Ben is sure he won't be accepted by his estranged Maasai family, but when he arrives in Kenya, he finds there is a lot more at stake than his pride ... In a stunning adventure, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery as he sets out to claim his true place in the world.
Chronicles the life of King Kamehameha I from childhood to his ascension to becoming one of Hawaii's greatest leaders, capturing the danger of a child who was forced to hide from jealous chiefs who marked him for death.
The handwritten will of a deceased world-traveler is strange and mysterious. Its cryptic instructions are to deliver “the valuable Aztec warrior to the rightful owner, a descendant of an Aztec warrior.” Frank and Joe Hardy have only one slim clue to work with: the name of a complete stranger who can help. Despite the harassments, the threats, and the attacks made upon them, Frank and Joe unravel clue after clue in their adventure-packed search for the living descendant of the mighty Aztec nation which once ruled in Mexico. It takes as much high courage as clever deduction for the young detectives to defeat their ruthless foes and to decipher the fascinating secrets of the strange and mysterious will.
Before Journey's End, there was a beginning. The wealthiest and most powerful reigning king--King Solomon--may have died three thousand years ago, but because of his heavenly blessed wisdom, the scientific and religious world as we know it today is about to erupt as guarded truths of the beginning of times are now soon to be exposed. At the beginning, King Solomon wisely gave his general--General Shuriah--a mission of epic proportions. The older general was Solomon's most trusted guardian since Solomon's birth to Bathsheba and King David. General Shuriah and thousands of his Israelite soldiers are now sailing across the Mediterranean Sea to a land of their enemies to exhume and safely move the greatest treasures of treasures he himself stumbled upon a year earlier. During the starting days of the journey, the old general is consumed with reflecting back to his youth. Memories come alive of his struggles in relationships, intense training, and many combat situations as he fought hard to someday become a mighty warrior for King David. Young Shuriah is very unpredictable, yet he is extremely admired and feared at the same time because he possesses extraordinary, almost supernatural, abilities to kill and the mental intuition to strategize for war. At the age of fifteen, Shuriah has become the youngest ever to achieve the coveted honor of being a mighty warrior, having killed more than three hundred enemy soldiers in one battle. But this happened only after his stepfather Uriah the Hittite, is murdered in battle. Through certain events, it is revealed that King David secretly ordered the murder of Uriah, after discovering Bathsheba, Shuriah's stepmother and Uriah's wife, is pregnant with his child. Now, the new mighty warrior must face the toughest and most painful battle in his life, which could bring his king to his knees or even his grave.
This exciting adventure of fantasy, excitement and imagination begins when the boy, 8 winters of age awakens one morning to find his whole band has left, abandoned, deserted him. He had been orphaned in birthing by his half-white mother. His life is spared by an old and respected woman of the tribe who offers to raise him and use him as her helper as she ages. Totally alone in an Indian encampment is a challenge to this young boy, who is not trained as a warrior, but only as an old woman's helper. He has many trials and as the tale unfolds, he sometimes has help through dreams of his grandfather, but mostly the adventures and accomplishments are from his own wits. He is stalked by a huge black bear, as well as watched' by shiny green eyes of some unknown creature, and must overcome many hardships and tests of the early Indian's life, survival, and yet with medicine man overtones as he commences his training as the book progresses. This is a tale that will keep you on the edge of your chair. The proofreader's comments were: "I could hardly wait to turn the page"; "How exciting and yet educational"; "Had me on the edge of my chair"; "Entertaining yet with interesting educational overtones, how unique."
A time when deception leads to truth, and victory comes from surrender… The life of a rogue isn’t always easy, especially for a woman. But Brighid isn’t just any woman. She’s intelligent, agile, and spirited – and determined to discover the secrets of her questionable past. Her only clue is a pendant in the shape of a black and silver dragon; the same design worn by the King’s Guard. She’s convinced her answer lies in the heart of the kingdom, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Even if it means chopping off her raven locks and binding her curvy, petite figure to refashion herself as a scruffy lad to join their ranks. Knight Roran McShane’s search for new recruits brings him to the far reaches of the kingdom. Only a select few prove worthy, but the pluck and determination of one particularly small but feisty lad moves Roran to do something he has never done before – take on a squire. The mute lad proves to be resourceful and skilled, even if he is rather odd and shunned by the others. Roran is forced to second-guess his decision when he begins to feel unnaturally protective of the boy. When his squire’s deception is revealed, he is both relieved and appalled by the knowledge that he is really a she, and far from a child. Honor and ethics require that he sever all ties, but Roran soon learns that is easier said than done. The lass is no sheltered lady waiting to be rescued and before she’s done, she’ll surprise Roran, the knights-in-training, even the king himself. For a warrior’s heart knows no bounds.
This volume offers an interdisciplinary study of how different cultures have sought to transform individuals into warriors. War changes people, however a less explored question is how different societies want people to change as they are turned into warriors. When societies go to war they recognize that a boundary is being crossed. The participants are expected to do things that are otherwise prohibited, or at least governed by different rules. This edited volume analyses how different cultures have conceptualized the transformations of an individual passing from a peacetime to a wartime existence to become an active warrior. Despite their differences, all societies grapple with the same question: how much of the individual’s peace-self should be and can be retained in the state of war? The book explores cases such as the Nordic berserkers, the Japanese samurai, and European knights, as well as modern soldiers in Germany, Liberia, and Sweden. It shows that archaic and modern societies are more similar than we usually think: both kinds of societies use myths, symbols, and rituals to create warriors. Thus, this volume seeks to redefine theories of modernization and secularization. It shows that military organizations need to take myths, symbols, and rituals seriously in order to create effective units. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, war studies, sociology, religion, and international relations in general.