Distant Horizons

Truth is stranger than fiction, it is said. If so then Distant Horizons presents some of the strangest sea mysteries of all time. For it is not the product of uncritically passing along tales of the sea. It is the result of decades of research. The stories in this compendium are true, often presented with meticulous detail. Sometimes this explodes myth. Sometimes the facts reveal myth to be anemic by comparison. Famous ghost ships like the Mary Celeste and the Carroll A. Deering have become literary formula and economic rehash. But what are the actual facts? Thousands of derelicts once peppered the North Atlantic, but these two mystery ships have stood the test of time. What is really so unique about them? The Bermuda Triangle has earned its infamous reputation, but is it really to blame for some of its most famous victims? Did the Marine Sulphur Queen truly even vanish in the Triangle? What about the USS Cyclops? Could it truly be the American version of the HMS Bounty?

Just as a traveler crossing a continent won’t sense the curvature of the earth, one lifetime of reading can’t grasp the largest patterns organizing literary history. This is the guiding premise behind Distant Horizons, which uses the scope of data newly available to us through digital libraries to tackle previously elusive questions about literature. Ted Underwood shows how digital archives and statistical tools, rather than reducing words to numbers (as is often feared), can deepen our understanding of issues that have always been central to humanistic inquiry. Without denying the usefulness of time-honored approaches like close reading, narratology, or genre studies, Underwood argues that we also need to read the larger arcs of literary change that have remained hidden from us by their sheer scale. Using both close and distant reading to trace the differentiation of genres, transformation of gender roles, and surprising persistence of aesthetic judgment, Underwood shows how digital methods can bring into focus the larger landscape of literary history and add to the beauty and complexity we value in literature.

Near and Distant Horizons: In Search of the Primary Sources of Knowledge With originality and insight, the author makes a compelling case for the need to identify the sources of a traditional knowledge that still has the power to enrich people's lives in today's materialistic and anti-spiritual world. What are the true sources of knowledge? Are there headwaters for the universal laws of nature? Is there a source so transcendent that it can resolve the perennial mystery concerning the origin of life and the creation of man? Is there a wellspring of knowledge that can neutralize the duality of the world by offering a unified vision of the Whole? This work reflects upon the significance of three principal sources of knowledge in the Islamic Traditions. They are Revelation as the expression of the supreme mind of God, Nature as the universal body of God, and Man as the human image of God. The book's absorbing inquiry and reflective style throw light on the dark mysteries that still confront people today, and will appeal to readers interested in an alternative to the theories of modern science, taking them on an inward journey whose destination lies far beyond the horizon of our time. John Herlihy, an American Muslim, was educated at Boston University and Columbia University in New York City. He has written a number of books on traditional themes, including Modern Man at the Crossroads and Borderlands of the Spirit. He is the Director of an educational program at the Petroleum Institute, a new engineering university in the United Arab Emirates.

Hemispheres and Stratospheres offers eight essays that address the art, literature, science, and politics of distance during the long eighteenth century. This volume celebrates the intercontinental expansiveness of Enlightenment distance culture--a culture that continues to encourage modern pursuits such as space travel, tourism, telecommunication, multiculturalism, and international research collaboration.

Eclipse d20 lets you build the game and characters you want, the way you want them. With completely personalized classes, hundreds of new and expanded abilities to cover every special power, and vastly expanded Turning, Bardic, Proficiency, and Martial Arts techniques you'll never need prestige classes or books of feats again! Customizable magic, expanded Metamagic, and new systems - Hexcraft, the Dragon Path, Ritual and Rune Magic, Thaumaturgy, Dweomer, Theurgy and Witchcraft - allow for endless unique worlds and casters. Disadvantages, Motivations, Ethics, Divine Patronage, and campaign-based limits on exotic powers to add depth to characters and worlds. Race and Template design, alternative Epic Magic, Dominion and Divine Ascension, and World Laws for fantasy, modern, future, cyberpunk, superhero, historical and other settings all fully compatible with the 3.0, 3.5, Modern, Future and other d20 rule sets. Give your characters unlimited options!