Books published by publisher Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

Those who have walked the Camino will know just how compelling is the magic to be found along this way. In Medieval Wanders and Wonders Kate Simons delves into the drama that can be sensed in glorious cathedrals and mysterious religious houses, the thrills shared by fellow walkers and the triumph of arriving in Santiago de Compostela. But, having gazed upon magnificent art and experienced the vast Spanish skies, do pilgrims question the significance of James' holy bones, the influence the saints wrought on western civilization or the peculiarity of medieval pilgrimage?By examining the mysteries, sometimes grisly, sometimes delightful, of witches, heresy, obsolete religious practices and knights Kate attempts to answer these questions. She also provides personal reflections and anecdotes from her own Camino walk and subsequent trips to northern Spain undertaken with her husband. As well as asking deep questions, Medieval Wanders and Wonders offers insight into the nature of pilgrimage and the curiosities and marvels of medieval Spain.

This expressive collection follows the life of a girl trying to survive the modern world. As she works through her feelings on her sexuality, self-abuse and self-doubt, she speaks with a voice that anyone who has experienced the pain of growing up can relate to. Dealing with serious contemporary issues, Expression is written with a humour and self-awareness that make it readable over and over again. At its heart, hope and love pierce this coming of age collection, as the author learns lessons on love, life and social media.

In the real world nothing exciting ever happened to nine-year-old Jaden. Jaden was a gamer and a dreamer. Reality just couldn’t compete with the imaginary world of his favorite video game, Minecraft. That is, until one night, Jaden found a letter that made him question the existence of Santa Claus. He knew in his heart Santa was real and there had to be an explanation. Jaden was determined to learn the truth! Jaden’s imagination took him on an adventure he never expected. On Christmas Eve he would uncover the truth about Santa Claus and who was behind the Secret Society of Santa’s Helpers. Do you ever wonder how Santa makes it around the world in one night? Discover along with Jaden the mystery to this and many other of Santa’s secrets.You too will soon find out how much fun reality can be with a little imagination.

Ivy Sue Klutz (Little MisFit – LMF) finds one of her first memories confusing. This is when she is three and a half years old and is at her sister Lynn’s birthday party. Their cousin, Janet, asks the partygoers to guess what Lynn’s birthday present is as the truck delivering the present is backing up to the front porch of their house. Unbeknown to LMF, Janet told the other kids not to really guess that it’s a bike. You guessed – LMF guesses that her sister is getting a bike for her 5th birthday present. But instead of everyone being happy that LMF guessed the right thing, everyone is mad at her and none more than her mother. LMF runs off to her soon-to-be baby brother’s bedroom and tries to hide behind his dresser, with her mother hot on her heels, yelling at her all the way. From this experience and many others through her 4th grade years in school, LMF learns the Life Lesson that Life Isn’t Always What It Seems.

The horrors of World War Two, especially the nightmares of concentrations camps, have made an impact on people all over the globe, from the time of the war to the present. As with any episode of fighting and destruction, the simple questions come to mind: how and why? The Clash: Weimar Classicism and Buchenwald Barbarism, Professor Thomas Lehner examines the mystery of how a highly cultured German society could morph into a setting for the evils of the ‘Final Solution', Hitler's attempt to eradicate Jews. Weimar is situated in Thuringia, the first State in Germany to elect a Nazi governing body. Despite Weimar being the cultural center of Germany, with the linked renowned University of Jena, it is branded with the adjacent notorious Buchenwald concentration camp.With a detailed presentation of facts, case and general histories, and theological reflections, Professor Lehner sets out the pieces of the puzzle that transformed good to evil. He argues that the charismatic Hitler and his cohorts acted as a trigger during the dire post-first world war situation. Jews were blamed for the ‘stab in the back' of the surrender and for all the ensuing misery. The predisposing conditions were long-lasting prejudice preached by the Churches and writings by academics, whilst the legal and medical professions enabled millions of innocent deaths. He presents the picture of cultured Germans, some with University degrees, and others with remarkable artistic, literary, and musical talents transformed during the twelve years of the ‘Thousand Year Reich' into the polar opposite, with Nazis cruelly torturing and mass murdering men, women, and children.

Nitin Mishra's short novel The Last Wind brings man and nature together. In this process Kumar develops intimacy with a tree. His means of interacting with the tree is flute music. Indeed, the essence of man's ecological connectivity is sound or music, which Mishra uses quite productively. Another dimension of man's relationship with tree is biologism; this feature is addressed even by sculptors who make fixed and petrified forms. But biological entities go livid if the balance is lost. In this literary genre, Mishra has shown that notwithstanding the fixed position of the tree, it is mobile; man, despite his movements, comes to surrender his so-called mobility to the tree where he freezes with his musical instrument. But the ripples of the flute sound are sucked up in the tree's body. Nitin shows this subtle history of human fate positively by showing the sublime aspect of the pure human wish and sacrifice. Prof. Abhi Subedi

Twisted Wires refers to the crazy mixed up world of addiction. Twisted thinking and behaviour and attitudes abound about this subject. Surely in this day and age we could have a more cohesive attitude about it all? If this were to happen, maybe, just maybe we could have a better way of treating the problem, or detecting it before it became a problem. You have to agree the statistics about this disease are devastating, to live with it or to love someone who has it is the most perplexing thing ever. Addicts are the modern day lepers of society. Shunned, despised and most definitely misunderstood.

On the Shoulders of Heretics by Joe Fone is a whistle stop tour through the collision between orthodox science and the challengers of recent times, most notably Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky, the controversial scientist who went head-to-head with the scientific establishment headed up by the vicious attacks of Carl Sagan.Velikovsky's story is not unique. The foundations of modern science are thought to be supported by unshakable truths established by the greatest intellects throughout the centuries and, at least for a while, carved in the hard stone of certainty. They are articles of faith from which is derived the basic framework of what we think of as modern ‘science'. However, many of these accepted tenets are in reality hypotheses; conjecture developed over time to solve the myriad problems of inscrutability that bedevil our understanding of Nature. They may then become entrenched in mainstream science (or in ancient times, ‘natural philosophy') as sacred cows until a heretic overthrows them with an ugly fact and proves them wrong, triggering the wrath of the orthodox establishment.‘Joe Fone puts the Velikovsky Affair in a wider historical context, discussing famous examples of new scientific ideas being ferociously rejected by the orthodox establishments, Galileo being one of the most famous. This book is a very erudite survey which reads like a novel.' Dr Gerrit J. van der Lingen, author of The Fable of a Stable Climate‘The scientific community chose, on one end of the spectrum, to ignore Velikovsky. These were the kinder folks. On the other end were the vicious. It is one thing to disagree, and quite another to lie and attack based on those fabrications. As Velikovsky's grandson, I saw this first-hand. This book, written by Mr. Fone with great compassion and attention to detail, has sparked a tinge of hope that in my lifetime there will be a resurgence of interest in Velikovsky.' Rafael H Sharón, PsychoanalystPrinceton, New Jersey, USA

Talent and ambition are fine things, but when unforeseeable impediments repeatedly stall their progress and threaten to stymie their fulfilment, desperate measures may be taken. In the case of Brian MacKinnon, the drive to gain a medical degree was interrupted by illness and repeatedly forestalled by a powerful and determined antagonist. Three years after being unjustly excluded from medical school, he tried again, by undertaking a science degree to regain his place. Again, his efforts were rewarded with the ruthless application of the most extreme prejudice against him. In an excellent re-telling of these events, MacKinnon also describes his transformation to the fictitious Brandon Lee and his audacious return to his old school where, as a thirty-year-old pretending to be sixteen, he passes his Scottish Higher exams with straight A’s and re-enters medical school. The rest is an unravelling, after his identity is discovered, and an unmasking of the dark forces that can be brought to bear when the individual dares to challenge the received will of certain establishment figures. It is a story that could well have been made a novel, but it is true and is just as absorbing as a novel can be.

Lulu is anxious about her science report-so anxious it's given hera tummy ache!She falls asleep, to have an amazing dream-she swallows herself!!In the small intestine Lulu and Abby dance the Acidophilus Hula.In the colon she meets Benny Bifidus, the King of Poo.How does she get back?! That is for you to find out!(hint: Stanley Stem Cell has something to do with it.)‘This delightful book is introducing children to a very important concept-the existence of gut flora and its importance in human health. 90% of ALLCELLS in our bodies are in our gut flora! The complexity of that microbial worldinside us is just as magnificent as Life on Earth itself. To a very large degree,microbes are in charge of our health and vitality. We must know about themand take good care of them. I wish this book every success!'-Dr Natasha Campbell McBride, Nutritionist, founder of The GAPS Diet‘Our two-year-old daughter loves this book-it's one of her favorites! Weappreciate Janice Condon providing a story that's so fun and educational.I recently referenced it on my podcast.'-Rachel Maskell, Mumboss.com & James Maskell, founder of Forum onFunctional Medicine