What is it about mythology, mysticism and pseudoscience that has such a vast appeal to us? From dark roomed seances, to Tarot cards and Ouija boards, to Astrology and Rune stones, American Culture seems fascinated by the paranormal. Has our society lost faith in the age old institutions of religion? Or are we attempting to escape what many feel is a mundane reality? In this latest book, we will explore this search for wonder, and examine its negative effects on true science and critical thought.
The astonishing and impressive first collection of short stories from New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman An elderly widow finds the Holy Grail beneath an old fur coat in a second-hand store . . . A stray cat fights and refights a nightly battle to protect his adoptive family from an unimagiable evil . . . A young couple receives a wedding gift that will reveal a chilling alternate history of their marriage . . . Beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks, a frightened little boy bargains for his life with a most persistent troll . . . Such miraculous inventions and more await within Neil Gaiman’s first collection of short fiction, a gift of wonder and delight from one of the most unique literary artists of our day. In his capable hands, magic is no mere illusion, but a powerful means to reveal the nature of our humanity obscured in the smoke of our fears and anxieties . . . and reflected in the funhouse mirrors of our dreams.
A con artist and seductress, Meredith Spooner lived fast—and died young. But her final scam—embezzling more than a million dollars from a college endowment fund—is coming back to haunt Leonora Hutton. The tainted money is stashed away in an offshore account for Leonora. And while she wants nothing to do with the cash, she discovers two other items in the safe-deposit box: a book about Mirror House—the place where Meredith engineered her final deception and a set of newspaper stories about an unsolved murder that occurred there thirty years ago. Now Leonora has an offer for Thomas Walker, another victim of Meredith’s scams and seductions. She’ll hand over the money—if he helps her figure out what’s going on. Meredith had described Thomas as “a man you can trust.” But in a funhouse-mirror world of illusion and distortion, Leonora may be out of her league…
The research for this extensive, two volume project... represents a comprehensive effort to establish a complete context from which the sport of bodybuilding arose. "Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors" is the rise and fall of what was truly once an extraordinary discipline associated with a term known as "Physical Culture". Experience what bodybuilding was originally and learn just exactly what "Physical Culture" really is. See what growing philanthropic power flexed its financial and political muscles to foster its corporate agenda, compromising human health internationally. Read how the merger of technology and politics culminated in the industrialization, commercialization, federalization, internationalization and finally the STERILIZATION of a nation's food supply, rendering it suspect not only to the general public; but also to the most elite of athletes. Whether you are a novice, an elite bodybuilder or simply sports-nutrition minded, learn how the emerging forces of the Iron Game evolved. Ultimately, the factions of this industry would grow powerful and manipulative while fighting for control over the Game. It took the running of several parallel histories on bodybuilding, nutrition, supplements and the role of drugs to offer a complete, first-time unraveling of the web of confusion and politics that still permeates the sport into the 21st century! Volume I of "Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors" is truly the untold stories surrounding "Bodybuilding's Amazing Nutritional Origins."
“Rewarding.” —BCCB (starred review) “A Wrinkle in Time–inspired adventure…Halbrook’s writing is artful.” —Kirkus Reviews “This is a story to savor.” —Kathi Appelt, National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor–winning author of The Underneath and Keeper “Adventure and magic unfold in this captivating story.” —School Library Connection “A fairy-tale atmosphere wafts through Halbrook’s story of magic, love, belonging, and circus...Enchanting.” —Booklist Circus Mirandus meets Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms in this beautifully written fantasy novel about a girl who must face her fears in order to right a terrible wrong, confront what it means to be different, and discover her own power. Smoke has come to the Cirque Magnifique. And Sasha Brown is sure it is her fault. Sasha has always loved the Cirque, a place filled with sequined costumes, dazzling spotlights, and magnificent tents. But when she starts fifth grade with the Islanders—the ordinary folk from the other side of the Island—for the first time, she’s not so sure she wants to be a Cirque kid. She starts to question her home and her Cirque family. Is the magic real? Are the stories even true? As the bullying by the Island kids gets worse, swirling blue-gray Smoke appears. One night in the big tent, Sasha’s dad performs, twisting his body through the air as the lights dance. Sasha is supposed to be helping, but instead she sits beneath the bleachers, seething. She has wished for the Smoke to come and make it all disappear: the Cirque, her family, the Island with its mean Island kids. And the Smoke does come. As Sasha watches her dad, he flips and raises his arms out for the bar that is supposed to meet him, his bright grin confident and sure. But there is only air…and Smoke. Both of Sasha’s parents disappear that night, and it’s all Sasha’s fault. What can she do but try and find them?
Phineas T. Barnum’s sister must solve a murder in 19th-century New York City in this historical mystery from the author of the Pepper Martin mysteries. Evie Barnum oversees her brother’s American Museum, a place teeming with scientific specimens and “human prodigies” including a bearded woman and the lizard man. In this weird and whacky workplace, Evie hopes she can easily bury her secrets. But when an old friend shows up and begs for her help, she does all she can to stay away. The next time she sees him, he is dead in front of the exhibit of the Feejee Mermaid. Suspicion for the murder falls on Jeffrey, known as the Lizard Man, but Evie knows it isn’t possible. After Jeffrey disappears, Evie becomes determined to solve the mystery of her friend’s murder, even if it brings her face to face with a past she is desperate to hide… “[An] appealing heroine…. Amusing and eye-opening historical details complement a mystery that’s appropriately melodramatic.”—Publishers Weekly
In this deceptively simple little book, Ms. England has made accessible for both professionals and the general public the theory linking neurochemical science to the behaviors and relational patterns observed in persons with addictions and those who love them. As a professional working with families ravaged by addiction, and as a member of Al-Anon seeking to grow and be a good steward of the life experiences that are mine, I am challenged by this book to seek ways to apply its techniques with clients and my own life...Ms. England's book reminds me in the particularly memorable way of any good story...that there is both danger and delight in this activity of living.
Car photography often evokes the same recycled tropes. Predictably slick, hi-spec images on the front pages of glossy magazines, or huge blow-ups on giant billboards which have one designed aim: to sell a lifestyle. But our relationship to cars is so much more meaningful than these images might suggest. Like the camera, the car has changed the way we explore the world. With cars came road trips, and with road trips came some of the most important photographic documentaries of our time. A car is a vehicle not just for transport but for our hopes, desires, and even values. In Really Good Car Photography, a selection of world-renowned and up-and-coming photographers come together to pay tribute to the car from the 60s to the present day. From images of lonely car parks and cars 'sleeping' at night under tarpaulins, moody shots from New York City in the 70s to witty close-ups of badly-repaired cars and painterly landscapes shot through wet windscreens, these photographs display cars at their most playful, introspective and meaningful, reminding us that there is more to them than just metal and machinery - for cars are emotionally intertwined with the lives we live.Moving away from the one-dimensional imagery that has become synonymous with car photography and offering a selection of penetrating, unusual and poignant pictures in return, Really Good Car Photography is an utterly iconoclastic look at cars that reinvents what is possible for the genre.
Short-listed for the 2005 CLA Young Adult Canadian Book Award Sixteen-year-old Simon has always been considered odd. Three years ago, a skateboarding accident caused some minor brain damage and made him a little stranger. His career-driven parents mostly leave him alone, and he spends much of his time living in his imagination. When Andrea, whom no one else can see, appears to Simon in class, he is fascinated by her and strikes up a friendship, even though he knows she may be pure hallucination - he's had imaginary friends before. Andrea says she is there to "help" him, but before the story ends, Simon discovers that it is he who needs to help Andrea, not the other way around.
