Most Popular Books by Michael Allen

For the past three decades, many history professors have allowed their biases to distort the way America’s past is taught. These intellectuals have searched for instances of racism, sexism, and bigotry in our history while downplaying the greatness of America’s patriots and the achievements of “dead white men.” As a result, more emphasis is placed on Harriet Tubman than on George Washington; more about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II than about D-Day or Iwo Jima; more on the dangers we faced from Joseph McCarthy than those we faced from Josef Stalin. A Patriot’s History of the United States corrects those doctrinaire biases. In this groundbreaking book, America’s discovery, founding, and development are reexamined with an appreciation for the elements of public virtue, personal liberty, and private property that make this nation uniquely successful. This book offers a long-overdue acknowledgment of America’s true and proud history.

As a pastor, Michael Allen realized there was a real need for Bible study material directed toward the maturing Christian. There is a wealth of information dealing with salvation and the first baby steps a newborn Christian takes. Yet, there seems to be a drought of material aimed at those who are attempting to walk in the deeper things of God. This book is for those who truly hunger for a more extensive knowledge of the most high. Do you genuinely want to draw closer to God? Do you want to know him personally and intensely? Then this book is for you. As the world plummets deeper and deeper into the concept of self as the center of all living, this book is an insightful look into the heart of God. If you wholeheartedly desire a greater intimacy with God, this book will provide insights into his character. Do you dare to see God for who he is? Then read this book and immerse yourself in the knowledge of his amazing power, love, and grace.

Introduces Reformed theology by surveying the doctrinal concerns that have shaped its historical development.

These twelve essays span nearly twenty years of research and activism that chronicle one man''s search for his family. Together, they explore the concept of personal identity from the perspective of someone who was erased completely by adoption in The State of New York. "The Last Invisible Continent is an important book, a superb mixing of the personal and the political." -- The Columbus Free Press

Most anyone interested in such topics as creation mythology, Jungian theory, or the idea of "secret teachings" in ancient Judaism and Christianity has found "gnosticism" compelling. Yet the term "gnosticism," which often connotes a single rebellious movement against the prevailing religions of late antiquity, gives the false impression of a monolithic religious phenomenon. Here Michael Williams challenges the validity of the widely invoked category of ancient "gnosticism" and the ways it has been described. Presenting such famous writings and movements as the Apocryphon of John and Valentinian Christianity, Williams uncovers the similarities and differences among some major traditions widely categorized as gnostic. He provides an eloquent, systematic argument for a more accurate way to discuss these interpretive approaches. The modern construct "gnosticism" is not justified by any ancient self-definition, and many of the most commonly cited religious features that supposedly define gnosticism phenomenologically turn out to be questionable. Exploring the sample sets of "gnostic" teachings, Williams refutes generalizations concerning asceticism and libertinism, attitudes toward the body and the created world, and alleged features of protest, parasitism, and elitism. He sketches a fresh model for understanding ancient innovations on more "mainstream" Judaism and Christianity, a model that is informed by modern research on dynamics in new religious movements and is freed from the false stereotypes from which the category "gnosticism" has been constructed.

In the twentieth century, we often think of Nietzsche, nihilism, and the death of God as inextricably connected. But, in this pathbreaking work, Michael Gillespie argues that Nietzsche, in fact, misunderstood nihilism, and that his misunderstanding has misled nearly all succeeding thought about the subject. Reconstructing nihilism''s intellectual and spiritual origins before it was given its determinitive definition by Nietzsche, Gillespie focuses on the crucial turning points in the development of nihilism, from Ockham and the nominalist revolution to Descartes, Fichte, the German Romantics, the Russian nihilists and Nietzsche himself. His analysis shows that nihilism is not the result of the death of God, as Nietzsche believed; but the consequence of a new idea of God as a God of will who overturns all eternal standards of truth and justice. To understand nihilism, one has to understand how this notion of God came to inform a new notion of man and nature, one that puts will in place of reason, and freedom in place of necessity and order.

Challenging the basic assumptions of a meat-eating society, Deep Vegetarianism is a spirited and compelling defense of a vegetarian lifestyle. Considering all of the major arguments both for and against vegetarianism and the habits of meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans alike, Michael Allen Fox addresses vegetarianism''s cultural, historical, and philosophical background; details vegetarianism''s impact on one''s living and thinking; and relates vegetarianism to classical and recent defenses of the moral status of animals. Demonstrating how a vegetarian diet is related to our awareness of the world and our ethical outlook on life, Fox looks at the different kinds of vegetarian commitments people make and their reasons for making them. In chapters that address such issues as the experiences, emotions, and grounds that are part of choosing vegetarianism, Fox discusses not only good health, animal suffering, and the environmental impacts of meat production, but such issues as the meaning of food, world hunger, religion and spirituality, and, significantly, the links share between vegetarianism and other human rights movements and ideologies, particularly feminism. In an extensive chapter that addresses arguments made by advocates of meat-eating, Fox speaks to claims of humans as natural carnivores, animals as replaceable, and vegetarians as anti-feminist. He also addresses arguments surrounding the eating habits of indigenous peoples, eating free-range animals, and carnivorous behavior among animals. The most complete examination of the vegetarian outlook to date, Deep Vegetarianism reveals the broad range of philosophical views that contribute to such a choice. It recognizes, and calls for, a conscious awareness of -- and an individual responsibility to -- the issues that exist in the moral, political, and social spheres of our existence. With its lively and controversial discussion, Deep Vegetarianism promises to appeal to anyone looking to explore the relationship between dietary choice, lifestyle, the treatment of animals and the environment, and personal ethical responsibility. It will also be particularly useful for students and teachers of moral philosophy, ethics, religion, comparative cultures, ecology, and feminism.

What does the Bible say about heaven and hell? How do I distinguish biblical promises from sentimental myths? How can I be ready? Exploring the wonders of heaven while taking an honest look at the realities of hell, pastor Michael Allen Rogers provides us with a clear and accessible summary of all things related to the afterlife. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to answer the crucial question of what happens after I die?

Now there is a civil procedure litigation supplement that makes the rules accessible without talking down to students. AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO CIVIL PROCEDURE achieves the perfect balance between complexity and simplicity as it reveals the actual

The 8% Solution is a practical, common-sense guide offering long-term solutions to juvenile crime through a proven program. Written in narrative style with a liberal use of anecdotal incidents, this is an easy-to-read description of the law and details effective ways to correct the problem.

John Thinnes, a detective on the Chicago police force, and Jack Caleb, a well-known psychiatrist, were friends---unlikely friends, maybe, with very different lives, but men who liked and respected each other. And they had one significant experience in common: Both had been "in country" in Vietnam during the war. Their "labels" were different---Thinnes had been in the military police, Caleb a medic, a conscientious objector who chose to fight with his medical equipment and his ability as a doctor as his weapons, whether his patients were wounded on the field of battle or on the crowded, dangerous streets of Saigon. Arriving home, both men would have liked to forget the horrors of that war but could not banish them from their memory. They had left Vietnam, but Vietnam would never leave them. In the years since the war ended, Thinnes married and fathered a son, Caleb prospered with his psychiatric practice and found a gay lover. Later, a series of murders and rapes brought the police officer and the psychiatrist together in an oddly matched friendship, each contributing his special knowledge to try to solve crimes that were hard to unravel. But memories remain---ugly memories of maiming and killing on both sides, not only of soldiers but of innocent Vietnamese farmers and their families, of drug dealers and the city''s poor. And now, on a morning shortly into the new millennium, Jack Caleb is listening to the radio and hears of the shooting death of a Vietnamese immigrant woman in Chicago''s "Little Saigon," and a flashback leaves him trembling. Thinnes''s reaction to the murder is of a different kind. He had been assigned to the murder case, but when his lieutenant learns that Thinnes had known the dead woman in Saigon, had even attended her marriage to his now-dead buddy, he takes him off the case, leaving Thinnes''s partner to use her outstanding talents as a detective under the officer who takes John Thinnes''s place. This, however, does not stop Thinnes from doggedly continuing the search for the woman''s killer. Word on the street in Little Saigon is that the "White Tiger" is now in Chicago. "White Tiger" is the only known name for a mysterious and savage drug dealer and all-around criminal who terrorized even the toughest thugs in Vietnam. Both men dig, together and each in his own way, for the reason this innocent woman was murdered, both thoroughly aware that by searching in the deep, they are offering their own lives to the Tiger''s wrath. Michael Allen Dymmoch has faultlessly linked the horrors of the war in Vietnam, from the viewpoints of those on both sides of the conflict and also from the hearts and minds of two very different men, and has woven them into a thrilling story of terror in the past and in the very present Now.

This is what we know, this is the truth: CSI is a global television phenomenon. It began in 2000 with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", a dark procedural drama about forensic science set within the neon escapism of Las Vegas, in which Grissom and his team search within the very vitals of the murder victims they investigate. Nearly 17 million viewers tuned in each week and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" fast became America''s number one show. The success of the series moved it into franchise territory, continuing in 2002 with the body beautifuls and dismembereds of "CSI: Miami" (now the world''s biggest television show) and again in 2004 extending the francise to the melancholic noir of post-9/11 New York with "CSI: NY". "Reading ''CSI''" pieces together the evidence in order to understand what the CSI shows mean to contemporary television culture, both in America and beyond. The varied, intellectually curious and often polemic responses to CSI from critics, journalists and industry professionals focus on a range of issues from the pornographic quality of the CGI effects, the relationship of characters to their narratives, and the reaction of the fans, to the semiotics of Horatio Caine''s sunglasses. This in depth, compulsive read also includes a full episode guide.

The ADDIE process is past its prime. It was developed long before Agile and other iterative processes that have introduced greater efficiencies in design and development, fostered more creativity, and addressed effective stakeholder involvement. Leaving ADDIE for SAM introduces two new concepts—SAM, the Successive Approximation Model, and the Savvy Start. Together, they incorporate contemporary design and development processes that simplify instructional design and development, yielding more energetic and effective learning experiences. This book is a must-read for all learning professionals who have a desire to let go of outdated methodologies and start creating better, faster training products today.

In this wide-ranging and thoughtful study, Michael Allen Gillespie explores the philosophical foundation, or ground, of the concept of history. Analyzing the historical conflict between human nature and freedom, he centers his discussion on Hegel and Heidegger but also draws on the pertinent thought of other philosophers whose contributions to the debate is crucial—particularly Rousseau, Kant, and Nietzsche.

Dive into the fascinating world of lucid dreaming with this comprehensive manual, Exploring Lucid Dreaming: Unlocking the Power of Conscious Dreaming. Discover the secrets of lucid dreaming, from understanding its scientific basis to harnessing its transformative potential for personal growth and self-discovery. Delve into techniques for inducing lucid dreams, navigating dream landscapes, and unlocking new realms of consciousness. Whether you''re a beginner or an experienced dream explorer, this book offers practical insights, step-by-step guides, and inspirational stories to ignite your imagination and awaken your inner dreamer. Start your journey to lucidity today!

Taking as his starting point the collapse of the medieval world, Gillespie argues that from the very beginning moderns sought not to eliminate religion but to support a new view of religion and its place in human life- and that they did so not out of hostility but in order to sustain certain religious beliefs. He goes on to explore the ideas of such figures as William of Ockham, Petrarch, Erasmus, Luther, Descartes, and Hobbes, showing that modernity is best understood as the result of a series of attempts to formulate a new and coherent metaphysics or theology.

Contending visions -- The Elm Park Riot -- Portents of violence -- Teh Eighth Avenue Riot -- Judgment -- Aftermath -- Killed, injured and arrested in connection with the 1870 riot -- Killed, injured, and arrested in connection with the 1871 riot and a list of property damanges -- Sources of biographical information on selected committee of seventy members.

“Tautly crafted, Dymmoch’s bittersweet journey of discovery glimmers with subtle tension”—from the award-winning author of the Caleb and Thinnes mysteries (Booklist). The accidental death of Rhiann Fahey’s second husband leaves her paralyzed by grief and has her son Jimmy cutting school and drinking. The widow’s problems are compounded by unwanted advances from her dead husband’s friend. She does her best to cope, returning to work, dealing patiently with Jimmy’s misbehavior, telling Rory Sinter she isn’t interested. Then a mysterious stranger moves next door. John Devlin offers Rhiann beer and sympathy. He offers Jimmy work. When Sinter tries to discredit John, then beat him to death, Rhiann comes to John’s rescue. But she discovers her perfect neighbor isn’t what he seems—which leads her to investigate, and to see John in a different light altogether. A beautifully written story with characters who come to life from the first page, M.I.A. shows one more side of Michael Allen Dymmoch’s powerful storytelling ability. “A compelling and well-written story about lost love, missing friends and new beginnings.”—Fresh Fiction “[A] novel about enduring love and family secrets.”—Publishers Weekly

Eschatology and ethics are joined at the hip, says Michael Allen, and both need theocentric reorientation. In Grounded in Heaven Allen retrieves the traditional concept of the beatific vision and seeks to bring Christ back into the heart of our theology and our lives on earth. Responding to the earthly-mindedness of much recent theology, Allen places his focus on God and the heavenly future while also appreciating ways in which the Reformed tradition provides a unique angle on broadly catholic concerns. Reaching back to classical ethics as well as its reformation by Calvin and other Reformed theologians, Grounded in Heaven offers a distinctly Protestant account of the ascetical calling to be heavenly-minded and to deny one’s self.

A Small-Town Murder: A Book for Mystery Booklovers! In small-town America, where time moves at the pace of a gentle breeze, —the peaceful facade of Pierce is shattered when a beloved Verlin Simpson is found lifeless in a roadside ditch. Known for his infectious laughter and a desire for the bottle, Verlin’s unanticipated death sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community. His grieving widow, Shirley, finds peace in her faith and the comforting arms of her church and choir. But beneath the veneer of small-town piety, a darker truth lurks. Former LAPD officer Tom Phillips, now Pierce''s local law enforcement, is tasked to hunt a killer. As he goes deeper into the case, a web of secrets unravels. With no clear motive and a town full of potential suspects, Phillips is forced to confront the possibility of a serial killer on the loose. When a second body turns up in a chilling location, his church, the once peaceful town, is filled with a sense of fear. Can Phillips crack the case before another innocent life is claimed? Or will the killer remain hidden in the shadows of Pierce? This Christian murder mystery is a tale of faith and the search for justice. Prepare to be drawn into a world where nothing is as it seems.''''

The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible encourages readers to explore how the vital roots of the ancient Christian tradition inform and shape faithfulness today. In this volume, prominent Reformed theologian Michael Allen offers a theological reading of Ephesians. As with other series volumes, this commentary is designed to serve the church, providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups.

Can Christians and churches be both catholic and Reformed? In this volume, two accomplished young theologians argue that to be Reformed means to go deeper into true catholicity rather than away from it. Their manifesto for a catholic and Reformed approach to dogmatics seeks theological renewal through retrieval of the rich resources of the historic Christian tradition. The book provides a survey of recent approaches toward theological retrieval and offers a renewed exploration of the doctrine of sola scriptura. It includes a substantive afterword by J. Todd Billings.

Psychiatrist Jack Caleb and Chicago cop John Thinnes return in this “well-crafted procedural . . . intriguingly presented . . . spiked by psychological insight” (Booklist). After a woman is brutally raped in the posh Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and a second rape victim is murdered, the hunt for a serial rapist/killer becomes a “heater” case, front-burnered due to the scrutiny of publicity. The pressure is on Det. John Thinnes and his new partner, a strong-willed feminist cop named Don Franchi. Psychiatrist Jack Caleb is acting as a police consultant to construct a psychological profile of the rapist, and Thinnes asks his friend to step in and mediate the friction between him and his partner. If they’re going to solve an increasingly complicated and disturbing case that matches the MO of earlier, similar crimes in another Illinois city, they need to find a way to work together . . .

The Chief Security Officer''s Handbook: Leading Your Team into the Future offers practical advice on how to embrace the future, align with your organizations mission, and develop a program that meets the needs of the enterprise. The book discusses real-life examples of what to do to align with other critical departments, how to avoid spending time and resources on unnecessary and outdated methods, and tomorrow''s security program. Today''s security executives need to help their industry, their organization and the next generation of security leaders to pioneer, optimize and transform every aspect of our programs, technologies and methods. The book is ideal for current chief security officers, aspiring security executives, and those interested in better understanding the critical need to modernize corporate security. - Offers suggestions on the do''s and don''ts of professional development - Provides tangible examples on how the CSO works collaboratively with internal peers - Instructs CSO''s on how to align with the business while remaining agile - Illustrates the various paths to becoming a CSO - Demonstrates ways to move your program into one that embraces enterprise security risk management, convergence and automation

It is now known that over 90 percent of all plants have established integrative plant-fungal processes in their root systems, and it may well turn out to be the case that virtually all plants have mycorrhizae. In this work, many of the best researchers in the field review the current status of research in plant-fungal communications, mycorrhizal organisms, applications, and biotechnology. The focus is a hierarchical one. This volume is comprehensive and covers both ectomycorrhizae and vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizae, addressing concepts that are related to all the different groups. Mycorrhizal Functioning will be of interest to professionals and graduate students in microbiology, ecology, mycology, plant pathology, plant science, and soil science. Those working in the agricultural biotechnology industry will also benefit from the book''s applications perspective.

Wahl’ter Dinsdale has been the master accountant for the tribe of the break-room for many seasons. He has secured the sacred vending machines against all attackers. He has skinned the mighty naugahyde sofa. He has mastered the art of the spreadsheet. But even he is not prepared when strange rumors reach the tribe of an unsettling phenomenon - a window, opened to another world outside the office. Now, with his friends: vicious administrative warrior Jo’see, and Bertram the Train-or, he sets out on a quest to find the source of the unrest. But Wahl’ter will have to make his way through all the tribes in the building first, from the HR wraiths to the sorcerers of marketing, and this office meeting will not end with cake and coffee, but with violence.

In this study, historian Michael Allen examines the image of the rodeo cowboy and the role this image has played in popular culture over in the 20th century. He sees rodeo as a significant American folk festival and the rodeo cowboy as the surviving avatar of a nearly vanished authentic figure - the ""real cowboy"", who embodies the skills and values of traditional western rural culture. Allen''s provocative analysis explores the evolution of the myth of the rodeo man and its subsequent institutionalization and acculturation into the media of popular culture. He discovers that America''s fascination with the rodeo cowboy reflects feelings far deeper and more complex than a taste for exciting entertainment. This popular culture hero survives in our national imagination as a kind of living, contemporary ancestor, linking a largely urban population with its rural past and recalling the values and spirit of a time and region that most Americans perceive as somehow purer, freer and more noble. Allen''s discussion of the archetypal figure of the rodeo cowboy aims to change perceptions of rodeo, but it will also help the reader to understand how the ancient tension between frontier and civilization continues to play a role in national imagination of the USA.

An innovative, highly accessible casebook that features problems, cases connected by narrative text, charts, and graphs, all presented in a manner suited to multiple teaching approaches. Features: Incorporates problems throughout each chapter allowing students to reinforce their understanding of basic doctrine and to explore doctrine in greater depth. Presents information graphically through charts and diagrams to appeal to multiple learning styles and reinforce student comprehension. Includes all relevant statutes, rules, and constitutional provisions. Includes a comprehensive Teachers Manual with the authors suggestions for using chapter materials, the authors views about the text problems, and other supporting materials and references. Presents topics that otherwise overlap with coverage in Civil Procedure (e.g., subject matter jurisdiction) in a manner that leads to more advanced and interesting treatment.

What Howard Zinn does for those who are ashamed of American history in his A People''s History of the United States, BEACON OF LIBERTY does for those who are proud of it. From Christopher Columbus to the fall of Saddam Hussein, this book will go a long way in restoring perspective and clarity to our understanding of America''s amazing story, and the noble, Christian principles our country was founded on.