Popular beliefs and controversial knowledge Books

Capital punishment for murder was suspended in Great Britain in 1965, an Act finally made permanent in 1969, but remained as the punishment for treason until as recently as 1998, demonstrating how seriously we take the crime of betraying your country...

Concise, balanced and - occasionally - hilarious this is a story that has as much to tell you about the human race as it does about aliens.This no-nonsense guide to one of our most enduring mysteries presents a short history of the strangest encounters,...

Playing for time explores connections between theatre time, the historical moment and fictional time. Geraldine Cousin persuasively argues that a crucial characteristic of contemporary British theatre is its preoccupation with instability and danger, and...

Fascinating profiles of modern writers and artists who tapped the political potential of fairy talesJack Zipes has spent decades as a "scholarly scavenger," discovering forgotten fairy tales in libraries, flea markets, used bookstores, and internet...

Sicily and the strategies of empire in the poetic imagination of classical and medieval EuropeIn the first century BC, Cicero praised Sicily as Rome's first overseas province and confirmed it as the mythic location for the abduction of Proserpina, known...

How the politicization of the pandemic endangers our lives-and our democracyCOVID-19 has killed more people than any war or public health crisis in American history, but the scale and grim human toll of the pandemic were not inevitable. Pandemic Politics...

In 63 BC, frustrated by his failure to be elected leader of the Roman Republic, the aristocrat Catiline tried to topple its elected government. Backed by corrupt elites and poor, alienated Romans, he fled Rome while his associates plotted to burn the...

Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights-glimmering, long-buried nuggets of truth-embedded in myth, legends, and...

A gripping and groundbreaking history of how ancient cultures developed and used biological, chemical, and other unconventional weapons of warFlamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease: are these terrifying agents...

Gripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. Little wonder that they continue to fascinate readers thousands of...

An international collection of the traditional tales that inspired some of Shakespeare's greatest playsShakespeare knew a good story when he heard one, and he wasn't afraid to borrow from what he heard or read, especially traditional folktales. The...

The fascinating untold story of how the ancients imagined robots and other forms of artificial life-and even invented real automated machines The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT...

A sweeping history of Ireland's native gods, from Iron Age cult and medieval saga to the Celtic Revival and contemporary fictionIreland's Immortals tells the story of one of the world's great mythologies. The first account of the gods of Irish myth to...

Murder, mutilation, cannibalism, infanticide, and incest: the darker side of classic fairy tales is the subject of this groundbreaking and intriguing study of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Nursery and Household Tales. This expanded edition includes a new...

Andrea Carandini's archaeological discoveries and controversial theories about ancient Rome have made international headlines over the past few decades. In this book, he presents his most important findings and ideas, including the argument that there...

The Origins and History of Consciousness draws on a full range of world mythology to show how individual consciousness undergoes the same archetypal stages of development as human consciousness as a whole. Erich Neumann was one of C. G. Jung's most...

In Grimm Legacies, esteemed literary scholar Jack Zipes explores the legacy of the Brothers Grimm in Europe and North America, from the nineteenth century to the present. Zipes reveals how the Grimms came to play a pivotal and unusual role in the...

In Quest of the Hero makes available for a new generation of readers two key works on hero myths: Otto Rank's Myth of the Birth of the Hero and the central section of Lord Raglan's The Hero. Amplifying these is Alan Dundes's fascinating contemporary...

Have you ever heard the story on the news of a politician being "found dead" or "committing suicide," and it seemed a little strange to you? You think, "There's something they're not telling me." Well, after you read Dead Wrong, you'll realize that your...

Do you seek to know more about the foundation and modern practices of witchcraft? In Witches' Craft, Bruce Wilborn demystifies Wicca-a religion that is loving and nonjudgmental. Wicca's strength is in its ability to provide spiritual light for a truly...

We are entering a Space Age, but not the kind President Kennedy originally envisioned. This Space Age is replacing resource wars and redefines planet earth as a "battlespace" in accordance with the military doctrine of "Full-Spectrum Dominance."This book...

"This new and valuable book delves into the 'interior' experience of voodoo, as opposed to the usual outsider focus on ritual and cosmology. In telling the story of her own initiation and painstaking education in voodoo, Beaubrun takes us into the...

A revealing look at rural lives and lifestyles that have all but disappeared today.Tsuneichi Miyamoto (1907-1981), a leading Japanese folklore scholar and rural advocate, walked 160,000 kilometers to conduct interviews and capture a dying way of life...

The classic folk tales of Scotland were passed down from storyteller to storyteller, and from the first sentence they were designed to hold the attention of the listener or reader as though a spell had been cast over them, transporting them to a magical...

Reveals the esoteric mysteries encoded in the order of the alphabet • Explores the secrets hidden in our alphabet and how each letter represented a specific stage on the alchemical path toward enlightenment • Divides our alphabet’s sequence of letters...

Examines the ancient cosmic science of the female megalithic astronomers - Describes the shared sacred geometry and astronomy knowledge in the megalithic monuments, temples, and secret calendars of the matrilineal cultures of Malta, Gobekli Tepe, and...

An in-depth exploration of four centuries of American occult and spiritual history, from colonial-era alchemists to 20th-century teachers • Details how, from the very beginning, America was a vibrant blend of beliefs from all four corners of the world ...

• Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of detailed diagrams and technical illustrations exploring the evolution and importance of the starcut diagram  • Shows how the starcut diagram underlies the shaman’s dance in China, the Vedic Fire Altar in India,...

There is a spiritual power in masks that transports one into realms unseen and gives voice to things unspoken. Within the context of ritual, putting on a mask places the wearer at the intersection between the present and the past, the living and the...

Jesse James and many other Old West outlaws were much more than just wild cowboys. As author Daniel Duke--the great-great-grandson of Jesse James--reveals, Jesse James and other infamous outlaws were part of a larger organization, centuries old, that has...

Proof of a long-forgotten ancient worldwide civilization • Explains the three distinct architectural styles found at the majority of sacred sites, representing three ancient world ages • Examines evidence of the two oldest architectural ages at sites...

Provides a clear and accessible guide to the many different North Asian shamanic traditions, past and present. What is shamanism? Where is it from? How does one become a shaman? What are the requirements to become one? Anthropologists tell us that the...

Being bitten by and turned into a vampire isn't the glitz and glamor that Hollywood makes it out to be. In fact, one out of five newly turned vampires will succumb to a slew of easily avoidable and common pitfalls within their first few months as a...

Mythology Book, The: Big Ideas Simply Explained

A beautifully illustrated gift book that explores the uses and symbolic meanings of flowers throughout history Discover the uses and symbolic meanings of flowers over the centuries and across the globe.  Flowers have been depicted as objects of beauty...