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The Socratic Method Today: Student-Centered and Transformative Teaching in Political Science
by Lee TrepanierThis exciting new textbook provides a sophisticated examination of the Socratic method for teaching political science students in higher education. It shows how the Socratic method is employed in the Platonic dialogs, compares its transformative approach to other student-centered teaching philosophies, and addresses the challenges of adopting the Socratic method in the contemporary classroom. The book is divided into three sections that integrate these practical aspects on the Socratic method with the theoretical considerations of Socratic philosophy while also addressing contemporary concerns about teaching and learning in higher education. Section One explores how the Socratic method is portrayed by Socrates in Plato’s dialogs. Section Two compares the Socratic method with modern and contemporary accounts of teaching and learning. Section Three examines some of the contemporary challenges of practicing the Socratic method in the university classroom today and how teachers can overcome them. Written in a clear and engaging style, this timely intervention is essential reading for upper undergraduate students enrolled in courses that specialize in pedagogical techniques, political theory, Socratic philosophy, and law.
The Socratic Oath for Teachers
by Klaus ZiererWhat makes a good teacher? In 1991, Hartmut von Hentig attempted to answer this when he first formulated a 'Socratic oath' for the profession, and it is a question which remains relevant today. In The Socratic Oath for Teachers, Klaus Zierer revisits and reframes the concept of a teacher’s oath while also addressing challenges currently facing our societal developments in recent didactic-methodological research and fresh perspectives on the goals of the teaching profession. Referencing Socrates throughout, this short think piece proposes a professional oath for teachers that at its core is fully committed to the successful education and well-being of students. Drawing upon key research and his own experiences within education, Zierer answers the following questions, establishing how a professional oath may support teachers: What is a professional oath, and what can it do? What characterises teacher professionalism? What can be understood by teacher attitudes? Why are they crucial for a successful professional oath? Why is Socrates suitable as a guarantor for a professional oath of teachers? Why is a renewal of the Socratic Oath necessary? For whom is an oath necessary, and what must it contain? In this fascinating work, Klaus Zierer explores the principles and goals of the teaching profession and formulates theoretically sound and empirically validated principles of successful teaching. This is an essential read for any teacher, senior leader, policy maker, educationalist, or researcher who wants to learn more about what makes a good teacher.
The Software Test Engineer's Handbook
by Judy Mckay Graham BathRevised and updated 1st Edition, 2011 There are a lot of books around covering functional testing techniques, but relatively few cover both functional and technical testing. This book will fill that gap. Authors Graham Bath and Judy McKay are core members of the ISTQB Working Party that created the new advanced level syllabus, which will be rolled out worldwide this year. This book brings both functional and technical aspects of testing into a coherent whole, which will benefit not only test analyst/engineers but also test managers. Based on the "Certified Tester" Advanced-Level syllabus issued by the ISTQB in 2007, the book covers everything you will need to know to successfully sit the examinations for Test Analyst and Technical Test Analyst. For those planning to take one or both of these exams, the book provides a solid base for preparation and clearly indicates which sections apply to which specific examination.
The Soggy, Foggy Campout (Here's Hank #8)
by Henry Winkler Lin Oliver Scott GarrettHere's Hank, the bestselling series written by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver, is the perfect series for the transitional reader--easy-to-read font, simple and funny stories, and characters every kid would want to be friends with."We Love Nature Day" is fast approaching, and everyone in Hank's class gets to write and perform a poem. One problem: Hank has no idea where to start. Luckily his mom has a great idea--the family will go camping. Out in nature, Hank will be able to find plenty of inspiration. But when a rainstorm threatens to ruin their night, it's up to Hank to make sure the night doesn't turn into a soggy, foggy failure. Can he find the words for his nature poem--and the courage to help his family survive the night?From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Solar System
by Charlene HomerThis book provides ready-to-use information and activities for remedial students in grades five to eight. Written to grade using simplified language and vocabulary, science concepts are presented in a way that makes them more accessible to students and easier to understand. Comprised of reading passages, student activities and overhead transparencies, our resource can be used effectively for whole-class, small group and independent work.
The Solotype Catalog of 4,147 Display Typefaces
by Dan X. SoloThe author of many books on typography, Dan X. Solo was also the proprietor of his own typography shop in Oakland, California -- an establishment dedicated to unusual typography and special effects. This comprehensive catalog offers graphic designers a dazzling selection of over 4,000 typefaces and optical effects available from Solotype Typographers.Here, in Solo's words, is "a great cast of characters" -- the alphabet -- abetted by a cornucopia of typographical ideas and an endless resource of letters, words, phrases, slogans, logos, humorous comments, headlines, and graphic symbols. Individual sections of the book display a rich variety of typefaces in categories such as Condensed, Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Rustic, Thick-and-tin, Calligraphic, Uncials, Latins, and Blackletter.Samples are imaginatively presented. "Stagecoach," for example, is printed in Fargo typeface, evoking dusty trails, rawhide, and ten-gallon hats, while "Sizzling summer savings" appears appropriately in the flamboyant Firebug typeface. All typefaces are indexed for quick and easy reference. As entertaining as it is practical and useful, this impressive treasury of versatile typefaces and optical effects will be indispensable to busy commercial artists as an inexhaustible source of typographic ideas and a "swipe file" of words, phrases, and letters for use in graphic art projects.
The Solutions Focus
by Mark Mckergow Paul Z. JacksonAuthors Mark McKergow and Paul Jackson coach readers in the new methods of problem-solving. This revolutionary, practical alternative to traditional problem-solving processes will help readers identify what is working within an organization and amplify it-placing the focus on what is possible, rather than what isn't.
The Solutions Focus, 3rd edition: Transforming change for coaches, leaders and consultants
by Paul Z. Jackson Mark McKergowSolutions Focus Practice is transforming coaching, consulting and leadership in organisations all over the world. A powerful yet simple approach to positive change, a solutions focus approach to people problems explores what works in a given situation and aims do more of it. The Solutions Focus is the definitive guide to this revolutionary yet practical alternative to conventional wisdom. It demonstrates how the unique SIMPLE method of working sidesteps the search for the causes of trouble and heads directly for the solution. Today national solutions focus associations around the world from Sweden to Australia, base their training on the methods explained here.Solutions focus is in widespread use by consultants, coaches, facilitators and managers. It can be applied at one-to-one, group or organisational levels. Applications include health and wellbeing, sales and negotiation, team building and leadership, performance management, organisational strategy and even peace-building and climate resilience. This long-awaited new edition of The Solutions Focus is fully revised and updated for today's executive, career and life coaches. Including the transformative OSKAR coaching framework, one of the most used throughout the coaching world.Revisions to this acclaimed book include updates throughout to position it in the contemporary landscape. Next generation developments are fully covered including new research on embodiment and experience, the role of hosting rather than directing, and the importance of detail. New case studies from around the world including Nestle, Kraft, Tate and Canon continue the book's legacy of learning from real cases by looking closely at what happens and how it works. Finally, new material exploring improvisation and co-constructed stories completes the update and will ensure this book remains the leader in its field for generations to come.
The Solutions Focus, 3rd edition: Transforming change for coaches, leaders and consultants
by Paul Z. Jackson Mark McKergowSolutions Focus Practice is transforming coaching, consulting and leadership in organisations all over the world. A powerful yet simple approach to positive change, a solutions focus approach to people problems explores what works in a given situation and aims do more of it. The Solutions Focus is the definitive guide to this revolutionary yet practical alternative to conventional wisdom. It demonstrates how the unique SIMPLE method of working sidesteps the search for the causes of trouble and heads directly for the solution. Today national solutions focus associations around the world from Sweden to Australia, base their training on the methods explained here.Solutions focus is in widespread use by consultants, coaches, facilitators and managers. It can be applied at one-to-one, group or organisational levels. Applications include health and wellbeing, sales and negotiation, team building and leadership, performance management, organisational strategy and even peace-building and climate resilience. This long-awaited new edition of The Solutions Focus is fully revised and updated for today's executive, career and life coaches. Including the transformative OSKAR coaching framework, one of the most used throughout the coaching world.Revisions to this acclaimed book include updates throughout to position it in the contemporary landscape. Next generation developments are fully covered including new research on embodiment and experience, the role of hosting rather than directing, and the importance of detail. New case studies from around the world including Nestle, Kraft, Tate and Canon continue the book's legacy of learning from real cases by looking closely at what happens and how it works. Finally, new material exploring improvisation and co-constructed stories completes the update and will ensure this book remains the leader in its field for generations to come.
The Solutions Focus, 3rd edition: Transforming change for coaches, leaders and consultants
by Paul Z. Jackson Mark McKergowSolutions Focus Practice is transforming coaching, consulting and leadership in organisations all over the world. A powerful yet simple approach to positive change, a solutions focus approach to people problems explores what works in a given situation and aims do more of it.The Solutions Focus is the definitive guide to this revolutionary yet practical alternative to conventional wisdom. It demonstrates how the unique SIMPLE method of working sidesteps the search for the causes of trouble and heads directly for the solution. Today national solutions focus associations around the world from Sweden to Australia, base their training on the methods explained here.Solutions focus is in widespread use by consultants, coaches, facilitators and managers. It can be applied at one-to-one, group or organisational levels. Applications include health and wellbeing, sales and negotiation, team building and leadership, performance management, organisational strategy and even peace-building and climate resilience.This long-awaited new edition of The Solutions Focus is fully revised and updated for today's executive, career and life coaches. Including the transformative OSKAR coaching framework, one of the most used throughout the coaching world.Revisions to this acclaimed book include updates throughout to position it in the contemporary landscape. Next generation developments are fully covered including new research on embodiment and experience, the role of hosting rather than directing, and the importance of detail.New case studies from around the world including Nestle, Kraft, Tate and Canon continue the book's legacy of learning from real cases by looking closely at what happens and how it works. Finally, new material exploring improvisation and co-constructed stories completes the update and will ensure this book remains the leader in its field for generations to come.
The Solutions Focus: Making Coaching and Change SIMPLE
by Mark MckergowThis is a new and updated edition of this acclaimed first business book on the powerful, simple yet subtle approach to positive change in people, teams and organisations. Used around the world by a wide range of people, professions and organisations, the first edition has now sold nearly 10,000 copies and been translated into 7 languages. Including new chapters reflecting the increasing importance of coaching and the solutions focus movement in the business environment, this wide-ranging book is filled with all the most important ideas, case examples and practical tips for managers, facilitators and consultants. Proven in many fields and with a distinguished intellectual heritage, "The Solutions Focus" provides a simple and direct route to progress in your organisation. It focuses on: solutions - not problems; in between: the action is in the interaction; make use of what's there; possibilities - past, present and future; and language. Every case is different. The trouble with traditional approaches to people problems is that they assume a straightforward relationship between cause and effect, between a problem and its solution. A solutions-focused approach sidesteps the search for the causes of a problem and heads straight for the solution, showing you how to envisage your preferred future and quickly takes steps forward. The authors present a set of practical techniques, including specific forms of questioning that lead to immediate action and results. They show how to identify what is working in your organisation and amplify it to make useful changes; to focus on what is possible rather than what is intractable and how to be solution focused, not solution forced.
The Solutions Focus: Making Coaching and Change SIMPLE (People Skills For Professionals Ser.)
by Paul Z. Jackson Mark McKergowThis is a new and updated edition of this acclaimed first business book on the powerful, simple yet subtle approach to positive change in people, teams and organisations. Used around the world by a wide range of people, professions and organisations, the first edition has now sold nearly 10,000 copies and been translated into 7 languages. Including new chapters reflecting the increasing importance of coaching and the solutions focus movement in the business environment, this wide-ranging book is filled with all the most important ideas, case examples and practical tips for managers, facilitators and consultants. Proven in many fields and with a distinguished intellectual heritage, "The Solutions Focus" provides a simple and direct route to progress in your organisation. It focuses on: solutions - not problems; in between: the action is in the interaction; make use of what's there; possibilities - past, present and future; and language. Every case is different. The trouble with traditional approaches to people problems is that they assume a straightforward relationship between cause and effect, between a problem and its solution. A solutions-focused approach sidesteps the search for the causes of a problem and heads straight for the solution, showing you how to envisage your preferred future and quickly takes steps forward. The authors present a set of practical techniques, including specific forms of questioning that lead to immediate action and results. They show how to identify what is working in your organisation and amplify it to make useful changes; to focus on what is possible rather than what is intractable and how to be solution focused, not solution forced.
The Someday Daughter
by Ellen O'CloverPerfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon, Mary H. K. Choi, and Alex Light! From the critically acclaimed author of Seven Percent of Ro Devereux comes another heartrending and nuanced novel about family, love, and the cost of ambition.“A compelling, beautifully drawn exploration into complicated family and personal relationships and the frailty and fortitude of a girl simply trying to succeed, love, and thrive. I’m proud to live in a book world where Ellen O’Clover is writing contemporary young adult fiction. The Someday Daughter is a forever treasure.” —Laura Taylor Namey, New York Times bestselling author of A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow Audrey St. Vrain has grown up in the shadow of someone who doesn’t actually exist. Before she was born, her mother, Camilla St. Vrain, wrote the bestselling book Letters to My Someday Daughter, a guide to self-love that advises treating yourself like you would your own hypothetical future daughter. The book made Audrey’s mother a household name, and she built an empire around it.While the world considers Audrey lucky to have Camilla for a mother, the truth is that Audrey knows a different side of being the someday daughter. Shipped off to boarding school when she was eleven, she feels more like a promotional tool than a member of Camilla’s family. Audrey is determined to create her own identity aside from being Camilla’s daughter, and she’s looking forward to a prestigious summer premed program with her boyfriend before heading to college and finally breaking free from her mother’s world. But when Camilla asks Audrey to go on tour with her to promote the book’s anniversary, Audrey can’t help but think that this is the last, best chance to figure out how they fit into each other’s lives—not as the someday daughter and someday mother but as themselves, just as they are. What Audrey doesn’t know is that spending the summer with Camilla and her tour staff—including the disarmingly honest, distressingly cute video intern, Silas—will upset everything she’s so carefully planned for her life.
The Song of Songs: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books #46)
by Ilana PardesAn essential history of the greatest love poem ever writtenThe Song of Songs has been embraced for centuries as the ultimate song of love. But the kind of love readers have found in this ancient poem is strikingly varied. Ilana Pardes invites us to explore the dramatic shift from readings of the Song as a poem on divine love to celebrations of its exuberant account of human love. With a refreshingly nuanced approach, she reveals how allegorical and literal interpretations are inextricably intertwined in the Song's tumultuous life. The body in all its aspects—pleasure and pain, even erotic fervor—is key to many allegorical commentaries. And although the literal, sensual Song thrives in modernity, allegory has not disappeared. New modes of allegory have emerged in modern settings, from the literary and the scholarly to the communal.Offering rare insights into the story of this remarkable poem, Pardes traces a diverse line of passionate readers. She looks at Jewish and Christian interpreters of late antiquity who were engaged in disputes over the Song's allegorical meaning, at medieval Hebrew poets who introduced it into the opulent world of courtly banquets, and at kabbalists who used it as a springboard to the celestial spheres. She shows how feminist critics have marveled at the Song's egalitarian representation of courtship, and how it became a song of America for Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Toni Morrison. Throughout these explorations of the Song's reception, Pardes highlights the unparalleled beauty of its audacious language of love.
The Song of Songs: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries #Volume 19)
by Iain M. DuguidThis Old Testament book, ?the best of songs?, has fascinated and perplexed interpreters for centuries. We hear the passionate melody of romantic love, and are confronted by erotic imagery but whose love is described? Is it a couple?s love for each other, God?s love for his people, or a poem that speaks to love in all its dimensions? Iain Duguid?s commentary explains how the Song is designed to show us an idealized picture of married love, in the context of a fallen and broken world. It also convicts us of how far short of this perfection we fall, both as humans and as lovers, and drives us repeatedly into the arms of our true heavenly husband, Jesus Christ. The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries have long been a trusted resource for Bible study. Written by some of the world's most distinguished evangelical scholars, these twenty-eight volumes offer clear, reliable and relevant explanations of every book in the Old Testament, aiming to get at the true meaning of the Bible and to make its message plain to readers today.
The Songwriter's Idea Book
by Sheila DavisIn her first two books, Sheila Davis classified the major song forms and enduring principles that have been honored for decades by America's foremost songwriters. Those books have become required reading in music courses from NYU to UCLA. In The Songwriters Idea Book, Davis goes one step further, giving you 40 strategies for designing distinctive songs. You'll break new ground in your own songwriting by learning about the inherent relationship between language style, personality type and the brain. You'll go, step by step, through the creative process as you activate, incubate, separate and discriminate. You'll learn to use the whole-brain techniques of imaging, brainstorming and clustering. You'll expand your skilled use of figurative language with paragrams, metonyms, synecdoche and antonomasia. You'll be challenged to design metaphors, form symbols, make puns and coin words. And, you'll learn how to prevent writer's block, increase your productivity and maintain your creative flow. Over 100 successful student lyrics from pop, country, cabaret, and theater serve as role-models to illustrate the "whole-brain" songwriting process.
The Sonic Episteme: Acoustic Resonance, Neoliberalism, and Biopolitics
by Robin JamesIn The Sonic Episteme Robin James examines how twenty-first-century conceptions of sound as acoustic resonance shape notions of the social world, personhood, and materiality in ways that support white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. Drawing on fields ranging from philosophy and sound studies to black feminist studies and musicology, James shows how what she calls the sonic episteme—a set of sound-based rules that qualitatively structure social practices in much the same way that neoliberalism uses statistics—employs a politics of exception to maintain hegemonic neoliberal and biopolitical projects. Where James sees the normcore averageness of Taylor Swift and Spandau Ballet as contributing to the sonic episteme's marginalization of nonnormative conceptions of gender, race, and personhood, the black feminist political ontologies she identifies in Beyoncé's and Rihanna's music challenge such marginalization. In using sound to theorize political ontology, subjectivity, and power, James argues for the further articulation of sonic practices that avoid contributing to the systemic relations of domination that biopolitical neoliberalism creates and polices.
The Sony Alpha NEX-7
by Brian Matsumoto Carol F. RoullardThe Sony Alpha NEX-7: The Unofficial Quintessential Guide provides a wealth of experience-based information and insights for owners of this exciting new camera. Authors Carol F. Roullard and Brian Matsumoto team up to help the new user navigate past the confusion factor that often comes with complex and powerful camera equipment. This book explores the features and capabilities of the camera in a way that far surpasses the user's manual. It guides you through the camera features with step-by-step setting adjustments and detailed how, when, and why explanations for each option. Every button, dial, switch, and menu configuration setting is explored in a friendly manner, with suggestions and tips for setup according to various shooting styles. The informative text is illustrated with screenshots and example images throughout, making it easy to follow along. The authors cover everything from the basic features of the camera to numerous advanced photographic applications. The first section of the book teaches the new user to start taking pictures immediately by using the camera's Intelligent Automatic mode. The second section covers how to begin taking more control by switching to the semi-automatic modes. Finally, you'll learn to take full manual control of the camera, allowing you to break some "rules" and capture images that are a unique reflection of your creative personality. Carol and Brian go beyond just the camera itself and share how third-party software and optional accessories can improve on the camera's standard commands. You'll even learn how the electronic viewfinder, the fixed mirror, and Sony's novel shutter design improve the camera's utility for critical scientific photography (i.e., photomicrography and photography through the telescope).The Sony Alpha NEX-7: The Unofficial Quintessential Guide will allow you to really take control of your camera, to push the envelope, and to have fun.
The Sony SLT-A77
by Brian Matsumoto Carol F. RoullardThis book provides enthusiastic photographers with a wealth of information about the unique features of the Sony SLT-A77, an interchangeable-lens camera with an electronic viewfinder and a fixed, translucent mirror. The A77 differs from the current crop of DSLRs in its ability to use a phase detection focusing system throughout the entire picture-taking process, for both still photographs and videos. This provides an immediacy and responsiveness when using burst shots and creating HD videos that is unavailable in any other camera. In this guide, authors Carol Roullard and Brian Matsumoto teach you how to obtain exceptional photographs and videos as they cover everything from the basics of using the camera's automatic modes, to the more advanced aperture-priority, shutter-priority, program, and manual exposure modes. You'll also learn how best to take advantage of features such as the built-in dynamic range adjustment, sweep panoramic, GPS, colorization modes, facial detection and recognition, multiple shot exposures, and HD video. The authors provide you with an opportunity to improve your skills even further by discussing how third-party software and accessories can improve Sony's standard commands. You'll also learn about how the electronic viewfinder, fixed mirror, and Sony's novel shutter design improve the camera's utility for scientific photography through the microscope and telescope. Additional topics include:Advantages of the electronic viewfinder for previewing your photographs Using the accessory Sony shoe-mount flash Advantages of using the JPEG file format Advantage of having a fixed mirror and electronic first curtain shutter Settings for using the camera on a microscope and telescope Using the older Minolta Maxxum lenses
The Sony a7 and a7R
by Brian Matsumoto Carol F. RoullardThis book is a guide to using the Sony a7 and a7R, the first full frame, autofocus system cameras. At half the weight of a full frame DSLR, they are easy to carry for photographers on the go. The less-expensive a7 has a 24-megapixel sensor for shooting rapidly changing scenes; the a7R has a 36-megapixel sensor designed for ultimate image sharpness. Both use advanced image-processing algorithms and can use any manufacturer's lens when matched with the appropriate adapter. The electronic viewfinder gives the photographer an accurate preview of the image, ensuring the capture of technically excellent photographs by preventing mistakes in color temperature, depth of field, and exposure. All features of the a7 and a7R are covered, including automatic stitching to create panoramas, and multi-shot noise reduction that allows the use of extremely high ISOs. This book guides the photographer in using both the camera's automated features and manual controls to take photographs that are a unique reflection of his or her creative personality.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
by James Ponti Disney Storybook Art TeamThe junior novel is a 144-page retelling of the blockbuster film, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. A young physics student learns that he's the inheritor of the powers of Merlin--and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a war between two of Merlin's protégés.
The Soul of Discernment
by Elizabeth LiebertThe Soul of Discernment provides concrete steps for groups of people who work together and need to make important decisions: church sessions, nonprofit hiring committees, etc. Liebert calls this process the Social Discernment Cycle, a process for seeking God's call in a particular situation. "It is called 'social' because it deals primarily with human communities in their social-structural, rather than interpersonal aspects," Liebert explains. "It is a cycle because one completed round of discernment prepares for the next. The Social Discernment Cycle is particularly apt for any discernment that involves a structure, system, or institution. " This book helps groups work through this cycle to answer the question, "How is God leading us, individually or together, to act in this particular moment in our organization?"
The Soul of Learning: rituals of awakening, magnetic pedagogy, and living justice
by Mary Keator Vajra WatsonThe Soul of Learning is a groundbreaking book that bridges together cultural work, contemplative practices, and ancient scriptures. Inside each chapter, readers are challenged and inspired to come face-to-face with themselves as they encounter teachers in all forms—from spiritual sages to critical theorists, from prophets to poets, from hip-hop rappers to reggae artists. This book is multifaceted and multidisciplinary. It models the essence of education by offering multiple entry points into holistic learning: somatic, aesthetic, emotional, intellectual, ethical, relational, and spiritual. The Soul of Learning embodies a pedagogical disruption in pursuit of personal sovereignty. What process must we go through to reimagine ourselves in relation to each other and the world around us? This book offers a semblance of an answer. As a way to bring the sacred into schooling, Keator and Watson courageously connect spirituality, activism, and education through curated readings, guided activities, and intentional exercises. It’s a ready-to-go syllabus and hands-on workbook all in one! Altogether this book is revelatory and provides innovative ways to teach and learn, lead and live. The Soul of Learning documents a transformative journey, through the interiority of our being into a revolutionary call for collective belonging.
The Soul of a University: Why Excellence is not Enough
by Chris BrinkWhat is the role of a university in society? In this innovative book, Chris Brink offers the timely reminder that it should have social purpose, as well as achieve academic excellence. The current obsession with rankings and league tables has perpetuated inequality and is preventing social mobility. This book shows how universities can – and should - respond to societal challenges and promote positive social change.
The Soul's Sincere Desire
by Glenn Clark“THERE are some modern-day prophets who hold that truth, like light, is impersonal, infinite, universal, and eternal, and who rejoice that they are selfless channels by means of which its radiance may reach humankind. The most exalted of these covet no personal fame for themselves, deriving their reward rather from seeing the dawn they love steadily expand and increase into high noon and flood all the plain with light.From such Olympian light-gatherers as these I have lit my torch. The only acknowledgment I can conceive of that seems at all worthy of such pure natures is the continued spreading of their light, that it may reach a larger circle and bring joy to a greater number.Only a few of these light-givers came to me in the form of books. More have come to me as friends bearing gifts; still more have come as eager questioners; their very needs have brought into the light new conceptions, which, had not their hunger drawn them forth, might otherwise never have been revealed. But deserving of gratitude above all the rest, a gratitude that can never be repaid in words, is that silent band of men and women of many churches and many creeds, whose prayers have been a mighty force in bringing into manifestation Truth more exalted than the voice of him who utters it, and Light greater than the lamp that sends it forth.”-Introduction