The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of America's fastest-growing religions and, relative to its size, one of the richest. Church membership, now at over 12 million and growing, sweeps the globe. But from the moment of its founding in 1830, the church has been controversial. Within a month, it had 40 converts and almost as many enemies. In the early years, Mormons were hated, ridiculed, persecuted and feared. Yet in the past several decades, the Mormon church has transformed itself from a fringe sect into a thriving religion that embraces mainstream American values; its members include prominent and powerful politicians, university presidents and corporate leaders

The idealist William Wilberforce maneuvers his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic slave trade

A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family

True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation

Working Title offers insight and inspiration to students of all ages who aspire to follow the courageous path to professional careers in the arts. By offering a rare and honest glimpse into the daily lives of five diverse visual and performing artists, the film asks important questions, from the practical (how do you support yourself as a professional artist?), to the personal (how might this career choice affect your personal relationships and other life choices?) to the philosophical (how do you know you are an artist, and how do you make peace with that knowledge and come to embrace it as central to your identity?). This film is a "must-have" for arts educators, and it gave the undergraduate students at my university new-found confidence to nurture and celebrate their artistic aspirations

Unlike the other entries in the “Instant Expert” series, this quick guide to The Mayflower starts out with a lengthy re-enactment and even a title page that gives away its origin as a different film: Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower. Although when compared to its fellow films (Instant Expert: The Story of Oil, Instant Expert: Ben Franklin) it contains a similar documentary outline of narration, expert interviews and re-enactments, the extensive period piece re-enactments (complete with accents and awkward sentence structure) weigh heavily on this piece, distracting from the historical recounting and the factual presentation of information

This book provides an entertaining and humor ous introduction to the famous artist, Mary Cassatt. It incl udes excellent colour reproductions of the artist

Elected President only to see the nation fracture in two, Lincoln led a confused and frightened people through the most terrible war in their history. At the same time, his own household mirrored the fissures that split the nation: the great emancipator was married to the daughter of a slave owner from Kentucky. Mary Todd Lincoln was an aristocratic southerner who met Lincoln when he was still a backwoods politician lacking in experience and sophistication. Although she remained fiercely loyal to her husband and the Union cause, two of her brothers fought for the South. Their marriage was long and turbulent, and knew many trials, including the loss of two children. Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided weaves together the lives of the two Lincolns, drawing us into their long-vanished world

Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), a lieutenant in the army, is arrested for the murder of a bartender, Barney Quill. He claims, in his defense, that the victim had raped and beaten up his wife Laura (Lee Remick). Although Laura supports her husband's story, the police surgeon can find no evidence that she has been raped. Manion is defended by Paul Biegler (James Stewart), a rather humble small-town lawyer. During the course of interviews, Biegler discovers that Manion is violently possessive and jealous, and also that his wife has a reputation for giving her favors to other men. Biegler realizes that the prosecution will try to make the court believe that Laura was the lover of the bartender and than Manion killed him and beat her up when he discovered them together. Manion pleads "not guilty" and Biegler, who knows that his case is weak, sets his assistants to try to find a witness who will save Manion

Born on the plantations of the Mississippi Delta, the blues is Americas roots music. Few performances of the early masters were ever captured on film, but those that were are truly unforgettable. Combining VHS volumes 1 and 2 on one DVD, Blues Masters is an extraordinary, comprehensive visual history of blues music, gathering rare performances and archival footage that trace the development of this unique American art form. With the only known taped performance by Leadbelly, Blues Masters also serves up the smoldering blues of Son House, Bessie Smith, Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Witherspoon, Billie Holiday and many more