"Saving Paradise" offers a fascinating new lens on the history of Christianity, asking how its early vision of beauty evolved into a vision of torture, and what changes in society and theology marked that evolution.

Florida possesses more wetlands than any other state except Alaska, yet since 1990 more than 84,000 acres have been lost to development despite presidential pledges to protect them. How and why the state's wetlands are continuing to disappear is the subject of Paving Paradise. Journalists Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite spent nearly four years investigating the political expedience, corruption, and negligence on the part of federal and state agencies that led to a failure to enforce regulations on developers. They traveled throughout the state, interviewed hundreds of people, dug through thousands of documents, and analyzed satellite imagery to identify former wetlands that were now houses, stores, and parking lots. Exposing the unseen environmental consequences of rampant sprawl, Pittman and Waite explain how wetland protection creates the illusion of environmental protection while doing little to stem the tide of destruction.

Arizona's rugged Chiricahua Mountains have a special place in frontier history. They were the haven of many well-known personalities, from Cochise to Johnny Ringo, as well as the home of prospectors, cattlemen, and hardscrabble farmers eking out a tough living in an unforgiving landscape. In this delightful and well-researched book, Alden Hayes shares his love for the area, gained over fifty years. From his vantage point near the tiny twin communities of Portal and Paradise on the eastern slopes of the Chiricahuas, Hayes brings the famous and the not-so-famous together in a profile of this striking landscape, showing how place can be a powerful formative influence on people's lives. When Hayes first arrived in 1941 to manage his new father-in-law's apple orchard, he met folks who had been born in Arizona before it became a state. Even if most had never personally worried about Indian attacks, they had known people who had. Over the years, Hayes heard the handed-down stories about the area's early days of Anglo settlement. He also researched census records, newspaper archives, and the files of the Arizona Historical Society to uncover the area's natural history, prehistory, Spanish and Mexican regimes, and particularly its Anglo history from the mid nineteenth century to the beginning of World War II. His book is a rich account of the region and more, a celebration of rural life, brimming with tales of people whose stories were shaped by the landscape. Today the Chiricahuas are a magnet for outdoor enthusiasts and the site of the American Museum of Natural History's Southwestern Research Station—and still a rugged area that remains off the beaten track. Hayes brings his straightforward and articulate style to this captivating account of earlier days in southeastern Arizona and opens up a portal to paradise for readers everywhere.

In Saving Paradise: The Story of Sukau Rainforest Lodge, Albert Teo provides a reality-test on the concept of ecotourism. He explores the ten years of challenges and triumphs that he faced first in building an ecolodge and then making it successful while adhering to ecotourism principles. In this book Albert tells in his own words how the Lodge was built, how it is operated and why it continues to succeed when many ecotourism facilities struggle. It is also a story of Borneos Kinabatangan River basin, an area of incredible biotic diversity and of the Orang Sungai people who have lived closely with this river for many hundreds of years. In many ecotourism businesses, balancing financial gains against environmental concerns is difficult; but Sukau Rainforest Lodge is proof that it is possible. Saving Paradise: The Story of Sukau Rainforest Lodge shows the reader a different type of business model one where excess profits are traded for community partnerships and conservation efforts. It has lessons for the tourism industry and for travellers who seldom wonder about the infrastructure that goes into delivering a rich vacation experience far into the rainforest. Moreover, Saving Paradise is much more than a business guide. It is also a portrait of the people of the Kinabatangan and the wildlife they fight for, told through the breathtaking photography of Albert Teo. His pictures of this fascinating region share, in ways words never can, the unique features of this ecosystem and reinforce Alberts hope that others will be inspired and work together to protect ecosystems through responsible travel.

Holidays are sweeter at Paradise Resort. After inheriting her great-grandfather's resort, Holly believes this might be its first and last holiday season with her as the owner. Paradise Resort is short-staffed and running low on guests. All it has in abundance are overdue maintenance and repairs. Holly soon realizes the work is too much to handle alone. Finding a qualified maintenance technician in the small town is harder than she thought. And with a critic from a top travel publication scheduled to visit the secluded spot any day, Holly has just one shot to convince them the one-hour drive from the airport is worth the trip. Jack could never say no to his aunt Annabelle. So when Annabelle asks him to use his skills to help her employer with some projects over Christmas break, he agrees. But the needed repairs are more than Jack had imagined. Can Holly and Jack work together in time to save Paradise Resort? If you like Christmas ornaments, freshly fallen snow, and crackling fireplaces, then you'll love this sweet holiday romance from Hope August. Saving Paradise Resort is a 10k-word short story prequel to the Sweet Paradise Resort Christmas Novella series. No cussing or sex but all the feels.

This bold new statement on the nonviolence of God challenges long-standing assumptions of divine violence in theology, the violent God pictured in the Old Testament, and the supposed violence of God in Revelation. In The Nonviolent God J. Denny Weaver argues that since God is revealed in Jesus, the nonviolence of Jesus most truly reflects the character of God. According to Weaver, the way Christians live -- Christian ethics -- is an ongoing expression of theology. Consequently, he suggests positive images of the reign of God made visible in the narrative of Jesus -- nonviolent practice, forgiveness and restorative justice, issues of racism and sexism, and more -- in order that Christians might live more peacefully.