A SCIENTIST’S CASE FOR THE AFTERLIFE

Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.

Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human—shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back.

Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself.

Alexander’s story is not a fantasy. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition.

This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.

De hoofdpersonen in de beroemde sociale romans van Yvonne Keuls, waarin fictie en werkelijkheid een hechte eenheid vormen, zijn sterke figuren die in een ellendige situatie terecht zijn gekomen. Thema's als leed en onmacht, angst en het grote gemis aan liefde, maar ook schuld en eigen verantwoordelijkheid worden met liefde behandeld. In De moeder van David S. beschrijft Yvonne Keuls een aantal jaren uit de geschiedenis van een gezin waarvan de oudste zoon David aan drugs verslaafd is. Het gezin raakt volkomen ontredderd, maar Len - de moeder - weigert de jongen los te laten. Ze ziet hem afglijden naar steeds zwaardere drugs. Len beseft dat ze, wil ze ooit weer een normaal leven kunnen leiden, afstand moet nemen van het probleem.. Recensie(s) NBD|Biblion recensie David raakt aan drugs verslaafd: wat betekent dat voor zijn moeder en mede door haar reactie voor de andere gezinsleden? Yvonne Keuls beschrijft hoe indringend en verwoestend dat voor allen is. De moeder maakt - na veel vallen en opstaan - ten slotte in Amerika kennis met een organisatie voor ouders van drugsverslaafden. Zij leert daar hoe zij met haar probleem toch verder kan leven. Terug in Nederland start zij ook hier oudergroepen. In eerste instantie een boek voor ouders van drugsverslaafden zelf, maar tevens voor allen, die met jongeren te maken hebben of bij voorbaat denken te weten hoe het moet.

"Film noir" evokes memories of stylish, cynical, black-and-white movies from the 1940s and '50s — melodramas about private eyes, femmes fatales, criminal gangs, and lovers on the run. James Naremore's prize-winning book discusses these pictures, but also shows that the central term is more complex and paradoxical than we realize. It treats noir as a term in criticism, as an expression of artistic modernism, as a symptom of Hollywood censorship and politics, as a market strategy, as an evolving style, and as an idea that circulates through all the media. This new and expanded edition of More Than Night contains an additional chapter on film noir in the twenty-first century.

SUMMARY: The critically acclaimed, beloved, and bestselling author of The Club Dumas and The Nautical Chart delivers his most magniÞcent novel to date. Few authors inspire the kind of passion that Arturo Pérez-Reverte does. Reviewers, readers, and booksellers alike have embraced his fiction as the perfect blend of suspense and literary ambition. A global bestseller, he is one of the most admired and widely read authors in the world. And his stunning new novel is his best yet. A remarkable tale, The Queen of the South spans continents, from the dusty streets of Mexico to the sparkling waters off the coast of Morocco, to Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar. A sweeping story set to the irresistible beat of the drug smugglers' ballads, it encompasses sensuality and cruelty, love and betrayal, as its heroine's story unfolds. Teresa Mendoza's boyfriend is a drug smuggler who the narcos of Sinaloa, Mexico, call "the king of the short runway," because he can get a plane full of coke off the ground in three hundred yards. But in a ruthless business, life can be short, and Teresa even has a special cell phone that Guero gave her along with a dark warning. If that phone rings, it means he's dead, and she'd better run, because they're coming for her next. Then the call comes. In order to survive, she will have to say goodbye to the old Teresa, an innocent girl who once entrusted her life to a pinche narco smuggler. She will have to find inside herself a woman who is tough enough to inhabit a world as ugly and dangerous as that of the narcos-a woman she never before knew existed. Indeed, the woman who emerges will surprise even those who know her legend, that of the Queen of the South.

Angela is geen feestbeest, ze gaat zelden uit in de feesttenten en cafës in de buurt. Maar zoete mixdrankjes en likeur gaan er wel vlot in. De hele dag lang verlangt ze naar drank. Maar haar ouders en docenten op school hebben niets in de gaten, en als niemand het merkt, dan maakt het toch niets uit? Angela speelt het slim en heeft zo haar trucjes om haar probleem geheim te houden. Ze is ervan overtuigd dat ze gemakkelijk kan stoppen, maar waarom zou ze? Ze voelt er zich goed door, zelfverzekerd en blij. Maar langzaam maar zeker neemt haar probleem als een sluipmoordenaar meer en meer bezit van haar. Als Angela wordt afgevoerd met een ambulance met een alcoholvergiftiging, staat de wereld even stil.

**Recencie(s)**
De 15-jarige Angela sluit zich aan bij een vriendengroepje dat na school bij de skatebaan alcohol drinkt en blowt. Ze heeft geen ervaring met drinken, maar wil niet onderdoen voor de anderen. In korte tijd bouwt ze een alcoholverslaving op en dat kost veel geld. Ze steelt van haar ouders, maar dat is niet genoeg. Ze ziet de oplossing in de verkoop van XTC-pillen. Angela glijdt steeds verder af. Door te liegen, misleidt ze haar ouders en docenten. Tot het moment dat ze zichzelf in coma drinkt. De auteur was rechercheur en verwerkt deze ervaring in haar verhalen. Angela’s vader maakt deel uit van een rechercheteam dat een drugsbende wil oprollen. De politiescènes zijn vlotter geschreven dan de verhaallijn van Angela. De eerste drie hoofdstukken zijn een vooruitwijzing en vanaf het vierde hoofdstuk volgt een chronologisch verhaal. De lay-out in fladderzetsel ondersteunt de leesbaarheid onvoldoende: na citaten volgen aansluitend op dezelfde regel gedachten van andere verhaalpersonen. Ook eindigen scènes aan het einde van pagina’s en volgt de nieuwe scène zonder typografische ondersteuning. Vanaf ca. 15 jaar.
Sandra Oosterveen
(source: Bol.com)

As the Ebola epidemic becomes more frightening—and hits closer to home—people are looking for answers. How does it spread? Are we at risk? How do we protect ourselves and our families from this deadly disease? In this necessary new book, Dr. Joseph Alton, an MD who is at the forefront of crisis medicine, explains the virus, how it spreads, how to prevent infection, and what the right treatment protocol is if the virus is contracted. He explains in easy-to-understand language the latest research on how Ebola is transmitted and treated, including late-breaking research from the University of Minnesota that shows it may be transmissible by air.

As the Ebola crisis unfolds with increasing severity and an exponential mortality rate, it is becoming more obvious that our government does not have the skills and resources to protect us in the event of a fast-moving pandemic. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to ensure the health and safety of themselves and their loved ones.

Some of the topics this handbook covers are:

• How to determine if your hospital is able to treat Ebola patients successfully

• How to travel safely

• How to care for an infected patient

Arm yourself and your family with life-saving knowledge against the deadliest outbreak of this virus to date.

Tutti i film di Star trek: critica, schede tecniche e infromazioni. Dalla e-zine www.fantahorror.com

Un saggio su John Carpenter tratto dalle e-zine www.fantahorror.com

Chagas’ disease has become one of the major public-health problems in Latin America. Current estimates are that sixteen to eighteen million people are infected. Caused by a flagellate protozoa carried to humans via the bite of the or bug, it is locally referred to as the “kissing bug” because of its tendency to lodge on victims’ faces during sleep. The protozoa enters neuron tissues in the heart and other organs and causes death by irreversible cardiac and gastrointestinal lesions in thirty to forty percent of all cases, usually lying “dormant” until the debilitating chronic phase during the human host’s mid-life. Because of the long dormant phase, it has generally gone unrecognized, with chronic symptoms often attributed to other causes. Originally preying on forest animals, the bug has infested the impoverished housing of displaced Andean migrants as forest lands and animals have been destroyed in South America. Although there is no cure for the chronic stage, the disease vectors can be controlled and possibly eliminated through improved hygiene and living conditions. No longer exclusive to Latin America, Chagas’ disease is spreading to North America and Europe with the migration of infected bugs, hosts, transfusions, and transplant organs.

Asexuality can be defined as an enduring lack of sexual attraction. Thus, asexual individuals do not find (and perhaps never have) others sexually appealing. Some consider “asexuality” as a fourth category of sexual orientation, distinct from heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. However, there is also recent evidence that the label “asexual” may be used in a broader way than merely as “a lack of sexual attraction.” People who say they have sexual attraction to others, but indicate little or no desire for sexual activity are also self-identifying as asexual. Distinct from celibacy, which refers to sexual abstinence by choice where sexual attraction and desire may still be present, asexuality is experienced by those having a lack or sexual attraction or a lack of sexual desire.

More and more, those who identify as asexual are “coming out,” joining up, and forging a common identity. The time is right for a better understanding of this sexual orientation, written by an expert in the field who has conducted studies on asexuality and who has provided important contributions to understanding asexuality. This timely resource will be one of the first books written on the topic for general readers, and the first to look at the historical, biological, and social aspects of asexuality. It includes first-hand accounts throughout from people who identify as asexual. The study of asexuality, as it contrasts so clearly with sexuality, also holds up a lens and reveals clues to the mystery of sexuality.

AN AUTHENTIC GLIMPSE OF A NORTH KOREA WE’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, BY A PRIZE-WINNING FILMMAKER Anna Broinowski is the only Westerner ever granted full access to North Korea’s propaganda machine, its film industry. Aim High in Creation! is her funny, surreal, insightful account of her twenty-one-day apprenticeship there. At the same time it is a fresh-eyed look, beyond stereotypes, at life in that most secretive of societies. When Anna learned that fracking had invaded downtown Sydney and a coal seam gas well was planned for Sydney Park, she had a brilliant idea: she would seek guidance for a kryptonite-powerful anti-fracking movie from the world’s greatest propaganda factory, apart from Hollywood. After two years of trying, she was allowed to make her case in Pyongyang and was granted full permission to film. She worked closely with the leading lights of North Korean cinema, even playing an American in a military thriller. “Filmmakers are family,” Kim Jong-il’s favorite director told her, and a love of nature and humanity unites peoples. Interviewing loyalists and defectors alike, Anna explored the society she encountered. She offers vivid, sometimes hilarious descriptions of bizarre disconnects and warm friendships in a world without advertisements or commercial culture. Her book, like the prize-winning documentary that resulted from her visit, is a thoughtful plea for better understanding. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history—books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

What becomes of humanity when it’s fed into the jaws of a hungry new digital machine? Discover the world of Black Mirror in this immersive, illustrated, oral history. This first official book logs the entire Black Mirror journey, from its origins in creator Charlie Brooker’s mind to its current status as one of the biggest cult TV shows to emerge from the UK. Alongside a collection of astonishing behind-the-scenes imagery and ephemera, Brooker and producer Annabel Jones will detail the creative genesis, inspiration and thought process behind each film for the first time, while key actors, directors and other creative talents relive their own involvement.

One day in 2009, twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. A wristband marked her as a “flight risk,” and her medical records—chronicling a monthlong hospital stay of which she had no memory at all—showed hallucinations, violence, and dangerous instability. Only weeks earlier, Susannah had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: a healthy, ambitious college grad a few months into her first serious relationship and a promising career as a cub reporter at a major New York newspaper. Who was the stranger who had taken over her body? What was happening to her mind?

In this swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her inexplicable descent into madness and the brilliant, lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen. A team of doctors would spend a month—and more than a million dollars—trying desperately to pin down a medical explanation for what had gone wrong. Meanwhile, as the days passed and her family, boyfriend, and friends helplessly stood watch by her bed, she began to move inexorably through psychosis into catatonia and, ultimately, toward death. Yet even as this period nearly tore her family apart, it offered an extraordinary testament to their faith in Susannah and their refusal to let her go.

Then, at the last minute, celebrated neurologist Souhel Najjar joined her team and, with the help of a lucky, ingenious test, saved her life. He recognized the symptoms of a newly discovered autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks the brain, a disease now thought to be tied to both schizophrenia and autism, and perhaps the root of “demonic possessions” throughout history.

Far more than simply a riveting read and a crackling medical mystery, is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity and to rediscover herself among the fragments left behind. Using all her considerable journalistic skills, and building from hospital records and surveillance video, interviews with family and friends, and excerpts from the deeply moving journal her father kept during her illness, Susannah pieces together the story of her “lost month” to write an unforgettable memoir about memory and identity, faith and love. It is an important, profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance that is destined to become a classic.

On the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, an international panel of leading medical and biological scientists, nuclear engineers, and policy experts assembled at the prestigious New York Academy of Medicine. A project of the Helen Caldicott Foundation and co-sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility, this gathering was a response to widespread concerns that the media and policy makers had been far too eager to move past what are clearly deep and lasting impacts for the Japanese people and for the world. This was the first comprehensive attempt to address the health and environmental damage done by one of the worst nuclear accidents of our times.

The only document of its kind, represents an unprecedented look into the profound aftereffects of Fukushima. In accessible terms, leading experts from Japan, the United States, Russia, and other nations weigh in on the current state of knowledge of radiation-related health risks in Japan, impacts on the world’s oceans, the question of low-dosage radiation risks, crucial comparisons with Chernobyl, health and environmental impacts on the United States (including on food and newborns), and the unavoidable implications for the U.S. nuclear energy industry.

Over the last two decades, writer-director Guillermo del Toro has mapped out a territory in the popular imagination that is uniquely his own, astonishing audiences with , , , and a host of other films and creative endeavors. Now, for the first time, del Toro reveals the inspirations behind his signature artistic motifs, sharing the contents of his personal notebooks, collections, and other obsessions. The result is a startling, intimate glimpse into the life and mind of one of the world’s most creative visionaries. Complete with running commentary, interview text, and annotations that contextualize the ample visual material, this deluxe compendium is every bit as inspired as del Toro is himself.

Contains a foreword by James Cameron, an afterword by Tom Cruise, and contributions from other luminaries, including Neil Gaiman and John Landis, among others.

Noted science writer Singh and British professor of complementary medicine Ernst offer a reasoned examination of the research on acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine and other alternative treatments. Singh () and Ernst work hard to be objective, but their conclusion is that these therapies are largely worthless. As they examine the research on various alternative therapies, the authors explore the principles of evidence-based medicine on which their conclusions are based, including clinical trials and the placebo effect; they also explore related ethical issues. The authors report that many patients will improve with any alternative remedy—but no more than those given a placebo. Exceptions exist; some herbal remedies (e.g., St. John's wort, echinacea) can be helpful though not always advisable, and chiropractors can relieve low back pain under certain circumstances. This is a stimulating and informative account that will be indispensable to anyone considering an alternative treatment, though it may not dissuade true believers.

In the tradition of the best investigative journalism, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs 5 days at Memorial Medical Center and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled mightily to survive and to maintain life amid chaos.

After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients last for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths.

In a voice at once involving and fair, masterful and intimate, Fink exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals just how ill-prepared we are in America for the impact of large-scale disasters—and how we can do better. A remarkable book, engrossing from start to finish, radically transforms your understanding of human nature in crisis.

In April 1992, a handful of young physicians, not one of them a surgeon, was trapped along with 50,000 men, women, and children in the embattled enclave of Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. There the doctors faced the most intense professional, ethical, and personal predicaments of their lives.

Drawing on extensive interviews, documents, and recorded materials she collected over four and a half years, doctor and journalist Sheri Fink tells the harrowing—and ultimately enlightening—story of these physicians and the three who try to help them: an idealistic internist from Doctors without Borders, who hopes that interposition of international aid workers will help prevent a massacre; an aspiring Bosnian surgeon willing to walk through minefields to reach the civilian wounded; and a Serb doctor on the opposite side of the front line with the army that is intent on destroying his former colleagues.

With limited resources and a makeshift hospital overflowing with patients, how can these doctors decide who to save and who to let die? Will their duty to treat patients come into conflict with their own struggle to survive? And are there times when medical and humanitarian aid ironically prolong war and human suffering rather than helping to relieve it?