Primeval

“As gritty and hard-driving a thriller as you’ll find….The action never stops, the language sings and stings.” —Washington Post The City Primeval in Elmore Leonard’s relentlessly gripping classic noir is Detroit, the author’s much-maligned hometown and the setting for many of the Grand Master’s acclaimed crime novels. The “Alexander the Great of crime fiction” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) shines in these urban mean streets, setting up a downtown showdown between the psychopathic, thrill-killing “Oklahoma Wildman” and the dedicated city copy who’s determined to take him down. The creator of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of TV’s Justified fame, Elmore Leonard is the equal of any writer who has ever captivated readers with dark tales of heists, hijacks, double-crosses, and murder—John D. MacDonald, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, and Robert Parker included—and nobody then or now is better.

Revision of the first volume of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oxford, 2009 under the title The emergence and development of Sumerian and Babylonian traditions related to the primeval flood catastrophe from the Old Babylonian period.

The book offers a comprehensive analytic comparison between the images of primeval history in Babylonia, in the Hebrew Bible and the parallel Enochic traditions. It presents new interpretations of each of these traditions and how they relate to each other.

Fleeing across the sea from enemies unknown, Nikki and the crew of the Wind Runner fight for their lives as they struggle to keep safe their strange and ancient cargo, the unconscious Rogaan and Aren. The crew discovers they need the help of these warriors of old as they battle deadly Tyr super-soldiers intent on taking their ancient cargo for themselves. Nikki suffers terribly the wrath of the Tyr when protecting Rogaan and Aren, hurling her to the brink of death and into the ancient world of mankind’s first civilization reliving the past through the eyes of the aspiring warrior Rogaan and the mystic Aren. Nikki plunges, again, into a world both increasingly familiar yet profoundly strange where a society simultaneously primitive and advanced struggles against corruption and the unseen powers of their ancient gods, alien intelligences, and horrific dangers. As Rogaan and Aren face terrible injustices and challenges, deep questions are raised about the origins of humanity’s battle between good and evil. Astonishing in its scope and detail, taking you into a fully created world beyond your wildest dreams, Primeval Origins: Light of Honor skillfully weaves together humanity’s oldest creation myths, religious beliefs, political landscapes, and prehistoric origins to create a thrilling, fascinating epic rich in characters and compelling plot. Join the world of Primeval Origins now as it reveals the secrets of Creation’s guiding hand: petulant godlings, noisy mortals, and ancient evils confronted by good in the ultimate test of the human soul.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.

Understanding the current state and dynamics of any forest is extremely difficult - if not impossible - without recognizing its history. Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF), located on the border between Poland and Belarus, is one of the best preserved European lowland forests and a subject of myriads of works focusing on countless aspects of its biology, ecology, management. BPF was protected for centuries (15th-18th century) as a game reserve of Polish kings and Lithuanian grand dukes. Being, at that time, a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, BPF was subject to long-lasting traditional, multi-functional utilisation characteristic for this part of Europe, including haymaking on forest meadows, traditional bee-keeping and fishing in rivers flowing through forest. This traditional model of management came to an abrupt end due to political change in 1795, when Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania ceased to exist in effect of partitioning by neighbouring countries, and the territory of BPF was taken over by the Russian Empire. The new Russian administration, influenced by the German trends in forestry, attempted at introducing the new, science-based forestry model in the BPF throughout the 19th century. The entire 19th century in the history of BPF is a story of struggle between new trends and concepts brought and implemented by new rulers of the land, and the traditional perception of the forest and forest uses, culturally rooted in this area and originating from mediaeval (or older) practices. The book will show the historical background and the outcome of this struggle: the forest’s history in the long 19th century focusing on tracking all cultural imprints, both material (artificial landscapes, introduced alien species, human-induced processes) and immaterial (traditional knowledge of forest and use of forest resources, the political and cultural significance of the forest) that shaped the forest’s current state and picture. Our book will deliver a picture of a crucial moment in forest history, relevant not only to the Central Europe, but to the continent in general. Moment of transition between a royal hunting ground, traditional type of use widespread throughout Europe, to a modern, managed forest. Looking at main obstacles in the management shift, the essential difference in perceptions of the forest and goods it provides in both modes of management, and the implications of the management change for the state of BPF in the long 19th century could help in better understanding the changes that European forests underwent in general.