The Four Pillars Of The Earth

#1 New York Times Bestseller Oprah's Book Club Selection The “extraordinary . . . monumental masterpiece” (Booklist) that changed the course of Ken Follett’s already phenomenal career—and begins where its prequel, The Evening and the Morning, ended. “Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner,” extolled Publishers Weekly on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett’s unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal. The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect—a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother. A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Follett’s historical masterpiece.

In the beginning were the Heavenlies, and Their names were Truth, Life, Love, Mercy, Justice, Strength, Wisdom, and Beauty. They were not brought into being, and there is nothing that has been made which They did not create. They neither decrease nor increase. Nothing besides Them existed until They brought it into existence, according to Their own will. When the world as we know it was made, They came into agreement, saying, ìLet Us make a world that will display Our glory and will return glory to Ourselves, î and it was so. Thus, not only was everything created by Them and through Them, but it was created for Them. Furthermore, They made man in Their image, giving him life and purpose. However, man became proud and considered himself to be the decider of his own destiny. Afterwards, he and his wife fought between themselves, and his children were caught in the crossfire. Then his children began to have their own wives and children, and family feuds erupted. Soon, the families became villages, the villages became tribes, the tribes became nations, and the nations became empires. Everyone was hating, neglecting, forsaking, disrespecting, mistreating, and abusing everyone and everything in the search for their own truth. Somewhere in the middle, the Heavenlies divided the people into three separate nations: Terac (later Jorak), Sistanis, and Baior. Each of them has their own priorities and philosophies, and their stories are written by members within their own nation. Some writings are in first person, others in third, but all of it is true, or so they claim. On this epic journey, you will discover that Truth is not a principle or a perspective, but a person. Not only is He a person, but He is the Author of the Universe.

Discover the astonishing evidence for intelligent design in this New York Times bestselling book by award-winning journalist Lee Strobel. "My road to atheism was paved by science . . . but, ironically, so was my later journey to God," Strobel says. During his academic years, Lee Strobel became convinced that God was obsolete, a belief that colored his journalism career. Science had made the idea of a Creator irrelevant--or so Strobel thought. But today science points in a different direction. A diverse and impressive body of research has increasingly supported the conclusion that the universe was intelligently designed. At the same time, Darwinism has faltered in the face of concrete facts and hard reason. Has science discovered God? At the very least, it's giving faith an immense boost, as new findings emerge about the incredible complexity of our universe. Join Strobel as he reexamines the theories that once led him away from God. Through his compelling and highly readable account, you'll encounter the mind-stretching discoveries from cosmology, cellular biology, DNA research, astronomy, physics, and human consciousness that present compelling evidence in The Case for a Creator. Also available: The Case for a Creator small group video study and study guide, Spanish edition, kids' edition, student edition, and more.

An epic novel steeped in action, intrigue, and romance. July 1187: the forces of the Muslim sultan known as Saladin have defeated the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, allowing Saladin to achieve his lifelong ambition of recapturing the Holy City for Islam. This sets the stage for the Third Crusade: the confrontation between Saladin and the legendary Christian warrior, Richard the Lionheart. Both men believe they are destined by God to lead their holy armies to complete victory. Richard, a legendary warrior with a keen military mind, finds his vow to retake Jerusalem complicated by infighting over succession to the British throne, a rivalry with the French king, and a choice between two potential queens. Meanwhile, Saladin struggles to keep his fractious forces together while remaining true to the noblest principles of Islam. These events are also portrayed through the eyes of two common men: Pierre of Botron is a Christian knight who is captured on the battlefield and subjected to the indignity of slavery. Rashid of Yenbo is a Muslim trader who finds prosperity in Saladin's triumphs. The relationship between Rashid and Pierre offers the possibility that people of good will can overcome polarizing conflicts. As events build toward the Battle of Jaffa, one of the most well-known conflicts of the Crusades, the fates of the characters depend on the choices they make between the compassionate and fanatical aspects of their faiths. The Swords of Faith offers an eye-opening comparison and contrast of the tenets of Christianity and Islam, insights that reverberate into the present day.

Ken Follett’s magnificent historical epic begins as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. A thirteen-year-old Welsh boy enters a man’s world in the mining pits. . . . An American law student rejected in love finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson’s White House. . . . A housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with a German spy. . . . And two orphaned Russian brothers embark on radically different paths when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution. From the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty, Fall of Giants takes us into the inextricably entangled fates of five families—and into a century that we thought we knew, but that now will never seem the same again. . . .

From William Forstchen, the New York Times bestselling author of One Second After, comes Pillar to the Sky, a towering epic to rank with Douglas Preston's Blasphemy and Michael Crichton's Prey... Pandemic drought, skyrocketing oil prices, dwindling energy supplies and wars of water scarcity threaten the planet. Only four people can prevent global chaos. Gary Morgan—a brilliant, renegade scientist is pilloried by the scientific community for his belief in a space elevator: a pillar to the sky, which he believes will make space flight fast, simple and affordable. Eva Morgan—a brilliant and beautiful scientist of Ukranian descent, she has had a lifelong obsession to build a pillar to the sky, a vertiginous tower which would mine the power of the sun and supply humanity with cheap, limitless energy forever. Erich Rothenberg—the ancient but revered rocket-scientist who labored with von Braun to create the first rockets and continued on to build those of today. A legend, he has mentored Gary and Eva for two decades, nurturing and encouraging their transcendent vision. Franklin Smith—the eccentric Silicon Valley billionaire who will champion their cause, wage war with Congress and government bureaucracy and most important, finance their herculean undertaking. The Goddard Space Flight Center—the novel's pre-eminent hero, it's enormous army of scientists, engineers and astronauts will design, machine, and build the space elevator. They will fight endless battles and overcome countless obstacles every step of the way. This journey to the stars will not be easy—a tumultuous struggle filled with violence and heroism, love and death, spellbinding beauty and heartbreaking betrayal. The stakes could not be higher. Humanity's salvation will hang in the balance. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Farewell to Reason offers a vigorous challenge to the scientific rationalism that underlies Western ideals of "progress" and "development," whose damaging social and ecological consequences are now widely recognized. For all their variety in theme and occasion, the essays in this book share a consistent philosophical purpose. Whether discussing Greek art and thought, vindicating the church's battle with Galileo, exploring the development of quantum physics or exposing the dogmatism of Karl Popper, Feyerabend defends a relativist and historicist notion of the sciences. The appeal to reason, he insists, is empty, and must be replaced by a notion of science that subordinates it to the needs of citizens and communities. Provocative, polemical and rigorously argued, Farewell to Reason will infuriate Feyerabend's critics and delight his many admirers.