Christina Scott

For anyone who has ever felt like the odds were totally stacked against you, I hope some of these stories will help you believe that odds are temporary and everything changes. Even if you feel like you are at the bottom of a well wishing you could climb up to the light, that too will change. You will reach the light you seek. Pay attention to all the miracles happening around you, even the smallest, whether they make you laugh, cry, or just ponder life. Soon, you will see that those miracles give meaning to your life, no matter who you are. Don't worry if you can't think of any miracles in your life; that just means that you need practice seeing them. Until you can see your own miracles, borrow some of mine. Pretend they're yours. It will help you begin to notice yours. Soon, you will see that those miracles give meaning to your life, no matter who you are. Remember that even tragedy can produce miracles, so be looking for miracles everywhere. They don't have to be huge miracles. Even the tiniest miracles can bring lots of joy into your life. I love seeing dragonflies in my yard. They make me feel happy. Love your life, even if that seems like it will be against the odds. Life is the biggest miracle of all.

For anyone who has ever felt like the odds were totally stacked against you, I hope some of these stories will help you believe that odds are temporary and everything changes. Even if you feel like you are at the bottom of a well wishing you could climb up to the light, that too will change. You will reach the light you seek. Pay attention to all the miracles happening around you, even the smallest, whether they make you laugh, cry, or just ponder life. Soon, you will see that those miracles give meaning to your life, no matter who you are. Don't worry if you can't think of any miracles in your life; that just means that you need practice seeing them. Until you can see your own miracles, borrow some of mine. Pretend they're yours. It will help you begin to notice yours. Soon, you will see that those miracles give meaning to your life, no matter who you are. Remember that even tragedy can produce miracles, so be looking for miracles everywhere. They don't have to be huge miracles. Even the tiniest miracles can bring lots of joy into your life. I love seeing dragonflies in my yard. They make me feel happy. Love your life, even if that seems like it will be against the odds. Life is the biggest miracle of all.

The English historian of culture Christopher Dawson (1889-1970) was an independent scholar and the author of more than twenty books. He served as assistant lecturer in the History of Culture, University College, Exeter (1925), Forwood Lecturer in the Philosophy of Religion, University of Liverpool (1934), Gifford Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh (1947-1949), and as Professor of Catholic Studies at Harvard University (1958-1962). He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1943 and edited the Dublin Review during the Second World War. This biography by Christina Scott, Dawson's daughter, is a sensitive portrait of a complex and fascinating scholar.Unlike other English Christian converts of the twentieth century who excelled in literature, like G. K. Chesterton or C. S. Lewis, Dawson turned to the social sciences. He drew from the new idea of culture as a common way of life emerging from anthropology at the time of the Great War to shape a new approach to history. His study of the intimate relationship between religion and culture throughout world history shaped his trenchant criticisms of his own times. He wrote in 1955 that, "the first step in the transformation of culture is a change in the pattern of culture within the mind, for this is the seed out of which there spring new forms of life which ultimately change the social way of life and thus create a new culture." Dawson's engagement with anthropology and the idea of culture marked an important moment of development in the Catholic intellectual tradition.Christina Scott shows that Dawson is best understood as he himself interpretedhis historical subjects—in the context of "the spiritual world in which he lived, the ideas that moved him, and the faith that inspired his action." Dawson was not a historian of ideas for their own sake; he had a passionate belief in their liberating power. A Historian and His World will be of interest to intellectual historians, historians of religion and culture, and students of modern Catholic thought. The Introduction is written by Dawson scholar Joseph T. Stuart and the book is graced by a postscript by Christopher Dawson reflecting upon the meaning of his work.

The Compact Guide: Nelson Mandela is the definitive short chronicle of perhaps the most recognised and best-loved statesman and activist in history. Starting from the very beginning of Mandela's life in the tribal Thembu clan, read how this unassuming young man became a figure that led the people of South Africa into a new world, away from the apartheid regime and into a multi-racial democracy. Nelson Mandela will always be seen as the face of world freedom, an ambassador for civil rights, and a heroic liberator whose influence and image of moral integrity extended way beyond his homeland. He spent 27 years in prison; his eventual release and election as South Africa's first black president were landmark events in twentieth-century history. Packed with narrative colour, this is the essential life of one of the world's most revered leaders.

In this volume Christopher Dawson outlines his main thesis for the history of culture, which was his life's work. Anthropology, sociology, philosophy, religion and history form the backdrop for the key idea of his thought - namely, that religion is the soul of a culture and that a society or culture which has lost its spiritual roots is a dying culture. To Dawson, a return to the Christian culture that had formed Western civilization was the only remedy for a world adrift. Dawson was writing in a period between the two great wars of the 20th century, a time when some thought that the idea of progress had finally been discredited by the carnage and barbarism of World War I. This text was designed to challenge the doctrine of progress, the rather naive but persistent belief that ""in every day and in every way the world grows better and better"". Dawson argued that Western civilization was at a turning point and confronted with two real choices: reappropriate a vital Christian culture or move increasingly toward more dangerous and alienated expressions of consumerism and totalitarianism. In this volume, he contends that no culture could truly thrive if cut off from its religious roots.