Architects of Ruin

Take a walk through Washington, D.C. with Newt and Callista Gingrich to view our nation's historic monuments and memorials. You will quickly find yourself on a profound and surprising walk of discovery and renewal.

Your first stop will be the National Archives, where Thomas jefferson's immortal words from the Declaration of Independence that all "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, " jump off the page with the inescapable truth that from day one in our country's history, the source of freedom was neither the state nor even the Founding Fathers.

Rediscovering God in America sounds a clarion call to remind us that America's greatness is firmly rooted in our ongoing history as a nation under God.

Jasmine Spain knows a lot about expectations. She grew up in a family of prominent lawyers, and her parents expected their Ivy League--educated daughter to marry a well-to-do man while making them proud. Instead, at thirty-four, Jasmine is divorced and living in a one-bedroom apartment while working at a mid-sized African-American law firm. It's as far from her parents' social-climbing values as she can get, but at least she can sleep at night--until Chester Jackson, a partner and ex-boyfriend, is found murdered. . .

Jasmine knows a lot of people would have loved to have sent the charming but ruthless Chester to his grave. But when she takes over his case load, she discovers more than she bargained for--a decade-old rape case, shady deals, blackmail. Suddenly the only person Jasmine can turn to for help is the detective assigned to the case, Marcus Claremont. Their attraction is as intense as it is immediate. Born and raised in the projects, the hardworking detective is nothing like the sort of pedigreed man her parents would want for her, but he may be everything Jasmine's ever needed. . .if they can stay alive. . .

Fouad Ajami, one of the world's foremost authorities on Middle Eastern politics, offers a brilliant, illuminating, and lyrical portrait of the ongoing struggle for Iraq and of the American encounter with that volatile Arab land. Ajami situates the current unrest within the context of Iraq's recent history of dictatorship and its rich, diverse cultural heritage. He applies his incisive political commentary, his broad and deep historical view, his mastery of the Arabic language and Arabic sources, and his lustrous prose to every aspect of his subject, wresting a coherent, fascinating, and textured picture from the media storm of fragmented information.

In the few years after the Iraq war began, Ajami made many trips to that country and met Iraqis of all ethnicities, religions, politics, and regions. Looking beneath the familiar media images of Iraq and the war, Ajami visits with individuals representing the breadth of Iraq's populace, from Sunni leaders and Shia clerics to Kurdish politicians and poets, Iraqi policemen, and ordinary people voting for the first time in their lives. He also hears from American soldiers on the ground, and the result of all his encounters is an astonishing portrayal of a land that has emerged as a crucial battleground between American power and the wider forces of Arab religious and political extremism.

With his unrivaled access -- he has been granted an audience with the great, reclusive Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and been admitted into the sacred shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf for a discussion with its religious scholars -- Ajami provides an intimate portrait that draws on both his learning and his lifelong interest in the traditions and the history of Iraq. With his commentator's eye, his scholarly depth of understanding, his poetic ear, and his abiding love for the Middle East, Fouad Ajami is an essential voice for our times. The Foreigner's Gift is the book we all need to read in order to understand what is happening in Iraq today and what the future might hold for all of us.

Will life on earth really come crashing to a halt on December 21, 2012?

Will solar storms trigger devastating earthquakes and volcanoes that obliterate humankind? Will a large-scale science experiment go awry, destroying our civilization? Is Earth on a collision course with an obscure planet? Will any of these events herald the end of the world? Dr. Raymond C. Hundley analyzes the predictions of the ten most prominent apocalyptic theories in the 2012 doomsday movement. He investigates the claims of scientists, theologians, mathematicians, technologists, and ancient prophets along with the credibility and probability of each theory. The 2012 predictions of the Mayan calendar are considered alongside the parallel calculations of 16th century astrologer Nostradamus. Dr. Hundley takes a close look at the speculation originating everywhere, from evangelical Christianity to secular academia.

Will the World End in 2012? Dr. Hundley’s conclusion may be what you least expect.  He challenges Christians to respond to these predictions not with fear, but with hope and joy. For believers and nonbelievers alike, Hundley’s logical evaluation of Earth’s potential demise provides a fascinating road map of where our civilization could be heading and how we can prepare our hearts and minds for what lies ahead.