Included in this selection are the biographies of Themistocles, a brilliant but heavy-handed naval commander, Aristides 'the Just' and Pericles, who was responsible for the buildings on the Acropolis. Plutarch's real interest in these men is not in the greatness of their victories or achievements but in their moral strengths, and for him responsibility for the eventual fall of Athens lay with the weakness and ambition of its great men.Varying in historical accuracy, these accounts are nevertheless rich in anecdote, and Plutarch's skill as a social historian and his fascination with personal idiosyncracies make them of timeless interest.

    Love action, deception, romance, power struggles, and more!Mythlopedia is a series where the superstars of Greek myth meet the modern age--complete with profiles, headshots, and family trees; fascinating sidebars; and irreverent surprises for readers (Ages 10-14).

    Even with today's high-tech science, many events and ancient mysteries remain unexplained and surrounded by theories that stir the imagination and challenge scientific fact. This book systematically explores all aspects of the human fascination with the unknowable, from hauntings and the power of the mind to physical mysteries such as lost civilizations, ancient superstitions and symbols, and the persistent ideas about life from other planets. Evocative illustrations and intriguing photographs, combined with spine-tingling text by an award-winning author, shed light on the world's greatest mysteries.

    You’ve had a martini or three, and you mingle through the crowd, wondering how long you need to stay before going out for pizza. Suddenly you’re introduced to someone new, Dr. Nice Tomeetya. You forget the pizza. Now is the perfect time to bring up all those strange questions you’d like to ask during an office visit with your own doctor but haven’t had the guts (or more likely the time) to do so. You’re filled with liquid courage . . . now is your chance! If you’ve ever wanted to ask a doctor . . .•How do people in wheelchairs have sex?•Why do I get a killer headache when I suck down my milkshake too fast?•Can I lose my contact lens inside my head forever?•Why does asparagus make my pee smell?•Why do old people grow hair on their ears?•Is the old adage “beer before liquor, never sicker, liquor before beer . . .” really true? . . . then Why Do Men Have Nipples? is the book for you.Compiled by Billy Goldberg, an emergency medicine physician, and Mark Leyner, bestselling author and well-known satirist, Why Do Men Have Nipples? offers real factual and really funny answers to some of the big questions about the oddities of our bodies.

    Tolkien had a great knowledge of, and love for, world mythology when he wrote his beloved trilogy of Middle Earth. In particular, the symbol of the Ring has a rich and fascinating heritage, and this beautifully illustrated literary detective work searches down Tolkien's sources and inspiration. To understand the roots of The Lord of the Rings, we must go far back, to a tradition of ring-quest tales that came into being before the pyramids of Egypt were built, or the walls of Babylon raised. The extraordinary journey passes through the most magical stories told: Norse myths, including the Volsunga Saga; the Arthurian legends; the Carolingian tales, linked to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne; Celtic and Saxon myths; German romances, such as the Nibelungenlied; and more. By drawing on these potent primary myths and legends, Tolkien was able himself to create a new mythology for the 20th century--and beyond.

    He summarizes all the myths as well as the legends of the lesser gods and heroes, and traces their origins in historical fact or religious myth. He then shows how myths have continued to evolve throughout the ages. The author's brilliant investigations lead from Pericles to Picasso, Homer to Freud, Apuleius to Grimm - and prove that mythological themes have been continuously restated in art, science, and folklore, up to the present day.Lively and fascinating, this in-depth study is complemented by maps, genealogical tables, and 64 pages of photographs. Included, too, are an appendix on additional myths, chapter notes, and an updated bibliography and index.

    Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.

    But the reality of punk stretches over three decades and numerous countries, with a history as rich and varied as it is shocking and daring. With this lavishly illustrated and authoritative A-Z guide, Brian Cogan leads readers through the fiery history of a furious, rebellious, contradictory, and boundary-redefining musical genre and cultural movement that remains as massively influential as it is wildly misunderstood. As The Encyclopedia of Punk clearly proves, punk music and culture has produced a rich trove of material, above and beyond the hundreds of bands, from books and films to incendiary political movements.

    There are stories of love and desire, adventure and magic, destructive gods, helpless humans, fantastical creatures, resourceful witches and the origins of birds and animals. This is a world of extremes, and one that resonates deeply with our own: mysterious diseases devastate cities; environmental disasters tear lives apart; women habitually suffer violence at the hands of men.Unlike in many previous collected myths, female characters take centre stage - Athena, Helen, Circe, Penelope and others weave these stories into elaborate imagined tapestries. In Charlotte Higgins's thrilling new interpretation, their tales combine to form a dazzling, sweeping epic of storytelling, and a magnificent work of scholarship and imagination.'Startlingly fresh... This excellent book should delight many generations of story lovers to come.' Guardian

    The manual does not include a separate ISBN and is not sold separately.The iridescent sheen of a raven's wing reveals a tantalizing glimpse of the future. A tattooed hand, sinews roiling like ley lines, peels back the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.With art and instructions by Maggie Stiefvater—New York Times bestselling author of the Raven Cycle series—The Raven's Prophecy Tarot reveals the wisdom of dreams, helping you harness the opposing forces of intuition of cunning, Moon and Raven, spirit and intellect. Inspired by Stiefvater's artist mentors, this deck is a path to a more creative life for everyone.

    Sacred ruins, grand hotels, wildlife preserves, hilltop villages, snack shacks, castles, festivals, reefs, restaurants, cathedrals, hidden islands, opera houses, museums, and more. Each entry tells exactly why it's essential to visit. Then come the nuts and bolts: addresses, websites, phone and fax numbers, best times to visit. Stop dreaming and get going.This hefty volume reminds vacationers that hot tourist spots are small percentage of what's worth seeing out there. A quick sampling: Venice's Cipriani Hotel; California's Monterey Peninsula; the Lewis and Clark Trail in Oregon; the Great Wall of China; Robert Louis Stevenson's home in Western Samoa; and the Alhambra in Andalusia, Spain. Veteran travel guide writer Schultz divides the book geographically, presenting a little less than a page on each location. Each entry lists exactly where to find the spot (e.g. Moorea is located "12 miles/19 km northwest of Tahiti; 10 minutes by air, 1 hour by boat") and when to go (e.g., if you want to check out The Complete Fly Fisher hotel in Montana, "May and Sept.-Oct. offer productive angling in a solitary setting"). This is an excellent resource for the intrepid traveler.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

    Honor the spirit of this hallowed harvest holiday with:Halloween magick: Prosperity Pumpkin Spell, Corn Husk Dolly, Solitary Harvest Moon Ritual Magickal goodies: Candied Love Apples, Witches' Brew, Sugar Snakes in Graveyard Dust Halloween myths and superstitions: Black cats, scarecrows, pitchforks, witches, ghosts, and haints Divination: Circle of Ashes and Stones, Magick Mirrors, Apple, Pumpkin Seed, and Water Divination Rituals to Honor the Dead: The Dumb Supper, Samhain Fire, Soul Lights, Spirit Rattles and Spirit Bowls

    They've since amassed a rabid fan base, making "Stuff You Should Know" one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected elements of a wide variety of topics.The pair have now taken their near-boundless "whys" and "hows" from your earbuds to the pages of a book for the first time—featuring a completely new array of subjects that they’ve long wondered about and wanted to explore. Each chapter is further embellished with snappy visual material to allow for rabbit-hole tangents and digressions—including charts, illustrations, sidebars, and footnotes. Follow along as the two dig into the underlying stories of everything from the origin of Murphy beds, to the history of facial hair, to the psychology of being lost.Have you ever wondered about the world around you, and wished to see the magic in everyday things? Come get curious with Stuff You Should Know. With Josh and Chuck as your guide, there’s something interesting about everything (…except maybe jackhammers).

    Inlanders may be skeptical regarding the sometimes miraculous, often horror-filled tales that make up coastal folklore, but Outer Bankers accept the incredible as fact.The phenomena of the Outer Banks range from phosphorescent lights appearing and disappearing over Pamlico Sound to the strange fate of a crewless ship marooned on deadly Diamond Shoals. Legendary heroes such as Captain Jim Baum Gaskill are often truly heroic.. or they may be scurrilous, like Old Quork and Blackbeard. But they all loom larger than life, with deeds and personalities unique to coastal Carolina. But this book is more than a collection of coastal legends. It is an affectionate portrait of the people who daily pull a living out of the treacherous waters of the Atlantic... and a tribute to the hardiness and courage that has made the Banker a rare breed... a breed whose true stories are, indeed, stranger than fiction.

    A study of Arthurian romance and legend which draws together the different strands of Arthurian myth, from sources as diverse as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Malory, Chretien de Troyes, the Mabinogion, and the English Gawain cycles.