Anglophile audience.
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Christianity and Islam
The Struggling Dialogue
Richard Rousseau
University of Scranton Press, 1985
Christianity and Islam focuses on the infra-structural or basic issues in the relationship between Christianity and Islam.
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Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox
Marc B. Shapiro
University of Scranton Press, 2006
One of the foremost scholars of the Talmud in the last century, Saul Lieberman (1898–1983) is also an intriguing and controversial figure. Highly influential in Orthodox society, he left Israel in 1940 to accept an appointment at the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative institution. During his forty years at the Seminary, Lieberman served in the Rabbinical Assembly as one of the most important arbiters of Jewish law, though his decisions were often too progressive to be recognized by the Orthodox. Marc B. Shapiro here considers Lieberman’s experiences to examine the conflict between Jewish Orthodoxy and Conservatism in the mid-1900s. This invaluable scholarly resource also includes a Hebrew appendix and previously unpublished letters from Lieberman.
 
 
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Push
A Collection of Poems
Ronald F. Smits
University of Scranton Press, 2009

In this sophisticated debut collection, Ronald F. Smits deftly weaves the comic with the tragic as he vividly recreates days past in rural Pennsylvania. With a boyish charm, the eighty poems in Push lyrically recall baseball games, campouts under the stars, and dusty treks along lonely back roads—bringing to life a vision of mid-century America that is by turns nostalgic and clear-eyed, humorous and heartfelt. A masterly evocation of a place and a time that feel quintessentially American, Push opens our eyes to the twinned power of literature and memory.

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Awareness to Action
The Enneagram, Emotional Intelligence, and Change
Robert Tallon
University of Scranton Press, 2006
Are you a helper or an achiever? A challenger or a peacemaker? Awareness to Action explores the nine distinct, yet interconnected personality types of Enneagram theory, which uses a nine-pointed figure to illustrate the relationship between an individual’s dominant personality and the other types that comprise the structure. Mario Sikora and Robert Tallon explain the characteristics of each personality and show how a person can capitalize on their strengths and weaknesses, charting a specific course for personal growth. They discuss practical topics such as relationship building, conflict resolution, and personal development, information that will not only be of interest to individuals seeking a greater understanding of self, but to managers and human resource professionals as well.

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front cover of From Dark Night to Gentle Surrender
From Dark Night to Gentle Surrender
On the Ethics and Spirituality of Hospice Care
Patricia Kobielus Thompson
University of Scranton Press, 2010

Drawing from her many years of experience as a hospice nurse and her training as a theologian, Patricia Kobielus Thompson offers in The Dark Night of the Soul instruction to those providing care for terminally ill patients. Thompson finds in the poetry and other writings of Spanish mystic Saint John of the Cross a wisdom that she argues will assist caregivers in comforting their patients through the trying times just before death. Though much has been written on Saint John of the Cross, Thompson’s application of these works is wholly new and rooted in deep empathy.

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Report on the Island and Diocese of Puerto Rico (1647)
Canon Diego Torres y Vargas
University of Scranton Press, 2010

Composed at the request of the Royal Spanish Chronicler of the Indies, Don Diego Torres y Vargas’s Report on the Island & Diocese of Puerto Rico was the first history of Puerto Rico written by a native of the Spanish island colony. Torres y Vargas, a fourth generation Puerto Rican and descendant of Ponce de Leon, records here the history of the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico as well as the political, social, military, economic, and natural history of the island.

            This translation—the first ever into English—includes three historical essays by eminent Puerto Rican and Latino Studies scholar Anthony Stevens-Arroyo and extensive translator notes to guide the reader through the realities of seventeenth-century Puerto Rican culture and society.   

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The Choice
Converts to Judaism Share Their Stories
Arnine Cumsky Weiss
University of Scranton Press, 2010

In The Choice, Arnine Cumsky Weiss and Carol Weiss Rubel present the stories of forty-five converts to Judaism. These reflective narratives demonstrate that no two converts’ experiences are alike, yet most share some common characteristics: a spiritual uneasiness, fear, doubt, and a gradual development of spiritual and intellectual understanding and acceptance of conversion. The stories in The Choice will be a source of inspiration and affirmation for anyone who is struggling with a conversion decision or knows someone who is.

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front cover of Archbishop Oscar Romero
Archbishop Oscar Romero
A Disciple Who Revealed the Glory of God
Damian Zynda
University of Scranton Press, 2010

During his lifetime, Archbishop Oscar Romero chose to live the Christian Gospel in a radical way, defending, supporting, and serving the poor, and confronting the oppressive and murderous violence of the Salvadoran dictatorship. As a result, in March 1980, while celebrating Mass in a small chapel in El Salvador, he was assassinated.

             
With Archbishop Oscar Romero, Damian Zynda offers a compelling examination of the bishop’s eventful life. Zynda delves into the psychological and spiritual depths of Romero’s faith, tracing its progression from age thirteen up to the episcopacy and his prophetic stand against the government.

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