As if history and nature had not provided wonders enough, through the ages humans themselves have contrived more marvels to deceive one another. Sometimes they have concocted evidence when none was available to prove pet theories; sometimes their intention has been to impress or defraud; sometimes they have acted merely for sport. Robert Silverberg tells the stories of a baker's dozen of these scientific hoaxers in a lively, good-humored book that ranges through time and across continents. Here are perpetual-motion machines and space rockets, men on the moon and serpents in the sea. The...
As if history and nature had not provided wonders enough, through the ages humans themselves have contrived more marvels to deceive one another. Somet...
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 1930), best known as the author of Sherlock Holmes stories but also a devout spiritualist, was entirely convinced by a set of photographs apparently showing two young girls from Cottingley in Yorkshire playing with a group of tiny, translucent fairies. To demonstrate his unshakeable belief in the spirit world, he published The Coming of the Fairies in 1922. Doyle s book lays out the story of the photographs, their supposed provenance, and the implications of their existence. This quirky and fascinating book allows us to get inside the mind of an...
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 1930), best known as the author of Sherlock Holmes stories but also a devout spiritualist, was entirely convinced by a se...
Supernatural and superhuman elements have been prominent in American culture from the time of the New England Puritans intense emphasis on religion. Superpower surveys the appearance of supernatural and superhuman elements in American culture, focusing on the American fascination with narratives involving supernatural adventure, superhuman heroes, and vast conspiracies driven by supernatural evil. In particular, M. Keith Booker suggests that the popularity of such themes indicates a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the rationalized world of contemporary American society. Booker details...
Supernatural and superhuman elements have been prominent in American culture from the time of the New England Puritans intense emphasis on religion. <...
This in-depth and comprehensive resource explores the intersection of religion, politics, and the supernatural that spawned the notorious witch hunts in Europe and the New World. Witch Hunts in the Western World traces the evolution of Western attitudes toward magic, demons, and religious nonconformity from the Roman Empire through the Age of Enlightenment, placing these chilling events into a wider social and historical context. Brian A. Pavlac discusses witch hunts in fascinating detail by region, highlighting the cultural differences of the people who incited them as well as the key...
This in-depth and comprehensive resource explores the intersection of religion, politics, and the supernatural that spawned the notorious witch hunts ...
