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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Myths & mythology
Why have people from different cultures and eras formulated myths and stories with similar structures? What does this similarity tell us about the mind, morality, and structure of the world itself?
From the author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos comes a provocative hypothesis that explores the connection between what modern neuropsychology tells us about the brain and what rituals, myths, and religious stories have long narrated.
A cutting-edge work that brings together neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Maps of Meaning presents a rich theory that makes the wisdom and meaning of myth accessible to the critical modern mind.
Explore the haunted history of Salem, Massachusetts.
In Leaves from the Garden of Eden, Howard Schwartz, a three-time
winner of the National Jewish Book Award, has gathered together one
hundred of the most astonishing and luminous stories from Jewish
folk tradition.
Just as Schwartz's award-winning book Tree of Souls: The Mythology
of Judaism collected the essential myths of Jewish tradition,
Leaves from the Garden of Eden collects one hundred essential
Jewish tales. As imaginative as the Arabian Nights, these stories
invoke enchanted worlds, demonic realms, and mystical experiences.
The four most popular types of Jewish tales are gathered
here--fairy tales, folktales, supernatural tales, and mystical
tales--taking readers on heavenly journeys, lifelong quests, and
descents to the underworld. King David is still alive in the City
of Luz, which the Angel of Death cannot enter, and somewhere deep
in the forest a mysterious cottage contains the candle of your
soul. In these stories, a bride who is not careful may end up
marrying a demon, while the charm sewn into a dress may drive a
pious woman to lascivious behavior. There is a dybbuk lurking in a
well, a book that comes to life, and a world where Lilith, the
Queen of Demons, seduces the unsuspecting. Here too are Jewish
versions of many of the best-known tales, including "Cinderella,"
"Snow White," and "Rapunzel." Schwartz's retelling of one of these
stories, "The Finger," inspired Tim Burton's film Corpse
Bride.
With its broad selection from written and oral sources, Leaves
from the Garden of Eden is a landmark collection, representing the
full range of Jewish folklore, from the Talmud to the present. It
is a must-read for everyone who loves fiction and an ideal holiday
gift.
Oppaymolleah's curse. General Braddock's buried gold. The Original
Man of Steel, Joe Magarac. Such legends have found a home among the
rich folklore of Western Pennsylvania. Thomas White spins a
beguiling yarn with tales that reach from the misty hollows of the
Alleghenies to the lost islands of Pittsburgh. White invites
readers to learn the truth behind the urban legend of the Green
Man, speculate on the conspiracy surrounding the lost B-25 bomber
of Monongahela and shiver over the ghostly lore of Western
Pennsylvania.
Author Ray John de Aragon has collected various folkloric stories
from all regions of New Mexico throughout its changing history,
most of them foreboding or cautionary tales of witches and
specters. Stories rooted in the folklore of Native American
culture, the Spanish colonial era, Mexican period, and the Wild
West and epic-ranching years of New Mexico's past have been
gathered by the author from all corners of the state. He frames
them with historical context, old traditions, and other information
to explain how they were promulgated among the peoples of specific
times and places.
Explore the haunted history of the RMS "Queen Mary."
Massachusetts's historic graveyards are the final resting places
for tales of the strange and supernatural. From Newburyport to
Truro, these graveyards often frighten the living, but the dead who
rest within them have stories to share with the world they left
behind. While Giles Corey is said to haunt the Howard Street
Cemetery in Salem, cursing those involved in the infamous witch
trials, visitors to the Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain
enjoy an arboretum and a burial ground with Victorian-era
memorials. One of the oldest cemeteries in Massachusetts, Old
Burial Hill in Marblehead, has been the final resting place for
residents for nearly 375 years. Author Roxie Zwicker tours the Bay
State's oldest burial grounds, exploring the stones, stories and
supernatural lore of these hallowed places.
The Night Life of Trees is an exquisite hand-bound and
screen-printed book of paintings by three of the finest artists of
the Gond tribal art tradition. The Gonds, a tribe of central India,
are traditionally forest dwellers. They believe that trees are hard
at work during the day providing shelter and nourishment to all.
Only when night falls can they finally rest, and their spirits
reveal themselves. These luminous spirits are captured in The Night
Life of Trees, a fascinating and haunting foray into the Gond
imagination. Each painting is accompanied by its own poetic tale,
myth or lore, narrated by the artists themselves, which recreate
the familiarity and awe with which the Gond people view the natural
world. Screen-printed by hand on black paper, every page of this
book is an original print. Each book in this limited second edition
of 1,000 is individually numbered.
In Marblehead Myths, Legends and Lore, author Pam Peterson recounts
the oral and written accounts that Marbleheaders have handed down
over the past four hundred years. Here you will find stories of
magic and witches, sailors, pirates and shipwrecks. Compiled with
meticulous care, Marblehead Myths, Legends and Lore offers a
diverse sampling of tales from one of New England's maritime
treasures.
These lrish tales all are reprinted from nineteenth-century
sources, but they date back to a centuries-old oral tradition of
storytelling that had yet to be committed to the printed page. They
were passed down through the ages virtually unaltered and feature a
wide variety of fantastic beings. This edition has an exquisitely
designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging and a
silk-ribbon bookmark.
New England is rich in history and mystery. Numerous sleepy little
towns and farming communities distinguish the region's scenic
tranquility. But not long ago, New Englanders lived in fear of
spectral ghouls believed to rise from their graves and visit family
members in the night to suck their lives away. Although the word
"vampire" was never spoken, scores of families disinterred loved
ones during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries searching for
telltale signs that one of them might be what is now referred to as
the New England vampire.
William Penn, the might of Pittsburgh steel and the Revolutionary
figures of Philadelphia dominate the scene of Pennsylvania history.
Thomas White brings together a collection of tales that have been
cast in the shadows by these giants of the Keystone State. From the
1869 storm that pelted Chester County with snails to the bloody end
of the Cooley gang, White selects events with an eye for the
humorous and strange. Mostly true accounts of cannibalistic feasts,
goat-rescuing lawmen, heroic goldfish, the funeral of a gypsy queen
and a Pittsburgh canine whose obituary was featured in the "New
York Times" all leap from the lost pages of history.
A magnificent exploration of Scotland's legendary past.
cotland's rich past and varied landscape have inspired an
extraordinary array of legends and beliefs, and in The Lore of
Scotland Jennifer Westwood and Sophia Kingshill bring together many
of the finest and most intriguing: stories of heroes and bloody
feuds, tales of giants, fairies, and witches, and accounts of local
customs and traditions. Their range extends right across the
country, from the Borders with their haunting ballads, via Glasgow,
site of St Mungo's miracles, to the fateful battlefield of
Culloden, and finally to the Shetlands, home of the
seal-people.
More than simply retelling these stories, The Lore of Scotland
explores their origins, showing how and when they arose and
investigating what basis -- if any -- they have in historical fact.
In the process, it uncovers the events that inspired Shakespeare's
Macbeth, probes the claim that Mary King's Close is the most
haunted street in Edinburgh, and examines the surprising truth
behind the fame of the MacCrimmons, Skye's unsurpassed bagpipers.
Moreover, it reveals how generations of Picts, Vikings, Celtic
saints and Presbyterian reformers shaped the myriad tales that
still circulate, and, from across the country, it gathers together
legends of such renowned figures as Sir William Wallace, St
Columba, and the great warrior Fingal. The result is a thrilling
journey through Scotland's legendary past and an endlessly
fascinating account of the traditions and beliefs that play such an
important role in its heritage.
A new colouring book from New York Times bestselling illustrator,
Kerby Rosanes, whose detailed illustrations are loved by adults and
children alike. Mythic World features over 55 mythical creatures
and legends to colour. Showcasing some of the best-known creatures
alongside some you might not have discovered before, each scene
shows them interacting with and morphing out of some of the most
distinctive landscapes in our world today. Warring giants morph out
of The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, petrified trolls come
back to life in Icelandic rock formations, the Bhutanese Druk
emerges from Mount Everest's cloudy summit and much more. Colour
and discover the classical myths of Ancient Greece and Rome; celtic
folklore from Ireland and Scotland; oriental tales from Japan and
China; and norse sagas from across Scandinavia. Pages at the back
of the book provide a brief introduction to each mythical creature
and explain the inspiration and rationale behind each illustration.
"Haunted Mohawk Valley takes a look the history behind some of
Mohawk Valley's most haunted locations. Delve into the darkness of
The Stanley Theater in Utica, explore the infamous Old Stone Fort
of Schoharie and read about the tales of ghost seekers as they
uncover the supernatural on the Oriskany Battlefield.
Every land has its hero. Ours is an outlaw, rebel and thief - Robin
Hood. Each era gives him its identity. The illustrator Clifford
Harper and the poet John Gallas give us a new version of Robin -
hunter and hunted - the ballad verse closely echoing the drawings.
Agraphia is Harper's own publishing imprint, and as you'd expect,
the books are exquisitely designed, illustrated and printed.
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