About the Author
John Hart was born in North Carolina, where he lives with his wife and two young children. He has degrees in French, accounting and law, and worked as a banker, stockbrocker and attorney before beginning his writing career. His first novel, The King of Lies, was an international bestseller.
Featured books by John Hart
Redemption Road
Elizabeth Black is a hero. She is a cop who single-handedly rescued a young girl from a locked cellar and shot two brutal kidnappers dead. But she's also a cop with a secret. And she's not the only one...Set in an America of desperate small towns and uneasy and remote landscapes, Redemption Road has all of John Hart's trademark evocation of the abandoned and the derelict and sense of place. With descriptions so chilling and a story so full of twists and turns you cannot stop reading, it marks a new high point in the writing of this very talented author.
The Last Child
Winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2009. Judges’ comments: 'Accomplished and ambitious piece of southern gothic. It is beautifully rendered, with a cast of memorable characters - full of pathos, atmosphere and mystery. A cracking and original story.' With the success of Down River expectation for John Hart's new novel is high so take the opportunity to read the first chapter of The Last Child and you will not be disappointed. We are pleased to say he has hit the jackpot yet again with a suspenseful, gripping thriller and deserves all the recognition he gets.
Down River
Reviewed on Richard & Judy on Wednesday 16 July 2008. Evocative, gripping and perfectly paced this crime thriller will have you engrossed whether you are on a sun lounger or on your commute to work. In a tight-knit community Adam Chase is banished for a murder he didn’t commit – but the prime witness for the defense was his stepmother. Five years later he is compelled to return but this sets in chain an unforeseen chain of events.
Other books by John Hart
Down River
Reviewed on Richard & Judy on Wednesday 16 July 2008. Evocative, gripping and perfectly paced this crime thriller will have you engrossed whether you are on a sun lounger or on your commute to work. In a tight-knit community Adam Chase is banished for a murder he didn’t commit – but the prime witness for the defense was his stepmother. Five years later he is compelled to return but this sets in chain an unforeseen chain of events.
The Hush
It's been ten years since the events that changed Johnny Merrimon's life and rocked his hometown to the core. Since then, Johnny has fought to maintain his privacy, but books have been written of his exploits; he has fans, groupies. Living alone in the wilderness beyond town, Johnny's only connection to normal life is his old friend, Jack. They're not boys anymore, but the bonds remain. What they shared. What they lost. But Jack sees danger in the wild places Johnny calls home; he senses darkness and hunger, an intractable intent. Johnny will discuss none of it, but there are the things he knows, the things he can do. A lesser friend might accept such abilities as a gift, but Jack has felt what moves in the swamp: the cold of it, the unspeakable fear. Building on the world first seen in The Last Child, The Hush is more than an exploration of friendship, persistence and forgotten power. It takes the reader to unexpected places, and reminds us all why John Hart, after five consecutive New York Times bestsellers, still warrants comparison to such luminaries as Pat Conroy, Cormac McCarthy, and Scott Turow.
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Ecology
In the face of the current environmental crisis which clearly has moral and spiritual dimensions members of all the world s faiths have come to recognize the critical importance of religion s relationship to ecology. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Ecology offers a comprehensive overview of the history and the latest developments in religious engagement with environmental issues throughout the world. Newly commissioned essays from noted scholars of diverse faiths and scientific traditions present the most cutting-edge thinking on religion s relationship to the environment. Initial readings explore the ways traditional concepts of nature in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and other religious traditions have been shaped by the environmental crisis. Readings then address the changing nature of theology and religious thought in response to the challenges of protecting the environment. Various conceptual issues and themes that transcend individual traditions climate change, bio-ethics, social justice, ecofeminism, and more are then analyzed before a final section examines some of the immediate challenges we face in caring for the Earth while looking to the future of religious environmentalism. Timely and thought-provoking, Companion to Religion and Ecology offers illuminating insights into the role of religion in the ongoing struggle to secure the future well-being of our natural world. With a foreword by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and an Afterword by John Cobb
Redemption Road
Elizabeth Black is a hero. She is a cop who single-handedly rescued a young girl from a locked cellar and shot two brutal kidnappers dead. But she's also a cop with a history, a woman with a secret. And she's not the only one. Adrian Wall is finally free after thirteen years of torture and abuse. In the very first room he walks into, a boy with a gun is waiting to avenge the death of his mother. But that is the least of Adrian's problems. He was safer in prison. And deep in the forest, on the altar of an abandoned church, a body cools in pale linen. It is not the first to be found. This is a town on the brink. This is Redemption Road. Brimming with tension, secrets, and betrayal, brilliantly evoking an America of small towns and remote landscapes, of the abandoned, the derelict and the desperate, this is a novel so chillingly suspenseful and a story so full of twists and turns that you simply cannot stop reading. It marks a new high point in the writing of this bestselling master of the literary thriller.
Redencion
Un adolescente con una pistola que espera, a las puertas de la carcel, al hombre que asesino a su madre cuando el apenas era un bebe. Una detective de polica problemtica que se enfrenta a su pasado a causa de las secuelas de un brutal tiroteo. Un poli honrado que, despus de trece aos en prisin, sale en libertad. Pero por cunto tiempo?Un cuerpo que se enfra bajo una sbana de lino en el altar de una iglesia abandonada en lo profundo del bosque. Una pequea ciudad del sur de Estados Unidos a punto de estallar. Es el camino hacia la Redencin. Rebosante de tensin, secretos y traiciones, Redencin vuelve a mostrar la genialidad de John Hart (el nico autor ganador del prestigioso premio EDGAR con dos novelas consecutivas) como maestro del thriller literario.
Redemption Road
Elizabeth Black is a hero. She is a cop who single-handedly rescued a young girl from a locked cellar and shot two brutal kidnappers dead. But she's also a cop with a secret. And she's not the only one...Set in an America of desperate small towns and uneasy and remote landscapes, Redemption Road has all of John Hart's trademark evocation of the abandoned and the derelict and sense of place. With descriptions so chilling and a story so full of twists and turns you cannot stop reading, it marks a new high point in the writing of this very talented author.
The Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior
Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior is one of the initial textbooks of brain mapping in the field of cognitive neuroscience. This well-researched text by a leading expert in the field provides a foundational map of the human brain for cognition and behavior. This comprehensive map of essential human thinking and emotion is based on the explosion in the field of functional neuroimaging studies (fMRI, PET) in the normally functioning human brain. The approach of this text is to confirm the association of these brain regions by verifying that damage to the activated brain area results in a consistent deficit in the cognitive/behavioral operation under investigation. The approach used to form this view of mapping brain and cognition is based on cognitive neuroscience principles of defining dissociable, fine-grained cognitive units and associating these units with brain regions encoding for these units or aspects of the units from both functional imaging and lesion studies. These cognitive-brain relationships are incorporated into clinical syndromes to account for the behavior of these patients after a lesion occurs, with the added feature of presenting patient videos demonstrating the disrupted cognitive behaviors. This comprehensive textbook provides a framework of the basic architecture of cognition in the brain with this combination of activation and lesion study confirmation of the brain-behavior associations. This basic framework is useful for those students studying the interaction of cognitive science and neuroanatomy as well as being relevant to the experienced neuroscientist researcher or clinician.
Herodotus and Greek History
Herodotus has shaped our knowledge of life, religion, war and politics in ancient Greece immeasurably, as well as being one of the most entertaining of all Classical Greek authors: fascinating, perceptive, accessible and not at all pretentious. Herodotus and Greek History, first published in 1982, examines the themes and preoccupations which form the basis for Herodotus' style of history. The Athenian nobility, important protagonists in the context of what we know of his sources; the human and divine forces, which Herodotus understood as influencing the course of history; and the concepts of character and motivation are all discussed. Herodotus' treatment of religious belief and oracles, politics and war, and his portrayal of certain prominent individuals are specifically investigated. The final chapter situates Herodotus in his historical context. John Hart's lucid, well-informed and lively discussion of Herodotus will be value to A-level candidates, school teachers, undergraduates, lecturers and curious non-classicists alike.
Encountering ETI Aliens in 'Avatar' and the Americas
'Encountering ETI' weaves together scientific knowledge and spiritual faith in a cosmic context. It explores consequences of Contact between terrestrial intelligent life (TI) and extraterrestrial intelligent life (ETI). Humans will face cosmic displacement if there are other complex, technologically advanced intelligent beings in the universe; our economic structures and religious beliefs might need substantial revision. On Earth or in space, humans could encounter benevolent ETI (solicitous of our striving for maturity as a species) or malevolent ETI (seeking our land and goods to benefit themselves, claiming that their 'superior civilization' gives them the right) - or meet both types of species. Earth Encounters of the Third Kind described by witnesses (including Native American elders) suggest that both may have arrived already: some have been accused of shutting down US and USSR ICBM missiles to promote peace; others of mutilating cattle or abducting people, perhaps to acquire physiological data on biota for scientific study or for other, unknown purposes. Scifi movies such as Avatar and novels like The Martian Chronicles describe humans as malevolent ETI aliens: we do to others what we fear others will do to us. A shared and evolving spiritual materiality could enable humanity to overcome cosmic displacement, and guide TI and ETI in a common quest for meaning and wellbeing on cosmic common ground.
No hay cuervos
Con trece anos, Johnny Merrimon tiene que enfrentarse a situaciones que ningun chico de su edad deberia afrontar. En el ano transcurrido desde la desaparicion de su hermana melliza, Alyssa, su mundo se ha venido abajo: su padre les ha dejado y su fragil madre se encuentra inmersa en una espiral de autodestruccion. Pero Johnny se mantiene fuerte. Provisto de un mapa, una bicicleta y una linterna, acecha a todo hombre fichado por abusos en el Condado de Raven. La policia puede que haya renunciado a encontrar a Alyssa, pero el nunca lo hara. Alguien, en algun lugar, sabe algo y lo esta ocultando... Solo una persona se preocupa por Johnny: el detective Clyde Hunt, que comparte su obsesin por el caso. Pero cuando el chico es testigo del atropello y muerte de un motociclista, e insiste en que la vctima fue asesinada porque haba encontrado a Alyssa, incluso Hunt cree que ha perdido la cabeza. Entonces otra nia desaparece... y un exconvicto misterioso y gigante, que parece psquicamente perturbado, llega a su pueblo repitiendo como un mantra: "e;No hay cuervos, no hay cuervos..."e; y le cuenta a Johnny una historia de violencia que se remonta a cien aos atrs...
There Will Be Killing A Novel of War and Murder
This wasn't supposed to be Israel Moskowitz's war. What country in its right mind would draft a child psychiatrist fresh out of his residency from Columbia University Med School and send him to Vietnam in 1969? But Izzy was here for the duration: three-sixty-four and a wake-up. A year that would change everything.Assigned to the 99KO, the psychiatric unit of the 8th Field Hospital in sultry Nha Trang, Izzy attempts to use his skills in ways he never could have imagined; not to heal, but to get boys back onto the field of battle. A circle of compatriots soon grows around him - Gregg, the surfer dude turned psychologist; Rick, the tough-as-nails Special Ops commando; J.D., a man of many guises and even more secrets; Margie, the gorgeous, relentless head psychiatric nurse; Kate, the stunning thrill-seeker with a taste for the illicit; Nikki, the endearing, incongruously sweet Red Cross dolly. As their relationships weave and intertwine, the face of Vietnam evolves for Izzy.But nothing will turn his world upside down - and redefine the nature of war to him - like the mission on which he finds himself an unwilling participant. Someone is massacring soldiers in unthinkable ways with the goal of demoralizing via terror, and Izzy needs to be part of the team tracking down the killer. Before he'd come to Vietnam, Izzy had never heard the term ghost soldier. Now one might dictate what remains of his life.Written with the verisimilitude only possible from someone who has been there, THERE WILL BE KILLING is an unforgettable work of fiction brimming with horror and humanity.
Herodotus and Greek History
Herodotus has shaped our knowledge of life, religion, war and politics in ancient Greece immeasurably, as well as being one of the most entertaining of all Classical Greek authors: fascinating, perceptive, accessible and not at all pretentious. Herodotus and Greek History, first published in 1982, examines the themes and preoccupations which form the basis for Herodotus' style of history. The Athenian nobility, important protagonists in the context of what we know of his sources; the human and divine forces, which Herodotus understood as influencing the course of history; and the concepts of character and motivation are all discussed. Herodotus' treatment of religious belief and oracles, politics and war, and his portrayal of certain prominent individuals are specifically investigated. The final chapter situates Herodotus in his historical context. John Hart's lucid, well-informed and lively discussion of Herodotus will be value to A-level candidates, school teachers, undergraduates, lecturers and curious non-classicists alike.
Breach of Trust How Washington Turns Outsiders Into Insiders
Tom A. Coburn, a congressional maverick who kept his promise to serve three terms and then leave Washington, offers a candid look at the inner workings of Congress-why the system changes politicians instead of vice versa. Breach of Trust shows readers, through shocking behind-the-scenes stories, why Washington resists the reform our country desperately needs and how they can make wise, informed decisions about current and future political issues and candidates. This honest and critical look at business as usual in Congress reveals how and why elected representatives are quickly seduced into becoming career politicians who won't push for change. Along the way, Coburn offers readers realistic ideas for how to make a difference.
The Debt Bomb A Bold Plan to Stop Washington from Bankrupting America
In a nation whose debt has outgrown the size of its entire economy, the greatest threat comes not from any foreign force but from Washington politicians who refuse to relinquish the intoxicating power to borrow and spend. Senator Tom Coburn reveals the fascinating, maddening story of how we got to this point of fiscal crisis-and how we can escape. Long before America's recent economic downturn, beltway politicians knew the U.S. was going bankrupt. Yet even after several so-called change elections, the government has continued its wasteful ways in the face of imminent danger. With passion and clarity, Coburn explains why Washington resists change so fiercely and offers controversial yet commonsense solutions to secure the nation's future. At a time when millions of Americans are speculating about what is broken in Washington, The Debt Bomb is a candid, thoughtful, non-partisan expose of the real problems inside our government. Coburn challenges the conventional wisdom that blames lobbyists, gridlock, and obstructionism, and places the responsibility squarely where it belongs: on members of Congress in both parties who won't let go of the perks of power to serve the true interests of the nation-unless enough citizens take bold steps to demand action. Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. -John Adams Throughout a distinguished career as a business owner, physician, and U.S. senator, Tom Coburn has watched his beloved republic careen down a suicidal path. Today, the nation stands on the precipice of financial ruin, a disaster far more dangerous to our safety than any terrorist threats we face. Yet Coburn believes there is still hope-if enough Americans are willing to shake the corridors of Washington and demand action. With an insider's keen eye and a caregiver's deft touch, Coburn diagnoses the mess that career politicians have made of things while misusing their sacred charge to govern. Coburn's incisive analysis: Reveals the root causes of America's escalating financial crisis Exposes Washington's destructive appetite for wasteful spending, power grabs, backroom deals, and quick non-fixes Rises above partisanship to implicate elected officials of all stripes in steering the nation off course Lays out a commonsense guide to restoring order Concludes with a clarion call and sound advice for Americans who would dedicate themselves to defusing the debt bomb Above all, Coburn believes the United States can continue as a beacon of opportunity for future generations-but how we act today will determine whether we deliver the nation to our children and grandchildren fully alive, on life support, or without a pulse.
Mammoth Boy
It's around 15,000-12,000 BC, the Late Stone Age, and an orphan boy is surviving on the fringes of a hunters' camp. Apassion to find mammoths has been ignited in him by OldMother, the ancient crone who guards the camp fire and cares for him. In his travels to find the mammoths, he is adopted by a mysterious hunchback, Agaratz, who lives alone in a cave and is perhaps the last of a vanished people. Urrell learns survival and instinct as a stone-age hunter as well as gaining insight into the meaning of the cave paintings of deer, bison, mammoths and other creatures. The story culminates in a long journey to the Great Meet of the Clan Groups where rites de passage are held in caves, goods traded and mates secured. Time sometimes slips, and when the powers that Agaratz holds are transferred to Urrell, they will be a match for those of the leader of the rites, the horned shaman and his acolytes. But who will win? Mammoth Boy recreates the semi-magical world of the cave paintings seen through the mind of a boy growing into manhood. It was inspired by an archaelogical course in Spain and will appeal to young adults interested in archaeology and recreative pre-historical fiction.
Iron House
Iron House is the remarkable story of two orphaned brothers separated by violence at a tender age. When a boy is savagely killed in their brutal orphanage, one brother runs and takes the blame with him, eventually finding his way to New York and into the heart of organized crime. Two decades later - a seasoned killer - he returns to North Carolina with a sentence on his head, the mob in hot pursuit and his long-lost brother in trouble of a different kind. With vast sums in play, political fortunes at risk and bodies piling up, the brothers reunite to solve the mystery of their shared past in a tour de force narrative of loss, courage and the aftermath of violence. A dark, atmospheric thriller with a plot that will keep you guessing until the last moment.
Iron House
An old man is dying. When the old man is dead they will come for him. And they will come for her, to make him hurt. John Hart has written three New York Times bestsellers and won an unprecedented two back-to-back Edgar Awards. His books have been called "e;masterful"e; (Jeffery Deaver) and "e;gripping"e; (People) with "e;Grisham-style intrigue and Turow-style brooding"e; (The New York Times). Now he delivers his fourth novel-a gut-wrenching, heart-stopping thriller no reader will soon forget.HE WOULD GO TO HELLAt the Iron Mountain Home for Boys, there was nothing but time. Time to burn and time to kill, time for two young orphans to learn that life isn't won without a fight. Julian survives only because his older brother, Michael, is fearless and fiercely protective. When tensions boil over and a boy is brutally killed, there is only one sacrifice left for Michael to make: He flees the orphanage and takes the blame with him.TO KEEP HER SAFEFor two decades, Michael has been an enforcer in New York's world of organized crime, a prince of the streets so widely feared he rarely has to kill anymore. But the life he's fought to build unravels when he meets Elena, a beautiful innocent who teaches him the meaning and power of love. He wants a fresh start with her, the chance to start a family like the one he and Julian never had. But someone else is holding the strings. And escape is not that easy. . . .GO TO HELL, AND COME BACK BURNINGThe mob boss who gave Michael his blessing to begin anew is dying, and his son is intent on making Michael pay for his betrayal. Determined to protect the ones he loves, Michael spirits Elena-who knows nothing of his past crimes, or the peril he's laid at her door- back to North Carolina, to the place he was born and the brother he lost so long ago. There, he will encounter a whole new level of danger, a thicket of deceit and violence that leads inexorably to the one place he's been running from his whole life: Iron House.
Down River
Going back is never easy . . . Adam Chase has spent the last five years in New York trying to forget. When he left North Carolina, Adam left for good. Now he has no choice but to return - and being remembered as a murderer doesn't help. Within hours of arriving, Adam is beaten up, accosted and has to face the hostility of those closest to him, including Grace, the young woman he cannot forget. Nothing has changed. And then people start turning up dead. For a man only just acquitted of murder, Adam's homecoming does not go well. And he has a dark streak, a history of violence. Everyone doubts. No one trusts him. And as the past threatens to overshadow the present, Adam becomes the prime suspect for the new murders. He alone can clear his name . . .
The Last Child
Thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon has to face things no boy his age should face. In the year since his twin sister's abduction his world has fallen apart: his father has disappeared and his fragile mother is spiralling into ever deeper despair. Johnny keeps strong. Armed with a map, a bike and a flashlight, he stalks the bad men of Raven County. The police might have given up on Alyssa; he never will. Someone, somewhere, knows something they're not telling. Only one person looks out for Johnny. Detective Clyde Hunt shares his obsession with the case. But when Johnny witnesses a hit-and-run and insists the victim was killed because he'd found Alyssa, even Hunt thinks he's lost it. And then another young girl goes missing . . .
Last Child
Fresh off the success of his Edgar(R) Award-winning, New York Times bestseller Down River, John Hart returns with his most powerful and intricately-plotted novel yet. Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: happy parents and a twin sister that meant the world to him. But Alyssa went missing a year ago, stolen off the side of a lonely street with only one witness to the crime. His family shattered, his sister presumed dead, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown in a last, desperate search. What he finds is a city with an underbelly far blacker than anyone could've imagined- and somewhere in the depths of it all, with the help of his only friend and a giant of a man with his own strange past, Johnny, at last, finds the terrible truth. Detective Clyde Hunt has devoted an entire year to Alyssa's case, and it shows: haunted and sleepless, he's lost his wife and put his shield at risk. But he can't put the case behind him-he won't-and when another girl goes missing, the failures of the past year harden into iron determination. Refusing to lose another child, Hunt knows he has to break the rules to make the case; and maybe, just maybe, the missing girl will lead him to Alyssa... The Last Child is a tale of boundaries: county borders and circles on a map, the hard edge between good and evil, life and death, hopelessness and faith. Perfectly blending character and plot, emotion and action, John Hart again transcends the barrier between thrillers and literature to craft a story as heartrending as it is redemptive.
The King of Lies
Jackson Workman Pickens - 'Work' to his friends - an unambitious lawyer in a small Southern town, has some serious baggage. His mother died a year ago from a 'fall' down the family's colonial staircase and his father, Ezra, has been missing ever since. Work is left to deal with his psychologically damaged sister, his father's legal caseload and his own rocky marriage. Power and greed bring many enemies, especially for a man as cruel as Ezra Pickens, so when his body turns up pretty much everyone in town is a suspect - but only one man is charged with the murder. With time, his wife and public opinion against him, Work embarks on his toughest case yet: proving his own innocence. His investigation will uncover a web of intrigue he could never have imagined - and he soon realises that no one is above suspicion - even those he loves most.
The Art of the Storyboard, 2nd Edition A Filmmaker's Introduction
Communicate your vision, tell your story and plan major scenes with simple, effective storyboarding techniques. Using sketches of shots from classic films, from silents to the present day, John Hart leads you through the history and evolution of this craft to help you get to grips with translating your vision onto paper, from the rough sketch to the finished storyboard. More than 150 illustrations from the author's and other storyboard artists' work illuminate the text throughout to help you master the essential components of storyboarding, such as framing, placement of figures, and camera angles. Level: Novice
Neural Basis of Semantic Memory
The advent of modern investigative techniques to explore brain function has led to major advances in understanding the neural organization and mechanisms associated with semantic memory. This book presents current theories by leading experts in the field on how the human nervous system stores and recalls memory of objects, actions, words and events. Chapters range from models of a specific domain or memory system (e.g., lexical-semantic, sensorimotor, emotion) to multiple modality accounts; from encompassing memory representations, to processing modules, to network structures, focusing on studies of both normal individuals and those with brain disease. Recent advances in neuro-exploratory techniques allow for investigation of semantic memory mechanisms noninvasively in both normal healthy individuals and patients with diffuse or focal brain damage. This has resulted in a significant increase in findings relevant to the localization and mechanistic function of brain regions engaged in semantic memory, leading to the neural models included here.
Sacramental Commons Christian Ecological Ethics
The increasing awareness of environmental issues as ultimately moral issues has led to the intersection of religion and environment. Sacramental Commons presents a unique way of looking at this topic by relating the Christian word sacrament (signs of divine presence) to the term commons (shared place and shared goods, among people and between people and the natural world), suggesting that local natural settings and local communities can be a source for respect and compassion.
What are They Saying About Environmental Theology?
In this timely and important work, John Hart offers an in-depth analysis of Catholic Church teachings on the environment and environmental themes. He explores the foundations and development of this thought, and provides an original presentation of essential elements of a wholistic environmental theology that interrelates concern for creation, community, and the common good. In a clear and concise manner he presents and explores official statements from Rome from Vatican II onward, with flashbacks to earlier eras, and from national bishops in the Americas. And he focuses on writings and teachings of Native Americans and theologians in the U.S. and Latin America. On a practical level, he offers suggestions for reflection and action by individuals and communities. --Distills into one volume what the Catholic Church teaches about environmental theology; --A theoretical work with hands-on applications; --No other book on the market like this