Mitchell's IONS Celebrates 40 Years in 2013

As Cosimo looks to holiday celebrations and preparing for the new year, we are excited to congratulate our author Edgar Mitchell on the 40th anniversary of founding the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Festivities officially begin on January 20, 2013, with a gala celebrating 40 years of consciousness research by the institute.

Mitchell, also an Apollo 14 astronaut, founded IONS in 1973 as an institute for researching beyond physical science. Psychic Explorations, his anthology on psychic research, was originally published the following year and offers insight into the issues explored by noetic sciences.

We wish Mitchell and IONS a great year of celebration and findings!

Author Michaela Walsh Featured in The Next Women Business Magazine

This month, Michaela Walsh gave an interview and we featured on the cover of The Next Women magazine, an award-winning online women's business magazine and networking forum with a focus on start-ups and growing businesses led, founded, or invested in by women.

After many years in the business, Walsh still strives to encourage women entrepreneurs and work with them on a daily basis. She says,

I continue to believe that finding women entrepreneurs and encouraging them in whatever way they need is the key ingredient in moving women forward.  Women improve their communities as they gain assets, and as they have more control over their economic situation they bring more influence into the community.  As women move into markets and create ever-more sophisticated business approaches, they build the local economy and contribute to a worldwide shift in the economic downturn. We still work toward our dreams.

Read the full interview and check out The Next Women magazine to read more about exciting financial and business opportunities and accomplishments for women around the globe.

2012 Holiday Gift Selection: This Season, Offer the Gift of Classics

This holiday season, Cosimo has put together a collection of Christmas and Classics titles sure to delight book lovers of all ages. In addition to the launch of a new Christmas book, we've added favorite titles that make wonderful gifts for friends and loved ones.

Included in our selection is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Gulliver's Travels, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Little Women, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, and The Works of Eugene Field. Read more about this fabulous selection of classics in our press release, and be sure to visit the website for more information.

Our holiday book selection is headlined by a new title and our December book of the month, The Christmas Mice, by John White and illustrated by Dorothy Hall. A tale for children, The Christmas Mice is a heartwarming story of love and acceptance. It tells of two mice, Roger and Emily, who are outcasts from their community because they are different. One is green, the other is red--the colors of Christmas. Encouraged by the birth of his children and the beauty of a Christmas tree, Roger teaches the rest of the meadowmice an important lesson about love and brotherhood. As the two main characters gain acceptance and understanding from the other mice, the importance of peace and oneness of all life is sensitively communicated. The Christmas Mice is a touching tales with a powerful message that will delight young readers of all ages. Read more about this title in the press release.

John White is an internationally-known author in the fields of consciousness research and higher human development. He has published fifteen books, including Everything You Want to Know about TM, Including How to Do It, and his writing has appeared in publications in the United States and abroad. Dorothy Hall has been an accomplished artist all her life; she is also an illustrator art teacher, and cartoonist. You can find her online at dorothyhallarts.com.

United Nations Event Honors Founders of the First Women’s Global Financial Network

Women and men who met in Mexico City in 1975 at the first UN Conference for Women, and resolved to work together to bring women everywhere into the formal financial markets, will be honored at the United Nations on Wednesday, December 5. The event formally launches Founding a Movement: Women’s World Banking, 1975-1990, by Michaela Walsh, one of the founders and the first President of Women’s World Banking (WWB).

Walsh’s book, in her words, “shines a light on the value that women contribute through work, and when they support one another, to become full participants in the economy.” Founding a Movement illuminates the birth of a culture of trust—from Kenya to Colombia, from Brazil to the Philippines—where women entrepreneurs could learn from and teach each other to gain control over their economic destinies. Currently, WWB serves as an umbrella organization to a network of 39 financial organizations from 27 countries that provide small loans, from $100 and up, to borrowers to start their businesses: with a portfolio of $7 billion and $3.5 billion in savings, 26 million clients are served by the WWB network, 80% of whom are women.

The UN event will feature a discussion, moderated by Zohreh Tabatabai, former Director of Communications at the United Nations, recalling the ideas and conditions of 1975—very little knowledge by women across cultures, difficult communications, legal barriers to women regarding credit and bank loans—and reflect on change.  Elements of the process that remain important today include being open to knowledge from all sources, crafting solutions based on grass-roots needs, and providing training as needed rather than by formula.  Of particular importance, according to the book and the founders, is creating a culture of personal trust based on working together.

The event sponsor is the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of The Netherlands to the United Nations.  Institutions and citizens of The Netherlands played an important role in the history of WWB, which was incorporated there in 1980. According to Walsh, “The trading tradition of the Dutch, and their concern for the interests of women and developing economies, meant that WWB found natural allies in Holland.” The Dutch appreciation for WWB is also evident from the comments by former Minister for International Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, Jan Pronk, who said:

“Women’s access to finance, including microcredit is crucial. Michaela Walsh and Women's World Banking have broken new ground. Those who wish to follow in their footsteps should read this story!"

Among the participants at the UN discussion will be other WWB founders, book contributors, and leading figures in  finance and international development, including Mary Okelo, first African manager of Barclay’s Bank in Kenya and founder of the Makini School; Barbro Dahlbom-Hall, Sweden, management consultant and author; Hon. Dag Nissen, former Norwegian Ambassador; Ron Leger, former Director of the Canadian International Development Agency; Deanna Rosenswig, former Executive Vice- President, Bank of Montreal; Geertje Lycklama, formerly with the Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation; Klaas Molenaar, formerly with Triodos Bank; and others.  

For more information about the event, please contact Graciela Hall at 516-458-4310.

HOLIDAY DISCOUNT EXTENDED! EXTRA 10% OFF ALL COSIMO CLASSICS SERIES AND COLLECTIONS

GOOD NEWS! Due to overwhelming response, we've decided to continue our Cyber Week discount of 10% OFF Cosimo Classics collections and series until December 10, 2012. That's TWO WHOLE WEEKS of extra savings on ANY Cosimo series in our bookstore.

Buy gifts for family and friends of all ages with this fabulous deal.

Still can't decide what to buy? Also check out our Holiday Gift Selection, chalk full of favorite classic titles at unbeatable prices.

Take advantage of this great holiday deal, before it's too late!

Edgar Mitchell Honored with Key to the City of Petaluma

Last month, Cosimo author and Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell was honored as a veteran and astronaut for dedicating his life to serve mankind.  

The award,  the key to the city of Petaluma, was given by the mayor of Petaluma on October 27, 2012, was given in recognition of Edgar Mitchell's services to his country as a Korean War veteran, Apollo 14 astronaut, the Founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and his dedication to promoting peace and enlightenment for mankind.

Please join us in congratulating Mr. Mitchell for this auspicious achievement. 

CYBER MONDAY SPECIAL: CLASSIC COLLECTIONS AND SERIES EXTRA 20% OFF!

Don't forget our Cyber Monday Special: collections and series at Cosimo's bookstore are 20% off the ALREADY DISCOUNTED PRICE!

That's a total savings of almost 40%!

For the rest of the week, get series at an extra 10% off the discounted price. Don't miss out on these special offers; they'll be gone before you know it!

Special Offer! Cosimo Series and Collections on Sale for CYBER MONDAY!

Now that the turkey and stuffing has settled and Christmas shopping is in full swing, Cosimo invites you to take advantage of a special Cyber Monday (and Week After Thanksgiving) Special on our Classic Series and Collections.

In our bookstore, we offer a wide variety of discounted classic series, from Arabian Nights, to The Complete Works of Charles Dickens, The Works of Eugene Field, and even our Five Foot Shelf of Classics, a 51-volume set of Harvard Classics that ranges a variety of genres, time periods, and authors.

These collections, also available for purchase as individual titles, are already discounted at 20% off the list price. Starting Monday, November 26 through Friday, November 30, you can take advantage of our Week After Thanksgiving Special with a another 10% off the already discounted price, plus free shipping and handling in the continental U.S.! And if you call to order on Cyber Monday, you get free shipping and handling plus 20% off the already-discounted price! That's almost 40% savings off of the list price, and applies to ANY of the collections and series in our bookstore! Take advantage of this deal to buy presents for family and friends that can be shared and enjoyed for years to come. Hurry, it's only good for the week after Thanksgiving, so be sure to call and order on Monday!

And as you're looking at book collections that make great gifts, don't forget our cryptozoology set, The Curiosities of Natural History, along with all our other Loren Coleman presents cryptozoology titles. Loren Coleman is a world-renowned cryptozoologist, known for his investigations into Bigfoot, Mothman, and other modern legends. Cosimo offers a collection of classics titles about similar wonders, such as the Abominable Snowman, werewolves, sea serpents, and more. If you're looking for a gift this season for someone who's into myteries and myths, and might be a little hard to shop for, any of our Loren Coleman Presents titles is sure to satisfy their curiosity and urge to discover more about the unknown. To read more about Loren Coleman and his work, visit his website at cryptomundo.com.

Lincoln the Movie Receives Wide Praise from The New York Times

In its debut weekend with wide release across the United States, Lincoln pulled in over $21,000,000, making it the 3rd ranked movie in the US.

Film critic A.O. Scott of The New York Times says, "To say that is is among the fines films ever made about American politics may be to congratulate it for clearing a fairly low bar...

And the genius of Lincoln, finally, lies in its vision of politics as a noble, sometimes clumsy dialectic of the exalted and the mundane. Our habit of argument, someone said recently, is a mark of our liberty, and Mr. Kushner, whose love of passionate, exhaustive disputation is unmatched in the modern theater, fills nearly every scene with wonderful, maddening talk. Mr. Spielberg's best art often emerges in passages of wordlessness, when the images speak for themselves, and the way he composes his pictures and cuts between them endow the speeches and debates with emotional force, and remind us of what is at stake.

Go see this movie. Take your children, even though the may occasionally be confused or fidgety. Boredom and confusion are also part of democracy, after all Lincoln is a rough and noble democratic masterpiece - an omen, perhaps, that movies for the people shall not perish from the earth."

To read more of A.O. Scott's review, visit movies.nytimes.com.

And to help relieve some of the confusion surrounding Lincoln, Cosimo Books has several titles to educate you and your family about one of our nation's most notorious and beloved presidents, perfect gifts for any history buff this holiday season:


Herndon's Lincoln: A True Story of a Great Life by William Herndon


Abraham Lincoln by Lord Charnwood



Abraham Lincoln: A History by Hay and Nicolay, a 10-volume set available in hardcover and paperback


The Lincoln Year Book: Axioms and Aphorisms From the Great Emancipator by Wallace Rice


Lincoln isn't the only president making headlines this holiday season. Journalist and historian, Jon Meacham has just released his new biography of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power with an extensive review by The New York Times Executive Director, Jill Abramson, in the Sunday Book Review: "Grand Bargainer."

Also available, from Cosimo Classics, to offer insight and understanding into the life and mind of our third president are:

The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson, Available in hardcover and paperback December 1st

The Works of Thomas Jefferson, A 12 Volume Set

The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth

A Manual of Parliamentary Practice by Jefferson

November's Book of the Month is Dialogues with My God Self

Alvaro Bizziccari's Dialogues with My God Self: Understanding the Law of Love, a unique look into the heart and mind of a seeker of truth and his God Self, is Cosimo's November Book of the Month. Written as a series of conversations addressing life’s most important questions, this groundbreaking work is the result of years of philosophical study, travel, meditation, and the search for enlightenment, provoked by the desire to understand our existence and its Source.

Dialogues with My God Self will resonate with anyone seeking spiritual insight and striving for a higher consciousness. It offers clear and insightful answers to timeless questions such as:

·         What is the nature of God?

·         What is God’s relation to the individual?

·         Who am I? What is the purpose of my being here?

·         What is the origin of evil and the cause of suffering?

·         What is love?

“It is a profound and inspiring book, full of insight and love, and I believe I gained a clearer understanding of my relationship with God. You are truly an enlightened thinker and writer.”  

—L.L., Dallas, Texas

“Dialogues with My God Self is a treasure trove of insights and truth.  I firmly believe in reincarnation and am very much enjoying reading your book.”              

—N.W., West Palm Beach, Florida

“The day I received this book I was taken aback by the imagery on the cover. It gave such a warm comforting presence.… Dialogues with My God Self is written in such a way that I can practically hear the content as I read.”

—P.G., Missouri

Alvaro Bizziccari received his Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Rome in Italy before moving to the United States. He is a professor emeritus of humanistic studies at the University of Connecticut.

He is the author of several publications (in Italian), including a book on St. Theresa of Avila, and essays on Christian Mysticism from St. Augustine to St. Francis of Assisi, Dante, St. Catherine of Siena, and Michelangelo’s poetry. Click here to read the full press release for Dialogues With My God Self and learn more about the author at alvarobizziccari.com.

Happy Birthday Bram Stoker!

As the Google home page will attest, today is the 165th birthday of Bram Stoker, famous author of Dracula. Cosimo Classics carries the well-known and much-parodied book in both paperback and hardcover, as well as one of Stoker's many lesser-known nonfiction essays, Famous Impostors. Check them out in honor of Stoker's big day!

Heartland Successful Road Show to Rebuild America, organized by Cosimo Author Tom Croft

Thomas Croft, author of Up from Wall Street: The Responsible Investment Alternative  and Managing Director of Heartland Capital Strategies, launched a series of regional Responsible Investment Forums in 2012 to spur new investments for addressing capital gaps in the economy.  Under Heartland’s banner, four Forums were held in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Detroit, cities hard hit by the Great Recession.

“.... as investment pioneer Phil Angelides warned in LA: ‘The ultimate tragedy of the past decade is that we created $13 trillion in mortgage securities – many of which were destructive – rather than deploying that capital in ways to make us a global leader in renewable energy or in rebuilding our infrastructure.’  

It’s clear that the Road Shows revealed a pent-up demand across the nation to forge new collaborations for rebuilding our economy – managers and capital stewards of workers’ capital willing to take a lead in realizing this goal.  Going forward, there is a consensus that Heartland can be a catalyst in advancing this collaboration.”

"The Men Who Built America"

There is a series on the History Channel called "The Men Who Built America" about famous men who changed the American landscape as we know it: John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and J.P. Morgan. The show's summary explains, "These men created the American Dream and were the engine of capitalism as they transformed everything they touched in building the oil, rail, steel, shipping, automobile and finance industries..."

Cosimo carries several biographies and histories about all these great men, and others like them. If you're a fan of the History Channel and want to know more about these historical figures, check out our bookstore. You can read books by and about Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford,  John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and soon, J. P. Morgan. Read and learn about the history of America and the faces who made it.

Halloween is Coming! Check Out Our Collection of Creepy Crawly Cryptozoology Books!

Halloween is next Wednesday, but you don't need to wait a whole week to get spooked! Cosimo Author Loren Coleman is also a world-renowned cryptozoologist, and he offers a collection of books that will satisfy even the most skeptical minds. He has written introductions to classic books with an eye toward the strange, creepy, and the unknown. Check out titles on werewolves, dragons, mythical monsters, sea serpents, and giant birds.

As always, be sure to read Coleman's bestselling Bigfoot: The True Story of Apes in America, Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life (in preparation for the winter solstice), and Mothman and Other Curious Encounters. That way, after your trick-or-treating is finished and the parties have come to a close, you can curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and thoroughly frighten the night away.

Also, check out Loren Coleman's cryptozoology site Cryptomundo for the latest about Bigfoot. This week, the Patterson-Gimlin film turned 45 and there is breaking news about an upcoming Bigfoot film. Check out his website for more!

Happy Halloween!

Praise for Mystic Journey: Buy the Book Everyone's Talking About

Since its release, our title Mystic Journey has gotten quite the response from readers and reviewers. Author Robert Atkinson was interviewed by both the Portland Press Herald and Spiritual Media Blog about his background in spirituality and life stories. These discussions clarify his book and his purpose behind writing it, creating deeper meaning for the readers.

Additionally, Atkinson's book received several positive reviews around the 'net, including on the book's Amazon page, and from spirituality and book bloggers, such as Evolutionary_Mystic, Dad of Divas, and Book Bargains and Previews.

See what they have to say below, check out the full reviews for yourself, and pick up your own copy of Mystic Journey!

The book ... provides a magnificent template for the mystical traveler: knowing what is achievable through conscious effort; seeing in the oscillation of opposites the possibility of their union; recognizing that the respolution of such a procession of opposites in our lives is designed to move us closer to our Creator; and understanding that our deepest spiritual transformation comes about not through escape from the world but from work in the world, as service to humanity.

--Evolutionary_Mystic Post 

This book is deep, and makes anyone who reads this delve deeper within themselves to understand not only their own spirituality, but also one's own spiritual and conscious self. 

--Dad of Divas' Book Reviews

Thought-provoking and powerful, valuable reading for those searching for deeper meaning to life.

--Amazon Reader JDM

This book takes an interesting look at developing the whole person, body, mind, and spirit and how expressing our life stories can help us come to know who we really are and what our life's calling is. This is a thought-provoking and compelling read for those who are searching for the meaning of life.

--Allie B. from Book Bargains and Previews

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell's Institute of Noetic Sciences Celebrates 40 Year Anniversary

The Institute of Noetic Sciences, founded by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, known for bridging ancient wisdom and modern science to explore the web of our interconnection through education, community, and applications, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a number of events, including:

• A Phone Call with IONS CEO and President Steve Villano, Thursday, September 27, 2012
• The Great Initiation of the Q'ero Indians at EarthRise on IONS Campus, Tuesday, October 9, 2012
• A Board and Donor Weekend at EarthRise, Including a Public Proclamation Ceremony Bestowing the Key to the City of Petaluma, Friday, October 26 thru Sunday, October 28, 2012
• IONS 40th Celebration and Open House at EarthRise, Sunday, January 20, 2013
• IONS' 15th International Conference in Southern California, July 17–21, 2013

Edgar Mitchell is the author of Psychic Exploration, along with a number of experts on psychic phenomena and the paranormal.

Darwin Gillett, author of Noble Enterprise speaking in Brazil conference on "Profits & Social Values"

Darwin Gillett, author of Noble Enterprise: The Commonsense Guide to Uplifting People and Profits, will speak at conference in Brazil on October 2nd. The conference will be hosted by Fundaceo Dom Cabral, named one of the top ten business schools world-wide by Financial Times for the past three years running. Please check Mr. Gillett's press release, quoted below, for more information.

"While critics of Capitalism, such as the Occupy Wall Street movement, rail against business as a bastion of profit-hungry executives, with little regard for the masses let alone the environment, one Maine businessman has been espousing and documenting an approach for doing business that benefits both profits and social values. This approach helps companies succeed and contributes to a fiar and just society and to the environment." 

Cosimo co-sponsors Sustainable Styles Launch Party at Tesla Showroom in NY

Sustainable Styles, a new magazine venture from sustainable activist Pamela Peeters, held a launch party co-sponsored by Cosimo last Wednesday evening. Among the guests was Frans Verhagen, whose recent book, The Tierra Solution, was being raffled along with Nikola Tesla's autobiography My Inventions. The launch party was held at Tesla's namesake, the Tesla Motors Showroom, where guests were treated to a close-up look at one of the innovative electrical cars, inspired by the works and inventions of Nikola Tesla. 

If you're interested in learning more about Sustainable Styles and Pamela Peeters work, please visit their Facebook page or consider a donation to the magazine.

Danny Schechter on the Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street

Yesterday, September 17, was the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. News outlets, such as Yahoo! News, noted that the turnout was underwhelming and that police nipped things in the bud almost immediately. Read Danny's take on the first anniversary of #OWS and catch his follow up in today's blog post. Of course, you can also check out his play-by-play of the movement during it's heyday in his book, Occupy: Dissecting Occupy Wall Street.

Dare to Care and The Espresso Book Machine at The American Book Center in Amsterdam

This Saturday and Sunday, Cosimo author Louis Bohtlingk is presenting his climate-conscious finance book, Dare to Care, at American Book Center locations in The Hague and Amsterdam in The Netherlands. In addition, he will be demonstrating the technology of the Espresso Book Machine.

Not only will this be an interesting presentation on the meaning of money in our economies from someone who has worked in finance and with money for years, but copies of Dare to Care will be printed locally at the event by the Espresso Book Machine for fans who want a signed copy.

Dare to Care is just one of thousands of Cosimo titles available on this innovative publishing machine, which is featured in bookstores around the world. In New York City, McNally Jackson in Soho houses its own machine, ready to print any book within the Espresso database at a moment's notice. This device as a fantastic alternative for bookstores who want to offer print-on-demand books, but don't want to carry a large stock, especially for stores in locations where not every single book is available or where online ordering is not always available or fast. For locations of all Espresso Book Machines around the world, click here.

New York Times on Keeping Nikola Tesla's Flame Bright

According to The New York Times, fans of inventor and writer Nikola Tesla are hosting fundraisers to create a museum featuring Tesla's inventions and life in his dilapidated laboratory, Wardenclyffe.

One such method of fundraising is producing a movie about Tesla, which would include the purchase of and subsequently feature the estate. Other plans include online fundraising and philanthropy, but all will contribute to the purchase of the museum, which will educate the public on the largely under-publicized man.

Fans or newcomers to Tesla's work can start with his autobiography, My Inventions, available in both paperback and hardcover. Additionally, you can read about his Experiments with Alternate Currents of High Potential and High Frequency, also in paperback and hardcover, and The Problem of Increasing Human Energy, an always-hot topic with the discussions of climate change.

Self-publishing is now "validated" by The New York Times

According to a recent article in The New York Times, self-publishing is no longer just about the vanity presses. Of course, we've known this for years, as a sort-of mashup between traditional publishing and typical POD publishers, which are largely self-publishing companies. More than half of the books published last year--somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 out of 350,000 titles--were self-published. 

Much of this success (or rather, publicity) can be attributed to the Amazon self-publishing boom with CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing. The New York Times' attention can also probably be blamed on Fifty Shades of Grey, which as most people know, started out as a self-published, hastily doctored Twilight fanfiction. After mentioning two self-published books which did well ("Fifty Shades of Grey" and "The Fine Print of Self-Publishing," neither of which apparently warrant correct punctuation for book titles), the article gives the disappointing caveat that most self-published books will only ever sell between 50 and 100 copies, a dismal quantity at best.

Many authors who self-publish might not care, having published the book for various reasons. Often authors don't care about getting their book to a wide audience, but just about getting the book out at all. Of course, many (most) might just be overly-optimistic. As one self-published author whose book got bought by a big house put it, "The biggest thing you have against you in trying to sell your book is that people don't know about it." 

This is true, and not limited to self-publishing. Other articles have been coming out about how difficult it is to get books noticed by the public, through online and traditional marketing methods. But publishers have contacts in the business, and that's why publishing through other methods can be beneficial. Though we publish books through print-on-demand technology, a much more cost effective method than large print runs, we market our books using both traditional and online methods. This can be a great help to authors who don't know where to start. Of course, the author is always the most effective marketer, especially of non-fiction books, since they ideally have an audience and platform already built up and can reach them most easily. Basically, as the article states, it's nothing revolutionary to get people to notice your work, but it does take a lot of effort.

The point is, The New York Times has finally gotten around to noticing that people are self-publishing. That it can be a good choice for some authors, but that many won't make it. That it's hard work. Welcome to the 21st century.

"As the World Burns: Can an Integrated Monetary System Save Us?" - Review of The Tierra Solution

Ethan Goffman, associate editor of the open-access journal for sustainable solutions, Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy, has written a thought-provoking review of Frans Verhagen's The Tierra Solution. You can read the original review, along with some enlightening articles about sustainability, here, but see what he has to say below.

Climate change requires an integrated global approach. Solutions cannot be isolated by borders, nor from our economic and social systems. Big thinking is needed. One recent book that thinks big is The Tierra Solution by sustainability sociologist Frans Verhagen, President of the International Institute of Monetary Transformation. The book recommends a global currency called the Tierra based on carbon. Given the severe challenge of climate change, such sweeping proposals are needed to create a larger vision and stimulate discussion. And clearly, a major shift in our monetary system is needed for a stable, sustainable planet. Still, the book is simplistic in its claims for a singular solution and understates the huge political challenges.

The Tierra would abandon our current floating currency, in which dollars, euros, renminbi, pesos, and other currency fluctuate relative to one another, oftentimes wildly so. While such volatility is economically stressful, Verhagen points out that the gold standard, the classical stable unit of currency, suffers from the artificial nature of gold, which itself ebbs and flows in price. As an international currency based on carbon, the Tierra would be both comprehensive and stable. It would also be tied to the environment, encouraging responsible behavior globally. As Verhagen explains, “[T]he proximity of a nation’s decarbonization level to the [Tierra] standard would determine the...value of its currency.”

Alas, the book leaves a hole as to how a transition to such a standard would take place. It does, however, describe a more complete system of which the Tierra is only one part, albeit the central one. Controlled by a global monetary institution, the Tierra would be a credit-based currency integrated with an exchange of wealthy countries’ ecological debts and poorer countries’ financial debt, and working alongside a carbon tax.

Read the rest of the review on the Sustainability blog, here. And don't forget to leave a comment here or there with your own thoughts on the issue!

Left at East Gates's Peter Robbins on Truth Out Radio

Last Friday evening, author Peter Robbins did an interview with Richard Dolan of "Truth Out Radio" about the Rendlesham Forest incident, Britain's most well-known UFO occurrence and the subject of Robbins's book with Larry Warren, Left at East Gate. To listen to the whole three-hour show and the two-hour talk with Peter, check out the Truth Out Radio Archives. The newest shows are at the bottom. In addition, you can watch Peter's recent talk on the subject at Phoenix Mufon on July21st, below, for background information.

“Occupy Wall Street succeeded in making the issue of the 99% versus the 1% big news,” says Schechter in Tehran Times

Danny Schechter, the News Dissector, and author of Occupy: Dissecting Occupy Wall Street, has been interviewed by the Iranian Tehran Times, covering multiple issues. From the role of the media in covering the Middle East, to their role in the run up to the wars in Iraq and  Afghanistan, to the White House and Wikileaks, and much more. Schecher is also frank in his views of Occupy Wall Street; yes, "it succeeded in making the issue of the 99% versus the 1 % big news in a media dominated culture" and no, "it hasn't succeeded in making change." You can read the complete interview online. If you're interested in reading more of Danny's ideas on Occupy and the media, check out his new books, Blogothon: Reflections and Revelations from the News Dissector, and Occupy, now also available as a NookBook.

New Book Release & Cosimo Book of the Month from Life Stories Expert Robert Atkinson

This month we'd like to announce a new title and our August Book of the Month, Mystic Journey: Getting to the Heart of Your Soul's Story, by Robert Atkinson. Mystic Journey is the exploration of who we are at our core and why we are deeply connected to all others on earth. Atkinson, an internationally recognized authority in helping people tell their life stories, explains how universal motifs, archetypes, and patterns tie us all together and emerge time and time again in individuals' life stories, to create one story that establishes who we are during life. Atkinson uses his extensive background in human development and religious studies to show how traditional archetypes and motifs, such as the hero story, shape our daily lives and develop within our own personal stories.

Mystic Journey explores life's greatest adventure, discovering who we are at our core by living consciously, as described in the world's oldest wisdom traditions. We all must explore the path of our soul, uncovering who we are in this life in order to determine who we will be in the next life (i.e. heaven, the great beyond, the afterlife, death). Atkinson uses a multi-faith approach to explain and describe the lifelong process of soul-making, leading to a personal and collective transformation. each chapter of Mystic Journey ends with an exercise to help readers tell their personal story, and each chapter explains not only the process of soul-making, but also how each individual's story connects to that of the whole.

Mystic Journey is an ideal book for those searching for inner peace, spiritual awareness, or who simply want to write down their story for others to read. Mystic Journey guides readers to use their life stories to solidify their identities, live with an eternal perspective in mind, and reclaim a common spiritual heritage. You can read the press release, along with praise and purchasing information, here. The book also received fantastic reviews from The New Maine Times book review and The Publishing Guru. Jean Houston, author of A Mythic Life and The Search for the Beloved, says of Mystic Journey, "In this exquisite exploration of the spiritual craft of soul-making, Robert Atkinson illumines the journey as well as the art and discipline that leads to spiritual transformation. To read this magnificent study is to remember our original birthright and commit again to following the path that leads us home to who and what we really are."

Robert Atkinson is the author of eight books, including several on personal storytelling. He is a professor of human development and religious studies, and the director of the Life Story Center at the University of Southern Maine.  He can be found online at www.RobertAtkinson.net, where you can read his tour schedule, find out more about the book, read Atkinson's blog, connect with him personally,and read a sample of the book. He also has an interactive blog, Remembering Who We Are, featuring 50 ways to tell your soul's story.

Modern Review of a Classic Victorian War Manual

We have some exciting news! In this month's issue of Survival  from The International Institute for Strategic Studies, David Betz has reviewed Small Wars: Their Principles and Practice, by Charles Callwell, one of our Cosimo Classics titles. The August to September volume of Survival is all about global politics and strategy, and Small Wars fits in perfectly.

From the American war in Vietnam to the Russian war in Afghanistan, the British occupation of Northern Ireland to the American occupation of Iraq, "small wars"--which include guerrilla warfare and other asymmetrical combat--have been a constant in the geopolitical arena of the post-WWII globe. But it was a contingency before the World Wars that demanded advanced preparation in the areas of strategy, logistics, and other military concerns. In the classic 1896 Small Wars, Anglo-Irish military writer Major General Sir Charles Callwell (1859-1928) drew on his service in the British army to create the first modern guide to the "small war." From the causes of small wars, which impacts how they will be fought, to the characteristics of guerrilla warfare to nitty-gritty details on the best tactics to employ over various terrain, it is a gripping instruction manual for deploying the "boldness and vigour" required to win a small war.

Betz's article is a frank and detailed review that merges past with present, that reviews which parts of Callwell's Small Wars are applicable in this day and age, and which are absolutely not. Both are a fascinating read, especially for those interested in both ancient and modern warfare. You can check out an excerpt of Betz's article here, or you can order this month's issue in print or for your iPad. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

OCCUPY! Dissecting Occupy Wall Street: Stories from the Field by Danny Schechter the News Dissector

In light of the Occupy Wall Street marches today supporting the ConEdison strike and a country-wide increase of the minimum wage, it seems like a good time to promote July's book of the month, Occupy: Dissecting Occupy Wall Street, by Danny Schechter.

Danny, known popularly as the News Dissector, has long commented on social protests and the ills of Wall Street and the big banks. He predicted the burst of the housing bubble and the collapse of the economy with his book Plunder and the follow-up documentary, Plunder, The Crime of Our Time. He regularly visits South Africa and wrote about the reform that was needed in that country on his blog and in Blogothon. The point is, he has long history of being interested in social and economic reform, the evidence of which can be seen in his many blog posts and articles.

So it's safe to say that Danny knew what he was talking about when he reviewed and participated in the Occupy Wall Street protests that took place last fall and winter. Occupy is a collection of blog posts and articles from September through December of 2011, when Occupy Wall Street was at the height of its campaign. Danny studies how the movement started, what it did well, and how it could improve. He was well-placed to do so, considering his background working with other political reform movements like the March on Washington and Spain's "Tahrir Square" in Madrid's Puerta Del Sol in June of last year.

Occupy is an interesting and in-depth study of the inner-workings of a movement created by regular citizens who just want to make a difference. You can read the press release for more details and check out the ebook version for only $7.99.

Danny Schechter is a writer, television producer, and independent filmmaker who also speaks about media and financial issues. He is the editor of Mediachannel1.org and blogs daily as the News Dissector at NewsDissector.net. Schechter is the author of fourteen books and has produced and directed more than thirty documentaries and television specials. His blog was named the 2009 “Blog of the Year” by the Hunter College Media Department of the City University of New York. You can follow him on Twitter at @dannyschechter and @DISSECTOREVENTS.

In honor of Jeanne Avery, actress, astrologer and author

With sadness we recently heard of Jeanne Avery's passing away earlier this year. After a successful acting career, Jean Avery became a professional astrologer in the 1960s. She wrote a very popular daily astrology column which appeared in hundreds of newspapers in the 1970s and 1980s. She wrote books, the first of which was The Rising Sign: Your Astrological Mask (1982, Doubleday). Followed by five more books, three of which, we are proud to have republished as Paraview titles:

Astrology and Your Health

Astrology and Your Past Lives

and

A Soul's Journey

In all her astrology work, Jean Avery emphasized that astrology is not a crystal ball. "Astrology is like a road map," she frequently said. " It helps us to upgrade the quality of our choices. You can choose to take the superhighway to your destination or you can choose to take the back roads. Either way, you're the one to make the choices. An understanding of astrology gives us more control over our lives, not less."

Jean Avery was a popular speaker and workshop leader at conventions. She was a member of the American Federation of Astrologers, a board member of the National Association for Transpersonal Psychology, and was listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the East, and Who's Who for Women.

Dr. Edward Bruce Bynum and Dark Light Consciousness, A New Book About the Power of Melanin and the African American Tradition

On June 19, psychologist and author Edward Bruce Bynum released a new book on the African tradition with Inner Traditions Press. In Dark Light Consciousness: Melanin, Serpent Power, and the Luminous Matrix of Reality, Dr. Bynum explores the consciousness and the superconsciousness of individuals and the universe, using science and ancient African and Indian traditions to help readers tap into their minds and bodies.

The back cover copy explains,

Within each of us lies the potential to activate a personal connection to the superconscious. Called “Ureaus” in ancient Egyptian texts and “Kundalini” in ancient Hindu yoga traditions, our innate serpent power of spiritual transcendence inhabits the base of the spine in its dormant state. When awakened, it unfurls along the spinal column to the brain, connecting individual consciousness to the consciousness of the universe enfolded within the dark matter of space. At the root of creativity and spiritual genius across innumerable cultures and civilizations, this intelligent force reveals portals that enfold time, space, and the luminous matrix of reality itself. 

Combining physics, neuroscience, and biochemistry with ancient traditions from Africa and India, Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., explores the ancient Egyptian science of the Ureaus and reveals how it is intimately connected to dark matter and to melanin, a light-sensitive, energy-conducting substance found in the brain, nervous system, and organs of all higher life-forms. He explains how the dark light of melanin serves as the biochemical infrastructure for the subtle energy body, just as dark matter, together with gravity, holds the galaxies and constellations together. With illustrated instructions, he shows how to safely awaken and stabilize the spiritual energy of the Ureaus through meditation practices, breathing exercises, and yoga postures as well as how to prepare the subtle body for transdimensional soul travel.

By embracing the dark light of the shining serpent within, we overcome our collective fear of the vast living darkness without. By embracing the dark, we transcend reality to the dimension of light.

Fans of Dr. Bynum's work know that he uses his psychological and scientifc background to assess the human brain, whether it be dreams, humanity's African roots, or the consciousness and the soul. He continues this trend with Dark Light Consciousness, earning praise for his research. Teri Degler, author of The Divine Feminine Fire and the Fiery Muse commented, “In this fascinating book, Edward Bynum throws down a gauntlet to science that may very well result in the most revolutionary research ever done on consciousness. His groundbreaking ideas challenge not just what we know about enlightenment but the very nature of light itself and--more importantly for each and every one of us--our journey toward it.” 

Other of Dr. Bynum's works include Families and the Interpretation of Dreams (Paraview Special Editions, 2003), Why Darkness Matters: The Power of Melanin in the Brain (African American Images, 2005), The Roots of Transcendence (Cosimo Boks, 2006), The Family Unconscious (Cosimo Books, 2006), and The African Unconscious: Roots of Ancient Mysticism and Modern Psychology (republished by Cosimo Books, 2012).

Five Foot Shelf Classics Highlighted in 2009 Memoir about Reading through Pain

As I was scanning some old emails, cleaning out my inbox, I found a link to a New York Times book review someone had sent me when we first started re-publishing the impressive 51-volume Five-Foot Shelf of Classics. The review--for Christopher Beha's The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me about Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else--discusses not only the premise of the book, but also the history of the Five-Foot Shelf.

Christopher was a young, struggling writer, barely employed and in mountains of debt, when he decided to quit his job, move into his parent's Manhattan apartment, and dedicate a year to reading copies of the Harvard Five-Foot Shelf of Classics that were moldering in the attic. What follows is a year fraught with illness, death, depression, and learning. Beha read the books through a favorite aunt's bought with leukemia and subsequent passing, his own battle with Lyme disease, and a torn meniscus. Beha shows how the books helped him through a difficult time in his life, providing candid and thought-provoking reviews of the some of the world's most well-known books.

The Five-Foot Shelf is a collection of books compiled by Harvard president Charles Eliot as a way for people who couldn't attend Harvard to get a literary education with some of the best and most well-known classics around the world. The collection includes titles such as The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Complete Poems of John Milton, Ben-Hur, The Origin of Species, Don Quixote, The Odyssey, and Beowulf. Now anyone can own the set for themselves, to further their education, enrich their mind, and make their own assessment, like Beha. Cosimo offers this unique 51-volume series in paperback and hardcover at attractive pricing, if you don't already own the set or would like a newer version than the one in your parent's basement. You can also order books in the set individually if you simply need to complete your series.

Bookbuzz Blog Radio with Frans Verhangen: Discussing His New Book on Climate Change and the Financial Crisis

Last week, Frans Verhagen, author of The Tierra Solution (Cosimo's June Book of the Month) had a conversation with Susanna Greenberg on BlogTalk Radio about the book and the state of the climate. Verhagen discussed the current climate crisis and what is currently being done to solve those problems, currency problems and moving toward a standard currency, what a carbon standard is and why it is more beneficial than any other standard, and the benefits of the Tierra Fee and Dividend System.


This book and talk comes on the heels of the Rio+20 conference in Brazil, where "world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, [came] together to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet to get to the future we want."

Amid Rio+20 UN Conference and Impending Climate Crisis, The Tierra Solution Delivers Answers

With the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development happening this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the upcoming presidential election--where there is sure to be at least some focus on climate issues and a lot of focus on financial issues--this month's Book of the Month is both timely and relevant. The Tierra Solution, by sustainability sociologist Dr. Frans Verhagen, offers a solution to climate change through monetary transformation, essentially killing two birds with one stone.

Dr. Verhagen proposes to resolve to the current financial, economic, and monetary problems around the world with a credit-based financial system, governed by a Global Central Bank, that uses a carbon standard for a newly developed international monetary system with the Tierra as the unit of account--hence, the Tierra Solution.

Basically, Verhagen suggests that by simply holding businesses and governments accountable for the carbon-based energy they use, and basing money exchange on that energy, we can create a cleaner environment and solve the global financial crisis. Separated into two distinct parts, The Tierra Solution first describes the current climate crisis and methods of carbon reduction that already exist (and why they are not ideal). He also lays out the history and present structure of the international monetary system. Then, Verhagen describes the Tierra Fee & Dividend System, why it is the best solution for our ravaged economies, how it will improve the climate and monetary systems, and how it should be implemented.

Hazel Henderson, evolutionary economist and president of Ethical Markets Media, commented that The Tierra Solution is, "a visionary and immensely practical approach to reforming today's bubble finance and taming its global casino. Verhagen... illuminates the win-win solutions possible when we combine monetary transformation with low-carbon, renewable resource strategies and equitable approaches to sustainable development."

In his Foreword, Felix Dodds, executive director of the Stakeholder Forum, said, "This book is an important contribution because it provides some serious ideas for how we can ensure that there is international monetary justice that takes account of social, environmental, and procedural justice and intergenerational principles in the international monetary system."

This is not a light-hearted read.

But it is essential for those in finance and governements (or who want to influence those areas) to understand how our current systems are failing and why we need something new. Verhagen describes it as needing to "repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet."

If you're interested in the official press release, you can read it here. Dr. Frans Verhagen is a sustainability sociologist with a Ph.D. in the sociology of international development from Columbia University. he founded the Queens Green party, the Riverside Church Ecology Task Force, and the Ecolinguistics Commission. He has worked around the world and online teaching environmental policies and sustainability.He is online at www.timun.net.