Creation Myths


Marie-Louise von Franz - 1978
    In this book, an eminent Jungian analyst examines the recurring motifs that appear in creation myths from around the world and shows what they teach us about the mysteries of creativity, the cycles of renewal in human life, and the birth of consciousness in the individual psyche. Among the topics discussed are:    •  Why the creative process is often accompanied by anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear of the unknown.    •  The meaning of creation motifs such as the egg, the seed, the primordial being, the creative fire, the separation of heaven and earth, and the four stages of creation.    •  Creation symbolism in the alchemical opus of medieval tradition.    •  How creation-myth motifs appear in the dreams of people who are on the verge of a leap forward in consciousness.

Great Unsolved Crimes


Rodney Castleden - 2007
    This book tells the stories of those crimes that the police have worked so hard to solve and yet have not come up with enough evidence to close the case.

Indo-European Poetry and Myth


M.L. West - 1992
    Martin West investigates their traditional mythologies, religions, and poetries, and points to elements of common heritage. In The East Face of Helicon (1997), West showed the extent to which Homeric and other early Greek poetry was influenced by Near Eastern traditions, mainly non-Indo-European. His new book presents a foil to that work by identifying elements of more ancient, Indo-European heritage in the Greek material. Topics covered include the status of poets and poetry in Indo-European societies; metre, style, and diction; gods and other supernatural beings, from Father Sky and Mother Earth to the Sun-god and his beautiful daughter, the Thunder-god and other elemental deities, and earthly orders such as Nymphs and Elves; the forms of hymns, prayers, and incantations; conceptions about the world, its origin, mankind, death, and fate; the ideology of fame and of immortalization through poetry; the typology of the king and the hero; the hero as warrior, and the conventions of battle narrative.

Arabia and the Arabs


Robert G. Hoyland - 2001
    He then examines the major themes of*the economy*society*religion*art, architecture and artefacts*language and literature*Arabhood and ArabisationThe volume is illustrated with more than 50 photographs, drawings and maps.

The English Language: A Historical Introduction


Charles Laurence Barber - 1993
    The main theoretical and technical concepts of historical linguistics are also explained. Charles Barber uses familiar texts, including the English of King Alfred, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Addison, to illustrate the state of the English language through time. This is a fascinating book for anyone with an interest in language.

The Oxford Companion to English Literature


Margaret Drabble - 1985
    In 1985, under the editorship of Margaret Drabble, the text was thoroughly and sensitively revised to bring it up to date.The sixth edition, published in 2000, was extensively revised, expanded, and updated. Almost 600 new entries covered new writers, genres, and issues, and existing entries were reworked to incorporate the latest scholarship. In addition to the extensive coverage of writers, works, literary theory, allusions, and characters, there are sixteen featured entries on key topics including black British literature, fantasy fiction, and modernism. The Companion remains an unrivaled work that places English literature in its widest context: no other book offers such extensive exploration of the classical roots of English literature, and the European and non-European works and writers that have influenced its development.The sixth edition has now been revised to ensure that it remains absolutely up to date: the invaluable appendices - the chronology, and lists of winners of major literary awards - have been updated, as have many of the entries. Informed by the latest scholarly thinking, and comprehensively cross-referenced to guide the reader to topics of related interest, the Companion retains its position as the best guide to English literature available.

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments


Ali Almossawi - 2013
    I have selected a small set of common errors in reasoning and visualized them using memorable illustrations that are supplemented with lots of examples. The hope is that the reader will learn from these pages some of the most common pitfalls in arguments and be able to identify and avoid them in practice.

Toyo


Lily Chan - 2012
    But they passed and passed and still the doorway remained empty of his deep voice, calling out her name. Blending the intimacy of memoir with an artist's vision, Toyo is the story of a remarkable woman, a vivid picture of Japan before and after war, and an unpredictable tale of courage and change in today's Australia. Born into the traditional world of pre-war Osaka, Toyo must always protect the secret of her parents' true relationship. Her father lives in China with his wife; her unmarried mother runs a caf . Toyo and her mother are beautiful and polite, keeping themselves in society's good graces. Then comes the rain of American bombs. Toyo's life is uprooted again and again. With each sharp change and painful loss, she becomes more herself and more aware of where she has come from. She finds family and belief, but still clings to her parents' secret. In Toyo, Lily Chan has pieced together the unconventional shape of her grandmother's story. Vibrant and ultimately heart-rending, Toyo is the chronicle of an extraordinary life, infused with a granddaughter's love.

Short Story Collections by Haruki Murakami: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, the Elephant Vanishes, After the Quake


Books LLC - 2010
    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge.

The Works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract, Confessions, Emile, and Other Essays (Halcyon Classics)


Jean-Jacques Rousseau - 2009
    Rousseau was a major Swiss philosopher, writer, and composer of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, whose political philosophy influenced the French Revolution and the development of modern political and educational thought.This ebook is DRM free and includes an active table of contents.

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture


Ruth Benedict - 1946
    A recognized classic of cultural anthropology, this book explores the political, religious, and economic life of Japan from the seventh century through the mid-twentieth, as well as personal family life.

The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived


Clive Finlayson - 2009
    Thanks to cartoons and folk accounts we have a distorted view of these other humans - for that is what they were. We think of them as crude and clumsy and not very bright, easily driven to extinction by the lithe, smart modern humans that came out of Africa some 100,000 years ago.But was it really as simple as that? Clive Finlayson reminds us that the Neanderthals were another kind of human, and their culture was not so very different from that of our own ancestors. In this book, he presents a wider view of the events that led to the migration of the moderns into Europe, what might have happened during the contact of the two populations, and what finally drove the Neanderthals to extinction. It is a view that considers climate, ecology, and migrations of populations, as well as culture and interaction.His conclusion is that the destiny of the Neanderthals and the Moderns was sealed by ecological factors and contingencies. It was a matter of luck that we survived and spread while the Neanderthals dwindled and perished. Had the climate not changed in our favour some 50 million years ago, things would have been very different.There is much current research interest in Neanderthals, much of it driven by attempts to map some of their DNA. But it's not just a question of studying the DNA. The rise and fall of populations is profoundly moulded by the larger scale forces of climate and ecology. And it is only by taking this wider view that we can fully understand the course of events that led to our survival and their demise. The fact that Neanderthals survived until virtually yesterday makes our relationship with them and their tragedy even more poignant. They almost made it, after all.

Chasing American Monsters: Over 250 Creatures, Cryptids & Hairy Beasts


Jason Offutt - 2019
    Come face to face with modern-day dinosaurs, extraterrestrials, dragons, lizard men, giants, and flying humanoids. This illustrated collection includes more than 250 monsters and cryptids that will make your hair stand on end when you hear something go bump in the night.From Alabama to Wyoming and everywhere in between, these enigmatic abominations lurk in the darkest corners and the deepest shadows. This eye-opening book details the origins, appearance, and behaviors of these bizarre creatures so that if you should come across a terrifying beast in the wild, you'll know exactly what you're dealing with.Praise: "Jason Offutt does a special service to the field of cryptozoology with this new book Chasing American Monsters. By keeping all of us up-to-date and incredibly informed--beyond the scope of lesser guidebooks--we have a better head start on knowing where to look for these cryptids. Highly recommended."--Loren Coleman, author of Cryptozoology A to Z and director of the International Cryptozoology Museum

Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends


David Wilton - 2004
    David Wilton debunks the most persistently wrong word histories, and gives, to the best of our actual knowledge, the real stories behind these perennially mis-etymologized words. In addition, he explains why these wrong stories are created, disseminated, and persist, even after being corrected time and time again. What makes us cling to these stories, when the truth behind these words and phrases is available, for the most part, at any library or on the Internet? Arranged by chapters, this book avoids a dry A-Z format. Chapters separate misetymologies by kind, including The Perils of Political Correctness (picnics have nothing to do with lynchings), Posh, Phat Pommies (the problems of bacronyming--the desire to make every word into an acronym), and CANOE (which stands for the Conspiracy to Attribute Nautical Origins to Everything). Word Myths corrects long-held and far-flung examples of wrong etymologies, without taking the fun out of etymology itself. It's the best of both worlds: not only do you learn the many wrong stories behind these words, you also learn why and how they are created--and what the real story is.

Ending Day by Day


Shouji Gatou - 2011
    But things go from bad to worse when they are suddenly attacked by a cadre of Arm Slaves.