Balthasars Odyssey

There are ninety-nine names for God in the Koran, is it possible that there is a secret one-hundredth name? In this tale of magic and mystery, of love and danger, Balthasar's ultimate quest is to find the secret that could save the world. Before the dawn of the apocalyptic 'Year of the Beast' in 1666, Balthasar Embriaco, a Genoese Levantine merchant, sets out on an adventure that will take him across the breadth of the civilised world, from Constantinople, through the Mediterranean, to London shortly before the Great Fire. Balthasar's urgent quest is to track down a copy of one of the rarest and most coveted books ever printed, a volume called 'The Hundredth Name', its contents are thought to be of vital importance to the future of the world. There are ninety-nine names for God in the Koran, and merely to know this most secret hundredth name will, Balthasar believes, ensure his salvation.

Does the hundredth even exist?) Merely to know that hundredth name, Balthasar is convinced, is the key to salvation, both for himself and the human race.".

In 1665, with prophecies and portents fortelling the forthcoming Apocalypse, Balthasar, an antiquarian merchant and sage, embarks on a perilous quest to find a rare book that could hold the key to the world's salvation.

The legendary British Army officer recounts his experiences in the Boer War and both World Wars in this memoir with a foreword by Winston Churchill. Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart had one of the most extraordinary military careers in the history of the British Army. His gallantry in combat won him a Victoria Cross and a Distinguished Service Order, as well as an eyepatch and an empty sleeve. His autobiography is one of the most remarkable of military memoirs. Carton de Wiart abandoned his law studies at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1899 to serve as a trooper in the South African War. During World War I he served both in British Somaliland and on the Western Front, where he lost his left eye to a bullet at the Battle of Somme. He went on to serve as a liaison officer with Polish forces, narrowly escaping the German blitz at the outbreak of World War II. He was part of the British Military Mission to Yugoslavia, taken prisoner by the Italian Army, and made numerous attempts at escape. He spent the remainder of the war as Churchill’s representative in China. The novelist Evelyn Waugh famously used Carton de Wiart as the model for his character Brigadier Ben Ritchie Hook in the Sword of Honour trilogy. In this thrilling autobiography, the legendary officer tells his own remarkable story.

"Believe! won't ask or teach you to change how you are; it will show you how to live who you are and ultimately discover your soulmate." -Dr. Lee Jampolsky, New York Times bestselling author, Smile For No Good Reason Lisa was living the all-American dream. Married to Keith, her high school sweetheart, born on the same day, soulmates at birth. But after Keith's untimely death plunges the family into despair, a devastating betrayal sends Lisa spiraling into grief and depression, and on an incredible odyssey of self-discovery, sexual and spiritual awakening, and rebirth. Divine signs and miracles fuel Lisa's unwavering quest for true love and inspire her methodology of hope, which culminates at a mystical desert temple at the Burning Man gathering. There, an oracle tells her to share her story with the world, just as she discovers her greatest love ever and the most unimaginable miracle of all. Can we find love again after significant loss? Can we have more than one soulmate? Do miracles exist? The answers are woven throughout this gripping and inspiring memoir that will make you Believe you can still live your greatest life!

An ambitious novel set in 1665, the tumultuous eve of the Year of the Beast, when the world was supposed to come to an end. Antiquarian merchant and sage Balthasar must go on an odyssey in search of a book that holds the secret of God's hundredth name, which is the key to the survival of the world.

In the 19th Century, a sheik's son is forced to flee Lebanon because of a power struggle. He finds refuge in Cyprus and plots against his enemies with the aid of the French and the British. A tale of palace intrigues by the author of Leo Africanus.

Part travelogue, part memoir, The Yogurt Man Cometh is the story of Kevin Revolinski's year-long adventure as an English teacher in Turkey. Revolinski relates in candid style his encounters in a foreign culture, all told with an open mind and a sense of humor. An enjoyable read for anyone who has spent time in Turkey or who plans to do so.

"As gardener to His Majesty, Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie is master of his own domain, the royal fruit and vegetable garden. Louis' generals might proclaim the power of France abroad, but La Quintine's espaliers and vegetable plots assert nothing less than man's mastery over nature; a garden that can feed a thousand at a sitting, standards of pruning that in three hundred years have never been surpassed."--Jacket.