The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture by Edited by Heinz Bechert & Richard Gombrich

The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture by Edited by Heinz Bechert & Richard Gombrich lands on the shelves of my shop.

London: Thames & Hudson, 1993, Paperback.

Illustrated by way of: Black & White Photographs; Facsimiles; Colour Photographs; Black & White Drawings; Maps;

From the cover: Half a millennium before Jesus, more than a millennium before Mohammed, the Buddha found Enlightenment. Today there are as many Buddhist believers as Christians and Muslims combined. The fortunes of Buddhism are traced through time and space, from the founding of the worlds largest monastic order in northeastern India 2,500 years ago to contemporary Europe and America, where many are attracted by this supremely civilized ethos of benevolence, honesty and self-control.

The spread, decline and resurgence of Buddhism is central to whole epochs and cultures in the eastern half of the globe. The result of years of painstaking and imaginative research and preparation, this volume presents in a vivid and authoritative manner the whole of Buddhisms widely ramified formative influence on Asiatic civilization. World-renowned scholars provide the eleven chapters, which are richly illustrated with examples drawn from the fabulous canon of Buddhist art.

Introduction by: Heinz Bechert

Very Good.

308 pages. Index. Bibliography. 11¾” x 8¾”.

Of course, if you don’t like this one there are plenty more available here!

The Face of Glory: Creativity, Consciousness and Civilisation by William Anderson

The Face of Glory: Creativity, Consciousness and Civilisation by William Anderson lands on the shelves of my shop.

Bloomsbury, 1996, Hardback in dust wrapper.

Jacket illustration: Buddha in Colombo, 1983 by Tim Page. Illustrated by way of: Colour Plates [24];

From the cover: When William Anderson published his widely acclaimed book about the image of life known in the West as the Green Man, it was greeted not only for the originality of its scholarship but also because of the current relevance of the theme to the environmental movement and to the ways in which we relate to Nature and to one another. The world faces momentous changes and, in order to make these changes fruitful, Anderson believes, we must capitalize on our potential creativity and inventiveness. Human beings, he argues, are cleverer, wiser and more creative than they ever allow themselves to be. Within the overflowing magical bag of creative tools we all carry around with us is the Indian archetypal image, the Face of Glory, signifying the creative energy of God. William Anderson takes this as his starting point in this dramatic and eclectic survey which raises provocative questions about consciousness, the higher capacities of the human mind and the heart of creativity itself. The book also examines the reservoir of psychic energy known as the Great Memory on which creativity draws and the liberation of consciousness which is the purpose of creativity.

Both deeply personal and universal, The Face of Glory spans centuries of human thought and endeavour, in the fields of science, technology, philosophy, religion, the arts and politics, exploring the very experience of joy which rises out of creativity. Anderson views creativity not as the realization of unconscious forces but as a product of consciousness which is the source of freedom. Taking this stimulating and extraordinary journey with him is itself a liberating and intensely enlightening experience, because he intends to democratize the concept of creativity by showing the creative nature of understanding and appreciation. Audiences and readerships make the climate of opinion in which scientists and artists work. So each one of us is responsible for the quality of civilization in the society in which we live.

Good+ in Good+ Dust Wrapper. Gently bruised at the spine ends and corners with commensurate wear to the dust wrapper, nicked at the top corners. Pages lightly age-tanned.

Brown boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. [XI] 370 pages. Index. Bibliography. 9½” x 6¼”.

Of course, if you don’t like this one there are plenty more available here!

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson lands on the shelves of my shop.

Jonathan Cape, 2011, Hardback in dust wrapper.

From the cover: In 1985 Jeanette Wintersons first novel, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, was published. It tells the story of a young girl adopted by Pentecostal parents. The girl is supposed to grow up and be a missionary. Instead she falls in love with a woman. Disaster.

Written when Jeanette Winterson was only twenty-five, her novel went on to win the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel, become an international bestseller and inspire an award-winning BBC television adaptation.

Oranges was semi-autobiographical. Mrs Winterson, a thwarted giantess, loomed over that novel and its authors life. When Jeanette finally left her home, at sixteen, because she was in love with a woman, Mrs Winterson asked her: Why be happy when you could be normal?

This book is the story of a lifes work to find happiness. It is a book full of stories: about a girl locked out of her home, sitting on the doorstep all night; about a tyrant in place of a mother, who has two sets of false teeth and a revolver in the duster drawer, waiting for Armageddon; about growing up in a northern industrial town now changed beyond recognition, part of a community now vanished; about the Universe as a Cosmic Dustbin. It is the story of how the painful past Jeanette Winterson thought she had written over and repainted returned to haunt her later life, and sent her on a journey into madness and out again, in search of her real mother. It is also a book about other peoples stories, showing how fiction and poetry can form a string of guiding lights, a life raft which supports us when we are sinking.

Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.

Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. A little rubbing to the edges of the dust wrapper.

Blue boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. 230 pages. 8¾” x 5½”.

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Supremely Abominable Crimes: The Trial of the Knights Templar by Edward Burman

Supremely Abominable Crimes: The Trial of the Knights Templar by Edward Burman lands on the shelves of my shop.

Allison & Busby, 1994, Hardback in dust wrapper.

From the cover: SUDDENLY, AT DAWN ON Friday 13 October 1307, King Philip IV of Frances officials arrested the Knights Templar throughout his kingdom. They were charged by the Inquisition with 127 abominable crimes ranging from spitting on the cross to devil-worship, sodomy and idolatry.

It took seven years for the royal courts to interrogate them and sift the evidence, after which this greatest of the crusading orders was abolished, its enormous wealth sequestered, and its Grand Master burned at the stake. From that moment the Order of the Knights Templar entered the realm of myth and legend, stimulating treasure-hunters and provoking endless conspiracy theories over the centuries.

Who were the Knights Templar? How was it that these powerful and wealthy warriors, blessed by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux two hundred years before, found themselves vilified and accused of the most depraved crimes? To answer these questions and to unravel the mystery that has shrouded the Order ever since, Edward Burman narrates the story of the trial within the context of the time, including the depositions of the Knights themselves. He provides a detailed account of the three-month trial in Pans in 1310, which stunned contemporary observers, and reflects on the background to the myths surrounding the Order which led to their arrest.

Burman uses contemporary sources including transcripts made by Papal notaries. He outlines the sensational nature of the trial, surprisingly similar to twentieth-century scandals, and provides illuminating truths behind the myth and tragedy of one of the greatest warrior orders in history.

Very Good in Good+ Dust Wrapper. A little rubbing to the edges of the dust wrapper with a small puncture to the lower pane, nicks to both corner of the upper. Text complete, clean and tight.

Black boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. [XIV] 290 pages. Index. Bibliography. 9½” x 6¼”.

Of course, if you don’t like this one there are plenty more available here!

Operation Millennium by Shaun Clarke

Operation Millennium by Shaun Clarke lands on the shelves of my shop.

Simon & Schuster, 1999, Hardback in dust wrapper.

From the cover: Britain is in the grip of millennium fever, as reactionary forces attempt to overthrow the infrastructure of the Establishment by any means necessary. Widespread social breakdown has led to paranoid religious and political movements enticing vulnerable people to their top-secret retreats, where they are brainwashed and turned into fanatics. The disenfranchised, disillusioned die-hard remains of societys forgotten dream are up in arms, with the fearful megalomaniac, Prince, as their leader. After planting several bombs in key London locations, their next target is Buckingham Palace and the Royal family

The only way to combat the threat of insurrection is by employing the QRF Quick Reaction Force with SAS Sergeant Lenny Cusack at the helm. The QRF is a legend in its own time, having successfully tackled every kind of terrorist threat, but pitted against the fervent genius of Prince its steely strength is tested to the maximum. And, while Cusack is undoubtedly the SASs hardest man, he is grief-stricken by the loss of his family to one of the religious groups he now finds himself up against

Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. Printers stamp to the title page otherwise a very well presented copy.

Black boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. 340 pages. 9½” x 6¼”.

Of course, if you don’t like this one there are plenty more available here!

Religion In America by Willard L. Learoyd Sperry

Religion In America by Willard L. [Learoyd] Sperry lands on the shelves of my shop.

Cambridge at The University Press, 1948, Hardback in dust wrapper.

A Later Printing. Appendices compiled by Ralph Lazzarop.

From the cover: Religion in America was written in response to an invitation from the Cambridge University Press in England, as one of a series which is being published there to interpret certain American institutions to the English public. The American reader will be, as it were, looking over the shoulder of the author engaged in this task of interpretation.

The book begins with some account of the religious situation in the thirteen original colonies, goes on to discuss the causes and the consequences of the separation of church and state in America, and then considers at length the existing fact of our 256 denominations their nature and meaning. Further chapters deal with the average parish church, American theology, the Negro churches, American Catholicism and the problems of religious education and church unity.

An introductory chapter sets the stage, by indicating the points at which our religious life differs from that of England. A concluding chapter gives certain important reflections on the whole story.

Good+ in Good Dust Wrapper. Unlaminated dust wrapper a little edgeworn and faded with several short tears. Edges of the text block lightly tanned. Price Clipped.

Blue boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. [X] 318 pages. Index. 8¼” x 5½”.

Of course, if you don’t like this one there are plenty more available here!