Born a veritable great lion of God to a devout Jewish family, Saul of Tarsus is raised by his parents to embrace their love of humanity. Dogged by what he perceives as a lack of true faith, he embarks on a journey to save his people from sacrilege. But on the road to Damascus a vision of the resurrected Jesus changes the course of his life. Converting to Christianity, the newly christened Paul transforms from persecutor of blasphemers into apostle to the gentiles, becoming one of the supreme influences on the Catholic Church and the Western world.

In this terrifying fable of a world without faith, first there were the changes in weather. Lack of rain was turning the plains of Iowa, Kansas, and Idaho into arid blocks of parched earth. In the North, it was already January, and no sign of snow. All over the world, the seas were shrinking, and creeks and rivers looked like dried scars. But for Pete, the terrified son of a Midwestern farming family, the first great omen came one unseasonably warm winter night when the moon simply vanished from a cloudless sky and the clocks stopped.

Lucanus grew up in the household of his stepfather, the Roman governor of Antioch. After studying medicine in Alexandria, he became one of the greatest physicians of the ancient world and traveled far and wide through the Mediterranean region healing the sick. As time went on, he learned of the life and death of Christ and saw in him the God he was seeking. To find out all he could about the life and teachings of Jesus, whom he never saw, Lucanus visited all the places where Jesus had been.

Many years have passed since the Sanctuary was built as a refuge for the lost. It is just two marble rooms: one for those waiting to be heard and one for the Man Who Listens. Drawn to it are the grieving, the despairing, the cynical, the defeated, the dying, the betrayed, and the broken. They know that the Man Who Listens accepts every blasphemy, every pitiful excuse, and every intimate tale of degradation with silent understanding. Now, 12 new souls are about to seek help for their unimaginable anguish....

Born in the Greek city of Miletus, Aspasia was destined for a life of tragedy. Her wealthy father vowed to abandon any female child, so Aspasia was secreted away, educated independently of her family, and raised as a courtesan. She discovered at an early age how to use her powers of intellect as ingeniously as those of the flesh. Ensconced in the Persian harems of Al Taliph, she meets the man who will change her fate: Pericles, the formidable political leader, statesman, ruler of Athens, and Aspasia’s most cherished lover.

Karl Erlich loves his country. But these are dangerous times for Germany, whose poor and downtrodden have been seduced by an Austrian sign painter named Adolf Hitler. Karl’s twin brother, Kurt, a distinguished scientist, has already pledged his allegiance to the Third Reich, a regime that Karl finds cruel and oppressive. But he soon has even more reason to fear: There is talk of the Nazis singling out the Jews for extermination. Karl and Kurt’s younger sister, Gerda, is engaged to Eric Rheinhardt, a German Jew.

Joseph Armagh was 13 when he first saw America through a dirty porthole on the steerage deck of The Irish Queen. It was the early 1850s, and he was a penniless orphan cast on a hostile shore to make a home for himself and his younger brother and infant sister. Some 70 years later, from his deathbed, Joseph Armagh last glimpsed his adopted land from the gleaming windows of a palatial estate. A multimillionaire, one of the most powerful and feared men, Joseph Armagh had indeed found a home.

Hambledon, Pennsylvania, is still reeling from the sensational murder trial that shattered the peace of the bucolic hamlet less than a year ago. Dr. Jonathan Ferrier was accused of killing his beautiful young wife after she died following a botched abortion. The scion of a powerful old eastern family, Jonathan hired the best attorneys money could buy. When he was acquitted, many believed he had bought his freedom. Now, he has returned home to sell his practice and move on. But haunted by his wife's death, Jonathan still strives to heal the judgmental people of his divided town.

Rev. Johnny Fletcher serves wounded soldiers from the battlefield as a military chaplain during World War II. His forte is spiritual solace in the darkest of times, but his life changes when he performs a public heroic act: facing down an angry mob intent on attacking five young Holocaust survivors. Upon learning they have no homes or families to return to, Fletcher decides to bring them to America.

This sweeping saga captures life in the Far East during the Middle Ages and dramatizes the events that transformed a Mongol tribesman named Temujin into the man who would conquer Asia and be known to the world for centuries to come as Genghis Khan. Raised by an indomitable woman and educated by his outcast uncle, Temujin becomes a fearsome warrior who inspires loyalty in his friends and hatred in his enemies. But he is also blessed with a keen intelligence and the charisma of a natural born leader. These gifts lead Temujin to a relentless pursuit of power.

On a stormy, windswept night, Guy Jerald tried to kill himself. But he did not die. Now, the 55-year-old Pennsylvania power broker and business titan - a living example of the American Dream - lies in a bed in a psychiatric hospital. He is on suicide watch, barely able to recognize his wife and two adult children. But a visitor from his distant past will open the floodgates. During one of the most harrowing battles of World War II, Guy saved the life of fellow soldier James Meyer. Now, James is a celebrated British psychiatrist determined to repay the favor.

Money. Power. Prestige. These were the riches that destiny had awarded Edward Enger, but a greedy, ruthless family conspired against him and his own relentless desires enslaved him! As the descendant of a German immigrant, Edward built a business empire and dominated three generations of his family. Caldwell weaves the tale of a modern financial genius and the secret passions that obsessed him.

From his birth in 106 BC in the hill town of Arpinum, Cicero, the educated son of a wealthy member of the equestrian order, is destined for greatness. From his tumultuous family life to his tenuous alliance with Julius Caesar to a fateful love affair with the Roman empress Livia and, finally, to the political role that will make him a target of powerful enemies, A Pillar of Iron is the story of Cicero's legacy as one the greatest influences on Western civilization.

On his deathbed, the 400-year-old emperor of Atlantis has reason to worry. Signar, the savage ruler of a powerful outlying state, is scheming to seize control of the empire, and not even its advanced technology can save it. Signar will halt his invasion if he can take the emperor’s daughter, the beautiful Empress Salustra, as his bride. Such a marriage contradicts the deepest feelings of Salustra’s heart, the secret wisdom of her lineage, and her sacred trust as Atlantis’s queen. But the emperor has a plan: Salustra will seduce Signar and then sentence him to death.

Living with her aunt in poor, rural Preston, Pennsylvania, 13-year-old Ellen Watson loves books and music and is completely oblivious to her own beauty. But her extraordinary looks arouse envy and malice in the female townspeople - and lust in the males. Hired as a housemaid in the palatial home of the village mayor, Ellen soon catches the attention of his son, Jeremy Porter, who captures her heart in turn. He offers to send her to school, and four years later he proposes marriage. As the years pass, Ellen's life parallels the hopes, dreams, and fears of a no-longer innocent nation.

The Confessions by Saint Augustine is considered an all-time number one Christian classic. Augustine undertook his greatest piece of writing with the conviction that God wanted him to make this confession. The Confessions is, in fact, an extended poetic, passionate, intimate prayer.

From the perspective of an unbeliever, Fear and Trembling explores the paradox of faith, the nature of Christianity, and the complexity of human emotion. Kierkegaard examines the biblical story of Abraham, who was instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac, and forces us to consider Abraham's state of mind. What drove Abraham, and what made him carry out such an absurd and extreme request from God? Kierkegaard argues that Abraham's agreement to sacrifice Isaac, and his suspension of reason, elevated him to the highest level of faith.

Following a string of three New York Times best sellers comes the most powerful work of Mother Angelica, who shares publicly for the first time her most private thoughts and prayers. More powerful and intimate than any of her previous books, this is the book that her millions of admirers have been waiting for. In this special work, listeners are brought inside her spiritual life through her private prayers and reflections.

"Whether by design or by chance," Terryl and Fiona Givens write, "we find ourselves in a universe filled with mystery. We encounter appealing arguments for a Divinity that is a childish projection, for prophets as scheming or deluded imposters, and for scripture as so much fabulous fiction. But there is also compelling evidence that a glorious Divinity presides over the cosmos, that His angels are strangers we have entertained unawares, and that His word and will are made manifest through a sacred canon that is never definitively closed."

Based on a thorough study of Greek life and civilization, of Greek literature, philosophy, and art, The Greek Way interprets their meaning and brings a realization of the refuge and strength the past can be to us in the troubled present. Miss Hamilton's book must take its place with the few interpretative volumes which are permanently rooted and profoundly alive in our literature.

Marcus, a Roman officer in Nero's army, risks his career, his family, and even his life when he falls in love with a Christian woman named Callina. In order to win Callina's love, Marcus must come to understand the true meaning of her religion, even as Rome sinks under the excesses of Nero and Christians are thrown to the lions. Quo Vadis brims with passion and life as it explores one of the turning points in history.

Although written at the turn of the century its themes are still current. From Poverty to Power is a concise and informative guide to the development of the human spirit. These two books in one: "The Path to Prosperity" and "The Way of Peace," are both inspirational and motivational!

Daily readings drawn from every century and every tradition of the Christian faith. Christianity through the ages... Ignatius, C.S. Lewis, John Calvin, Augustine, Catherine of Siena, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Polycarp, John Wesley, Karl Barth, and Billy Sunday. These names, and so many others, fill the pages of church history. Yet they remain strangers to most of us. How Great Is Our God will introduce you to Christianity’s most influential thinkers from every century and every tradition—modernized for today’s reader.

Written between A.D. 413 and 426, The City of God is one of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian thought, a book which is vital to the understanding of modern Western society. Augustine originally intended it to be an apology for Christianity against the accusation that the Church was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire, which had occurred just three years earlier. Indeed, Augustine produced a great amount of evidence to prove that paganism was responsible for this event. However, by the time the work was finished, the book had taken on a larger theme.

During a train trip from Chicago to Texas in the late 1940s, A.W. Tozer began to write The Pursuit of God. He wrote all night, and when the train arrived at his destination, the rough draft was done. The depth of this book has made it an enduring favorite.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby....

Prepare to experience paradise... No author in history has more material in print than Charles Spurgeon. Today, more than a century after his death, countless people continue to have a passion for this London preacher, and more and more discover him every day. Some of Spurgeon’s most powerful sermons were those he preached on Heaven.

The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom) is one of Nietzsche's greatest books. His wonderfully fertile mind roams over mankind, his thoughts, his emotions, his behaviour and his weaknesses with remarkable clarity, with insight - but also with humour!In this work are 383 separate paragraphs, some short, some long, but all singular observations - the epitome of his famous aphoristic style. 'Morality is the herd instinct in the individual.'

The Last Man is Mary Shelley's apocalyptic fantasy of the end of human civilisation. Set in the late 21st century, the novel unfolds a sombre and pessimistic vision of mankind confronting inevitable destruction. Interwoven with her futuristic theme, Mary Shelley incorporates idealised portraits of Shelley and Byron, yet rejects Romanticism and its faith in art and nature.

During the rainy summer of 1816, the "Year Without a Summer", the world was locked in a long cold volcanic winter caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. Mary Shelley, aged 18, and her lover (and later husband) Percy Bysshe Shelley, visited Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The weather was consistently too cold and dreary that summer to enjoy the outdoor holiday activities they had planned, so the group retired indoors until dawn.

Hambledon, Pennsylvania, is still reeling from the sensational murder trial that shattered the peace of the bucolic hamlet less than a year ago. Dr. Jonathan Ferrier was accused of killing his beautiful young wife after she died following a botched abortion. The scion of a powerful old eastern family, Jonathan hired the best attorneys money could buy. When he was acquitted, many believed he had bought his freedom. Now, he has returned home to sell his practice and move on. But haunted by his wife's death, Jonathan still strives to heal the judgmental people of his divided town.

Born a veritable great lion of God to a devout Jewish family, Saul of Tarsus is raised by his parents to embrace their love of humanity. Dogged by what he perceives as a lack of true faith, he embarks on a journey to save his people from sacrilege. But on the road to Damascus a vision of the resurrected Jesus changes the course of his life. Converting to Christianity, the newly christened Paul transforms from persecutor of blasphemers into apostle to the gentiles, becoming one of the supreme influences on the Catholic Church and the Western world.

This sweeping saga captures life in the Far East during the Middle Ages and dramatizes the events that transformed a Mongol tribesman named Temujin into the man who would conquer Asia and be known to the world for centuries to come as Genghis Khan. Raised by an indomitable woman and educated by his outcast uncle, Temujin becomes a fearsome warrior who inspires loyalty in his friends and hatred in his enemies. But he is also blessed with a keen intelligence and the charisma of a natural born leader. These gifts lead Temujin to a relentless pursuit of power.

One of the great dramas of the biblical era is brought to thrilling, new life in this epic novel told from the unique perspective of Judas Iscariot himself. This is the story of Judas the myth, condemned by Dante to the most terrifying circle of Hell; Judas the man, the son of wealth and power who fought to suppress the lusts of the flesh and the sin of pride to become one of the 12 original disciples of Jesus Christ; and Judas the apostle, victim of a diabolical lie, history's arch-traitor, who sold his Lord for 30 pieces of silver, and sealed his fate with a kiss.

Fourteen-year-old Jason Aloysius Garrity is now of age to work full-time in a Pennsylvania coal factory, earning four dollars a week. His family left their hardscrabble life in Ireland to create a better one in America. But their shanty-like home on a street filled with outhouses, horse manure, and the ever-present odor of noxious gas is a hell all its own. Yet Jason possesses the passion and principles that will lift him out of the abject poverty surrounding his widowed mother, fanatically religious younger brother, and manipulative crippled sister.

Lucanus grew up in the household of his stepfather, the Roman governor of Antioch. After studying medicine in Alexandria, he became one of the greatest physicians of the ancient world and traveled far and wide through the Mediterranean region healing the sick. As time went on, he learned of the life and death of Christ and saw in him the God he was seeking. To find out all he could about the life and teachings of Jesus, whom he never saw, Lucanus visited all the places where Jesus had been.

Born in the Greek city of Miletus, Aspasia was destined for a life of tragedy. Her wealthy father vowed to abandon any female child, so Aspasia was secreted away, educated independently of her family, and raised as a courtesan. She discovered at an early age how to use her powers of intellect as ingeniously as those of the flesh. Ensconced in the Persian harems of Al Taliph, she meets the man who will change her fate: Pericles, the formidable political leader, statesman, ruler of Athens, and Aspasia’s most cherished lover.

From his birth in 106 BC in the hill town of Arpinum, Cicero, the educated son of a wealthy member of the equestrian order, is destined for greatness. From his tumultuous family life to his tenuous alliance with Julius Caesar to a fateful love affair with the Roman empress Livia and, finally, to the political role that will make him a target of powerful enemies, A Pillar of Iron is the story of Cicero's legacy as one the greatest influences on Western civilization.

Money. Power. Prestige. These were the riches that destiny had awarded Edward Enger, but a greedy, ruthless family conspired against him and his own relentless desires enslaved him! As the descendant of a German immigrant, Edward built a business empire and dominated three generations of his family. Caldwell weaves the tale of a modern financial genius and the secret passions that obsessed him.

To his mother, Angelo is the most beautiful and brilliant child in the world. She caters to his every whim and dismisses his malicious outbursts as childish pranks. But as Angelo grows older, his behavior only becomes more disturbing. A pet dog disappears. A playground run-in leaves one of his teachers with a broken arm. His father and his aunt, however, have begun to suspect that behind Angelo's cherubic smile lurks a dark and twisted monster who preys on the innocent. But how do they reveal Angelo's true nature before it's too late?