Because of his family's Jewish background, they are sent to live in the concentration camps (集中营). Scared and alone, Joshua one day makes friends with a little mouse he calls Bethlehem who becomes his closest friend.

in faith and to be a cure for chromic depression(长期抑郁) … cure to strengthen identity and purpose.

presents the highlights of his 83 years of life, including his trips to India and the study of the writings of several great spiritual leaders.

More things in Heaven will appeal to anyone who insists on finding the deepest meaning for their existence based on their own experience.


Creation or Evolution
Michael Ebifegha
ISBN9781450289023

Were humans created ,or did they evolve? How old is the Earth? The debate between science and religion continues to be heated. In Creation or Evolution, Michael Ebifegha examines these two opposed world views within the structure of empirical(实证的) science.


Seeking the Edge
Dr. Joseph L. Rose
ISBN9781462031795

    Once upon a time there were two friends who lived in a palace and worked in the service of the king. One of the two boys knew a girl he liked so much that he wanted to give her a present.

    One day, when he was walking with his friend in the main palace hall, he saw a big vase filled with the most beautiful flowers. He decided to take one to give to the girl, thinking that no one would see him do so except his friend. He did the same thing the next day, and the next, and the next... until, one day, the king noticed how few flowers were left in the vase. He was so angry that he called everyone in the palace to come together in the hall.

    When they were all before the king, the boy thought he should say it was he who had taken the flowers. However, his friend told him to be quiet, because the king would be terribly angry with him. The boy was filled with fear, but when the king came near, he decided to confess.

    As soon as the boy said that he had done it, the king went red with anger, but on hearing what the boy had done with the flowers, a smile appeared on the king's face, and he said, “I couldn't have thought of a better use for my flowers.”

    And from that day, the boy and the king became great friends. They went to the vase and took two of those wonderful flowers, one for the girl, and the other for the queen.

    Many people turn to doctors or self-help books, but they ignore a powerful thing that could help them fight illness: their friends.

    Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in health. A 10-year Australian study found that old people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk  for obesity (肥胖) among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could improve brain health as we age.

    “In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn't well realized,” said Rebecca, a professor at the University of North Carolina. “Friendship has a bigger effect on our psychological health than family relationships.”

    While many friendship studies are about the close relationships of women, some research shows that men can benefit, too. In a six-year study of 736 middle-aged men, having friendships reduces the risk of heart attack. Only smoking was as important a risk factor (因素) as having little social support.

    Exactly why friendship has such a big effect isn't entirely clear. While friends can send a sick person to the hospital or pick up medicine, the benefits go well beyond physical assistance. Friendship clearly has a big psychological effect. “People with stronger friendships feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen, a doctor. "The message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”

    The year 3700, Earth is far too hot for any human to call it home. On this planet at least, man is nothing more than a memory--if there is anything left to remember the "wise man". But what about our wisdom--will any of it survive us?

    The conventional answer is no. Knowledge requires a knower, and there will be no knowing minds around then. But if information survives, perhaps in books or hard drives, maybe the knowledge isn't quite dead but dormant(休眠), ready to become alive with the help of other minds that develop over time or come to visit Earth in the distant future.

    At first sight, that seems to be reasonable: after all, we have done similar things with past knowledge. For example, we saved an ancient computer from a ship destroyed at sea off the southern coast of Greece, and succeeded in finding the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics(象形文字). Careful work can bring previously lost wisdom back to life.

    However, the key point is that there is a certain cultural continuity with those ancient times that allows us to reason and make progress in the dark: we know we are dealing with the legacy(遗产)of other humans. Without that link, the survival of objects and raw data doesn't guarantee the survival of knowledge. And a lack of continuity in language with any future intelligence would be a barrier. Knowledge is closely connected with language. When a language dies out, we can lose systems of reasoning that they contain. If that's lost, then it can't be recovered.

    All this means that other minds might not be able to fully make human knowledge alive when we are gone. It is better to concentrate on not dying out in the first place.

    In 1858, two men wanted to be elected United States Senator from Illinois. One was Stephen Douglas. The other was Abraham Lincoln. Douglas was already the Senator, but his term in office was up. Lincoln had once been a U.S. Representative but was then a lawyer in Illinois.

    The men agreed to have seven public meetings, or debates, in seven different cities in Illinois. That way, voters all over the state would have a chance to hear what each man stood for.

    The first debate was in Ottawa on August 21, 1858. The main thing the men disagreed on was slavery. Douglas believed that as new states joined the union, they should decide for themselves whether or not they wanted to be a slave state or a free state. Lincoln believed that slavery should not spread beyond the states that already had slaves. He said the United States could not survive as half-slave and half-free states.

    The debates drew large crowds in all seven cities. People in the entire country were paying attention. Lincoln lost the Senate race. The debates did, however, make him well known everywhere.

    In 1860, it was time to elect a new President. Lincoln won the Republican party's nomination(提名). Douglas won the Democratic party's nomination. The two men again faced each other to get the people's votes. This time Lincoln won. He became the nation's 16th President.

    The slavery issue was still causing bad feelings between slave and non-slave states. By the time Lincoln took over as President on March 4, 1861, seven states had left the union. A month later, the Civil War began.

    In early February 2019, 51-year-old Rainer Schimpf and his team set out to film South Africa's Sardine Run off the coast of Point Elizabeth Sardine Run, the annual migration(迁徙)of billions of sardines (a small sea fish), is a big draw for large predators, especially the dolphin and whale. Predators are animals that kill and eat other animals. In an attempt to obtain the best images of the incredible natural phenomenon, Rainer dived into the middle of a spinning ball of fish. Suddenly the sea moved around violently, and the experienced diver and his photographer Heinz Toperczer, who was filming from the boat, instantly realized something strange was going on. Suddenly dolphins shot out of the water, a white spray came out and then a whale appeared and grasped Rainer

    While Toperczer was filming the terrifying turn of events with his video camera, Rainer, who was trapped had first and engulfed(吞噬)in darkness inside the whales mouth, was trying to survive. Nothing can actually prepare you for the event when you end up inside the pure instinct(本能), "the diver told Barcroft TV. "Knowing in the whale's mouth, I tried to control my fear. But I was convinced that it was going to dive down and release me much deeper in the ocean."

    "The whale quickly realized he was no sardine! As the whale turned sideways, he opened his mouth slightly to release me, and I was washed out, together with what felt like tons of water, of his mouth," recalled Rainer. Though the entire incident lasted just 1.8 seconds, it felt like a year to Rainer.

    Still holding his underwater camera in his hand, the diver swam to his boat, where he was quickly rescued by the members of the team. The terrible adventure did not disturb Rainer for too long. After checking to ensure he had no injuries, the diver returned to the water to seek out more.