In The Forge and the Crucible, Mircea Eliade follows the ritualistic adventures of these ancient societies, adventures rooted in the people's awareness of an awesome new power.The new edition of The Forge and the Crucible contains an updated appendix, in which Eliade lists works on Chinese alchemy published in the past few years. He also discusses the importance of alchemy in Newton's scientific evolution.

    During that long span of time a cultural evolution took place which saw a high development of the arts and literature, the formulation of complex religious doctrines, systems of education, and diverse political and social organization.The rich documentation concerning these people, commonly called Aztecs, includes, in addition to a few codices written before the Conquest, thousands of folios in the Nahuatl or Aztec language written by natives after the Conquest. Adapting the Latin alphabet, which they had been taught by the missionary friars, to their native tongue, they recorded poems, chronicles, and traditions.The fundamental concepts of ancient Mexico presented and examined in this book have been taken from more than ninety original Aztec documents. They concern the origin of the universe and of life, conjectures on the mystery of God, the possibility of comprehending things beyond the realm of experience, life after death, and the meaning of education, history, and art. The philosophy of the Nahuatl wise men, which probably stemmed from the ancient doctrines and traditions of the Teotihuacans and Toltecs, quite often reveals profound intuition and in some instances is remarkably “modern.”This English edition is not a direct translation of the original Spanish, but an adaptation and rewriting of the text for the English-speaking reader.

    The misfortunes of John and Mary Drone, who “bought” a nothing-down, life-time-to-pay box on a slab in Rolling Knolls, are simply extensions of the problems that beset nearly everyone who exists on the fringes of a city. Even if the nearest development seems safely zoned from your front door, you will find the Drones and their neighbors disturbingly like your own.The new suburban slums, by concentrating young couples of similar background, income bracket, and outlook in rows of inadequate houses, have made a stultifying unnatural community. The frustrated residents, anchored to their tiny yards by their colossal mortgages, seek desperately for some form of self-expression.They try to amuse themselves with the wonderful gadgets of our civilization, but the easy credit is hard to pay and their debt becomes ever more burdensome. Surrounded by friendly neighbors, but no true friends, they attempt anything from handicrafts to neighborhood sex to relieve their boredom. But the only way out is to move out and that’s economically impossible.Who is responsible for this situation? The builders, whose most useful tool is the chisel? The banks, who are getting the frosting from this miracle-mix cake? The federal government, who by guaranteeing veterans’ mortgages has put a solid base under the whole shaky construction? The local communities, whose lack of zoning laws has permitted these excrescences? The suckers who have bought the houses?Keats discusses every aspect of life in a development. His account is supported by solid facts and figures but it is presented in personal terms to show you an existence that combines all of the worst aspects and none of the advantages of suburban living. If you ever wondered what goes on under those regimented roofs, this book will tell you. And if you already know, it will make you want to get up and break something. Fortunately the book also tells you how to put the pieces back together.An ex-reporter for the Washington Daily News, John Keats has managed to avoid the worst traps of the suburban home owner, but he writes with the authority of one who has himself looked on the hunted face of America’s new suburbs.

    In this book, he relates his fascinating experiences of life among the remote mountain people of Hunza, a small hill-state on the extreme north of Pakistan-held Kashmir. Illustrated with photographs, maps, etc.

    Sad to see that it is no longer in print.

    

    A group of scientists spends a season in 1954 living with the people of the Arctic and studying wildlife."This is the story of the unfolding of an Arctic springtime, a subtle and exciting flowering which dwellers in the Temperate Zone can only fleetingly imagine -- perhaps on an early morning in April."

    

    This book is a study of the Tibetan protective deities, those gods worshipped by the Tibetans as protectors and guardians of Buddhism.