In the bestselling tradition of The Map that Changed the World and Longitude comes the tale of a seventeenth-century scientist-turned-priest who forever changed our understanding of the Earth and created a new field of science.

It was an ancient puzzle that stymied history's greatest minds: How did the fossils of seashells find their way far inland, sometimes high up into the mountains? Fossils only made sense in a world old enough to form them, and in the seventeenth century, few people could imagine such a thing. Texts no less authoritative than the Old Testament laid out very clearly the timescale of Earth's past; in fact one Anglican archbishop went so far as to calculate the exact date of Creation...October 23, 4004, B.C.

A revolution was in the making, however, and it was started by the brilliant and enigmatic Nicholas Steno, the man whom Stephen Jay Gould called "the founder of geology." Steno explored beyond the pages of the Bible, looking directly at the clues left in the layers of the Earth. With his groundbreaking answer to the fossil question, Steno would not only confound the religious and scientific thinking of his own time, he would set the stage for the modern science that came after him. He would open the door to the concept of "deep time," which imagined a world with a history of millions or billions of years. And at the very moment his expansive new ideas began to unravel the Bible's authoritative claim as to the age of the Earth, Steno would enter the priesthood and rise to become a bishop, ultimately becoming venerated as a saint and beatified by the Catholic Church in 1988.

Combining a thrilling scientific investigation with world-altering history and the portrait of an extraordinary genius, The Seashell on the Mountaintop gives us new insight into the very old planet on which we live, revealing how we learned to read the story told to us by the Earth itself, written in rock and stone.

There were many obstacles Mother Cabrini had to overcome, on her voyage to the New World. The first adversity she had to conquer was the Atlantic Ocean. She'd had a bad experience as a child, where she fell into the river in search of some little dolls which had fallen from a ledge into the water. She was saved from drowning by her Guardian Angel, but he had never taken her fear of water. She was now going to tackle one of the largest bodies of water in the world, and not the most pleasant. In addition, she left on March 19, the Feast of Saint Joseph, smack in the middle of the winter months, which are the most fearful ones in which to attempt to cross the Atlantic. She and her sisters were extremely sick during the crossing, but she never let on. She walked around, trying to cheer them up, as well as some of the other 1500 Italians aboard ship, most of whom had never made a transatlantic voyage before.
When they finally arrived in New York, some of Bishop Scalabrini's priests met them and gave them dinner at the rectory. Everything went well until the Sisters asked to go to their convent. That's when they had the first inkling that all was not as had been presented to them. They had no convent! Not only that, they didn't even have a place to stay that night. The priests brought them through the city to a series of rooming houses, one worse than the other. When they finally found one that met their pocketbook and didn't look too bad, they took it. But they were in for a surprise. The mice and bugs waited until they had paid for the room before they came out to meet them. Mother and her little brood spent that night in a terrible position, sitting on wooden chairs trying to defend themselves from the attackers.
The priests of Bishop Scalabrini's community could not explain why the sisters had no convent to greet them upon their arrival. They hemmed and hawed over where the glitch was. They were sure the Archbishop would be able to unravel the mystery. To that end Mother Cabrini prayed all night to the Sacred Heart, as she sat on the hard chairs, protecting her girls from the New York vermin. They also offered their Mass and Communion that their meeting with the Archbishop of New York would turn out better than this, their first day in the United States.
But when the first words the Archbishop said to them were "How is it that you are here? I wrote you not to come at this time." Mother Cabrini almost lost it. The Archbishop covered his tracks by explaining the offer for the convent and orphanage and the funds suddenly disappeared. The truth as related later on was that he had a falling out with Countess Cesnola, the benefactress, and the funds were not forthcoming. There was no orphanage! There were many students for the school; however, no school building. The Archbishop could not see anything but that the sisters return to Italy on the same boat which had brought them to New York. The nuns became almost ill at the prospect of another trip across the ocean like the one they had just endured.
No one knew with whom they were dealing, however; not the sisters, not the Archbishop of New York. We don't know if Mother Cabrini had ever spoken to a bishop in the way in which she was about to address the Archbishop. To his suggestion that they go back to Italy on the same boat, she responded:
"We were sent here by the Holy Father, Your Excellency and we cannot go back. We have been entrusted with a special duty and we must fulfill it."  He asked for her letters of credit. Mother Cabrini had been very thorough before she left Rome. She had gotten letters from various cardinals, bishops, and her trump card, a letter from the Pope, explaining the urgency of their mission. Archbishop Corrigan backed down. "Of course you will remain; it is the Holy Father's wishes."

There were many obstacles Mother Cabrini had to overcome, on her voyage to the New World. The first adversity she had to conquer was the Atlantic Ocean. She'd had a bad experience as a child, where she fell into the river in search of some little dolls which had fallen from a ledge into the water. She was saved from drowning by her Guardian Angel, but he had never taken her fear of water. She was now going to tackle one of the largest bodies of water in the world, and not the most pleasant. In addition, she left on March 19, the Feast of Saint Joseph, smack in the middle of the winter months, which are the most fearful ones in which to attempt to cross the Atlantic. She and her sisters were extremely sick during the crossing, but she never let on. She walked around, trying to cheer them up, as well as some of the other 1500 Italians aboard ship, most of whom had never made a transatlantic voyage before.
When they finally arrived in New York, some of Bishop Scalabrini's priests met them and gave them dinner at the rectory. Everything went well until the Sisters asked to go to their convent. That's when they had the first inkling that all was not as had been presented to them. They had no convent! Not only that, they didn't even have a place to stay that night. The priests brought them through the city to a series of rooming houses, one worse than the other. When they finally found one that met their pocketbook and didn't look too bad, they took it. But they were in for a surprise. The mice and bugs waited until they had paid for the room before they came out to meet them. Mother and her little brood spent that night in a terrible position, sitting on wooden chairs trying to defend themselves from the attackers.
The priests of Bishop Scalabrini's community could not explain why the sisters had no convent to greet them upon their arrival. They hemmed and hawed over where the glitch was. They were sure the Archbishop would be able to unravel the mystery. To that end Mother Cabrini prayed all night to the Sacred Heart, as she sat on the hard chairs, protecting her girls from the New York vermin. They also offered their Mass and Communion that their meeting with the Archbishop of New York would turn out better than this, their first day in the United States.
But when the first words the Archbishop said to them were "How is it that you are here? I wrote you not to come at this time." Mother Cabrini almost lost it. The Archbishop covered his tracks by explaining the offer for the convent and orphanage and the funds suddenly disappeared. The truth as related later on was that he had a falling out with Countess Cesnola, the benefactress, and the funds were not forthcoming. There was no orphanage! There were many students for the school; however, no school building. The Archbishop could not see anything but that the sisters return to Italy on the same boat which had brought them to New York. The nuns became almost ill at the prospect of another trip across the ocean like the one they had just endured.
No one knew with whom they were dealing, however; not the sisters, not the Archbishop of New York. We don't know if Mother Cabrini had ever spoken to a bishop in the way in which she was about to address the Archbishop. To his suggestion that they go back to Italy on the same boat, she responded:
"We were sent here by the Holy Father, Your Excellency and we cannot go back. We have been entrusted with a special duty and we must fulfill it."  He asked for her letters of credit. Mother Cabrini had been very thorough before she left Rome. She had gotten letters from various cardinals, bishops, and her trump card, a letter from the Pope, explaining the urgency of their mission. Archbishop Corrigan backed down. "Of course you will remain; it is the Holy Father's wishes."

In the 1960s, as a response to segregation in the United States, the influential art patron Dominique de Menil began a research project and photo archive called The Image of the Black in Western Art. Now, fifty years later, as the first American president of African American descent occupies his historic term in office, her mission has been re-invigorated through the collaboration of Harvard University Press and the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute to present new editions of the coveted five original books and the anticipated first part of a new volume. The completed set will include ten sumptuous books in five volumes with up-to-date introductions and more full-color illustrations, printed on high-quality art stock for books that will last a lifetime.

This monumental publication offers expert commentary and a lavishly illustrated history of the representations of people of African descent ranging from the ancient images of Pharaohs created by unknown hands to the works of the great European masters such as Bosch, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Hogarth to stunning new creations by contemporary black artists. Including thousands of beautiful, moving, and often little-known images of black people, including queens and slaves, saints and soldiers, children and gods, The Image of the Black in Western Art provides a treasury of masterpieces from four millennia—a testament to the black experience in the West and a tribute to art’s enduring power to shape our common humanity.

The Fifteenth Century is here; the Church needs a Saint!
We are in the north of Italy, in a little village called Desenzano, east of "Brescia". The quiet little town lies peacefully on picturesque Lake Garda, on the outskirts of the "Lombardy" region. If your eye travels northward on the map, you will see the village of Trent where the Council of "Council of Trent" was held in the Sixteenth Century, in 1545, five years after our Saint Angela Merici died. 
 We never know what our actions are going to bring about; but one thing we can be sure, they will either be life-giving or life-ending. This is the story of a woman who will contribute to the life of her Church, the Church which Jesus founded, our beloved Roman Catholic Church.
"I want to become a Saint because I love Jesus!" Saint Angela Merici
One chilly damp Spring morning, March 21, 1474, to be exact, a child was born, a girl to a farmer named Giovanni, and his wife Signora Merici, who was of the noble family - the Biancosi of Salo.
From the very beginning, the child Saint Angela Merici was wrapped in a robe of piety and holiness, her parents having one focus, to bring her up to love and serve Jesus. And they did, first by who they were, then by word and deed. Angela asked her father to read to her, so that she could learn about the Saints and Virgin Martyrs of the past.
Together they delved into the Bible, and other spiritual books pouring over stories of those who shaped the Church. Each evening after chores were over, they would sit by the fire and travel with those who lived and died for Mother Church. Soon this child, all of five years old, began living a contemplative life, fasting and performing acts of mortification. She was not, however a sad, somber girl; everyone in the village loved her and looked forward to this little bundle of energy and joy stopping to say hello to them.
They would always send a little something home with her which she would share with her family. When the bells would toll from the parish church nearby, summoning them to pray the Angelus, and her family was in the middle of feeding the chickens, her parents would instruct their children to kneel down and tell the Lord they were heartily sorry they could not come to His altar at that time, but that they were offering all their work, feeding His little creatures, to Him; then they should end by pleading with the Lord to accept this labor as their prayer.
The parents of Saint Angela Merici were honest, pious people who, although poor in the eyes of the world, were rich with super abundant graces from Heaven. More on Saint Angela Merici

The Fifteenth Century is here; the Church needs a Saint!
We are in the north of Italy, in a little village called Desenzano, east of "Brescia". The quiet little town lies peacefully on picturesque Lake Garda, on the outskirts of the "Lombardy" region. If your eye travels northward on the map, you will see the village of Trent where the Council of "Council of Trent" was held in the Sixteenth Century, in 1545, five years after our Saint Angela Merici died. 
 We never know what our actions are going to bring about; but one thing we can be sure, they will either be life-giving or life-ending. This is the story of a woman who will contribute to the life of her Church, the Church which Jesus founded, our beloved Roman Catholic Church.
"I want to become a Saint because I love Jesus!" Saint Angela Merici
One chilly damp Spring morning, March 21, 1474, to be exact, a child was born, a girl to a farmer named Giovanni, and his wife Signora Merici, who was of the noble family - the Biancosi of Salo.
From the very beginning, the child Saint Angela Merici was wrapped in a robe of piety and holiness, her parents having one focus, to bring her up to love and serve Jesus. And they did, first by who they were, then by word and deed. Angela asked her father to read to her, so that she could learn about the Saints and Virgin Martyrs of the past.
Together they delved into the Bible, and other spiritual books pouring over stories of those who shaped the Church. Each evening after chores were over, they would sit by the fire and travel with those who lived and died for Mother Church. Soon this child, all of five years old, began living a contemplative life, fasting and performing acts of mortification. She was not, however a sad, somber girl; everyone in the village loved her and looked forward to this little bundle of energy and joy stopping to say hello to them.
They would always send a little something home with her which she would share with her family. When the bells would toll from the parish church nearby, summoning them to pray the Angelus, and her family was in the middle of feeding the chickens, her parents would instruct their children to kneel down and tell the Lord they were heartily sorry they could not come to His altar at that time, but that they were offering all their work, feeding His little creatures, to Him; then they should end by pleading with the Lord to accept this labor as their prayer.
The parents of Saint Angela Merici were honest, pious people who, although poor in the eyes of the world, were rich with super abundant graces from Heaven. More on Saint Angela Merici

When Pope John Paul II died in 2005 some four million pilgrims made their way to Rome to celebrate his extraordinary life. When this man is beatified on May 1, 2011, putting him only one final step from sainthood, millions more will arrive, and thousands will pack St. Peter's Square. Rarely in our age has one person touched so many people so profoundly. LIFE Books first published its bestselling illustrated biography of this man in 1999, and now on the eve of beatification it is time to revisit the story, and bring it up to date with 25 new pages of inspiring text and photography. Pope John Paul II: Toward Sainthood follows the life of the former Karol Wojtyla through the great events of the 20th century, events in which he sometimes played a crucial role. In this book, a dramatic life is captured in words and extraordinary pictures-including photographs shared with LIFE by Karol Wojtyla's old friends in Poland, seen in LIFE's pages for the first time. Also in this expanded edition are the stories of the last ten years: the celebration of the 2000 Jubliee year at the Vatican, the horrific sexual-abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church and the papacy, the extraordinary funeral of John Paul II (the largest funeral in world history, and probably the most watched event ever) and, finally, the man's inexorable march to the communion of the saints.



The Reverend Billy Graham writes in his moving foreword to this book: "Few individuals have had a greater impact-not just religious but socially and morally-on the modern world. He will stand as the most influential moral voice of our time."



That voice has not been stilled by death, and is alive in the pages of this special book.

An important new study of the way in which St Francis's image was recorded in literature, documents, architecture and art. St Francis was a man whose personality was deliberately stamped on his Order and Rosalind Brooke explores how the stories told by Francis's companions were at once brilliantly vivid portrayals of the man as well as guides to how the Franciscan way of life ought to be led. She also examines how after St Francis's death a great monument was erected to him in the Basilica at Assisi and how this came to reflect in stone and stained glass and fresco the manner in which some Popes and leading friars believed his memory should be fostered. Highly illustrated throughout, including colour and black and white plates, this book will be essential reading for medievalists and art historians as well as anyone interested in St Francis and the Franciscan movement.

Are you deeply concerned about religion, not simply as a devout soul, but to the point of being frantic? Are little, inconsequential things the occasion of losing your peace of mind? Do you feel as though you need to repeat what has already been sufficiently done, such as a confession? If so, you re likely suffering from scrupulosity. What is scrupulosity? In psychological terminology, it is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (O.C.D.) directed toward religious matters. To use religious terminology, it can be defined as an uneasy and persistent concern that things might be sinful when in fact they are not. Some of the greatest saints of the Church suffered at times from bouts of scrupulosity, saints such as Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Jane de Chantal (1572-1641), Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), and Katharine Drexel (1858-1955). Far from being taken as insurmountable obstacles, these saints emerged from their scruples into the clarity of God s truth and merciful love in His Catholic Church. This book is meant to help scrupulous souls better understand and effectively battle their spiritual difficulties by uniting themselves with Our Lord, through the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church. This is done by presenting the clear and simple teachings of the Church on matters relevant to the scrupulous, with emphasis on the writings of great saints. No obstacle is too difficult to overcome for one who prayerfully trusts in God, and this includes the problem of scrupulosity. Heaven is filled with converted sinners of all kinds and there is room for more. Saint Joseph Cafasso "At the very moment when we imagine ourselves to be utterly lost and altogether bereft of His protection, then it is that God in His infinite goodness seeks us out in a special way and takes care of us. Catechism of the Council of Trent Let these souls so dear to God, and who are resolutely determined to belong entirely to Him, take comfort, although at the same time they see themselves deprived of every consolation. Their desolation is a sign of their being very acceptable to God, and that He has for them a place prepared in his heavenly Kingdom, which overflows with consolations as full as they are lasting. And let them hold for certain, that the more they are afflicted in this present life, so much the more they shall be consoled in eternity... Saint Alphonsus Liguori

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This monograph explores the identity of a seemingly paradoxical figure: the Burmese Buddhist saint, who departs for the forest to combine harsh asceticism with radical world renunciation, yet also seeks active involvement in the affairs of society. Examining the trajectory and work of eight living monks committed to the quest for salvation, Rozenberg contradicts representations of Theravada Buddhist saints as single-minded pursuers of nirvana. On the contrary, he shows how work for the temporal welfare and spiritual advancement of all is integral to a Burmese saint's identity. The saint predicts winning lottery numbers, redistributes goods donated to him, and develops building complexes essential to the spread of Buddhism. Throughout the book, otherwise obscure notions of spiritual power are reconsidered and explicated in a Burmese context.