In 2008, Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota launched the auto-bio webcomic Johnny Wander. Eight years, four cats, and three moves are chronicled in this gorgeous hardcover omnibus, which includes a foreword by Raina Telgemeier (SMILE, GHOSTS). Hirsh and Ota's charming reverie about new adulthood will appeal to fans of Kate Beaton, Bryan Lee O'Malley, and Jeffrey Brown—along with anyone who's just winging it.

In 2008, Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota launched the auto-bio webcomic Johnny Wander. Eight years, four cats, and three moves are chronicled in this gorgeous hardcover omnibus, which includes a foreword by Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Ghosts). Hirsh and Ota's charming reverie about new adulthood will appeal to fans of Kate Beaton, Bryan Lee O'Malley, and Jeffrey Brown—along with anyone who's just winging it.

Postwar Higher Education in America: Just Yesterday explores the apogee of American Higher Education and its devolution into its current state. It offers concrete recommendations for capitalizing on its lost strengths and restoring the standards and expectations that our current students have been denied.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Cat’s Life captures the entire arch of life with our feline friends. Readers will be moved and uplifted by these heartwarming, humorous, and inspiring stories. From kittenhood through the twilight years, our feline companions bring joy, love, and laughter to their “staff.” Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Cat’s Life captures the experience of living through the natural life cycle with our cats. Stories cover each age and stage with all the fun, frustrations, special bonds and routines involved, including special attention to senior cats and grieving.

Megan Hustad and her family try to reconcile an evangelical upbringing in a post-Christian America When Megan Hustad was a child, her father uprooted their family from Minneapolis to embark on a cross-cultural journey in the name of evangelical Christianity. As missionaries they brought the Gospel to the Caribbean island of Bonaire and later to the outskirts of Amsterdam. After a decade away, they returned to the States only to find themselves more alien than before. The evangelical landscape had transformed from the idealistic, market-averse movement it was in the 1970s to one where media-savvy pastors held sway over mega-churches. As the family struggled with the economic and spiritual aftermath of their break from middle-class Middle America, Megan and her sister, Amy, began to plot their escape. Megan sets her sights on New York City, where everything she was denied as a child would be at her fingertips, and Amy makes her home among the intellectual swagger of New Englanders. But fitting in proves harder than they'd imagined. As much as Megan tries to shake them, thoughts of the God she was ignoring follow her into every party and relationship. In More Than Conquerors, Hustad explores what happens when the habits of your religion coincide with the demands of your social class, and what breaks when they conflict. With a sharp tongue and deep insight, Hustad offers a vivid account of the cultural divisions, anxieties, and resentments that continue to divide our country and her own family.

Our Human Herds presents a new theory in moral and political philosophy, called "dual morality." The theory proposes that just as the physical senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing evolved to help us navigate our physical environment, two independent moral senses evolved to guide us to success in our social world. One prioritizes cooperation; the other, competition. The first bases moral justification on the egalitarianism that emphasizes our equal worth; the other finds moral justification in the inequalities that allow us to distinguish better from worse. "Liberal" and "conservative" are merely the names given to the political manifestations of these two forms of moral expression, just as "socialist" and "capitalist" describe their economic manifestations, and "personality" and "character" their psychological ones. Our Human Herds addresses what it means to be a human being, why we fight about the things that divide us, and why we unite behind the ideas that draw us together. The book examines all aspects of human social behavior, revealing how and why we often disagree in our approaches to education, history, war, crime, pleasure, happiness, politics, science and religion. "This is a learned, thoroughly researched study - and dazzlingly bright. The effervescent approach to writing makes its pages fly by ... Studies as brilliant as this one deserve a far wider audience. An engrossing and mind-expanding examination of morality" -Kirkus Reviews Book Review: A vast philosophical study charts the shifting moral landscape while tackling the weightiest question of human existence: what is the meaning of life? Humanity’s moral framework remains in a constant state of reconstruction. As the author points out in his opening chapter: “Two hundred years ago if a woman was raped and became pregnant we’d kill the rapist and spare the baby. Today, we spare rapist and kill the baby. Centuries ago many cultures condoned polygamy; today we put people in jail for it.” Over the course of this weighty tome, which is just shy of 1,000 pages, the author ponders what morality is (with an emphasis on humans as grouping or “herding” creatures) and the causes of its flux and reflux. Furthermore, there is an attempt to reconcile opposing philosophical theories by introducing a new conceptual model called “Dual Morality,” proposed as an “all-encompassing blueprint of human morality.” The study is logically structured, divided into four sections: “The Theory of Dual Moralism,” “The Explanation” (including investigations of the group and the self), “The Derivations” (which considers family, country, religion, and science/nature/technology), and finally “The Extrapolations” (a far-reaching look at everything from pleasure and happiness to suicide, murder, and abortion). The author possesses the rare skill of being able to explore himself with an enviable ease, drawing on palatable references to popular culture. For example: “Comedian Woody Allen said he laughs at his own jokes when they first come to him because humor originates in the unconscious. When his conscious mind hears them for the first time, it is as if they came from another place, and so we are, in a way, an audience to our own humor.” This approach, applied throughout, makes complex ideas not only accessible, but entertaining and enjoyable as well. The result is far from the predictable, dry academic thesis. This is a learned, thoroughly researched study—and dazzlingly bright. The effervescent approach to writing makes its 951 pages fly by. Fritz’s dedication is to “that miniscule fragment of humanity who read books like this.” Studies as brilliant as this one deserve a far wider audience. An engrossing and mind-expanding examination of morality. -- Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744 [email protected]

'A pioneering study ... richly, empathetically and affectionately respectful of the human-animal bond' Sunday Times Why do humans love animals? The bestselling author of In Defence of Dogs and Cat Sense gives us the answers. Keeping pets is expensive, time-consuming, and seemingly irrational - so why do so many of us have an animal in our lives? Modern-day pet-keeping has been justified for many reasons, from the potential therapeutic role pets can play, to their appealing 'cuteness'. But pet-keeping is much more than just a simple pastime. It is part of the broader history of humanity's relationship with animals - a relationship that comes from deep within our nature. As John Bradshaw reveals in this highly original new work, our connection with animals is one of the very things that makes us human. In The Animals Among Us, Bradshaw takes us to the heart of Anthrozoology, a new science dedicated to discovering the true nature and depth of the human-animal bond. Following the thread of our affection for animals, from today's pet lovers all the way back to our ancient ancestors, Bradshaw reveals how animals have always been an integral part of our lives: indeed, they have shaped the evolution of our minds and our bodies. The ways in which we relate to animals today stem ultimately from our evolutionary journey from hominid to Homo sapiens. An affinity for animals drove our evolution as humans. Now, as increasing numbers of species are under threat, John Bradshaw shows us that pet-keeping can act as a bridge between the domestic and the wild, even aiding conservation. If we lose the animals among us, he warns, we risk losing an essential part of ourselves.

If you’ve ever wondered what your animal was trying to tell you with a bark, meow, or tweet, this is the book for you. Animal communicator Tim Link’s approach respects the personality and feelings of animals, and his simple, accessible methods can facilitate the understanding and communication that all animal lovers crave. “Packed full of great practical information on how to deal with everyday behavioral issues, along with something less tangible that could take the relationship you have with your cat or dog to a whole new level.” — from the foreword by Victoria Stilwell, dog behavior expert and star of It’s Me or the Dog “I highly recommend this book! It will make living with you so much easier.” — Sneaky Pie (the cat) as told to Rita Mae Brown, New York Times–bestselling author of the Mrs. Murphy Mystery series

What is it with women and cats? The Feline Mystique is the first serious examination of the intense relationship between woman and their cats and of the repercussions that bond can have on others. Richly researched and searchingly personal, The Feline Mystique uses history, science, art, and literature as touchpoints to explain and explore contemporary women's lives with their cats. From a glamorous tiger trainer to a feral-cat rescuer, from a show breeder to Simon and her own relationship with the gray longhair Cyrus, this book will introduce you to women both ferocious and nurturing and animals both whimsical and noble. It's a fresh, fascinating exploration of the timeless bond between women and cats, and will deepen your understanding of your relationship with your own feline-be he or she tiger or tabby. A cat person's answer to Pack of Two and The Secret Life of Dogs, The Feline Mystique is an eye-opening and soul-soothing book for all cat lovers.

Dr. Marty Becker has become known as "America's Veterinarian" because of his educational and entertaining shows and columns. For more than ten years, Dr. Becker has been the popular veterinary contributor to ABC-TV's Good Morning America and is now a member of Core Team Oz on Dr. Mehmet Oz's show. Dr. Becker will help owners solve problems and enhance their bond with their cats through a tip-filled book on everything from finding the right cat to preventing health problems and bad behavior. He will start owners off on the right foot, whether they buy a kitten or adopt an older cat, showing them how to solve the most annoying behavior and cat-care problems--from scratching furniture to not using the litter-box. (Surprising fact: did you know that black cats shed more than light-colored cats?) And he advises owners how to make their own cat toys, and how to save money on medication, both traditional and alternative.