The Waters Of Strife

Hailed as "the most radical repackaging of the Bible since Gutenberg", these Pocket Canons give an up-close look at each book of the Bible.

From nineteenth-century public baths to today's private backyard havens, swimming pools have long been a provocative symbol of American life. In this social and cultural history of swimming pools in the United States, Jeff Wiltse relates how, over the years, pools have served as asylums for the urban poor, leisure resorts for the masses, and private clubs for middle-class suburbanites. As sites of race riots, shrinking swimsuits, and conspicuous leisure, swimming pools reflect many of the tensions and transformations that have given rise to modern America.

When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, 11-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan. By a Newbery Medal-winning author.

When Jean Louis Ska's Introduzione alla lettura del Pentateuco was first published in Italy, it was quickly hailed as the most attractive and usable introduction to the Pentateuch to appear in modern times. Because of its strengths, it was soon translated into French. The English translation published by Eisenbrauns has been completely reviewed and updated (including the bibliography) by Ska. Among the book's many strengths are its close attention to the ways in which modern cultural history has affected Pentateuchal interpretation, attention to providing the kinds of examples that are helpful to students, presentation of a good balance between the history of interpretation and the data of the text, and the clarity of Ska's writing. For both students and scholars, many consider this book the best contemporary introduction to the Pentateuch.

Hitchcock's compendium of Bible names and their definitions demystifies the meanings of every Bible name from A to Z - thus, it is a superb reference manual for spiritual study. A good supplement to Biblical studies, Hitchcock's book lists the meanings behind the various names. This allows readers to discover the etymological origins of the most famous figures in the Bible, place these names in their proper context, and thus perform readings of the holy scripture from a more informed perspective. Many of the names pertain directly to the qualities of their holders. For example the name Behemoth from the Book of Job simply means 'monstrous', while the name 'Iscariot' (as in Judas Iscariot) means 'a man of murder; a hireling'. Other names are however more nuanced - the name 'Baal' means 'master, or lord', contrasting the demonic connotations applied by 17th century Gothic fiction.