In this thought-provoking study, Ali Mirsepassi explores theconcept of modernity, exposing the Eurocentric prejudices andhostility to non-Western culture that have characterized itsdevelopment. Focusing on the Iranian experience of modernity, hecharts its political and intellectual history and develops a newinterpretation of Islamic Fundamentalism through the detailedanalysis of the ideas of key Islamic intellectuals. The authorargues that the Iranian Revolution was not a simple clash betweenmodernity and tradition but an attempt to accommodate modernitywithin a sense of authentic Islamic identity, culture andhistorical experience. He concludes by assessing the future ofsecularism and democracy in the Middle East in general, and in Iranin particular. A significant contribution to the literature onmodernity, social change and Islamic Studies, this book will beessential reading for scholars and students of social theory andchange, Middle Eastern Studies, Cultural Studies and many relatedareas.

If you’ve been struggling with your weight, you know how hard itcan be to lose those extra pounds and keep them off. In thegroundbreaking Think Thin, Be Thin , nationally prominentpsychotherapist Doris Wild Helmering and award-winning healthwriter Dianne Hales assert that the true key to a healthy bodyweight is a healthy attitude toward food and exercise. Their logicis simple: Your brain ultimately controls what you eat and whetheryou work out. If you change the way you think, you can change theway you behave. And you can lose weight. Using proven psychological strategies and scientifically basedexercises, you will learn how to harness your thoughts to transformyour behavior, body, and life. With practical advice on suchtroublesome issues as curbing emotional eating, motivating yourselfto exercise, and overcoming diet plateaus, this book is the idealcomplement to any diet and weight-loss program.

The brutal lynching of two young black men in Marion, Indiana,on August 7, 1930, cast a shadow over the town that still lingers.It is only one event in the long and complicated history of racerelations in Marion, a history much ignored and considered by manyto be best forgotten. But the lynching cannot be forgotten. It istoo much a part of the fabric of Marion, too much ingrained evennow in the minds of those who live there. In Our Town journalist Cynthia Carr explores the issues of race, loyalty, andmemory in America through the lens of a specific hate crime thatoccurred in Marion but could have happened anywhere. Marion is our town, America’s town, and its legacy is ourlegacy. Like everyone in Marion, Carr knew the basic details of thelynching even as a child: three black men were arrested forattempted murder and rape, and two of them were hanged in thecourthouse square, a fate the third miraculously escaped. MeetingJames Cameron–the man who’d survived–led her to examine how thequiet Midwestern

They didn't start out as environmental warriors. ClairPatterson was a geochemist focused on determining the age of theEarth. Herbert Needleman was a pediatrician treating inner-citychildren. But in the chemistry lab and the hospital ward, they meta common enemy: lead. It was literally everywhere-in gasoline andpaint, of course, but also in water pipes and food cans, toothpastetubes and toys, ceramics and cosmetics, jewelry and batteries.Though few people worried about it at the time, lead was alsotoxic. In Toxic Truth, journalist Lydia Denworth tells the little-knownstories of these two men who were among the first to question thewisdom of filling the world with such a harmful metal. Denworthfollows them from the ice and snow of Antarctica to the schoolyardsof Philadelphia and Boston as they uncovered the enormity of theproblem and demonstrated the irreparable harm lead was doing tochildren. In heated conferences and courtrooms, the halls ofCongress and at the Environmental Protection Agency, the

"Calm Birth is a sublime gift to all of us. It contains theblueprint for reconnecting with birth wisdom on all levels. Readingthough this book and doing the practices will transform the birthprocess and imprint a peaceful beginning on both mother and child.The positive impact of this on society can’t beoverestimated."-Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Mother-DaughterWisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause and Women’s Bodies, Women’sWisdom"Calm Birth: New Method of Conscious Childbirth successfullybridges ancient feminine healing wisdom and meditation tocontemporary birth practices…This book is a must for anyoneinterested in childbirth."- Barbara Findeisen, MFT, president ofthe Association fo Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health