Although there are other "Utopia" books written before Thomas More's, it is this book that made its title into a by-word in the English (and other) languages. "Utopia" was More's response to Plato's "Republic," in that it is a framework for a perfect society according to More's ideas of the time. Originally published in Latin, the first English version appeared in 1551, some 16 years after More's death. More's "Utopia," which is a brief book (100 pages), portrays a communal, democratic society. It is paradoxically unregulated and tightly regulated. More's citizens just want to do what is best for their society, and that covers a remarkably narrow range of possibilities. There are, of course, some who break the laws of the land, and More deals with them harshly. "Harsh" is a relative term, though, and his punishments were hardly harsh in a day when it was a hanging offense to steal a loaf of bread for your starving family. More's "Utopia" is also a strongly religious society. Religious tolerance is a matter of law, a novelty by the standards of More's day and the standard of his own behavior. 'Tolerance', however, meant tolerance of any monotheism that wasn't too animistic, and certainly didn't tolerate the unreligious. Thomas More's own life was less than a Utopia. He was executed by Henry VIII (one of his best friends) for, among other trespasses, refusing to uphold the king's divorce from Catherine of Arragon. Before that time More served Henry VIII in many capacities, including Speaker of the House of Commons, Master of Requests, Privy Councillor, and Lord Chancellor. More's strong integrity and resolute mind caught the attention of scholars, political and church leaders internationally; it was this same integrity that most likely was his undoing, refusing to assent to the King's divorce and severance of ties binding the English Church with the Roman overlordship of the Pope.

You have never read a book like this before -- a book that comes along once in a lifetime to change lives forever.In the rain forests of Peru, an ancient manuscript has been discovered. Within its pages are 9 key insights into life itself -- insights each human being is predicted to grasp sequentially; one insight, then another, as we move toward a completely spiritual culture on Earth. Drawing on ancient wisdom, it tells you how to make connections among the events happening in your life right now and lets you see what is going to happen to you in the years to come. The story it tells is a gripping one of adventure and discovery, but it is also a guidebook that has the power to crystallize your perceptions of why you are where you are in life and to direct your steps with a new energy and optimisim as you head into tomorrow.

In the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders...until he meets Donald Shimoda--former mechanic and self-described messiah who can make wrenches fly and Richard's imagination soar....In Illusions, the unforgettable follow-up to his phenomenal bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give our souls wings: that people don't need airplanes to soar...that even the darkest clouds have meaning once we lift ourselves above them... and that messiahs can be found in the unlikeliest places--like hay fields, one-traffic-light midwestern towns, and most of all, deep within ourselves.

The companion volume to The Earth Chronicles series that reveals the identity of mankind’s ancient gods•   Explains why these “gods” from Nibiru, the Anunnaki, genetically engineered Homo sapiens, gave Earthlings civilization, and promised to return•   30,000 sold in hardcoverZecharia Sitchin’s bestselling series The Earth Chronicles provided humanity’s side of the story concerning our origins at the hands of the Anunnaki, “those who from heaven to earth came.” In The Lost Book of Enki we now view this saga from the perspective of Lord Enki, an Anunnaki leader revered in antiquity as a god, who tells the story of these extraterrestrials’ arrival on Earth from the planet Nibiru.In his previous works Sitchin compiled the complete story of the Anunnaki’s impact on human civilization from fragments scattered throughout Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hebrew sources. Missing from these accounts, however, was the perspective of the Anunnaki themselves. What was life like on their own planet? What motives propelled them to settle on Earth--and what drove them from their new home? Convinced of the existence of a lost book that held the answers to these questions, the author began his search for evidence. Through exhaustive research of primary sources, he has here re-created tales as the memoirs of Enki, the leader of these first “astronauts.” What takes shape is the story of a world of mounting tensions, deep rivalries, and sophisticated scientific knowledge that is only today being confirmed. An epic tale of gods and men unfolds, challenging every assumption we hold about our past and our future.

On December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar will end. Many see it as an apocalyptic sign.But is it?In The Twelfth Insight, the long-awaited fourth book in the beloved Celestine Series, we again follow our Hero and his close friend Wil. They have just received a portion of another ancient and mysterious manuscript that describes a secret approach to spirituality that is silently arriving in the second decade of the 21st Century. But the manuscript is only available in fragments. To understand its full meaning for mankind, our Hero and Wil begin an urgent search to find the message in its entirety. As they embrace the power of Synchronicity and begin their search, they are confronted by powerful political forces and religious extremists that stand in the way of these spiritual revelations. Utilizing what he calls the "parable effect," and based on his own sources, James Redfield explores the similarities and differences that exist among the world religions, revealing the essential messages contained within them that can energize our experience of spirituality-- and produce a new wave of integrity and reform that can transform our lives and our world.

Millions have experienced the nine insights of The Celestine Prophecy and glimpsed the emerging world view that it describes. Since its beginning as a word-of-mouth, self-published book, The Celestine Prophecy has sold over five million copies in more than forty countries from Australia to Germany, from America to Japan, becoming a number one New York Times and national bestseller. Inspired by this book, individuals across the world have opened up to the experience of guiding coincidences in their lives, and to a new sense of personal destiny and mission. Now, a new Insight is emerging ... In this exciting sequel, Charlene, the friend who first brought word that an ancient manuscript had been found in Peru, has suddenly disappeared while exploring an old-growth forest deep in the Appalachian Mountains. Here, in this rich setting of cathedral forests, wooded streams, and majestic waterfalls, your adventure in search of the Tenth Insight begins. It is a trip that will take you through portals into other dimensions ... to memories of past experiences and other centuries ... to the moment before our conception and the birth vision we all experience ... to the passage of death and the life review we must all face ... to the self-imposed isolation of hell, where fearful souls resist awakening ... and the love-filled Afterlife dimension where the knowledge of human destiny is guarded and held. And back on Earth, you will see the fear of the future that is endangering Earth's spiritual renaissance, and you will struggle to overcome this fear by exploring the nature of intuition, synchronicity, and visualization. As you grasp the Tenth Insight, your memories will expand to include an understanding of the long expanse of human history and the special mission that we all share to bring humanity to its intended purpose. And you will begin to answer, as never before, the unspoken questions that loom over all of human experience and in every human heart: Why are we here? What are we to do? Where are we going? Again, with words that resonate with our deepest intuitions and illuminate both the world outside us and within us, James Redfield offers us all a unique, revelatory, and ultimately joyful vision of human spirituality. One that could change your life. And perhaps, the world.

Continuing the action-packed adventures begun in The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight, The Secret of Shambhala opens with a search for the legendary Tibetan-Buddhist utopia of Shambhala (or Shangri-La), a magical place that not only truly exists, but is destined to be found and understood in our time. Following a childs instructions and led by fascinating synchronicity, we cross the Himalayas and discover a mysterious community set high on a Tibetan mountain range where the spiritual future of mankind is already being lived. Overcoming Chinese interference and the tests of the mysterious Dakini (the otherworldly guardians of Shambhala) we finally discover the secret of this idealistic way of life, and understand how it will now begin to move into the rest of the world. The Celestine Prophecy has sold over eight million hardcover copies worldwide, and was the bestselling novel in the world in 1995 and 1996. The Tenth Insight, Redfields sequel to The Celestine Prophecy, has over 1.2 million hardcover copies in print and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 24 weeks, peaking at #2. Also available as a Time Warner AudioBook.

Reveals Zecharia Sitchin's groundbreaking research into the code left behind by the creators of humanity. • Explains how the Anunnaki were not merely the mythical gods of the Sumerians, but rather the founders of human life on Earth. • Using Biblical and ancient Sumerian sources, explains how to decode these messages our star ancestors left behind. Daring to challenge our long-held beliefs about the origins of man, Zecharia Sitchin suggests that humans are not the children of God, but rather the children of the Anunnaki, an ancient race from the planet Nibiru. His revolutionary theories are supported by his intense scrutiny of not only ancient Sumerian texts but also stone structures all over the world. The similarities and astrological significance of these formations suggests that rather than looking for guidance from leaders here on Earth, humanity should instead look to the sky for answers. The Earth Chronicles deal with the history and prehistory of Earth and humankind. Each book in the series is based upon information written on clay tablets by the ancient civilizations of the Near East. For the first time, the entire Earth Chronicles series is now available in a hardcover collector's edition.

• Was Adam the first test-tube baby? • Did nuclear fission destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? • How were the ancients able to accurately describe details about our solar system that are only now being revealed by deep space probes? The awesome answers are all here, in this important companion volume to The Earth Chronicles series. Having presented evidence of an additional planet as well as voluminous information about the other planets in our solar system, Zecharia Sitchin now shows how the discoveries of modern astrophysics, astronomy, and genetics exactly parallel what has already been revealed in ancient texts regarding the "mysteries" of alchemy and the creation of life. Genesis Revisited is a mind-boggling revelation sure to overturn current theories about the origins of humankind and the solar system.

The Opening addresses the age-old question 'what happens when we die?' with a spiritual fantasy of immense charm and imagination. At once an insightful meditation on life’s passages and a vision of unearthly realms, it creates its own enchanted worlds where characters connect with one another between here and the hereafter across the thinnest of lines. Joe St. John wanders out into a blizzard and falls through an opening that leads him to amazing, sometimes harrowing places where he encounters the major turning points in his life. Along the way, he revisits his missed opportunities, uncovers his life’s core trauma, and is given mysterious geometrical symbols that hold the key to his future. As Joe's soul hovers between two worlds he will discover the truth about life and death, and be confronted with the ultimate choice: save his own life, or give it up for someone he loves.