The Men on Magic Carpets PDF Download

Author: Ed Hawkins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472942590
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
The incorporation of mysticism and a belief in the superhuman in experiments towards the ultimate athlete conducted by Michael Murphy in the 1970s are investigated in terms of their wildest moments then, and in terms of their influence on ideas occasionally wild and occasionally credible throughout the sports world today

Author: Ed Hawkins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472942620
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
'An absolute gem. Funny, incredible and brilliantly reported, in Ed Hawkins the sports world has its own Jon Ronson.' - Will Storr The bizarre true story about the cosmic side of sports. Ever wondered if the mind tricks used by Luke Skywalker or his Star Wars brethren were real? Ed Hawkins did. A Jedi-wannabe and sports nut, he pondered: what if a coach or athlete had tried to harness such mysterious powers? They would be unstoppable. This set Ed off on an extraordinary adventure across the West Coast of America in search of a superhuman sports star. He discovers cosmic thinkers who, back in their 1960s heyday, believed that through the power of thought alone a superhuman could be created: one that could see into the future, slow down time and control minds. So successful were their tactics that they attracted the attention of the US government. Meanwhile in Russia their Soviet counterparts were employing equally bewildering brain power. Their goal? To win the Cold War. And so from the 1970s and into the Eighties the underground free-thinking movement became a fully-funded state secret in an 'inner space race' between the US and the Soviet Union. Both sides attempting to create the perfect human killing machine. It worked. Sort of. Instead of building a super soldier, the mystics from both sides came together to preach peace and love to their political paymasters. After the thaw, the search for the superhuman sports star began again and continues to this day. In The Men on Magic Carpets Ed goes deep into a secret network of supernatural sages and is told about a mysterious American football coach who made it to the top by teaching his players The Force. But can he be found? Will he admit to what he truly believes? And how does our intrepid author cope with his own brush with the Dark Side as the shadowy military once again attempt to use the mystical powers for ill?

Author: Edith Nesbit
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
ISBN: 9781853261558
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Five British children discover in their new carpet an egg, which hatches into a phoenix that takes them on a series of fantastic adventures around the world.

Author: Marina Warner
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674065077
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 577

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Our foremost theorist of myth, fairytale, and folktale explores the magical realm of the imagination where carpets fly and genies grant prophetic wishes. Stranger Magic examines the profound impact of the Arabian Nights on the West, the progressive exoticization of magic, and the growing acceptance of myth and magic in contemporary experience.

Author: Tony Abbott
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 0545833361
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
A hidden door. A magical staircase. Discover the world of Droon! Eric, Julie, and Neal have just found something magic in Eric's basement. They have discovered a staircase to another world! The world of Droon is amazing - full of magic, flying lizards, and fun, furry creatures. But how will Eric, Julie, and Neal find their way home? Maybe their new friend, Princess Keeah, can help?

Author: Chris Aslan
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
ISBN: 1848312717
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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The Silk Road conjures images of the exotic and the unknown. Most travellers simply pass along it. Brit Chris Alexander chose to live there. Ostensibly writing a guidebook, Alexander found life at the heart of the glittering madrassahs, mosques and minarets of the walled city of Khiva - a remote desert oasis in Uzbekistan - immensely alluring, and stayed. Immersing himself in the language and rich cultural traditions Alexander discovers a world torn between Marx and Mohammed - a place where veils and vodka, pork and polygamy freely mingle - against a backdrop of forgotten carpet designs, crumbling but magnificent Islamic architecture and scenes drawn straight from "The Arabian Nights". Accompanied by a large green parrot, a ginger cat and his adoptive Uzbek family, Alexander recounts his efforts to rediscover the lost art of traditional weaving and dyeing, and the process establishing a self-sufficient carpet workshop, employing local women and disabled people to train as apprentices. A Carpet Ride to Khiva sees Alexander being stripped naked at a former Soviet youth camp, crawling through silkworm droppings in an attempt to record their life-cycle, holed up in the British Museum discovering carpet designs dormant for half a millennia, tackling a carpet-thieving mayor, distinguishing natural dyes from sacks of opium in Northern Afghanistan, bluffing his way through an impromptu version of "My Heart Will Go On" for national Uzbek TV and seeking sanctuary as an anti-Western riot consumed the Kabul carpet bazaar. It is an unforgettable true travel story of a journey to the heart of the unknown and the unexpected friendship one man found there.

Author: J. B. S. Haldane
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781903252192
Category : Magicians
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Author: Tony Abbott
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 0545418399
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 87

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A hidden door. A magical staircase. Discover the world of Droon! There's no place like home! Eric and his friends have finally restored the Rainbow Stairs, but that was the easy part. Now Gethwing is loose in the Upper World, and the Moon Dragon is causing big trouble. Eric, Julie, and Neal have to protect their town, but they're up against mysterious creatures, strangely-behaving parents, and powerful magic. Can the kids stop Gethwing before he destroys the Upper World -- for good?

Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698408195
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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“An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling.” —Associated Press “A true masterpiece.” —Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything. Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history. Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.

Author: Alice Hoffman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982189460
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters. The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work. A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love. The Book of Magic is a breathtaking conclusion that celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love.