The legend of the werewolf has enduring appeal, as demonstrated by yet another new Hollywood flick, The Wolfman, in which Benicio Del Toro takes over the lead in a remake of the 1941 classic that starred Lon Chaney Jr.

Discover the roots of the myth in The Book of Werewolves, the 1865 classic by Sabine Baring-Gould, available in both hardcover and paperback editions — complete with the original illustrations — as part of Cosimo’s series Loren Coleman Presents, featuring new introductions by the famous crytozoologist.

This first serious academic study of the shape-shifters of mythological lore “is the most frequently cited early study of lycanthropy and is regarded by most scholars as the foundation work in the field,” says Coleman. “The Book of Werewolves was so visionary that it foresaw that future discussions within werewolf studies would necessarily travel down many side paths. Indeed, midway through The Book of Werewolves, Baring-Gould treks into the shadowy world of crimes vaguely connected to werewolves, including serial murders, grave desecration, and cannibalism.” Indeed, the Del Toro Wolfman features a monster hunter who is none other than Frederick Abberline, a fictionalized version of the real-life Scotland Yard investigator who hunted down Jack the Ripper.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers.

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Since 1994, Convoy of Hope, a nonprofit organization, has provided resources to organizations and churches to meet physical and spiritual needs for the purpose of making the community a better place. This is accomplished through domestic and international outreaches, supply lines, and disaster response.

Cosimo is a supporter of Convoy of Hope, and we encourage others to support them as well.

For more information on Convoy of Hope, and to donate to their Haiti earthquake relief efforts, please see their web site.

From a recent Convoy of Hope dispatch from Haiti:

Hundreds of desperate Haitians are in line waiting for food at Quisqueya Chapel—Convoy of Hope’s main distribution point in Port-au-Prince. Yesterday, the Convoy of Hope team distributed 100,000 meals here and at five other distribution points.

…

Food supplies are running low in Haiti and show no signs of improving anytime soon. But even when food is available—as it is in limited amounts on some street corners from vendors—many families simply do not have the cash to pay for it.

“My house is damaged, I need food, but I have no money to buy it,” says Ralph, a twenty-something-year-old who could be speaking for tens of thousands of hungry Haitians.

“The situation regarding food and water remains dire,” says Kevin Rose, Haiti director for Convoy of Hope. “The lack of fuel and security issues has made it very difficult to move food around the city. But through our network of partners we are getting food into some of the most desperate places.”

Please donate what you can to Convoy of Hope to help with their aid efforts.

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The other day, 56 newspapers around the world published the same editorial on the climate crisis: an unprecendented event for potentially an unprecedented global emergency.

The editorial — drafted by editors at the Guardian — says, among other things:

Many of us, particularly in the developed world, will have to change our lifestyles. The era of flights that cost less than the taxi ride to the airport is drawing to a close. We will have to shop, eat and travel more intelligently. We will have to pay more for our energy, and use less of it…

In the U.S., only the Miami Herald ran the editorial, though it deleted a key sentence from it that focused on the particular need for the U.S. to change its carbon-hungry ways. It’s a telling indication of how poorly the message is being communicated when those who need to hear it most aren’t even being exposed to it.

Fred Branfman of the Sacramento News & Review offers a similar argument, in a piece entitled “Copenhagen Won’t Be Enough — Only a ‘Human Movement’ Can Save Civilization from the Climate Crisis” (via Alternet):

Our greatest challenge is to adjust ancient belief systems to the new climate realities that have undone them. If we can break through our fog and clearly see the existential threat we pose to our children, presently unthinkable actions to save them may become possible. But if not, we will remain locked in our cognitive cattle cars, moving inexorably toward the loss of everything we hold dear.

How do we adjust those ancient belief systems? How can we individually do our part in dealing with climate change? One answer is provided in Earth Fever, coming soon from Cosimo Books. In it, authors Jan Paul van Soest, Erik van Praag, and Judy McAllister bring to bear their diverse experience in the fields of sustainability, leadership, and entrepreneurialism on the problem of bringing about the change of consciousness and the new spirituality the endeavor will require. Along with the wisdom of international opinion leaders—including management consultant Peter Senge; Jeroen van der Veer, the former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell; cultural creative Paul Ray; Herman Wijffels, former governor at the World Bank; and others—Earth Fever delves into what is needed to bring about this essential new way of thinking.

Stay tuned for news of Earth Fever’s publication…

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This article is excerpted from Dr. Rao Kolluru’s latest book, BEGIN ANEW: Re-setting Your Mind’s Odometer [00000].   Dr. Kolluru has been a writer, teacher, and consultant for more than three decades.  He is also the author of River of a Thousand Tales (Cosimo Books).  For more information, please visit www.BeginAnew.info.

~  ~  ~

NOW THAT WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING, HOW DO WE FIND “THE WAY?”

Our quest in life unfolds along two paths: one to seek, the other to see. On one path, we have destinations to reach, milestones to measure progress, and fruits to pick. On another path, we travel with no intent, no demands of any kind, nothing to do but see and experience what is along the way.

What wonders lie ahead? What might you discover or rediscover? It is in these moments that quantum leaps in perception occur.

Find Your Beginning…

The Buddha said: Go to the Beginning to find your Way.

A famous yogi, Sukhabodhananda, said we have to learn the art of living and the art of dying – learn how to die to our past - and how to be present to the present.

A not-so-famous Rao Kolluru (that’s me) says: BEGIN ANEW: Re-setting Your Mind’s Odometer [00000].

But, how? In a car, you’d simply push the trip odometer button to clear the past trips and start over. In the same way, what if there is a “0 Button” you could click to initialize your mind?

Well, there is: daily dose of Mindful Vitamins. You can get them through the Timeless Time Machine™. In contrast to fictional time machines, this one brings you from the past and the future into the Present.

Here it is. Try it now. No time like the present!

Ready?  Let’s begin…

* Sit (or stand) upright, feet on the floor, hands resting on the lap.

* Look around, being aware of your presence here in this space.

* Now pay attention to your breath as you inhale slowly and consciously, through the nose, pushing down the diaphragm.

* Hold it 4 or 5 seconds.  Feel your lungs fill all the way down to the bottom.

* Exhale slowly through the nose.  Pause.

* Take a second deep breath; hold it 4 or 5 seconds.

* Exhale slowly—then, relax.

* Tense up body—then, relax.

* Say the word “relax” silently.  Let body and mind come to rest with an inner smile.

* Now, pay attention to your body.  Feel the weight of your body on the floor or chair.  Feel the gentle touch of your clothes on your skin.

* Now shift attention to what is in front of your mind:  see colors…shapes…space. (Simply notice, but don’t comment.)

* Now, turn your attention to sounds.  Hear the sounds from near…and far.

* Listen to the silence beyond the farthest sound — edge of space.

* Take a deep breath.  Let go.  Let it be.

* Pause here.

Body is here + Mind is here = I am here.

Is the monologue of the mind quieter – opening up space for what is to come?  Feel free to try this at home.

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After watching an encore presentation of Frontline’s The Warning, I rather boldly e-mailed the White House on their web site hoping to catch the attention of President Obama.  I suggested that he and his current economic henchman watch this Frontline program and shared my concern that I think the President has two key tools to help bring about change to this dreadful crisis: his eyes and his ears (or is that four tools?  Hmm…)

Get an inside look at how the country’s key economic powerhouses could have possibly missed the opportunity to help avert the largest financial debacle since The Great Depression.  It’s well worth the time to witness the sheer hubris of the players at the center of America’s financial downfall and, more importantly, to contemplate Washington’s complicated economic politics in The Warning.

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Looks like Cosimo’s newest author, Tom Croft (who’s an international expert on innovative capital strategies), is not only busy traveling around the country to appear at conferences and standing center stage at his successful book launch for Up From Wall Street: The Responsible Investment Alternative, now he’s guest blogging at HuffPo.

Essentially Croft implores: Mr. President, remember the anger you expressed so freely on the campaign trail about the deplorable economic situation we find ourselves in?  Well, you’ve been in office nearly a year already and it’s time to push for real economic change to rebuild the nation’s economy!  Read more of the author’s sage advice for our Economic Commander-in-Chief @ One Year After…

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“When you go into a bookstore to browse titles, what do you look for? Catchy title? Cool cover? Blurbs on the back from authors you like? Hot author photo? An intriguing first line? An Oprah’s Book Club sticker?”

Read more:  Pull for the Underdog…

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Howard Zinn at Truthout is “dismayed” that U.S. president Barack Obama has won the Nobel Prize for Peace:

A shock, really, to think that a president carrying on wars in two countries and launching military action in a third country (Pakistan), would be given a peace prize. But then I recalled that Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Kissinger had all received Nobel Peace Prizes. The Nobel Committee is famous for its superficial estimates and for its susceptibility to rhetoric and empty gestures, while ignoring blatant violations of world peace.

As Zinn notes, Obama isn’t the first U.S. president to win the prize, nor is he the first one to stir debate over his win. Cosimo Classics by previous U.S. presidential Nobel Peace Prize winners:

WOODROW WILSON (Nobel Prize for Peace 1919)

A History of the American People, in five volumes: Before he served as the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921, Thomas Woodrow Wilson was a lawyer and an academic: a university professor of history and politics, and president of Princeton University. It was during his tenure at Princeton that he penned this five-volume history of the United States, and it reflects many of the biases he later brought to national politics, from racial prejudice to anti-immigration attitudes. This beautiful replica of the 1902 first edition features all the original halftone illustrations. Students of Wilson and of the ever-changing lens through which history is told and retold will find this an enlightening and illuminating work.

On Being Human: The mark of a great book is one that is meant to be read with pleasure. Written in a conversational manner that was his trademark as an author, this work is meant not only to be read but also to be pondered thoroughly. It instructs and informs, startles and provokes, arouses and amuses the reader with a keen enthusiasm for seeing and taking pleasure in the affairs of the world.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (Nobel Prize for Peace 1906)

America and the World War: Theodore Roosevelt was still a young man when he left the Oval Office, and he remained a vigorous force on the American scene. The great influence he continued to hold over the public allowed him to contest the policies of President Woodrow Wilson, particularly Wilson’s conduct in the leadup to America’s belated entry into World War I. In this 1915 work, Roosevelt lays out the moral and political case for coming to the aid of the nation’s European allies, from the ethics of self-defense to the practicalities of preparing for war. Roosevelt’s arguments are compelling and humane, but agree with him or not, here is an essential part of the powerful basis for his place in American history as the architect of the American Century, as well as a revealing picture of the character of one of the great American personalities.

Click here for more Cosimo Classics by Roosevelt.

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With all the talk of Nobel Prizes this week, we’d like to introduce readers to five extraordinary minds who’ve produced some of world literature’s greatest works — and they just happen to be Nobel laureates! Here are a few choice authors to consider…

HENRI BERGSON (Nobel Prize for Literature 1927)

Creative Evolution: Here, Bergson anticipated not only modern scientific theories of psychology but also those of cosmology. This astonishing work sets out an impressive goal for itself: to reconcile human biology with a theory of consciousness. First published in France in 1907, and translated into English in 1911, this work of wonder was esteemed at the time in scientific circles and in the popular culture alike.

Matter and Memory: A monumental work first issued in 1896 represents one of the great inquiries into perception and memory, movement and time, matter and mind. Bergson surveys these independent but related spheres, exploring the connection of mind and body to individual freedom of choice.

Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness: Here, Bergson attempted to blend the new understandings of biological sciences with concepts of human consciousness in such books as Creative Evolution. With this extraordinary work, first published in French in 1889, Bergson anticipates Einstein’s theory of relativity and the coming revolution in theoretical physics with his exploration of free will as a function of time.

A New Philosophy: Henri Bergson, by Edouard le Roy: Bergson had only the highest praise for this presentation of his philosophy for the general public. Le Roy hoped that this volume would serve as an introduction, which would make it easier to read and understand Bergson’s works, and serve as a primer to his “new philosophy.”

RUDYARD KIPLING (Nobel Prize for Literature 1907)

From Sea to Sea: Letters of Travel: First published in 1899, this volume serves as a delightful reminder of Kipling’s genius (he would win the . It includes: an account of attending the theater in Japan and visiting Shinto shrines; an exploration of India’s “city of elephants” and a meeting with “the naughty children of Iquique”; notes on a journey to San Francisco and the taking of tea with the “natives” there; and much more.

MAURICE MAETERLINCK (Nobel Prize for Literature 1911)

The Buried Temple: With the author’s characteristic care and thoughtfulness, these insightful essays display unique insights and graceful perception into the life of the spirit. Essays included in this collection are “Mystery of Justice,” “Evolution of Mystery,” “Kingdom of Matter and The Past,” and “Luck.” Maeterlinck’s writing is characterized by clear and simple expression with a subtle suggestion rather than a direct expression of ideas and emotions, and this work is ideal for readers who see a purpose in life and value their personal ethics.
http://www.cosimobooks.com/b2321_Wisdom-and-Destiny-1596057122-9781596057128.htm
Wisdom and Destiny: His plays and poems sing with the beauty of life, the search for happiness, the inevitability of death, and here, in this exquisite 1898 essay, Maeterlinck contemplates directly the theme that consumes his other writing: the journey toward meaning and truth. Compelling and complex, this is a classic of personal philosophy that greatly rewards close reading and appreciation.

The Life of the Bee: When Maeterlinck, with a poet’s sensibility and sensitivity, turned his attention to a bee hive, his observations turned into a masterpiece. Here, Maeterlinck illuminates the whole life and society of the bee, from the structure of the hive, to the movement and meaning of the swarm, to the role and activity of the queen. This work is for all readers curious about a brilliant thinker’s mediation on a force of nature that, ultimately, holds lessons about the human race and our universe.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (Nobel Prize for Literature 1925)

The Devil’s Disciple: A Melodrama in Three Acts: Shaw’s only play set in America, this is a cutting examination of honor and honesty, rebellion and irreverence. Written in 1897 and first published in the 1901, it is the story of Revolutionary War hero Richard Dudgeon, wrongly arrested by British soldiers in a case of mistaken identity who keeps the secret, fully aware he will be hanged for another man’s crimes. Like Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, this is a historically incisive drama, highlighting the best men can achieve at the worst of times.

Mrs. Warren’s Profession: Middle-aged Mrs. Warren is a madam, proprietress of a string of successful brothels. Her daughter, Vivie, is a modern young woman, but not so modern that she’s not shocked to discover the source of her mother’s wealth. The clash of these two strong-willed but culturally constrained Victorian women is the spark that ignites the ironic wit of one of Shaw’s greatest plays, a withering critique of male domination, sexual hypocrisy, and societal convention. Initially banned after its 1893 publication with its startling frankness, it remains a powerful work of progressive theater.

George Bernard Shaw, by G.K. Chesterton: Arts critic Chesterton clashed vociferously and frequently with Shaw, his greatest intellectual “enemy,” once calling the Irish playwright “most savagely serious man of his time.” This 1909 critique of Shaw’s work and attitudes is considered one of the best works of cultural criticism ever written, and certainly the best book on Shaw. Exploring the writer’s work through the perspectives of his various personas—the Irishman, the Puritan, the Progressive, the Critic, the Dramatist, and the Philosopher—Chesterton, with brutal grace and devastating humor, shreds Shaw’s grimness and illiberalism.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE (Nobel Prize for Literature 1913)

The Fugitive: One of India’s greatest poets and the composer of independent India’s national anthem, Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, but was first and foremost a poet, publishing more than 50 volumes of poetry. This is a premier example of his verse.

Stray Birds: Tagore’s ideas on nature and man come through as he explores the world outside his window as the stray birds of summer sing and fly away. These short, sometimes merely one-line poems are often just an image or the distillation of a thought, but they stay in the mind and do not fly away as easily as the birds.

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS (Nobel Prize for Literature 1923)

The Celtic Twilight: Originally published in 1893, this is Yeats’ collection of some of the most delightful myths and folktales of Ireland, his native land. Yeats recalls stories about the devil, sorcerers, faeries, village ghosts, and unexplainable events. They illuminate a world of magical and miraculous creatures and constitute a worldview that can also be glimpsed in Yeats’ acclaimed poetry and plays.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.

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This weekend Sergey Brin, cofounder of Google, contributed an op-ed for The New York Times about the company’s book-scanning project. In “A Library to Last Forever,” he writes:

Because books are such an important part of the world’s collective knowledge and cultural heritage, Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, first proposed that we digitize all books a decade ago, when we were a fledgling startup. At the time, it was viewed as so ambitious and challenging a project that we were unable to attract anyone to work on it. But five years later, in 2004, Google Books (then called Google Print) was born, allowing users to search hundreds of thousands of books. Today, they number over 10 million and counting.

Last May, Brewster Kahle, chairman of the Internet Archive, a not-for-profit digital library, wrote “A Book Grab by Google” for The Washington Post attacking Google’s proposed legal settlement in obtaining the right to digitize books. A key paragraph from Kahle reads:

We’ve wrestled with high-tech monopolies in the past — IBM, AT&T, Microsoft. The lesson was that such strongholds restrict innovation and competition. In those cases, the courts stepped in to address the inequities. Now, we have a proposal for monopolies to be created by the courts.

Cosimo publisher Alexander Dake echoes Kahle:

People should consider whether they want a future where genes in our food are owned by a private company, financial services only provided by one or two mega-banks, their political choices limited to one party, and the world’s historic archives controlled by one, albeit positively intended, search engine; or rather have multi-party democracies, a truly free market where many smaller companies provide a wide variety of services and products, and public goods not monopolized by giant corporations? That is the question, and the answer seems pretty obvious.

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