The famous actress and best-selling writer takes a 500-mile spiritual journey in Spain during which she learns of past lives (and loves) and of the ancient civilizations of Atlantis and Lemuria.

Herodotus is considered the father of history, and is read for his fascinating accounts of ancient times, most notably the legendary wars between the Spartans and the Persians which culminated in the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.E. As is the case with most classic writers, Herodotus has been translated over the centuries by an array of fine scholars, all of whom have tried, in different ways, to capture the essence of his writing while providing the learned commentary necessary to make his work come alive for their time.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771), considered a forerunner of English Romanticism, has endured as a crucial figure of English poetry. Here, the psychological content of his later poetry is seen in the context of his early childhood when he was victim of abuse by his father. This work investigates the homoerotic nature of his work is investigated, and explores the classical analogues of his poetry.

Norman MacLean scrupulously examines the tragic events of August 5, 1949, when lightning struck and started a forest fire in the Rocky Mountains. Thirteen young airborne firefighters were killed trying to extinguish it, when a 200-foot high firestorm erupted into a vast wall of death. MacLean, who had been both a forester and a firefighter in his youth, left the manuscript of this monumental work unfinished at his own death in 1990, at the age of 88; he had spent 14 years writing it.

Having journeyed to such far-flung sacred destinations as Bethlehem, Varanasi, and Lourdes, Mahoney recounts her spiritual adventures while offering insights into what draws pilgrims to certain places and why pilgrimages remain so popular.

Diary writing from Pepys to Plath--Mallon offers a history of diarists, using examples from Virginia Woolf, C. S. Lewis, Anais Nin, Georges Sand, Charles Lindberg, and others.