- About the Book

VIRTUAL HUMANS: A Build-It-Yourself Kit
by Peter Plantec

"Virtual Humans" may seem like something out of science fiction, but they are already here. Companies use them as website hosts, individuals use them as personal assistants, and people interact with them in computer games, educational applications, and many other arenas. The possibilities are limitless, but the most amazing thing is that anyone can create a "V-human" from scratch. Virtual Humans gives not just start-to-finish instructions for designing a charming synthetic person, but also a CD-ROM containing the tools and techniques to make it real. Readers will learn how to:

This book-and-CD package is the first of its kind and a landmark on a par with the first build-your-own-Web-site products. Readers will be among the first to create ultra- realistic, versatile V-human personalities, and will start well ahead of what is soon to be a tidal wave of worldwide interest.

Copyright (c)2004 by Peter Plantec. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher, AMACOM, http://www.amanet.org/books.

- About the Book

BEANIE MANIA:
A Comprehensive Collector's Guide
by Becky Phillips and Becky Estenssoro
Published by Dinomates, Inc.

Beanie Mania is sweeping the world! This book will help you catch Beanie Fever and join the many thousands of other people who collect the cutest toy ever made: Beanie Babies! What makes these toys so collectable? Besides being adored by children everywhere, Beanie Babies are prized by collectors because of the way they're marketed and made. Each year, Beanie Baby manufacturer Ty Incorporated "retires" a certain number of Beanie Baby models and introduces new ones. Ty also restricts the supply of Beanie Babies by selling them only through selected outlets.

The restricted supply of Beanie Babies, and the fact that many models are taken out of production, has created an exuberant secondary market for these cuddly collectibles. And that's not all -- manufacturing oddities and defects have added to the value of many Beanie Babies. Ty's never-ending quest to improve Beanie Babies has resulted in name changes, color changes, and design changes that all add value for collectors. Even the tags that come attached to Beanie Babies are extremely important to collectors. Since they first appeared in 1993, Beanie Babies have fueled a collecting craze that gets more sophisticated each year and shows no signs of slowing down.

That's why BEANIE MANIA is the essential guide for collectors and anyone else who just loves these little toys! The authors have a complete collection of Beanie Babies, which they lovingly document through gorgeous full-color photography in BEANIE MANIA. Page after glorious page documents the history of Beanie Babies, including color photos of prototypes, manufacturing abnormalities, subtle changes in coloring and style. Beanie Baby tags are also lovingly chronicled and displayed, along with Ty catalogs and other Beanieobilia. The book includes numerous checklists for collectors to use, along with current values and a one year price history for all retired Beanie Babies.

BEANIE MANIA is exactly what you would expect from a quality collector's guide: fanatical, detailed, accurate, lovingly devoted to every aspect of the Beanie Baby phenomenon. The book has become a collector's item itself, and is updated with each reprinting, assuring you will get the latest information about these remarkable toys, including:

• A complete history and description, including professional
  color photographs, of every retired and redesigned Beanie
  Baby, and Beanie Baby prototypes.
• Current values and a one year price history of all retired
  Beanie Babies.
• Heart and tush tag chronology, photos and descriptions for
  all retired and current Beanie Babies.
• Pages and pages of information packed charts, with Beanie
  Baby birth dates, retired dates and much more.
• Beanie Baby trivia, such as Beanie Baby "mistakes,"
  (mistagged Beanies, tag misprints, manufacturing oddities,
  etc).
• Collector fill-in charts, so you can keep track of your own
  collection.
• A discussion of promotional events - McDonald's Teenie
  Beanie Babies and the Chicago Cubs Beanie Babies Opening Day.
  Includes descriptions and photographs of the Teenie Beanie
  Babies.
• The authors' own Collectibility Ranking of each retired
  Beanie Baby.
• Fully indexed for easy access to information.
• And much, much more!

Copyright 1997 by Dinomates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please do not duplicate or distribute this file without permission from Dinomates, Inc. Reprint requests should be e-mailed to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Thank You!

- About the Book

Anatomy of A Life Possessed
Published by Winner Episode Press
ISBN 0-9719221-5-2, 343 pages, softcover, $19.95

"You won't take this into account. If you had written it instead of me, I probably wouldn't believe it." So begins this amazing tale of a woman victimized by peculiar forces. It reads like a work of fiction, but it is true.

The author describes a privileged childhood in an aristocratic family with links to Genghis Khan, Tibet, Russian czars, and Rasputin as part of her incredible story, which includes growing up under three oppressive regimes: Nazism, Communism, and her monarchical, dictatorial mother.

Ms. Pema recounts her early life in the ballet world, followed by her years as an actress during Rome's golden age of cinema, working for directors Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica, and Marco Ferreri, where she met and married prominent entertainment attorney Max Ferrara.

Anatomy of A Life Possessed makes a sudden turn from the glamour of the Via Veneto onto a backroads Highway to Hell. It reveals a harrowing telepathic possession with physical and emotional consequences. A mad monk, sexual torment, exorcism, and never-ending harassment devastate the author's life. She describes her excruciating experience of possession and her research conducted in an effort to regain control.

Anatomy of A Life Possessed is a fascinating and controversial book which challenges traditional beliefs. Pema's personal memoir will be of value to people of any age who are ready to find and face the truth. It may help you to:

• Protect yourself from negative energy and subjugating ideologies

• Understand the dangers of a faith that relies on fear and submission

• Discover how to turn obstacles, fear, and self-doubt into helpful knowledge

• Recognize that the generosity, genius, and greatness of humanity are the only virtues that can help us create our own happiness.
  

For an absolutely gripping, unstoppable reading experience, take a journey into the abyss and back with Anatomy of A Life Possessed.

Anatomy of a Life Possessed is available through your favorite bookseller or directly from Book Clearing House, http://www.book-clearing-house.com, or call 1-800-431-1579 or visit our web site at: http://www.onlyonetruth.com

Copyright ©2002 by Maria Ferrara Pema. All rights reserved. Please feel free to duplicate or distribute this file as long as the contents are not changed and this copyright notice is intact. Thank you.

- About the Book

Globetrotter Dogma:
100 Canons for Escaping the Rat Race
and Exploring the World
by Bruce Northam

In Globetrotter Dogma, travel writer Bruce Northam entertains, educates, and motivates readers to hit the road through an idiosyncratic mix of travel lore, humor, shock, story, and practical advice. Employing a rambling resume that touches two thirds of the planet, Northam shares wisdom from his far-flung adventures:

This passport-colored collection of travel koans is bound in a leatherette cover that beckons to be bent in a back pocket. Between harrowing tales of canine cuisine in China and machete mischief in Fiji, Northam shares practical tips for keeping your marbles while losing your bearings. This timeless, illustrated compendium of roving bliss provides 100 reasons to keep exploring our wild and ever-changing world.

Globetrotter Dogma is available wherever travel books are sold, online or at your neighborhood bookstore.

Copyright ©2002 by Bruce Northam. All rights reserved. Please feel free to duplicate or distribute this file as long as the contents are not changed and this copyright notice is intact. Thank you.

- About the Book

URBAN LEGENDS:
Strange Stories Behind Modern Myths
by A.S. Mott
Published by Ghost House Books,
an imprint of Lone Pine Publishing

In this new collection, A.S. Mott explores the true stories behind many classic urban legends, showing how strange coincidences and popular misconceptions about fast food, celebrities and science and can become accepted wisdom in our increasingly paranoid society.

URBAN LEGENDS is the latest missive from Ghost House Books, an imprint of Lone Pine Publishing devoted to the strange, the unusual, the bizarre, and the downright scary. For each of the 48 tall tales, storyteller and film buff A.S. Mott attempts to track the legend to its source and determine whether or not it is based on fact. Along the way, he comments on the variations of each legend, how the legend has migrated into popular culture, and what lessons each legend may contain.

URBAN LEGENDS are today's modern myths. Each legend says something about us because they exploit our fears, express our prejudices, and are used not only to entertain but to teach lessons, advance political agendas, or even boost business. For example, many of the legends in this book demonstrate a fear of foreigners and have been used to discredit foreign-made products such as food and cars.

Some of the fascinating and frightening legends included in this book:

• A fastidious woman complains when her chicken burger comes up with mayo, only to discover that the mystery substance isn't mayonnaise...

• Eager for a photo op, witless parents encourage their child to approach an innocent-looking bear with a jar of honey...

• A bride, obsessed with looking good for her wedding, cooks her insides by dieting and tanning to extremes...

• Japanese fishermen are shocked beyond words when a dairy cow plummets from the sky and crashes though their boat, sinking her...

• A cheapskate bargain-hunter gets her comeuppance by way of a lethal snake in the sleeve of a discounted blouse...

• After a baffled California man is sent an incorrect vanity license plate, police write him nearly 2500 traffic tickets...

• And much more!

URBAN LEGENDS will keep you and your friends spellbound for hours. Like all Ghost House Books, the stories make for entertaining parties or gatherings around the campfire. The book will help you learn the patterns of true or false legends, so you can easily spot a fake or test your friends' knowledge of modern folklore.

Copyright ©2004 by Ghost House Books. All Rights Reserved. Please feel free to duplicate and distribute this file, as long as the excerpt is not altered and this copyright notice is intact. Thank you.

- About the Book

KNIGHTFALL
Knight Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism Is Putting Democracy At Risk
by Davis "Buzz" Merritt
Published by AMACOM

With corporate balance sheets dictating what we read, freedom of speech is in peril -- and freedom itself may be compromised.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is clear: Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of the press. And yet a force seemingly even more powerful than the supreme law of the land threatens one of our nation's most precious guarantors of freedom.

For more than two centuries, American newspapers have collected, organized, and disseminated the information that makes democracy possible. Occasional opponents of a free press have not been able to cripple newspapers and despite dire predictions, neither have radio, television, or the Internet. But greed can kill American newspapers, thus eliminating the crucial synergy between journalism and democracy.

The reality that newspapers must remain financially viable has always dictated compromises between the competing missions of profit and public service. But in recent years the essential balancing of those missions has been replaced by a single-minded pursuit of profit. Whether the chosen method is scaling back of content, cutting corners to control costs, or dismantling the traditional wall separating the news and business departments, the result is the same: the watering down of newspaper journalism, which is the core of all American journalism. Without fundamental change in newspapers' corporate boardrooms, the flow of information that Americans need to govern themselves will dry up.

In KNIGHTFALL, Davis "Buzz" Merritt, a 40-year newspaperman whose career runs parallel to the seismic shift in journalism's landscape, examines one notable exemplar of this growing trend, Knight Ridder, America's second-largest newspaper company with holdings including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, the Detroit Free Press, and the Mercury News in San Jose.

Merritt was a participant-observer in the 1974 marriage of two newspaper companies, a union that seemed made in heaven. Knight Newspapers' longstanding tradition of excellence in journalism coupled with Ridder Publications' business savvy should have created a unique company offering the best of both worlds.

That it did not happen is a reflection of complex changes in American society and the realities of modern business pressures driven by Wall Street. There are no pure heroes or pure villains in this story; the players were doing what their training, background, and respective family histories urged them to do. But the story's outcome is ominous for American democracy. Merritt's personal accounts of the 30 years since the merger illustrate the degree to which what we know is being limited. Further, his portraits of key figures, analysis of societal changes, and dozens of interviews with others who were (and are) there reveal that not only is he on target, he is also not alone in his unsettling conclusions.

A free press is a cornerstone of our democracy. The erosion of that foundation is a catastrophe in the making: the real possibility that the kind of journalism that gave rise to -- and preserves -- our democracy will disappear.

"A daily newspaper can be regarded as a business not intrinsically different from making coat hangers or carpets. But to do so is to disregard the central role of newspapers and quality journalism in the democratic life of our communities and nation. Buzz Merritt presents a detailed social analysis of the trends that have undercut journalism's critical role in public life. To understand where we are, how we got here, and where we need to go, invest some time in KNIGHTFALL."
-- Maxwell McCombs, Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair,
School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin

"KNIGHTFALL lifts the thin veil of corporate respectability from the long, steady suffocation of America's newspapers. Merritt's compelling case study is Knight Ridder -- yet the same sad story is playing out in print and broadcast newsrooms across the land. The slow but sure victory of outlandish profits over civic health endangers us all. To respond, we must understand. Start here."
-- Geneva Overholser, Missouri School of Journalism,
former editor, Des Moines Register

"Merritt presents a sweeping account of the changes in journalism that are having an impact on the role newspapers play in our democracy. No one is in a better position to explain why than Merritt, whose views are informed by more than 40 years as a journalist. He is both an insightful professional and a dedicated citizen."
-- David Mathews, President, Kettering Foundation

"The story of the newspaper business in the 20th century is like a Sophocles play where the protagonists can see that their actions will lead to doom, but they are powerless to stop. Buzz Merritt built his career in the middle of this real-life tragedy, and his well-written case study helps us to understand the entire industry."
-- Philip Meyer, author, The Vanishing Newspaper

"KNIGHTFALL is a troubling and revealing account of what happens to journalism when it is yoked to the insatiable demands of Wall Street. It will resonate and reverberate in newsrooms, and should be required reading for anyone concerned about journalism and the future of democracy. Buzz Merritt's status as an insider gives this hard-hitting book unusual credibility."
-- Gilbert Cranberg, George H. Gallup Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa

Copyright ©2005 by W. Davis Merritt. All rights reserved. Reprinted here with permission of the publisher, Amacom Books, http://www.amacombooks.org. Please feel free to duplicate or distribute this file, as long as the contents are not changed and this copyright notice is intact.

- About the Book

BUILDING A LIFE OF VALUE:
Timeless Wisdom to Inspire and Empower Us
by Jason A. Merchey
Published by Little Moose Press

How Do You Build a Life of Value?

Civilizations rise and fall, but wisdom endures through the ages. Building a Life of Value is wisdom at its best -- pertinent, gutsy, original wisdom that relates to our everyday lives, our everyday issues.

More than just a book of quotations, Building a Life of Value is a fusion of great thinking -- from classical to contemporary, from philosophical to poetic. It is a concert of voices, harmoniously blended by Jason Merchey and his thought-provoking essays. It will stimulate your thinking, energize your spirit, and deepen your understanding of human nature.

Whether you're a parent, educator, business executive, adventurer, artist, spiritual seeker, student, or simply a human being trying to get your bearings, this book is a marvelous tool for tuning in to your heart and owning your own values. Consider it your shaman, your oracle, your foundation, your blueprint for truly building a life of value.

Building a Life of Value is a gorgeous, hardbound book of lasting value. Elegantly designed with archetypal chapter illustrations by Thomas Gaebel, it is printed on heavy, off-white stock and Smythe-sewn for durability. This is an ideal gift for students, graduates, writers, attorneys, ministers, and anyone with a regular need to find the perfect quote for any occasion.

PRAISE FOR THE VALUES OF THE WISE SERIES:

"I love this book! It's a great compilation."
-- Anita Roddick, Author; Founder of The Body Shop

"Values of the Wise is a treasury of ideas, thoughts, & feelings that represent the best of humane ideals. I hope it will be widely read because it could be a wonderful influence on the thinking and behavior of us all."
-- Howard Zinn, Ph.D., Author;
Professor Emeritus of History, Boston University

"Values of the Wise is Bartlett's Quotations with a conscience. It is a goldmine of insight and inspiration. If you want to learn how to remake society, and why, this book is a good place to start."
-- David Callahan, Ph.D., Author; political scientist and
Co-founder of Demos, a public policy think tank

"Like a medieval monastic scribe illuminating manuscripts for the few, Jason Merchey is compiling the wisdom of the ages for the many - a cornucopia of insightful treasures."
-- Michael Toms, Author; Co-founder and host of
New Dimensions World Broadcasting Network

"...an essential & beautiful book."
-- Robin Kelley, Ph.D., Author; Professor of African
American Studies & Anthropology, Columbia University

"An impressive compilation..."
-- The Midwest Book Review, Reviewer's Choice

"Values of the Wise is a wonderful collection of wisdom with powerful messages..."
-- David B. Wexler, Ph.D., Director,
Relationship Training Institute

"We all need inspiration and role models; we all grow and learn from each other. The quotations in VALUES OF THE WISE provide just that - inspiration and knowledge for our journey together. "
-- Deborah Lindholm, Executive Director,
Foundation for Women

"Reading the wise quotations in this book is like taking sips from a snifter of finely aged brandy."
-- Peter B. Raabe, Ph.D., Author;
Philosopher & Philosophical Counselor

"Values of the Wise is a great resource for professional philosophers and all seekers of wisdom. The book contains a comprehensive and inspiring selection of quotations from great thinkers and cultural traditions, quotes which can be used to stimulate class discussion as well as one's own thought process."
-- Judith A. Boss, Ph.D., Author; Visiting Scholar in
Philosophy, Center for BioMedical Ethics, Brown University

"One of the many illuminating quotes in Jason Merchey's provocative compilation is Shakespeare's 'There is no darkness but ignorance.' Like so many of the aphorisms that Values of the Wise brings to light, this little gem demystifies tragedy by placing its origins in the realm of the knowable. It also typifies the constructive and eye- opening character of Merchey's highly original collection."
-- Robert W. Fuller, Ph.D., Author; Physicist, educator,
and social activist; former President of Oberlin College

"With the book Building a Life of Value, Mr. Merchey has done it again; a feast of thoughtful, carefully compiled words of wisdom to nourish us all. Combined with his intriguing website, he has now truly entered the noble realm of helping others to learn."
-- Max Weismann, Co-Founder/Director, The Mortimer J. Adler
Center for the Study of the Great Ideas

Copyright ©2005 by Jason A. Merchey. All Rights Reserved. Please feel free to duplicate and distribute this file as long as the contents are not changed and this copyright notice is intact. Thank you.

- About the Book

The Last Word and The Word After That:
A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity
by Brian D. McLaren

In this final installment of the trilogy that began with his award-winning A New Kind of Christian, Brian D. McLaren tells an intriguing fictional story that raises urgent questions about the concept of hell and what it means for the Christian view of God and God's relationship with humanity.

Can a contemporary fictional tale weave together ancient history, Biblical reflection, theology, spirituality, and social justice? The Last Word and The Word After That answers "yes."

As Pastor Dan Poole and his friends and family grapple with their pressing questions about justice in this life and beyond it, readers will find themselves seeing the Christian message of hope and commitment in expanding and transforming new ways. The book aims to inspire readers to view God and neighbor in ways that are more truly biblical, more faithful, more evocative, more healing, more global, more just, and more robust

"If [the emerging church] movement can survive in the politicized world of conservative Christianity, McLaren could find a way for young Evangelicals and more liberal Christians to march into the future together despite their theological differences."
-- Time Magazine -- which named Brian McLaren as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Evangelicals

"Brian McLaren has written a remarkable book on hell and the grace of God. And it is one hell of a book! ...It evidences yet again why McLaren is an emerging voice to be taken seriously concerning new modes of church and new practices of faith."
-- Walter Brueggemann, minister, United Church of Christ; professor, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia

"With the passion of a Reformation broadside, Brian McLaren's The Last Word and The Word After That goes for popular Christianity's theological jugular: hell and damnation... In a time when some churches have been co- opted by fundamentalist political-theologies, this prophetic tale of a new kind of Christianity serves as a much-needed challenge and corrective."
-- Diana Butler Bass, Author, Strength for the Journey