Books about Awaiting from Amazon.com

"Americans came to fight the Civil War in the midst of a wider cultural world that sent them messages about death that made it easier to kill and to be killed. They understood that death awaited all who were born and prized the ability to face death with a spirit of calm resignation They believed that a heavenly eternity of transcendent beauty awaited them beyond the grave. They knew that their heroic achievements would be cherished forever by posterity. They grasped that death itself might be seen as artistically fascinating and even beautiful."--from Awaiting the Heavenly Country

How much loss can a nation bear? An America in which 620,000 men die at each other's hands in a war at home is almost inconceivable to us now, yet in 1861 American mothers proudly watched their sons, husbands, and fathers go off to war, knowing they would likely be killed. Today, the death of a soldier in Iraq can become headline news; during the Civil War, sometimes families did not learn of their loved ones' deaths until long after the fact.

Did antebellum Americans hold their lives so lightly, or was death so familiar to them that it did not bear avoiding? In Awaiting the Heavenly Country, Mark S. Schantz argues that American attitudes and ideas about death helped facilitate the war's tremendous carnage. Asserting that nineteenth-century attitudes toward death were firmly in place before the war began rather than arising from a sense of resignation after the losses became apparent, Schantz has written a fascinating and chilling narrative of how a society understood death and reckoned the magnitude of destruction it was willing to tolerate.

Schantz addresses topics such as the pervasiveness of death in antebellum America; theological discourse and debate on the nature of heaven and the afterlife; the rural cemetery movement and the inheritance of the Greek revival; death as a major topic in American poetry; African American notions of death, slavery, and citizenship; and a treatment of the art of death--including memorial lithographs, postmortem photography and Rembrandt Peale's major exhibition painting The Court of Death.

Awaiting the Heavenly Country is essential reading for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of the Civil War and the ways in which antebellum Americans comprehended death and the unimaginable bloodshed on the horizon..
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Boris Karloff will forever be Frankenstein's Monster, but is that any reason for us to overlook his later great horror film Isle of the Dead (1945)? An Oscar was George Clooney's reward for Syriana (2005), but isn't the underrated war film Three Kings (1999) still his best movie? Woman of the Year (1942) introduced the team of Tracy and Hepburn, yet didn't their later Pat and Mike (1952) resoundingly surpass it? Jeff Bridges has long been one of our best actors, so why didn't anyone take notice of his sleeper Bad Company (1972)? The lasting impact of Psycho (1960) unfairly overshadows Anthony Perkins's great work in the darkly comic thriller Pretty Poison (1968), while Stanley Kubrick's later work keeps his terrific caper The Killing (1956) from attaining classic status. Can you really say you love Audrey Hepburn if you haven't seen her at her most radiant in Stanley Donen's gem Two for the Road (1967)?

Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery puts the spotlight on these and other superb yet underappreciated movies spanning the twentieth century. Essential stars and directors are represented here, not for their undisputed marvels but for other equally wonderful films that warrant overdue or renewed recognition: Cover Girl, They Came to Cordura, Portrait of Jennie, The Seventh Cross, The Lusty Men, Hail the Conquering Hero, Rambling Rose, Time after Time, and many others.

Author John DiLeo offers full-bodied appraisals of each of his selections, breezily combining scholarly acumen with a film fanatic's passion. DiLeo utilizes his lively, accessible style and sharp, insightful critical eye, venturing beyond obvious choices and whetting our appetites to see these vital movies. Be they underseen, dismissed, or taken-for-granted in their day, the films in Screen Savers deserve a place of honor in our film heritage.

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A breathtaking werewolf historical romance about a man and woman as different as air and earth-who nevertheless form an elemental connection..
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The wait for a new take on werewolf romances is over.

It is said that werewolves roam the woods around Wolfram Castle--but Elizabeth Stanwycke, newly arrived tutor to the Count's niece, is not a child to be frightened by bedtime stories. Of more pressing concern is her attraction to the mysterious Count..
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Alarmed by the wolves who haunt her dreams, beautiful Melisande Davidovich can't help but be intrigued by the handsome stranger who's mysteriously appeared at Wolfram Castle. In spite of the dark secret he is obviously hiding-and the danger he may pose-Count Kazimir Vasilov captivates Melisande's body and soul.

But when Melisande's life is endangered by a madman, Kazimir must find a way to save her-without awakening the disaster an ancient legend portends..
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The passage into and through pregnancy and new parenthood is one that affects all aspects of a therapist's life, including work with patients. It presents special therapeutic challenges, as well as special therapeutic opportunities.

Drawing on the scattered literature, interviews with people who have been in the roles of therapists and expectant parents simultaneously, and their own rich experiences, the authors consider therapists' psychological lives prior to birth (or adoption) and examine both therapist and patient reactions to the reality of a coming child. Whatever the therapist's theoretical orientation, the patient-therapist relationship undergoes changes, and therapists are faced with a number of important decisions not typically addressed in the psychotherapy literature, such as whether and when to inform the patient of what is anticipated. The authors offer practical advice that enables therapists to proceed through a sound clinical decision-making process and discuss the ways in which the changes can be harnessed in the service of treatment goals. Multiple modalities are covered--including individual, group, family, and couples therapy--which can be understood from a variety of theoretical perspectives. The needs of patients in different diagnostic categories at different developmental stages are addressed and the relationship between therapist and practice setting is examined. Throughout, the authors illuminate their points with vivid real-life case vignettes.

The issue of impending parenthood arises for male and female practitioners, adopters and biological parents, and their supervisors. All those facing it will find this book essential reading as they seek to identify and quell their anxieties and improve their clinical acumen and effectiveness.
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