Storytelling is both an art form and a means of passing on significant elements of a culture--the history, the traditions, the humor, the pathos. It is a way of entertaining and being entertained. With this compilation of Texas--and Texanized--favorite myths and legends, award-winning tale teller Donna Ingham applies her own unmistakable voice to traverse her home state through such stories as:>"The Coming of the Bluebonnet"--an oft-collected Commanche myth about love and sacrifice and the origin of the Texas state flower>"The Story Behind the Story"--about two early cattlemen and the basis for an episode in Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove">"The Life and Times of Pecos Bill"--a selection of tales about this legendary folk hero>"Diamond Bill"--about an east Texas rattlesnake who fought in the Civil War>"Cupid Was a Mama's Boy"--a Texanized classic Greek myth >And much more!

Provides convincing evidence that angels, demons, and fallen angels were flesh-and-blood members of a giant race predating humanity, spoken of in the Bible as the Nephilim.

- Indicates that the earthly paradise of Eden was a realm in the mountains of Kurdistan.

- By the author of Gateway to Atlantis.

Our mythology describes how beings of great beauty and intelligence, who served as messengers of gods, fell from grace through pride. These angels, also known as Watchers, are spoken of in the Bible and other religious texts as lusting after human women, who lay with them and gave birth to giant offspring called the Nephilim. These religious sources also record how these beings revealed forbidden arts and sciences to humanity--transgressions that led to their destruction in the Great Flood.

Andrew Collins reveals that these angels, demons, and fallen angels were flesh-and-blood members of a race predating our own. He offers evidence that they lived in Egypt (prior to the ancient Egyptians), where they built the Sphinx and other megalithic monuments, before leaving the region for what is now eastern Turkey following the cataclysms that accompanied the last Ice Age. Here they lived in isolation before gradually establishing contact with the developing human societies of the Mesopotamian plains below. Humanity regarded these angels--described as tall, white-haired beings with viperlike faces and burning eyes--as gods and their realm the paradise wherein grew the tree of knowledge. Andrew Collins demonstrates how the legends behind the fall of the Watchers echo the faded memory of actual historical events and that the legacy they have left humanity is one we can afford to ignoreonly at our own peril.

The Secrets of Life series is written for everyone who, frankly, needs a spot of cheering up, and will provide conversation starters for years after reading! O'Connor's easy-going, conversational style brings an outsider's questioning eye to the great forces behind life. The second book in the four-part series debates the steps that led to us being so completely different to anything that had ever appeared before. If we really were just another kind of animal off the production line of life, then what were the revolutions that turbo-charged our abilities? How is it possible that we only arrived a fluttering of an eyelash ago compared to evolutionary time, yet we are now so completely dominant over everything else in life? Book Two also sets out to answer the questions around what we did that meant we could alter ourselves in an instant, and so avoid being stuck in an evolutionary niche like every other organism. Why, for example, was it such a huge step forward when we began to run? Why was the taming of fire arguably the most important thing we ever did? How did we manage to create the intelligence and insights that allowed us to make our own life decisions? Why was gossiping so critical? With the same writing approach that typified Book One, in How Did We Get To Be So Different? O'Connor sets out to answer these and other questions by summarising the views of the great biologists, anthropologists, and revolutionary theorists - and then adding some opinions of his own.. Example questions posed (and answered) in Book Two - How Did We Get To Be So Different? If we have a degree of control over our lives, then why were our rulers always so horrible- and why did we put up with them? Why do we copy each other so much, and yet we'd accept that others could be so unbelievably violent? How did fire make us so different? Where did the free will come from that let us override the drives of our animal pasts - something that no other organism had ever managed before in the long history of evolution? How did we develop language? Why was gossip so critical? How did printing and reading completely change our world?

A Mayan Priest Reveals What the 2012 Prophecy Really Means for Your Life

Written at the request of the Mayan Elders, by a member of the Guatemalan Elders Council and Mayan priest Carlos Barrios, The Book of Destiny is a tool to help people understand their life purpose and to use this profound knowledge to make the best of their time on earth.

According to the Mayan Elders, at the moment of birth every human being is given a destiny. Our life challenge is to develop ourselves and our skills in order to fulfill this destiny, thus fueling our individual contribution to the planet. At the heart of The Book of Destiny is the sacred Mayan Calendar, an extraordinary tool that allows readers to discover this destiny, along with their special Mayan symbol, origin, and protection spirits that accompany them through life.

The crop circles which appear in British fields on short summer nights have quickly become the most famous works of modern art on Earth. Perfectly conceived, priceless and expertly crafted by artists unknown, the formations are an environmental triumph - the highest form of spin in art. This small volume, by architect, inventor and world-famous crop circle commentator Michael Glickman, tells the central tale of the evolution of design and form within this beautiful and quintessentially British mystery. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

Magicians use more than just mirrors, string, and sleight of hand to deceive their audience. Those who are masters at this trade have developed an arsenal of techniques to manipulate people. Every action and utterance on stage and off is precisely planned to achieve a specific effect. Abracadabra! is an insider's look at what goes on at a magic show, behind-the-scenes, and in the mind of the magician. Nathaniel Schiffman explains the principles of deception, exposing those innocent-seeming motions that conceal vital actions from onlookers; how the conjurer uses misdirection of space and time to mislead the audience; how silly and simple optical illusions can fool us, and what to look for during a magic show. Also explored in detail is the world of off-stage magic. Some "magicians" use various techniques in life to deceive and influence you, yet these magicians don't boast of their magic talent, because they are advertisers, politicians, army commanders, spies, con artists, computer programmers, movie directors, faith healers, psychics, and others. These "magicians" work to make you buy their product, believe in their cause, and influence your thinking from the time you get up in the morning, until you go to bed at night. This is not a "how to" book for aspiring magicians, but a layperson's guide to methods used to mislead or fool you. Lighthearted and informal, Abracadabra! will fascinate anyone interested in knowing how one person can control many. Included are hands-on experiments, magic tricks, and reader participation segments. You'll soon see that magicians don't just manipulate playing cards and animals; they manipulate you.

The Secrets of Life series is written for everyone who, frankly, needs a spot of cheering up, and will provide conversation starters for years after reading! O'Connor's easy-going, conversational style brings an outsider's questioning eye to the great forces behind life. The third in the four-part series explains how game theory developed, and why it came to show us not only how humans arrive at their decisions, but why so much of the apparently bizarre behaviour of the natural world has the same mathematical logic to it. Instead of the confusion and chaos one might expect in life, O'Connor shows that there are profound reasons behind the choices organisms make when they interact, and how we humans refined this process through the addition of our intelligence and language skills. Starting with the mind-blowing new ways of thinking that Adam Smith opened the world's eyes to, the book progresses to the 20th century-and shows how there's a coherent rationale behind our thought processes-and how this was gradually revealed by scientists at a time when the very future of the world was at stake. As O'Connor unfolds the story in Why Do We All Behave In The Way We Do?, it becomes ever clearer how cooperation has evolved to be the critical force at every level of life. It was what built our world, and it would settle so deeply into the hardwiring of living things that it would eventually become instinctive and innate in us. Perhaps most pleasingly, game theory explains how the benefits of collaboration are bound to ratchet upwards-and how this will inevitably lead to ever-increasing levels of moral behaviour in our societies. It is so often an accepted fact that bad people will win. And yet, as Book Three so clearly explains, collaborative societies are bound to grow, that it's rational to forgive to overcome vendettas and feuds, and that nice folks will always win in life by coming second. Example questions posed (and answered) in Book Three - Why Do All We Behave In The Way We Do? What's Game Theory - and why is it so critical to understanding how to make the right decisions? Why, if humans are so convinced that most of us are bad, are we concerned about being fair in our lives? Why do we value trust so highly? What are the reasons for our surprising wish to care for each other? Why do we share things, even though we might not have to? How did a failed robbery explain human nature? Why can it be rational to be irrational? And why is life like a poker game?

In the summer of 1980, in Wiltshire, southern England, a group of three swirled circular patterns mysteriously appeared in farmer John Scull's fields of wheat and oats. Scull blamed Army helicopters. UFO enthusiasts credited flying saucers. A local meteorologist attributed them to whirlwinds. Each year thereafter, the circles continued to appear, in Wiltshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Oxfordshire - increasing in mystery and complexity as a social, religious, and scientific turmoil grew around them. Now manifesting in enormous and ornate "pictograms," the phenomenon continues to draw crowds of the curious and the faithful, not only to circles-prone fields of southern England, but to unsuspecting fields in such places as Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Romania, Australia, Japan, Canada, and the United States. North American enthusiasts are now in the forefront of circles research - or "cerealogy" as it has come to be known - and every summer we spend tens of thousands of dollars and many hours in scientific and spiritual evaluation of circles here and abroad.
Science writer Jim Schnabel ventured into Wiltshire in search of the circles and an answer to their annual mystery. He soon became entranced, not merely by the odd swirled shapes in the fields, but by the human beings who flocked to them: plasma physicists and ritual magicians, dowsers and UFOlogists, New Age tourists and garrulous mediums, and the devoted "cereal" artists whose work lay behind it all.

The Donation of Constantine is the most outrageous and powerful forgery in world history. The question of its precise time of origin alone kept generations of researchers occupied. But, what exactly is the Donation of Constantine? To find the answer, it is necessary to approach the question on two different semantic levels: First, as the Constitutum Constantini, a fictitious privilege, in which, among other things, rights and presents were bestowed on the catholic church by a grateful Emperor Konstantin. Secondly, as a reflection of the Middle Age mindset, becoming part of the culture landscape midway through 11th century A.D. The author not only reinterprets the origin of this forgery (i.e. puts it down to the Franks' opposition of Emperor Louis the Pious), but retells, as well, the history of its misinterpretation since the High Middle Ages. In an appendix, all relevant texts are printed in the original language, an English translation is provided.

-- Over 2,100 shipwrecks from the 16th century to the present; the most comprehensive listing now available
-- Arranged primarily by geographical section of the state. Within sections, wrecks are arranged chronologically
-- Extensive and heavily illustrated appendices offer a wealth of information on topics of interest to divers and researchers

The author of the controversial bestseller "Brain Trust" brings his scientific expertise to the chilling true story of unexplained phenomena on Utah's Skinwalker Ranch -- and challenges us with a new vision of reality.
For more than fifty years, the bizarre events at a remote Utah ranch have ranged from the perplexing to the wholly terrifying. Vanishing and mutilated cattle. Unidentified Flying Objects. The appearance of huge, otherworldly creatures. Invisible objects emitting magnetic fields with the power to spark a cattle stampede. Flying orbs of light with dazzling maneuverability and lethal consequences. For one family, life on the Skinwalker Ranch had become a life under siege by an unknown enemy or enemies. Nothing else could explain the horrors that surrounded them -- perhaps science could.
Leading a first-class team of research scientists on a disturbing odyssey into the unknown, Colm Kelleher spent hundreds of days and nights on the Skinwalker property and experienced firsthand many of its haunting mysteries. With investigative reporter George Knapp -- the only journalist allowed to witness and document the team's work -- Kelleher chronicles in superb detail the spectacular happenings the team observed personally, and the theories of modern physics behind the phenomena. Far from the coldly detached findings one might expect, their conclusions are utterly hair-raising in their implications. Opening a door to the unseen world around us, "Hunt for the Skinwalker" is a clarion call to expand our vision far beyond what we know.

For about as long as there has been a Texas there have been Texas mysteries, and many of them remain unsolved. What happened to the documents captured in the Alamo? Does a ghost actually haunt the state capitol in Austin? Did the U.S. Army secretly bury hundreds of guns in North Texas after WWII? Was John Wilkes Booth killed or did he escape and flee to Central Texas? The authors present the known facts and circumstances of these and other mysteries.

"I have always been intrigued by fringe science," writes Martin Gardner in the preface to this book, "perhaps for the same reason that I enjoy freak shows and circuses. Pseudoscientists, especially the extreme cranks, are fascinating creatures for psychological study. Moreover, I have found that one of the best ways to learn something about any branch of science is to find out where its crackpots go wrong."
A unique combination of horse sense and drollery has made Martin Gardner the undisputed dean of the critics of pseudoscience. This bountiful collection of essays and articles will be wholeheartedly greeted by Gardner's fans, as well as by new readers.
This collection of articles - many of which first appeared in the Skeptical Inquirer, The New York Review of Books, and Free Inquiry - explores pseudoscience and strange religious beliefs with the author's trademark wit and verve. Destined to be a classic of skeptical literature, this book covers a wide range of topics - including UFOs, rainmaking, ghosts, the Big Bang, ESP, Oral Roberts, as well as the early history of spiritualism and today's bizarre "trance channeling" cults.

A masterclass in cat-and-mouse espionage suspense - and the last lost novel - from the iconic Number One bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES 'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee Child It always starts with a small lie. That's how you stop noticing the bigger ones. After his friend suspects something strange going on at the launch facility where they both work - and then goes missing - Martin Hepton doesn't believe the official line of "long-term sick leave"... Refusing to stop asking questions, he leaves his old life behind, aware that someone is shadowing his every move. The only hope he has is his ex-girlfriend Jill Watson - the only journalist who will believe his story. But neither of them can believe the puzzle they're piecing together - or just how shocking the secret is that everybody wants to stay hidden... A gripping, page-turning suspense masterclass - experience the brilliance of the iconic Ian Rankin.

In many parts of the contemporary world, spirit beliefs and practices have taken on a pivotal role in addressing the discontinuities and uncertainties of modern life. The myriad ways in which devotees engage the spirit world show the tremendous creative potential of these practices and their innate adaptability to changing times and circumstances. Through in-depth anthropological case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, the contributors to this book investigate the role and impact of different social, political, and economic dynamics in the reconfiguration of local spirit worlds in modern Southeast Asia. Their findings contribute to the re-enchantment debate by revealing that the "spirited modernities" that have emerged in the process not only embody a distinct feature of the contemporary moment, but also invite a critical rethinking of the concept of modernity itself.

Kirsten W. Endres is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of Research Group at Department II, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale. Her monograph, "Performing the Divine: Mediums, Markets and Modernity in Urban Vietnam" (2011), examines the flourishing of urban spirit mediumship as part of the recent revival of popular religion in Vietnam.

Andrea Lauser is Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Georg-August-University, Gottingen, Germany. She is a member of and lecturer in a new area studies network "Dynamics of Religion in Southeast-Asia," composed of the Southeast Asia departments of Hamburg, Berlin, Muenster, Heidelberg and Gottingen, and funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Stop those who want to double gasoline and diesel prices overnight
So how does abandoning South Louisiana effect you? It affects everyone that uses gasoline, diesel, or home heating oil. It affects every taxpayer whose money has been almost totally wasted by FEMA and other federal government agencies.
Insurance companies are being allowed to not pay thier policies And, it can happen to you next
The levee protection system has not begun in most places. People are still suffering. Progoganda and disinformation is deceiving the nation about the progress of the recovery. The Iraq War is being used to "Wag the Dog" and distract the nation from the real threat--That a hurricane could wipe out South Louisiana and it's oil refining abilities. We could lose half the county's gasoline refining capabilities in one storm. The price of gas and diesel could double overnight for you the consumer.
It would result in higher prices of everything that must be shipped. Inform yourself by reading this book which is chocked full of true facts and true life experiences. The same abandonment could happen in your area next.
Also consider the common sense solutions that are offered to save a region so critical to everyone in the United States and all connected to the new global economy.
10 cents from every book will go to Katrina Surivor relief. Please help U.S. citizens victimized by the lack of recovery efforts

How-and why- were UFOs so prevalent in both conspiracy theories and the New Age milieu in the post-Cold War period? In this ground-breaking book, David G. Robertson argues that UFOs symbolized an uncertainty about the boundaries between scientific knowledge and other ways of validating knowledge, and thus became part of a shared vocabulary. Through historical and ethnographic case studies of three prominent figures-novelist and abductee Whitley Strieber; environmentalist and reptilian proponent David Icke; and David Wilcock, alleged reincarnation of Edgar Cayce-the investigation reveals that millennial conspiracism offers an explanation as to why the prophesied New Age failed to arrive-it was prevented from arriving by malevolent, hidden others. Yet millennial conspiracism constructs a counter-elite, a gnostic third party defined by their special knowledge. An overview of the development of UFO subcultures from the perspective of religious studies, UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age is an innovative application of discourse analysis to the study of present day alternative religion.