Paul Collins

A narrative history of the origins of Western civilization argues that Europe was transformed in the tenth century from a continent rife with violence and ignorance to a continent on the rise.

Looming large in the popular imagination as a serious poet and lively drunk who died in penury, Edgar Allan Poe was also the most celebrated and notorious writer of his day. He died broke and alone at the age of forty, but not before he had written some of the greatest works in the English language, from the chilling "The Tell-Tale Heart" to "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"--the first modern detective story--to the iconic poem "The Raven." Poe's life...

The story begins when the hero of Wendy, John and Michael's bedtime stories--Peter Pan, the boy who refuses to grow up--returns to the nursery and invites them on a magical journey to Never Land. With the help of Tinker Bell, his feisty sidekick, a dazzling shower of pixie dust and some happy thoughts, Peter teaches them to fly. Off they soar to an enchanted island filled with wonder and adventure. Before they know it, they're knee-deep in a high-flying...

Paul Collins, a Catholic priest and ecologist, speaks about the elevation of humankind at the expense of nature and the environment. The Bible's mandate to subdue the earth is discussed within the context of overpopulation and pollution. The discussion is a challenge to modern western religions to accept their role as stewards of the environment.

Fantastic adventures await Wendy Darling and her brothers when Peter Pan whisks them away to the magical world of Never Land. After following Peter and his feisty sidekick Tinker Bell, they explore the island and Peter's secret hideout with the Lost Boys and leap into high-flying battles with swashbuckling pirates and the infamous Captain Hook.