In Niels C. Nielsen’s intriguing book, God in the Obama Era (Morgan James Publishing), he demonstrates that before we can judge how our current president is doing we must first look at past presidencies and see how the current man in the White House compares to the forty-three men before him. Our president has made historic changes in the ethics and religion of his office; however, we still see a nation greatly divided and concerned about the direction of our country. Nielsen goes one step further in objectively evaluating the Obama phenomena by asking past great leaders hypothetical questions to see how history could have been drastically changed by their responses.
Nielsen’s thought-provoking book reflects on how Obama sees himself not only in relation to the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution, but to other presidents, such as, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt, Carter, Reagan, as well as Bill Clinton and the Bush’s. The storyline approach is a historical one; presidents live in an ideological succession and their terms of office are determined by the United States Constitution – so what has made for a successful career and what has contributed to failure?
Nielsen takes a fresh look at one of the most controversial issues of Obama’s presidential campaign – the issue of his religious beliefs and background, and the effect they have on his daily decisions. The presidency is surrounded by symbolism and emotion. The author assumes that religion has always been in the background, and the hopes and dreams of Americans and their values and failures are seen in terms of our elected leader. Nielsen’s book was written for anyone wishing to evaluate what an ambitious new leader has done, and may do, in the larger and longer setting of the history of his office.
At the beginning of each chapter Nielsen points out the similarities and differences between our current president and his predecessors, sticking with facts and timelines rather than judgments, and concentrates on the long-term moral values and religious symbols that motivate both voters and public officials. Although the U.S. Constitution guarantees both freedom of worship and the non-establishment of religion, faith convictions remain a powerful ideological force in American politics.
Visit www.presidentsreligionandethics.com to learn more about this inspiring author who is already well-recognized for his earlier book, The Religion of Jimmy Carter.
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TIP SHEET:
Midwest Book Review:“When Henry VIII embraced Protestantism, much of England did as well. Does the same principle apply in America? God in the Obama Era analyzes faith in politics and its status throughout history. One of the country’s founding principles is freedom of religion, and this fact has given rise to unusual and unique to America aspects of politics and how it relates to the arena of God… a fine collection of essays from Nielsen and a solid addition to any collection focusing on politics or religion.”
Ron Highfield, Professor of Religion, Pepperdine University: “…this erudite, lucid, enlightening book brilliantly illuminates the central icon of American culture … In the aftermath of the election, in which religion played a greater role than in any election since 1960, we are fortunate to receive this book…rich in insight, lively in style and wide-ranging in scope…penetrating analyses of 20 presidents … a “must read” for anyone interested in the presidency, the place of religion in American history and culture, or religion in the Obama campaign and presidency.”
Rev. George M. Atkinson, Director emeritus, SMU Perkins School of Theology, Houston Branch: “Nielsen has written an unusually fine examination of the role of religion in the life and work of our presidents… comprehensive, balanced, puts into shadow any comparable books on the subject…students of American history will especially appreciate his careful treatment of this understudied topic, since it reveals ethical issues and nuances not examined in conventional studies … students of religion will appreciate the connections between the personal piety and the social justice efforts of each president studied…heartily recommend this book!”
Bishop Andy Doyle, Houston Diocese, Episcopal Church: “…very much enjoyed the book…captured the virtue of American presidents and their particular and faithful understanding of our country’s civil religion. While no one president…Nielsen wrote about reflects each citizen’s faith or lack thereof…it represents them well as faithful men who have believed in a providential God. As for President Obama, I was intrigued and challenged by …(the) comment that “the responsibility of his presidency reaches out beyond the external history to the internal history of the soul, spirit, intention and vision” …words will stay with me for some time as I think about the topic of virtuous leadership both secular and religious.
Arthur’s Soul Adventure (O-Books) was written in order to complete the work the author’s father had begun but was never able to finish. Brian Chambers had a dream one day but it was no ordinary dream. He saw his dead father as a young boy standing on the railroad tracks in Boston during the Great Depression, telling him how he almost died on the tracks one day and how, during his near-death experience, he briefly visited heaven and was given an important message to bring back. Unfortunately, his father never shared this entrusted message with anyone throughout his life, but as he stood there in the dream, holding out a dark-covered book, Chambers knew it was the book he had to write for his father – and that is how the story of Arthur’s Soul Adventure was born! Filled with the perfect blend of humor and bittersweet experiences, it is guaranteed to touch hearts and souls everywhere with its powerful messages.
This amazingly uplifting story is about Arthur, an inner-city boy who dies temporarily after a severe head injury, and the incredible journey he takes through heaven alongside his Guardian Angel, George. When he returns from his fantastic excursion, he develops a close friendship with a lovely, yet reclusive, elderly woman who believes in him and who experiences a deep, personal transformation after she hears his message of hope. Arthur himself learns many valuable lessons, one being to keep an open mind and not listen to those who would have us believe there is only one right way ‘home’ – understanding that God delights in all the many paths we take in order to get there. As Arthur shares his near-death experience with friends, they also realize that their new sense of power comes from within themselves.
As the author shares his father’s entrusted message, he adds a memorable touch to each book by offering a symbolic green marble – which is Arthur’s way in the story to describe how much our Creator loves us all. Chambers’ is donating proceeds from the sale of the individual marbles to The Home for Little Wanderers in Boston, whose mission ensures the healthy emotional, mental and social development of children at risk. Please check out this extraordinary author’s website at: www.arthurssouladventure.com.
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TIP SHEET:
Rev. Bruce Cameron, Ret.Bishop of Aberdeen & Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church: “Through the ancient art of storytelling we can discover deeper truths about ourselves and our world. In Arthur’s Soul Adventure, we follow ten year-old Arthur through his ‘heaven experience’ and meet some captivating characters…through his encounters with them we are then drawn into deeper insights about the Creator God whose nature is love and who lives in each one of us.”
Rhys Thomas, Founder of Rhys Thomas Institute of Energy Medicine: “Chambers has created a wonderful journey directly into the spirit of every man, woman and child…he weaves the story of how the least among us can be called at any moment to bring truth and love to the world…this will appeal to all ages …it touches anyone who is young at heart and still believes in the miracles of life.”
Kate Spencer, Artist: “Arthur’s Soul Adventure has put me under a most delightful spell…its combination of charm, simplicity and poignant sense of truth was exhilarating.”
The majority of hard-working Americans are wringing their hands together in frustration over what is happening in our country today and the world in general. They are bombarded with rhetoric on healthcare, corruption, corporate greed, unemployment, terrorists – even global warming (and who is/is not responsible). This, plus Alan Beck’s own disappointment over the general lack of common sense in the world today, inspired him to write A Faithful Proposal (IGI Publishing), an over-the-top satirical novel that is filled with witticisms that will keep the reader in much-needed belly laughs!
Beck’s story begins with Brooks McRump who, after his resignation as CEO of Bonanza insurance companies, sets his sight on taking over religions. Joining forces with retired psychiatrist and his former COO, Steven Kopfklopper, they use the internet in a bid to revolutionize religions and acquire them all. As a way of appealing to the public, they hold Religious Idol contests and advertise the number of prayers transmitted on gleaming white arches of a sports stadium. Guests get an education at Faith Mountain that includes a ‘virtual tour’ of religious history and get parachuted down the mountain to meet founders of all religions and visit the inhabitants of Heaven and Hell to witness crusades, inquisitions and magic moments in religious history.
The number of centers around the country increases dramatically as they use ‘perks’ to lure high profile religious leaders to their ranks, catching the eye of Larry King who interviews McRump on his show. They recruit Rifle Rae Virgin, a new leader to add diversity to the movement, who succeeds in uniting the newer faith counselors in testing the souls of the founding fathers of Faith America. When the founders become obsessed with their own success, envy begins to surface among the counselors. The decision is made by the leaders to wine and dine the counselors in Florida in order to bring them all back together. An Indian chief, Big Bear, meets the leadership and shares some astounding visions with them. Fate, impervious to the corporate giants, descends to subdue the greed and ambitions of the Faith America Board who undergo a revival, with true faith and family values emerging at the end to save the day.
Dr. Alan Beck’s comical wit surfaces in his description of his book as: “A manic ride through the irritable bowels of our health care system, with a darkly funny descent into the sclerotic heart of contemporary religions, and a Prozac-induced mock homage to corporate and individual greed.” Please visit this creative writer’s website at www.afaithfulproposal.com.
Success is a single, ordinary word. Yet within that word lives whole universes of meaning, significance and power. In The Visionary Leader: How to Inspire Success from the Top Down (Life Success Publishing), Susan Bagyura, author, teacher, and renowned leadership coach, does a superb job of empowering readers with tools to change their mindset and bring about success in both their personal life and their business. One of these tools is the added bonus of an audio for a home study course that gives all the thinking behind the idea, together with a workbook that guides the person through developing a plan for each area and assisting them in applying the new knowledge.
Her twenty-five years of sales, marketing and entrepreneurial experience, spanning six countries, shows she is equipped to bring goals, dreams and visions of success to fruition. Combining her vast corporate experience with the knowledge and wisdom gained from her mentor, the legendary Bob Proctor, she emerged as one of the foremost leadership coaches in the country today, recognized for possessing an inimitable ability to analyze a business and develop appropriate strategies to effectively change its direction!
Understanding that whatever is happening in a business is a reflection of what is happening in the mind of the person at the top, Susan Bagyura teaches people how to take the lid off their thinking, change their mindset, go after what they really can do, and be prepared for quantum leaps in performance.
Doug Wead, Presidential Historian, Philanthropist and Public Speaker: “The Visionary Leader provides a unique and extraordinary contribution to what it takes to lead in today’s world, which is rapidly changing. If someone is doing business the way they were 5 years ago, I can assure you that they aren’t winning. Susan Bagyura shows us how we can grow as leaders, which is essential to achieving higher levels of success and moving towards mastery of leadership. I highly recommend this book.”
Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Books and Awaking the Entrepreneur Within: “The intention of a personal perspective that was born inside Susan….who imagined a result as a product of this book that could transform a leader’s mind…a leader’s action. After the author’s intention to write this book, after saying “I think I will,” was the hope that something could be changed by writing these words…the rest, of course, is up to you.”
Germaine Porche & Jed Niederer, co-authors of Coach Anyone About Anything and the Coaching Soup for the Cartoon Soul series: “Great coaching on how to develop effective leadership skills…a must read for all who manage other people. Inspiring others is the way forward to top performance.”
Robert Lichal (retired), Former Austrian Minister of Defense: “The power behind Susan’s work lies not only in the road map she provides, but also in helping us see how truly inspirational and motivational a strong leader can be.”
Gerry Robert, author of The Millionaire Mindset: “Susan’s book is on-point, insightful, inspiring and actionable – what more could one seek from a comprehensive instruction book on leadership development.”
Paul and Shelley Fox, authors of Diamonds Demystified: “This new book is a must read for CEO’S, VP level executives and aspiring mid-level managers. It tells how to make the bridge between being a good leader and a great leader.”
A gas company building an underwater pipeline in the Baltic Sea has made an extraordinary archeological find. Over a dozen centuries-old shipwrecks – some seemingly well preserved, is a huge undersea discovery. Several of the sunken shipwrecks are from the 17th to 19th centuries but the oldest wreck dates back to medieval times and could be over eight hundred years old!
With lost maritime secrets always shrouded in mystery, there has always been an incredible interest in locating sunken ships. UNESCO estimates that over 300,000 lost shipwrecks remain undiscovered, along with the valuable cargos that remain onboard. Despite discrepancies and secrecy within the treasure hunting professionals, long lost treasure ships are now becoming easier to locate with the use of satellite technology launched into space and focused upon the world’s oceans.
Lost and Found (ArcheBooks), by Tom Williams, is an exhilarating novel that centers around two English expatriates hired by a major oil company to find oil reserves anywhere in the world using a geological survey satellite. Under threats from the company’s corrupt president to find oil, and knowing the satellite does not work for this purpose, the expats decide to reconfigure the orbiting spacecraft to search for gold. During the next three days of orbital flight, the satellite does not find gold mining potential over land but does find ninety-seven sunken shipwrecks and their exact GPS coordinates all underwater.
Together with a beautiful dive master and salvage expert, the oil company engineers go after the treasures of antiquity that are all there for the taking—if the adventuresome trio can just stay alive long enough. Antiquated superstitions seem to find substance with every anticipated wreck site as a murderous security director follows along every step to acquire the ultimate 21st century treasure map. The chase that follows leads from the exotic, tropical waters of South Florida to the depths of the Black Sea in Europe. A quest for unimaginable riches ensues filled with unpredictable twists and turns and non-stop action. In the exciting race for the biggest and oldest treasure of all, the cast of characters battle lost legends from the past and newly found enemies from the present.
Please visit www.lostandfoundadventure.com for exciting details about the book and the author – no stranger to underwater adventures, having been a master merchant marine officer licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard for over twenty-two years, specializing in shipwrecks and salvage diving, which only serves to further enrich his novel with true life experiences. Once on his website, visit the Press Room to watch videos of his recent television interviews.
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TIP SHEET:
Steve Alten, NY Times Best-Selling author of Meg and The Shell Game: “A promising debut novel that combines a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ flavor with 21st century technology. Perfect for sipping Pina Colada’s on a tropical azure shoreline.”
Midwest Book Review:“There’s no such thing as easy money. Lost and Found tells the tale of science and lost treasure, and two men who use a satellite to explore, originally looking for oil. But on the ocean floor they find countless sunken treasure, ripe for the taking…It won’t be a simple excavation as there are forces out to prevent their seizing of the riches…An exciting novel of adventure, highly recommended.”
Elizabeth Ellis, Book Notes: “Even with the horizontal rain, the darkness, and the storm shrieking in the rigging, it was obvious that a heavy weight had shifted deep inside the hull. Now the ship was struck with a new affliction. She was heeling more than normal for the wind and seas, and it was clear a new and unknown peril was active below decks.”
Ron Polli, Offshore Editor of Extreme Boats Magazine: “An adrenaline filled rollercoaster ride with a pot of gold as the prize…Williams takes the reader on the ultimate high tech treasure hunt…Fiction but someone in NASA could turn it into reality. A unique story written by a great storyteller. All the wit and emotion of Clive Cussler’s best novel. Great read, a page-turner that you won’t want to put down.”
In Intuitive Lovers (O-Books), the author reaches out to readers who want to find a deeper, ego-free consciousness in their sexual connections. Being that intuition is instinctive knowing means that we are all intuitive lovers. After all, no one ever showed us how to kiss or how to feel, or even what we make of situations or experiences – our thoughts do that; they create our reality and thus we do what feels natural.
The sexual attraction between people can be so tangible you can feel it and almost breathe it, yet there are times we wonder if it’s wishful thinking or just our imagination. Intuition is the key to controlling much of the anxiety we feel when we lack answers from our partner, empowering us to trust ourselves and to open up our hearts. Intuitive Lovers takes readers on a journey to trust their intuition from first encounters with a possible partner, be it internet dating or long-term conscious loving.
As Walsh explains, the ego has planted demands in our society that if we don’t orgasm, tie each other up and scream until the neighbors complain, we are doing something wrong or inadequate. Unfortunately, this keeps us from the feeling of oneness that can be found in another’s arms. Since we are all an aspect of the ‘one’ that split into smaller, vibrational pieces, reconnecting with one of those divine pieces through open, loving sex reminds us we are not alone and that we were never separate from one another.
When we understand that we do have a choice to look at the root of our thoughts and to come from our higher self, this raises our personal vibration so that the sound we send out into the world is a sound of love and not fear. This sound plays out from our energy field so that when we have sex with a person the energy fields intertwine and their song is joined with ours. Walsh believes there is no reason we cannot read someone else’s energy and allow them to read ours, which will ultimately make the most amazing connection both in long-term relationships and one-night stands.
Becky Walsh is one of the U.K.’s leading thinkers on intuition and spirituality. She is a well-recognized author, magazine feature writer, speaker, host of two radio shows, and has a practice both in London and San Francisco where her consultations are a blend of intuitive psychotherapy, psychology inspiration, and life coaching. Her reason for writing Intuitive Lovers is to give an alternative prospective on modern age sexual gratification and relationship, thereby bringing people out of the analytical mind and into their body and heart.
Malcolm Stern, author of Falling in Love, Staying in Love: “This is a brave, honest and groundbreaking book by a highly developed intuitive. It is also contemporary – reflecting the changing shape of relationships in the 21st century – Read it!”
Laurie Nadel, Ph.D., author of Sixth Sense: Unlocking Your Ultimate Mind Power, Executive Producer and Host, The Dr. Laurie Show: “With searing emotional honesty and humor, Becky Walsh shares her insights about sexuality and relationships.”
Tony Mortimer, Singer/Songwriter: “An inspiring open book, which makes you look at sex and relationships in a much deeper way. Full of humor and intuitive wisdom, quite sexy in parts too!”
Chris Hawkins, BBC Radio Presenter: “Becky’s forthright approach hooks you and makes you look at your life and the world around you in a completely different way.”
Homeboy’s Soul: Pride, Terror, and Street Justice in America (Publish America) invites readers into the bizarre and deadly lifestyle of gangbanging in the barrios of East Los Angeles during the 70’s through 90’s. Written by Don Armijo and Fred Stawitz, this is the story of Armijo’s rise to power within one of East L.A.’s most violent street gangs, Calle Doce Los Sharkies. Minus the usual hype and sensationalism, this provocative tale invites readers into one of the most misunderstood lifestyles in America and delves into the private thoughts, doubts and fears of a normal Chicano ‘kid turned killer’ with its inside look into what life in the world of gangbangers is really all about.
Inspired to write Homeboy’s Soul as a way to reveal the truth about the influences that shaped the barrios of East L.A., Armijo provides answers to why Chicano youth are easily attracted to the homeboy’s lifestyle and ultimately gang warfare. Homeboy’s Soul is a chilling account of how Armijo lived as a gang member, killed as a gang member, and wound up in jail where he experienced a personal transformation.
Homeboy’s Soul neither blames nor defends barrio youth for their decisions, but rather provides a basis for understanding the culture and influences that lead them to the choices they make. Armijo and Stawitz take the reader on an amazing journey through the darker side of human nature. Cruise the barrio with a true vato loco. Face the deadly consequences of a movida on a rival gang. Share the private thoughts and fears of a real-life Chicano youngster. Experience the love and mistrust, the terror and boredom and, ultimately, the sense of hopelessness that there will be no bright tomorrow at the end of all the violence.
Don Armijo does not have a formal education nor does he have professional credentials, but growing up in the barrio and becoming a high-ranking soldier in one of East L.A.’s most violent street gangs gives him the credibility to tell this story. Now those caught up in the gangbanging, or those considering it, have no more excuses – Don is living proof that they, too, have the power to choose right over wrong!
Homeboy’s Soul helps readers to realize that each of us has an impact on our world, for better or worse, through the choices we make and by taking responsibility for the consequences of our actions. Don Armijo has made peace with his past and has dedicated himself to helping youth at risk find their path to a brighter future.
Danny De La Paz, actor (Boulevard Nights): “Homeboy’s Soul deserves to take its place among the best literature available today on the complex and fascinating subject of what draws a promising young life to such self-destruction.”
Richard Reyes, Pancho Claus and Gang Prevention Activist: “This book should be required reading for students, parents, school administrators, police officers and community leaders.”
Joel Valenzuela, Former Teacher: “It gives ammunition to parents waging a painful war for the souls of children caught in the deadly culture of street gangs.”
Elizabeth Rhone, First Lady, Mount Sinai Church of God in Christ: “You won’t want to put this book down!”
