An addictively free-ranging survey of the massive impact that the humble and loveable sheep have had on human history. From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the rolling hills of medieval England to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, the domesticated ungulates of the genus Ovis—sheel—have been central to the human story. Starting with our Neolithic ancestors' first forays into sheep-rearing nearly 10,000 years ago, these remarkable animals have fed us, clothed us, changed our diet and languages, helped us to win wars, decorated our homes, and financed the conquest of large swathes of the earth. Enormous fortunes and new, society-changing industries have been made from the fleeces of sheep, and cities shaped by shepherds' markets and meat trading. Sally Coulthard weaves the rich and fascinating story of sheep into a vivid and colorful tapestry, thickly threaded with engaging anecdotes and remarkable ovine facts, whose multiple strands reflect the deep penetration of these woolly animals into every aspect of human society and culture.

When longtime illustrator and lover of power tools Lauren Scheuer was looking for a project, she got the idea to raise backyard chickens. Her husband and teenage daughter looked on incredulously as coop sketches and chicken-raising books filled their New England home. But when the chicks arrived, the whole family fell in love with the bundles of fluff and the wild adventures began. Once Upon a Flock: Life with My Soulful Chickens stars Scheuer’s backyard chickens—with their big personalities, friendships, rivalries, and secrets—and the flock’s guardian, Marky the terrier. The flock includes Hatsy, the little dynamo; Lil’White, the deranged and twisted Buff Orpington; Pigeon, the fixer-upper chicken; and Lucy, the special-needs hen who bonds with Lauren and becomes a fast friend. This charming story of Lauren’s life with her quirky flock is filled with moments of humor and heartbreak: When Lucy is afflicted with a neurological disease, Lauren builds Lucy a special-needs coop. When Lucy’s nesting instinct leads Lauren to act as a chicken midwife of sorts, Lauren hatches a chick in her home. And when Lucy’s best friend Hatsy falls ill, Lauren finds an unlikely friend for Lucy in a chicken named Pigeon, who requires an emergency bath and blow-dry. Enthusiastically immersing herself in the world of her flock, Lauren discovers that love, loss, passion, and resilience are not only parts of the human experience, but of the chicken experience as well. Throughout it all, Lauren documents the laughter and drama of her flock’s adventures with her own whimsical photos and illustrations. At once humorous, poignant, and informative, Once Upon a Flock is a feathered tale like no other.

Bea the sheep knows she's "ewe-nique" and when her flock doesn't want to put up with her antics any longer she decides to go her own way. Bea moves to the big city and tries every new job she can think of--including a cloud, a library lion, and more--until she finds the confidence to be herself again and return home...only to inspire her flock to be more unique themselves. This hilarious and surprising story reiterartes a familiar lesson without talking down to the reader. From Bea's hilarious expressions to the wacky predicaments she finds herself in, readers will be delighted with this fantastic new character and her bold personality.

The groundbreaking first-person account of successful recovery from dissociative identity disorder, now featuring a new preface by the author When Joan Frances Casey, a married twenty-six-year-old graduate student, “awoke” on the ledge of a building ready to jump, it wasn’t the first time she couldn’t explain her whereabouts. Soon after, Lynn Wilson, an experienced psychiatric social worker, diagnosed Joan with multiple personality disorder. She prescribed a radical program of reparenting therapy to individually treat her patient’s twenty-four separate personalities. As Lynn came to know Joan’s distinct selves—Josie, the self-destructive toddler; Rusty, the motherless boy; Renee, the people pleaser—she uncovered a pattern of emotional and physical abuse that had nearly consumed a remarkable young woman. Praise for The Flock “A testimony to [Casey’s] courage and the dedication of her therapist, who believed that a profoundly fragmented self has the capacity to heal within a loving therapeutic relationship.”—The New York Times Book Review “Absolutely mesmerizing . . . the first coherent autobiographical study of its kind.”—The Detroit News “A compelling psychological odyssey offering unique insights into a nightmare world.”—Kirkus Reviews “Extraordinary . . . deftly told and studded with striking images.”—Publishers Weekly

These are poems about the anxiety of what must be traded for the comfort of the flock. "Flock books" allow farmers to register and track livestock, and these poems survey the anxieties of that registry: the comfort of shelter as trade for living under the weight of threats--of removal, conformity, or one's own urge to stray. Katie Umans has an MFA from the University of Michigan, was a Ruth and Jay C. Halls Poetry Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and received a 2010 Individual Artist Fellowship from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

A remote Florida swamp has been targeted for theme-park development, and the swamp's inhabitants are none too happy. It doesn't help that the residents are a colony of intelligent, prehistoric, dinosaur-like birds. This flock of beasts has escaped the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs, relying on stealth, cunning, and killer instinct. The creatures have been living in secret, just outside our developed world. As the developers push to have the recently-discovered animals exterminated, a billionaire rogue environmentalist step in to protect these rare, predatory creatures. A naïve young Fish and Wildlife officer finds himself caught in between these two incredibly powerful forces, and may find out the hard way that man is the most dangerous predator of them all . . . The Flock is a contemporary eco-thriller about what can happen when man violates nature, and when nature fights back. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

From J. Todd Scott comes a chillingly engrossing thriller about a cult survivor who must confront the horrors of her past to ensure the safety of the future. Ten years after a fiery raid kills her family, former cult member Sybilla "Billie" Laure has a completely new identity. She's settled in rural Colorado with her daughter, hoping for a quieter life. But the world has other plans. With wildfires raging and birds dropping from the sky, Billie wonders if her cult leader father's apocalyptic predictions are finally coming true. When an intruder murders her husband and kidnaps her daughter, Billie has no choice but to confront the secrets of her past. But Billie's journey has other perils, too--namely, a police chief hot on her trail, determined to expose the dangers of the defunct doomsday cult. To save her daughter, Billie will have to go back to where it all began--to the ruined compound in New Mexico where the real threat is the truth.