St Lucy of Syracuse: A biography
St Lucy, or Santa Lucia, is the most famous citizen of Syracuse, Sicily. She is the saint of light and brings knowledge and hope to those who need it most. She died young but spent her life as an active protector of the weak and oppressed. Lucy was revered in Syracuse nearly immediately, and within a few generations she was honoured in mainland Italy as well. Over the centuries her cult continued to spread and prosper. Mountains in California, schools in Kenya, cities in Australia, festivals in Sweden and even a country in the Caribbean have been named after her. Lucy is a saint, a martyr and her relics are stored in Catholic churches. Yet she has entered the secular world, and she attracts people who never set foot in a church. She has a power of uniting a community which is rare and wonderful. This is her story.
The Spring of Arethusa
Travellers want to experience and know a place, not just sightsee. This book is for them.
The spring of Arethusa in Syracuse, Sicily, has attracted Roman senators, inspired Renaissance artists and encouraged admirals in the Age of Sail. According to legend the natural spring is a nymph from Greece who fled an unwanted lover to reappear on the rocky island of Ortygia. Today Arethusa is one of the most visited sites in Syracuse and is the symbol of the province. Arethusa, along with St. Lucy, is one of the twin souls of the city.
The Spring of Arethusa is the first time the history of the nymph and fountain has been published for a general audience. It is the first of the Syracuse, Sicily: City of Water and Light pair of books. The companion, St. Lucy of Syracuse: A Biography, was released in 2024.
My Land
‘Everyone always asks why I came to Finland. No one asks why I’m still here.’
Everyone has dreamed of leaving everything behind and starting a new life in another country. Few have gone beyond daydreaming and actually done it, but what happens when you take the risk and it all goes wrong?
This is the story of a man who did exactly that. He left behind friends, family and a career in America and married a woman in Finland. The marriage failed. He had bet his entire life on this relationship and lost.
He believed he was lost and abandoned in the darkest country on Earth, but came to realise he was not lost at all. In fact, he was finally found.
Reviews:
This book resonated with me deeply. I’ve made similar choices to the author at one time or another. While my path has not been as dark it’s because I’ve been luckier I suspect.
You can be smart and motivated and still have things go wrong through chance or lack of perspective.
You can also be lost and find your way again with effort and the kindness of others.
Read this book.
It might make you sad and then happy on a cold dark night.
It did me.
Really great book! Very well written and interesting. I recommend it if you like to read a fascinating true story.
Read the entire book in one sitting. And cried like I’ve not cried in many, many years. Fabulous story! Bravo!
just fantastic. Most brave and honest stuff I’ve read in 15-20 years!
Instead of answering the question “why come to Finland?” the author tells why he stayed in Finland despite cultural, financial and personal issue and ultimately how he reconciled and overcame these. Deeply personal and intimate in its telling and content.
The Decline and Fall of Nokia
Nokia’s fall from the pinnacle of the mobile phone industry was unprecedented in both its rapidity and its extent. Now for the first time the true, comprehensive story is told of the decline and fall of Finland’s greatest company.
The Decline and Fall of Nokia details Jorma Ollila’s retirement, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo’s new role as CEO and the final years of unqualified success. Nokia’s strategy is to drive digital convergence through their expansion into personal electronics as well as into content and services. It works well – at first.
Weaved throughout the narrative are explorations of Nokia’s structure and culture, the company’s relationship with Finland, and reflections upon successes and mistakes.
Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and low-cost competitors disrupt the market, and Nokia’s attempts to correct their worsening situation are increasingly futile. Stephen Elop’s choice of the Windows Phone operating system is a catastrophe which results in the sale of the handset business to Microsoft. Yet there is still a future, both for the devices business and for the new, slimmer Nokia.
The Decline and Fall of Nokia is based upon exhaustive research and dozens of interviews. Journalists, financial analysts, competitors, politicians, union leaders, technology experts and Nokia insiders – from modest engineers to the highest executives – have told their stories, given their private insights and expressed their opinions for the book
The Decline and Fall of Nokia – second edition
In the spring of 2016 the second edition of The Decline and Fall of Nokia was released. This second edition has additional information in regards to Nokia’s troubles and has been updated to reflect the current state of the industry and what the major players are up to. It also addresses some reactions of the press, public and influential industry leaders to revelations from the first edition.
The second edition is only available as an ebook from Stairway Press.
Dead Romans
The Shepherd’s Story…
Daphnis knows he is the best shepherd in his beloved countryside, even if he is only a little slave boy. But when he fails to meet the demands of his cruel master Pericles, his sister is sold into a life of depravity. Distraught, Daphnis escapes to Ephesus in search of her but finds someone else who might aid him: Panthea, the Roman emperor’s mistress.
The Mistress’ Story…
Despised by the rich and powerful as nothing more than the emperor’s low-born plaything, beautiful Panthea has endured a lifetime of abuse and manipulation. The emperor’s wife threatens her. A brutal businessman blackmails her. Panthea finds relief from her hellish existence only through the pastoral poetry written for her by the baker Aristides.
The Writer’s Story…
Although Aristides’ poetry has charmed the emperor’s mistress, what he truly desires is to acquire a literary patron and become a successful writer. His chance comes when he is asked to write a glowing biography for the businessman Pericles. But as Aristides discovers the dark truth about his patron, his conscience torments him. Aristides hesitates to write such lies, but the dream of fame beckons. Besides, what is a little slave boy or the emperor’s mistress to him, anyway?
A city under siege…
As the social fabric of Ephesus frays under the onslaught of a killer plague, their lives hang in the balance. Love and honor will be tried in one final, anguished crucible. One woman may hold the key to all their salvation: the ship that will be the last to flee the dying city.
Mohamed 2.0
In a fascinating, well-written treatise, David J. Cord documents the rise and fall of Mohamed el-Fatatry’s social media experiment: Muxlim, which could be described as analogous to a Facebook for the online Muslim community. Are Muslims, particularly the young, only interested in hate and destruction? No, like everyone else, most are real, down-to-earth people interested in fashion, gossip, sports, music, dance and linking and chatting with their online friends in the global, one-world community. Al-Fatatry’s venture failed, but the goal remains as vital as it ever was, only more. Aren’t we tired of negativity and destructive stereotypes? If so, this book is a step in a refreshing positive direction. Buy it today and strike a blow for world peace and multicultural harmony.
The Finnish-Swedish publishing house has published, in English, a great book for any start-up entrepreneur or business angel as an educational resource.
For the rest of us Mohamed 2.0 works as quality entertainment, drama that even Hollywood would never have come up with. Muxlim’s story might have been a glorious failure, but David J. Cord’s book is, even in its idealising, simply brilliant.
Tommi Aitio, Muxlim’s Glorious Failure, Kauppalehti