New Book Release: Handy Supreme Court

The Handy Supreme Court Answer Book: The History and Issues Explained by David L. Hudson, Jr.

The U.S. Supreme Court, its decisions, and its nominating process for new justices are often in the news … but are just as often not well understood. Constitutional law professor David L. Hudson, Jr., explains the cases, processes, and important history with this in-depth primer on the U.S. Supreme Court.

How has the Supreme Court justices’ thinking on gun rights, abortion, free speech, freedom of religion, and many other controversial issues evolved? What were some of the court’s most important and monumental decisions … and failures? Which justices have—and have had—the most influence on the court? Has the nominating process always been so political and bitter?

Covering the history, nominating process, and court decisions on individual and other rights as well as a few fun facts, The Handy Supreme Court Answer Book: The History and Issues Explained by David L. Hudson, Jr., J.D. provides you with 600 answers to questions such as …

• How was the U.S. Supreme Court created?
• Under the Constitution, who appoints Supreme Court justices?
• Have any Supreme Court justices been impeached?
• Which president introduced an infamous court-packing plan in 1937?
• Which Supreme Court justice in the 20th century did not have a law degree?
• What are some suggestions for reforming the confirmation process?
• What did the Rehnquist Court decide in the 2000 presidential election?
• Why did Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissent in the Lily Ledbetter case?
• Which justice wrote that he couldn’t define obscenity, but “I know it when I see it”?
• When did the Supreme Court establish the so-called “Miranda Rights”?
• How did the Supreme Court emphasize privacy protection for cell phone searches?
• How has the Supreme Court dealt with the death penalty for juveniles?
• In what infamous decision did the Supreme Court regard African Americans as slaves and property?
• When did the Supreme Court invalidate a ban on interracial marriages?
• Why was the decision in Roe v. Wade not the leading story in many newspapers on the date of its decision?
• Why, according to Justice Samuel Alito, was Roe such a bad decision?
• Why is interpreting the Second Amendment perhaps more of a challenge than other amendments in the Bill of Rights?
• Who was the only Supreme Court Justice to have signed the Declaration of Independence?
• Which Justice wrote a book about the United States as a Christian nation?
• Which Justice wrote a book on civil disobedience and protest?
• What Supreme Court justice was formerly a member of the Ku Klux Klan?
• What is the nickname of the Supreme Court Building?
• Which justice was nicknamed “The Lone Ranger”?

Analyzing controversial issues and various points of view, The Handy Supreme Court Answer Book sheds a light on the differing and changing interpretations of the critical issues before the court, as well as the confirmation process and some of the court’s most important justices. Richly illustrated, it also has a helpful bibliography, glossary, and extensive index. Thoroughly updated since it was last published fifteen years ago, this invaluable resource will help you understand the rulings and importance of the U.S. Supreme Court!

New Book Release: Ghosts of the Arizona

Ghosts of the Arizona by Alan Scott

Why did a scuba diver desecrate a shrine dedicated to the people who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and who killed him?

Hawai'i Psionic Officer Kenny Nu'uani is visiting the USS Arizona National Memorial when a body is found floating above the wreckage.  Kenny realizes that the man had entered the ship, desecrating a shrine, erected in memory of the sailors who perished on the USS Arizona, December 7, 1941. 

With the help of the US Navy, Kenny investigates the man's death and discovers the man was murdered. Two FBI agents are dogging his heels as they try to stay ahead of the psionic officer. Kenny must use all his powers to find out what was the diver looking for, who killed him, and why. If he isn't careful, he could be added to the list of people who died on the Arizona.

What was he doing there?  Was he looking for something?

New Book Release: The Astrology Guide

The Astrology Guide: Understanding Your Signs, Your Gifts, and Yourself by Claudia Trivelas and Katharine Merlin

How does each planetary sign, each house, and the relationships between planetary bodies influence your life? This essential guide lets you harness the energy of your unique astrological influences and gifts!

Building on the basics of traditional astrology with an in-depth understanding of the 12 signs, 12 houses, the planets, and the planetary combinations, The Astrology Guide: Understanding Your Signs, Your Gifts, and Yourself includes interpretations of the asteroid Chiron and the recently discovered dwarf planets Ceres, Eris, and Sedna. Beginner and advanced practitioners will benefit from its mastery of chart interpretation and its understanding of the gifts (and challenges) of planetary energies.

Rather than interpreting planetary influences as "good" or "bad,” thereby putting the individual in a box, The Astrology Guide looks at the "gift" and the corresponding "shadow" each planet, sign, house placement, and planetary combination in the astrology chart offers. The “shadow” is a concept first coined by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung that describes those aspects of the personality that we choose to reject or repress, and embracing the planetary shadow creates personal empowerment. The planets are not doing something to you; instead, you can learn to interact with them, dance with their energy, and exist in harmony with them. This informative guide aids in self-discovery and furthers self-empowerment by helping you answer questions such as …

• Who are you?
• What makes you unique?
• Do you know your unique gifts?
• What needs to be healed before you fully embrace your unique self?
• Are there obstacles interfering with expressing your unique gifts or are these obstacles the gift?
• Is there a story you are reflecting that is influenced by a prominent planet, asteroid, or a newly discovered dwarf planet in your chart?
• How do you relate to the Moon's Nodal influences in your birth chart?
• Is there an archetypal story that resonates with you?
• How do the minor aspects to your Personal Planets enrich your understanding of your talents and abilities?
• What are the flaws or the “shadows” following you around?
• Are those shadows bringing you down …, taking away your joy?
• Do these shadows include traumas, blocks, and wounds?
• And, much, much more!

The Astrology Guide will develop your resilience to life’s cycles and outer influences and show you the unconscious parts of yourself that subtly influence your behavior. Numerous photographs and illustrations, a helpful bibliography, and an extensive index add to its usefulness. Learn about your innate, unique gifts and gain satisfaction, fulfillment, and confidence!

New Book Release: American Cults

American Cults: Cabals, Corruption, and Charismatic Leaders by Jim Willis

America has spawned hundreds of cults. Charismatic leaders periodically burst into the news for the most awful of reasons. We are awash with stories of brainwashed members’ struggles to leave. Meet the messianic leaders, see the indoctrination and manipulation, look at their beliefs, and read the stories of some of America’s most notorious, eccentric, and unusual cults!

From false religions and offshoots of traditional religions to political, financial, sexual, and hate groups, American Cults: Cabals, Corruption, and Charismatic Leaders looks at 40 groups and leaders, including their histories, deceits, manipulations, and twisted ideologies. Some rely on systems of obedience, submission, and dependency. More than a few have mystifying beliefs. Others are dark and murderous. You’ll encounter curious, bizarre, and sometimes upsetting stories of …

• Charming, manipulative, and exploitative leaders—Jim Jones, Jim Baker, David Berg, David Koresh, and many, many others.

• The breakaways from traditional religions—Father Divine and the Peace Mission, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Westboro Baptist Church, the Gospel of Prosperity, and many more.

• Political, Ponzi, metaphysical, and science schemes—the cult of the scientific method, pyramid schemes, political cults, the Unification Church, and much more.

• Aliens, extraterrestrials, and the cosmos—Church of Scientology, Raëlians and Heaven’s Gate, to name a few.

• End-times and doomsday cults—rapture beliefs, Edgar Cayce, the Ant Hill Kids and more.

• Racial, radical, and social media cults—QAnon, Ku Klux Klan, Oath Keepers, Antifa, and others.

• Sex, perversity, and submission—NXIVM, Sullivanians, Rajneesh, and many more.

American Cults looks at why America is such a fertile ground for cults, how some people got caught in their webs, and how some managed to escape! With more than 120 photos and graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography provides sources for further exploration, and an extensive index adds to its usefulness.

New Book Release: Muscle Bound

Muscle Bound by Alan Scott

What if your best friend is a murderer?

Pryce Nolton, a good friend of Josh Chambers, Utah's Psionic Officer, is found holding a bloody knife next to three bodies, all of them stabbed to death. Pryce has no memory of the crime, and even Josh's powers cannot determine if he did or did not commit triple-homicide.

Salt Lake City police are convinced they have the right man and do not buy into the memory-loss excuse.  They think Pryce experienced a roid rage incident and stabbed his friends to death.

Josh is not convinced that Pryce could murder his friends in cold blood, but all the evidence points to Pryce's guilt.

While Josh is dealing with the investigation, his efforts are impeded by a series of drug thefts from hospital pharmacies.

Josh must find out what happened that deadly evening or else his friend might be sentenced to death.

New Book Release: The Witches Almanac

The Witches Almanac: Sorcerers, Witches and Magic from Ancient Rome to the Digital Age by Charles Christian

Real Witches. Real Lives. Real Magic. Real History. Take a magical tour through the lives and times of 359 of the most important sorcerers and witches throughout history.

For millennia there’s been a fascination and a fear of people possibly wielding magical powers and a stigma surrounding practitioners of ancient rituals and practices. Yet, in the last 70 years, witchcraft, as well as Wicca, have gone from taboo beliefs pursued by a handful of eccentrics and misfits to major global, spiritual movements. Meet the troublemakers and rebels who pushed for change in The Witches Almanac: Sorcerers, Witches, and Magic from Ancient Rome to the Digital Age. You’ll be introduced to the history, persecutions, conjurings, and magic of some of history’s most consequential witches, sorcerers, wizards, and mavericks, including … 

• Circe, Medea, Hermes Trismegistus, the Chaldean Magi, and other Ancient Roman and Classical Greek witches
• Merlin, Morgana le Fey, Nimue, the 10 Queens of Avalon, and sorcery and witchcraft in the Arthurian legends
• San Cipriano, the obscure 4th century bishop whose influence today still plays an important role in folk magic and Hoodoo practices
• Baba Yaga, Joan of Arc, Gilles de Rais, Alice Kyteller, Lord Soulis, Michael Scott, the Golem of Prague, and medieval witchcraft
• King Henry VI, Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII, Catherine de Medici, John Dee, Queen Elizabeth, and witchcraft in the British royal court
• Isobel Gowdie, illusive Scottish witch whose voluntary confessions provided the template for traditional witchcraft beliefs
• Isaac Newton, Friar Roger Bacon, Nicholas Flamel, Paracelsus, Cornelius Agrippa, Robert Boyle, and other alchemists
• The Burning Times of the late 16th to early 18th centuries
• The Berwick witch trial
• The Salem witch trial
• Aleister Crowley, W. B. Yeats, MacGregor Mathers, Eliphas Levi, the Golden Dawn, Thelema and ritual magic, and the rise of esoteric movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries
• Jack Parsons, described as the “Jet-Propelled Antichrist” whose life of sex, rockets, and magic ended prematurely in a mysterious explosion
• Gerald Gardner, Old Dorothy Clutterbuck, Alex Sanders, Robert Cochrane, Raymond Buckland, Lady Sheba, Marjorie Cameron, and others in the modern Wicca and witchcraft movement
• And much more!!

You’ll get a deeper understanding of the obscure history of witches with this enchanting and bewitching tome! The Witches Almanac brings you their rich histories and extraordinary biographies, plus it includes a helpful bibliography, an extensive index, and numerous photos, adding to its usefulness.

New Book Release: The Serial Killer Next Door

The Serial Killer Next Door: The Double Lives of Notorious Murderers by Richard Estep

How well do you know your neighbors? Maybe you should get to know them better! Growing up, we are taught that monsters are easy to identify, but the truth is very different. Too often, the serial murderer does not stand out. Otherwise, he, or she, would get caught.

The contrast between the ordinary-seeming lives that provided cover for their cruel secrets is exposed in The Serial Killer Next Door: The Double Lives of Notorious Murderers. To their coworkers, neighbors, and others who knew them, they led unremarkable lives. They had careers as military pilots, police officers, landscapers, small business owners, farmers, realtors, reporters, authors, veterinary technicians, nurses, doctors, handymen, painters, and chefs, while they simultaneously stalked city suburbs, college campuses, trailer parks, and red-light districts. This chilling book looks at the horrifying stories of nearly 30 malevolent killers (and hundreds of innocent victims) who were mistakenly trusted, including …

• Genene Jones, a nurse responsible for the murder of 60 infants and children in her care. She’s said to be the inspiration for Stephen King’s iconic character of Annie Wilkes, in Misery – and her nephew broke into King’s home, threatening to blow up the writer and his family because of it!
• Robert Lee Yates, a helicopter pilot in the Army National Guard who, when caught, buried one body outside his bedroom window as his wife slept.
• Gary Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer, went undetected for 20 years, working for 30 years as a painter for a truck company and married for 17 years.
• Kathleen Folbigg, whose three children were at first thought to have died from natural causes. She only got caught when her husband found her personal diary.
• Joseph James DeAngelo, who worked various jobs, including as a police officer and a truck mechanic. He went on a decades-long crime spree and was finally caught with the help of DNA evidence. His case was instrumental in the establishment of California's DNA database.
• And dozens of other serial killers!

It’s chilling to realize that many serial killers have created second lives that are completely divorced from the brutality and evils they commit. It’s incomprehensible to think that they are able to flip a switch, transforming them from apparently loving, ordinary men and women into torturous, homicidal slaughterers. With more than 120 photos and graphics, The Serial Killer Next Door is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. We trust our neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances. Of course, we do. It's ominous to think that we can't!