Books by John Young

John Young first left England, at 10 days old, for Sierra Leone with his missionary parents in 1934. Thus began a life of adventure, travel, and zest for new opportunities. After a childhood spent between Africa, the Yorkshire moors, and English boarding schools, he set off at 17 alone for New Zealand to be a forester and then to university, paying his way with an assortment of jobs from boatbuilder to wharfie to postman. Pursuing a career on the stage was somehow combined with completing an MA degree, as John energetically threw himself into working out where to live, what to do, and who to love. Marriage, a return to England to take a degree at Oxford, and starting a family, were followed by a move to South Australia and an academic career.Through all this, there were always wooden boats. A leaky skiff held together with pitch, old rope and a father’s love. Summers spent making himself useful to owners of other boats. A boat to sailas a young couple in New Zealand; a sloop built in the backyard and sailed amongst the Fijian islands mapping ancient fortifications; the 100-foot sail training ship, One and All, built with community perseverance and now gracing the waters of South Australia. Boats built with unique Tasmanian timbers, after John and his wife moved to Franklin to establish a school of wooden boatbuilding and helped a town recover its remarkable maritime identity.At 85, John looks back on the many choices made and turns taken in his life with some pride in his achievements as well as regret at his failures—and still wants to build another boat.Dr John Young is the author of Australia’s Pacific Frontier (1967), Adventurous Spirits (1984), A Touch of Magic: The Building of the One and All (1984), Sustaining the Earth (1990) and numerous articles on New Zealand, Australian, Maritime and Pacific History, environmental issues and the educational value of wooden boatbuilding.

The first book-length study of the causes, events and consequences of South Sudan's brutal civil war and the devastating effects of the US-led peace process.

¿ Can we have certainty? ¿ Is the universe due to chance, or is it designed? ¿ Does God exist? ¿ Has each of us a soul that survives after death? ¿ Are there unchanging moral laws by which we should live?This book examines these and many other questions from the standpoint of reason. It drawson the wisdom of the past, and especially the perennial philosophy of which St ThomasAquinas is the greatest representative, using these insights to discuss topics affecting us all.A lucid picture is presented of the philosophies which have followed each other through thecenturies, down to current postmodernism. Their main features are critically examined andtheir implications for life and thought are considered, giving the reader a means to critiquemodern civilization.John Young maintains that clarity and certainty about fundamental realities may be achieved through the exercise of human reason. His exposition is clear, while never oversimplifying the issues, and canbe followed by the average person with careful and thoughtful reading. It will be of special value to students engaged in tertiary studies.True philosophy, Young argues, arises from an innate power of reasoning accessible toeveryone, which it clarifies and deepens, bringing a formation of mind achievable in no otherway and a unique insight into the greatest realities. A sound grounding in realist philosophy isurgently needed today, when confusion abounds. Here is an excellent guide to the essentials and unity of the subject, clearly and simply written.John Young, a graduate of the Aquinas Academy in Sydney, Australia, has taught philosophy in four seminaries and to adult education groups. He has published hundreds of articles on philosophy, theology and economics, and is the author of the books Reasoning Things Out, Catholic Thinking and The Natural Economy.

Connor's dying, but he's not dead yet. With unlikely ally Skeates, he sets off on one last wild adventure -- a crazy tour across Scotland dodging the police, joy riding and looking for answers. A bold debut novel full of heart, guts and raw emotion.

Argues forcefully that the birth of the independent state of Southern Sudan and the threat of further dismemberment of a rump northern Sudan are due to the failure of the approaches and ideologies of the main Sudanese parties, as well as a deeply flawed US-backed peace process that excludes civil society and other rebel groups.

The books in this bite-sized new series contain no complicated techniques or tricky materials, making them ideal for the busy, the time-pressured or the merely curious. Christianity Made Simple is a short and to-the-point guide to Christianity. In just 96 pages, the reader will learn all about the history, beliefs and traditions of this major world faith. Ideal for the busy, the time-pressured or the merely curious, Christianity Made Simple is a quick, no-effort way to break into this fascinating topic.