Maria Finn's husband was cheating. First she threw him out. Then she cried. Then she signed up for tango lessons. It turns out that tango has a lot to teach about understanding love and loss, about learning how to follow and how to lead, how to live with style and flair, take risks, and sort out what it is you really want. As Maria's world begins to revolve around the friendships she makes in dance class and the milongas (social dances) she attends regularly in New York City, we discover with her the fascinating culture, history, music, moves, and beauty of the Argentine tango. With each new dance step she learns—the embrace, the walk, the sweep, the exit—she is one step closer to returning to the world of the living. Eventually Maria travels to Buenos Aires, the birthplace of tango, and finds the confidence to try romance again.

As exhilarating as the dance itself, the story whirls us into the center of the ballroom dancing craze. And buoyed by the author's humor and passion, it imparts surprising insights about how to get on with life after you've lost in love.

Few personalities from classical antiquity are more famous--yet more poorly understood--than Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. In the centuries since her death in 30 BC, she has been endlessly portrayed in the arts and popular culture, from Shakespearean tragedy to paintings, opera, and movies. Despite the queen's enduring celebrity, however, many have dismissed her as a mere seductress. In this major new biography, Duane Roller reveals that Cleopatra was in fact a learned and visionary leader whose overarching goal was always the preservation of her dynasty and kingdom.

Roller's authoritative account is the first to be based solely on primary materials from the Greco-Roman period: literary sources, Egyptian documents (Cleopatra's own writings), and representations in art and coinage produced while she was alive. His compelling portrait of the queen illuminates her prowess as a royal administrator who managed a large and diverse kingdom extending from Asia Minor to the interior of Egypt, as a naval commander who led her own fleet in battle, and as a scholar and supporter of the arts. Even her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius--the source of her reputation as a supreme seductress who drove men to their doom--were carefully crafted state policies: she chose these partners to insure the procreation of successors who would be worthy of her distinguished dynasty. That Cleopatra ultimately lost to her Roman opponents, Roller contends, in no way diminishes her abilities.

This definitive portrait restores the Egyptian queen to her rightful historical status as a potent force in the ancient world--one whose policies and influence long
survived her and played a determining role in the future course of the Roman empire.

* Unlike other historical sketches that paint her as being subordinated to the men in her life, this book shows that the men were actually subordinated to her.

* The book carefully uses ancient sources to place Cleopatra in the context of her era--the first century BC--so that she stands out as one of the most significant personalities of the time period.

"A rich, comprehensive portrait of Cleopatra in her many dimensions--skilled orator, medical writer, linguist, naval commander, administrator, accomplished diplomat. Using only data from the ancient world itself, Duane Roller deftly disentangles the historical queen of Egypt from her later legendary selves. The real Cleopatra emerges in all her many-sided splendor, with some surprises for us all."--Margaret George, author of The Memoirs of Cleopatra and Helen of Troy

 "Duane Roller has written a superb biography of Cleopatra VII. Accessible to the general reader and yet free of sensationalism, this book provides a clear account of what can be historically known about the famous queen and the cultural context
in which she lived."--Kathryn Gutzwiller, University of Cincinnati

 "Meticulously researched, compellingly written, and with judicious use of the sources, Roller's often breezy prose style makes for enjoyable reading, and his no-nonsense historical approach, leaving all of the speculative myths, propaganda and legends to others, breathes some fresh air into a subject who is after all one of the greatest and most enigmatic figures of the ancient world, and who lived during perhaps the most momentous couple of decades in Mediterranean history. Roller restores to us both a sensible picture of the queen and a well-rounded sense of her life, her surroundings, and the culture and institutions that made Egypt in the last century BC so fascinating to Rome, and such a threat."--Joseph Manning, Yale University

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at Collected Works with the High Desert Harp Ensemble!

Counting the Omer is a Kabbalistic meditation guide to understand the in-depth meanings of each of the forty-nine days between Pesach (Passover) and the Shavuot celebration of the revealing of the Torah.

Rabbi Kantrowitz follows Kabbalistic guidelines to show how the unique values of the sephirot interact each day, giving the reader insight into the strengths of the day. Through this guide the reader is led to meditate on the mystical qualities of life and self.

Rabbi Min Kantrowitz is a sought after speaker and teacher and has conducted services, workshops and lectures in Europe, California, Montana, Arizona, and  New Mexico. As the Director of the Jewish Community Chaplaincy Program of Jewish Family Service of New Mexico, she provides spiritual support and pastoral care services to thousands of unaffiliated Jews throughout the state. She has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Masters Degrees in Psychology and Architecture. In addition to her degree in Rabbinic Studies, she has a Masters of Science in Jewish Studies. 

Joe Thorndike was managing editor of Life at the height of its popularity immediately following World War II. He was the founder of American Heritage and Horizon magazines, the author of three books, and the editor of a dozen more. But at age 92, in the space of six months he stopped reading or writing or carrying on detailed conversations. He could no longer tell time or make a phone call. He was convinced that the governor of Massachusetts had come to visit and was in the refrigerator.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's, and like many of them, Joe Thorndike's one great desire was to remain in his own house. To honor his wish, his son John left his own home and moved into his father's upstairs bedroom on Cape Cod. For a year, in a house filled with file cabinets, photos, and letters, John explored his father's mind, his parents' divorce, and his mother's secrets. The Last of His Mind is the bittersweet account of a son's final year with his father, and a candid portrait of an implacable disease.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> It's the ordeal of Alzheimer's that draws father and son close, closer than they have been since John was a boy. At the end, when Joe's heart stops beating, John's hand is on his chest, and a story of painful decline has become a portrait of deep family ties, caregiving, and love.