Joe Neil MacNeil holds in his memory a wealth of Gaelic folktales, learned in his youth in Cape Breton. For over a decade, he has told his tales to John Shaw, a specialist in Celtic folklore and fluent speaker of Gaelic. Shaw has recorded, transcribed, edited, and translated the tales and folklore into English. This rich and entertaining collection is the result of their collaboration. Folktales, anecdotes, proverbs, expressions, rhymes, superstitions, and games are presented in translation and, in the cloth edtion, in the original as well. All variations of the genre are represented: a...

Few published collections of Gaelic song place the songs or their singers and communities in context. Brigh an Orain - A Story in Every Song corrects this, showing how the inherited art of a fourth-generation Canadian Gael fits within biographical, social, and historical contexts. It is the first major study of its kind to be undertaken for a Scottish Gaelic singer. The forty-eight songs and nine folktales in the collection are transcribed from field recordings and presented as the singer performed them, with an English translation provided. All the songs are accompanied by musical...

John Shaw has been documenting Cape Breton's Gaelic traditions since the 1960s. In The Blue Mountains and Other Gaelic Stories from Cape Breton he presents thirty tales recorded between 1964 and 1984. The collection includes popular tales such as The Dragon Slayer, hero-tales of Finn Mac Cumhail and his warrior band, accounts of the famed carpenter Boban Saor, stories of robbers and thieves, comic tall tales, historical legends, and accounts of clan traditions brought over from the western Highlands. Shaw provides both the Gaelic texts and English translations. When possible, he identifies...

The Queen s Gambit is one of the most popular and fundamental chess openings of all time and it has been the battleground for countless world-class encounters throughout the history of chess. Adherents include a long list of World champions, including Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, and Vladimir Kramnik. With his first two moves, Black creates a super-strong foothold in the center, one that is incredibly difficult to break down. In this book, John Shaw revisits the basic principles behind the Queen's Gambit and its many variations. Throughout this easy-to-read guide readers are aided by a...

MacNeil also describes his early years in a Gaelic-speaking rural community, where story-telling is still a basic element of community life. He explains how he learned the tales and the customs and practices associated with their telling. He also introduces us to the families and individuals who were custodians of the tales. John Shaw's introduction outlines the informant's tradition and its place in the world of the European story-teller. The commentaries of MacNeil and Shaw, the tales, the games, and the other folk material offer a rich and unique perspective on the Gaelic culture...

Chess had a golden era when The King's Gambit was the favorite opening of every attacking player. In the glory days of Paul Morphy it was considered almost cowardly to play anything else. Legends such as Spassky and Bronstein kept the flame burning in the 20th century, but its popularity faded as players became distrustful of White's ultra-aggressive approach. Nevertheless there are honorable exceptions whose games prove that this ancient weapon can still draw blood Short, Nakamura and Zvjaginsev are world-class players who have used the King's Gambit successfully. In this groundbreaking...

The Church Slavonic (Slavic) language was devised in the ninth century. Based on Old Bulgarian, it was created by the Greek missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius. As the first written Slavic language it has become the mother of all modern Slavic languages and continues in daily use in the services of the Slavic Orthodox Churches. (Russian, Bulgarian, Polish etc.) This is a comprehensive grammar of the Church Slavonic language, covering etymology, parts of speech, and syntax. This English edition was translated from the Russian and includes an explanation of grammatical points that would be...

""Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Conqueror of death, and, consequently, of the death of our departed ones. Let us say to them in Him, not 'Farewell, ' but 'Until we meet again, beloved spouse, good parents, dear brother or sister. Until we meet again '""While many are now abandoning traditional religious practice, none the less, the reality of death and questions regarding the afterlife remain at the forefront of spiritual consciousness. "How Our Departed Ones Live" is the answer to those who seek the truth as expressed through the experience of the Orthodox Church. This comprehensive book...