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Science of the magical: from the Holy Grail to love potions to superpowers
By Matt Kaplan. 2015
A science reporter for The Economist looks for the germ of truth behind myths. From Bible stories of the Flood…
and from Norse mythology to modern superhero comic books, Kaplan takes popular magical beliefs and shows how they might be grounded in scientific facts. 2015The hero: a study in tradition, myth, and drama
By Lord Raglan, Fitzroy Richard Somerset Raglan, Raglan. 2003
Analysis of mythology, folklore, and drama to derive a set of twenty-two motifs that characterize the qualities and actions of…
heroic figures in traditional and literary narrative. Disputes the historical actuality often claimed for many traditional heroes, including Robin Hood, King Arthur, and the warriors at Troy. 1936Guys read: True stories (Guys Read #5)
By Jim Murphy, Jon Scieszka, Douglas Florian, Sy Montgomery, Candace Fleming, Elizabeth Partridge, Nathan Hale, Steve Sheinkin, James Sturm, T. Edward Nickens, Thanhhà Lai. 2014
Award-winning authors and journalists provide a collection of essays, biographies, travelogues, and more--all geared to males. In "Sahara Shipwreck," author…
Steve Sheinkin tells the true story of capture, enslavement in the desert, and urine consumption in order to survive. For grades 5-8. 2014West Texas tales (American Chronicles Ser.)
By Mike Cox. 2011
White Pine County: where the Great Basin highway meets the loneliest road in America
By Andrea Graham. 2003
Missouri caves in history and legend (Missouri Heritage Readers Ser. #1)
By H. Dwight Weaver. 2008
There are over 6000 caves in the state of Missouri, created by limestone rock slowly dissolved by groundwater. They have…
much to tell us about extinct species and Native Americans; they have been hideouts for outlaws, and have been mined for saltpeter and guano. H. Dwight Weaver, a former show cave operator, tells of the historical and social impact they have had on the stateSteel drivin' man: John Henry, the untold story of an American legend (Cityscapes Ser.)
By Scott Reynolds Nelson. 2006
History professor explores the truths behind the legend of railway man John Henry. Recounts his imprisonment and forced labor for…
the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Confirms Henry's 1871 contest with a steam drill, explores his mysterious death, and traces the evolution of the folk song that immortalizes his exploits. 2006American heroes
By Marfe Ferguson Delano, Marfe Delano. 2005
Fifty profiles of heroes drawn from four hundred years of American history: Pocahontas, Frederick Douglass, Queen Lili'uokalani, Helen Keller, Jonas…
Salk, and Roberto Clemente, among others. A list of facts accompanies each entry. Time lines and essays introduce historical eras. For grades 5-8. 2005The young Hans Christian Andersen
By Karen Hesse, Erik Blegvad. 2005
Portrays the early life of Hans Christian Andersen, the nineteenth-century Danish author of Andersen's Fairy Tales (RC 49568). Depicts Hans…
as a boy who was himself an "ugly duckling," but who believed that he would someday be famous. For grades 3-6. 2005Chinese mythology: an introduction
By Anne M. Birrell. 1999
English translations of some three hundred representative myths from more than one hundred classical Chinese texts. Selections are grouped thematically…
covering topics such as creation, gods, divine birth, love, heroes, the natural world, and immortality. Includes introduction and explanatory notes analyzing the context and significance of each narrative. 1993The hero's journey: the world of Joseph Campbell : Joseph Campbell on his life and work
By Joseph Campbell, Phil Cousineau. 1990
Campbell's lifelong interest in the similarities between art, religion, mythology, psychology, and literature is explored in this series of interviews.…
Traces his development of a personal revelation of "inner bliss" and the ability to translate the eternal myths into everyday experiences. Outgrowth of the film Hero with a Thousand Faces. 1990Johnny Appleseed: a tall tale
By Steven Kellogg. 1988
John Chapman, who later became known as Johnny Appleseed, was born in 1774 in Massachusetts. Near his home was an…
apple orchard, and John loved to watch the apples grow. The animals sensed his love of nature and grew to trust him. As soon as he was old enough, John left home to explore the West. He planted apple trees along the way, and the legends about him grew larger than life. For grades 2-4 and older readers. 1988P.G. Wodehouse, a literary biography
By Benny Green. 1981
Reviews the life of the British comic novelist who is most noted for his 'schoolboy' writing style and as creator…
of Jeeves the Butler, Bertie Wooster, and Psmith. Considers the relationship between Wodehouse's works and his real life experiences as student, bank clerk, and screenwriter. 1981"Ghost dance winter" and other tales of the frontier
By Sally Springmeyer Zanjani. 1994
A selection of stories from Nevada's history taken from articles written and published over a span of 20 years. Zanjani's…
tales are woven from stories told to her during her childhood and historical research. AdultAn ornery bunch: tales and anecdotes collected by the WPA Montana Writers Project, 1935-1942
By WPA Montana's Writer's Project, Megan Hiller, WPA Montana Writer's Project Staff. 1999
Between 1935 and 1942, the field workers for the Montana Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), conducted oral…
history interviews and researched folklore for a Montana folklore publication. Read about beer rustling in Butte, horses so fast they can outrun a storm, winters so cold they'll freeze your shadow to the ground, and the touching first meeting of Brother Van and Kid Curry. Some of Montana's first pioneers recorded these outrageous and often hilarious tales covering everything from a poker-playing magpie to the accepted cure for a greedy hunter. Every Westerner with a sense of humor and heritage, and folklorists everywhere, must add this book to their collectionsJohn Beargrease: legend of Minnesota's North Shore
By Daniel Lancaster. 2009
John Beargrease (1862-1910), the son of an Anishinabe chief, hauled the mail by dogsled between pioneer communities along Minnesota's tempestuous…
Lake Superior shore line. The annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is named in his honor. Daniel Lancaster follows the legendary Beargrease through the settlement and development of the North Shore on his difficult traverse from traditional Anishinabe life to the modern world. Rich in history, mythology, and local legend, this is an engrossing read for anyone who has ever fallen in love with Lake Superior's wave-washed shores and snowy winters. UnratedThe Soul of the Indian (Native American)
By Charles A Eastman, Charles Alexander Eastman, Charles Alexander. 2003
In The Soul of the Indian, Eastman brings to life the rich spirituality and morality of the Native Americans as…
they existed before contact with missionaries and other whites. This is a rare firsthand expression of native religion, without the filters imposed by translators or anthropologists. Rather than a scientific treatise, Eastman has written a book, "as true as I can make it to my childhood teaching and ancestral ideals, but from the human, not the ethnological standpoint." His discussions of the forms of ceremonial and symbolic worship, the unwritten scriptures, and the spirit world emphasize the universal quality and personal appeal of Native American religion. Adult. UnratedLe magicien
By Colm Tóibín. 2023
Une œuvre couronnée par le prix Nobel de littérature, une vie familiale mouvementée et souvent dramatique, et la traversée de…
toutes les tragédies politiques de la première moitié du siècle – voilà comment on pourrait résumer la vie de Thomas Mann. Colm Tóibín a choisi de nous la raconter de l'intérieur et dans toute sa dimension romanesque. Cette existence est peuplée d'autres figures inoubliables. Au tout premier plan, son épouse, la fascinante Katia Pringsheim. Avec et grâce à elle, Thomas Mann construit patiemment une oeuvre protéiforme en même temps qu'une apparence de vie confortable qui le protège de ses démons : son attirance pour les hommes. Pour ses six enfants nés entre un voyage à Venise et un séjour au sanatorium, il restera à jamais ce chef distant d'une famille où l'on ne sait pas très bien comment s'aimer. Son frère Heinrich, ses enfants Klaus et Erika Mann, Christopher Isherwood, Bruno Walter, Alma Mahler et Franklin Delano Roosevelt – tous joueront un rôle dans la mue du grand bourgeois conservateur en intellectuel engagé face à la montée du nazisme, ou croiseront sa route dans l'épreuve de l'exil. Mais Colm Tóibín évoque avec autant de puissance les élans intimes et douloureux d'un homme secret en quête d'un bonheur impossible. Tous ces liens littéraires, sentimentaux, historiques et politiques s'entretissent dans une fresque qui se confond avec l'émouvant roman d'une vie : celle d'un génie et d'un homme seul qu'on appelait Le MagicienMedusa's gaze and vampire's bite: the science of monsters
By Matt Kaplan. 2012
Science journalist examines ancient and modern myths of monsters, from the Nemean Lion of ancient Greece to King Kong and…
the Terminator. Uses archaeology and other disciplines to theorize on the sources of these tales and the reasons they fascinate us. Young adult appeal. Some violence. 2012L'autre fille (Les affranchis)
By Annie Ernaux. 2011
"Yvetot, un dimanche d'août 1950. Annie a dix ans, elle joue dehors, au soleil, sur le chemin caillouteux de la…
rue de l'Ecole. Sa mère sort de l'épicerie pour discuter avec une cliente, à quelques mètres d'elle. La conversation des deux femmes est parfaitement audible et les bribes d'une confidence inouïe se gravent à jamais dans la mémoire d'Annie. Avant sa naissance, ses parents avaient eu une autre fille. Elle est morte à l'âge de six ans de la diphtérie. Plus jamais Annie n'entendra un mot de la bouche de ses parents sur cette soeur inconnue. Elle ne leur posera jamais non plus une seule question. Mais même le silence contribue à forger un récit qui donne des contours à cette petite fille morte. Car forcément, elle joue un rôle dans l'identité de l'auteur. Les quelques mots, terribles, prononcés par la mère ; des photographies, une tombe, des objets, des murmures, un livret de famille : ainsi se construit, dans le réel et dans l'imaginaire, la fiction de cette " aînée " pour celle à qui l'on ne dit rien. Reste à savoir si la seconde fille, Annie, est autorisée à devenir ce qu'elle devient par la mort de la première..." -- 4e de couv