Barbara Wood

Heritage, Authority and Power - Understanding Theory Through Practice examines who holds power and authority in heritage, the connection with specialist knowledge and what the shifting nature of these attributes means for concepts of authenticity.Drawing on interviews with practitioners working across the heritage sector, Wood explores why in some organisations staff feel disempowered, but in others they thrive. In exploring the worked experience of practitioners, a new model emerges for understanding the sector that recognises the differences between the activity of heritage and the work of professional practice. The model demonstrates that the sector is unknowingly operating with two different purposes, The activity of heritage, generated by and from, the collections of the past, is inventive, creative and entertaining, but operates for contemporary need and interest. The work of professional practice, meanwhile, although itself creative and supporting and enabling the work of heritage, is fundamentally concerned with long-term collection development, research and conservation. In recognising and embracing these differences, the function of specialist practice in relation to curatorship can be appreciated, but so too can the contribution of supporting specialisms, such as education, outreach, community engagement and design. The model presented within the book subsequently offers a more efficient and effective, forward-looking way to think about funding, organising and managing these two areas separately – but also in active partnership.Heritage, Authority and Power is situated in the space between academia and practice and is useful for students, practitioners and for anyone interested, managing or working in heritage. It will be particularly relevant to academics and students engaged in the study of heritage, museums, tourism and visitor experience, and public history.

For as long as anyone could remember, the Schallers and the Newmans had been enemies. When the skeletal remains of a victim of foul play are discovered at the Schaller estate, a decades-old feud between the rival winemaking families is reignited and dark secrets begin to see the light of day. Set against the lush backdrop of the rolling hills of California's Central Coast, The New York Times best-selling author Barbara Wood's thirtieth novel is a generation-spanning saga of love, treachery, and bitterly held grudges.

For as long as anyone could remember, the Schallers and the Newmans had been enemies. When the skeletal remains of a victim of foul play are discovered at the Schaller estate, a decades-old feud between the rival winemaking families is reignited and dark secrets begin to see the light of day. Set against the lush backdrop of the rolling hills of California's Central Coast, The New York Times best-selling author Barbara Wood's thirtieth novel is a generation-spanning saga of love, treachery, and bitterly held grudges.

Barbara Wood's 1978 debut novel is now back in print in a new edition from Turner Publishing.When the first of the Magdalene Scrolls arrives, Professor Ben Messer is puzzled, intrigued, excited. What scholar of ancient languages wouldn’t be, when he held in his hands something even more astonishing than the Dead Sea Scrolls—a scroll just discovered to contain the life story and last confession of a man who had lived in Jerusalem just after the death of Christ. By the time the second scroll arrives, Ben’s interest has begun to be more than professional. For it seems that David, the writer of the ancient scrolls, is in many ways very much like Ben—and he seems to be speaking directly to Ben, across nearly 2,000 years of history. Before long, the terrifying transformation has begun, and there can be no turning back. What do the words of a Jew who lived 2,000 years ago have to do with today, and with Ben Messer, a man who had forsaken his Jewish identity years ago—or thought he had. And why does David’s life suddenly seem so much more real—and powerful—than Ben’s own? Why does Ben suddenly shut himself off from the beautiful woman he intends to marry and become involved with Judy Golden, a very different kind of woman? And what will happen if Ben surrenders completely to the power of the scrolls? Before long, the terrifying transformation has begun, and there can be no turning back . . .

Barbara Wood's 1978 debut novel is now back in print in a new edition from Turner Publishing.When the first of the Magdalene Scrolls arrives, Professor Ben Messer is puzzled, intrigued, excited. What scholar of ancient languages wouldn’t be, when he held in his hands something even more astonishing than the Dead Sea Scrolls—a scroll just discovered to contain the life story and last confession of a man who had lived in Jerusalem just after the death of Christ. By the time the second scroll arrives, Ben’s interest has begun to be more than professional. For it seems that David, the writer of the ancient scrolls, is in many ways very much like Ben—and he seems to be speaking directly to Ben, across nearly 2,000 years of history. Before long, the terrifying transformation has begun, and there can be no turning back. What do the words of a Jew who lived 2,000 years ago have to do with today, and with Ben Messer, a man who had forsaken his Jewish identity years ago—or thought he had. And why does David’s life suddenly seem so much more real—and powerful—than Ben’s own? Why does Ben suddenly shut himself off from the beautiful woman he intends to marry and become involved with Judy Golden, a very different kind of woman? And what will happen if Ben surrenders completely to the power of the scrolls?

"New York Times" bestselling author Barbara Wood's latest novel follows a disinherited English baron and a young New York heiress who marry and move West to build an agricultural empire in Palm Springs in the 1920s when it was just a budding town on the edge of the Mojave Desert. It's a saga about ambition on both large and small scales and the rapidly modernizing world as the harsh, sun-drenched landscape transforms from a Native American haven to the playground of Hollywood's rich and famous. "Land of the Afternoon Sun" is also the story of a woman finding her own personality and strength in the West against a breathtaking desert landscape that changes constantly and shows its deadly side in poisonous snakes, flash floods and sand storms, with dramatic moments of forbidden romance, reversals, treachery, betrayal and, ultimately, triumphs.

New York Times bestselling author Barbara Wood's latest novel follows a disinherited English baron and a young New York heiress who marry and move West to build an agricultural empire in Palm Springs in the 1920s when it was just a budding town on the edge of the Mojave Desert. It's a saga about ambition on both large and small scales and the rapidly modernizing world as the harsh, sun-drenched landscape transforms from a Native American haven to the playground of Hollywood's rich and famous. Land of the Afternoon Sun is also the story of a woman finding her own personality and strength in the West against a breathtaking desert landscape that changes constantly and shows its deadly side in poisonous snakes, flash floods and sand storms, with dramatic moments of forbidden romance, reversals, treachery, betrayal and, ultimately, triumphs.

It is December 1999. In the Sinai Desert, archaeologist Catherine Alexander has unearthed six ancient papyrus scrolls that reveal vital secrets--secrets that the world's governments would give anything to possess. But even more important, the seventh scroll is missing--and it contains a secret of unfathomable power. In a race against Armageddon, Catherine must outwit the FBI, Vatican operatives, and a sinister millionaire--to find that parchment.

"A breathless, helter-skelter race in cyberspace, effortlessly melded here with the tale of a Chinese woman's journey from the 1920s to the present, and with her granddaughter's terrifying chase to solve familial mysteries and industrial murder." --Kirkus Reviews

The time is December 1999. Millennial fever holds the world in its grip - stirring ancient and terrible fears that the apocalypse is at hand. In the Sinai desert, archeologist Catherine Alexander just unearthed a cache of six ancient papyrus scrolls that point to the millennium's most transforming secret. Discovered inside the legendary Well of Miriam, a site named after the ancient prophetess who was the sister of Moses, the scrolls reveal a hidden history of the world and its religions--a series of shattering revelations that governments will do anything to suppress, and that an enigmatic billionaire named Miles Havers will do anything to possess. But there is more: a seventh scroll that contains a secret of almost unimaginable power. It is a secret that may cost Catherine her life as she dodges government agents, Vatican operatives, and cyberspace perils in her race to translate the scrolls and release their powers to the world. Aided by two very different and compelling men, Dr. Julius Voss and Father Michael Garibaldi, Catherine finds herself caught up in the adventure of a lifetime and a struggle that she must win.

"A breathless, helter-skelter race in cyberspace, effortlessly melded here with the tale of a Chinese woman's journey from the 1920s to the present, and with her granddaughter's terrifying chase to solve familial mysteries and industrial murder." --Kirkus Reviews