English Mythology

In words that might have been ripped from today's combat dispatches, Steven Pressfield, the best-selling novelist of ancient warfare, returns with a riveting historical novel that re-creates Alexander the Great's invasion of the Afghan kingdoms in 330 B.C., a campaign that eerily foreshadows the tactics, terrors, and frustrations of contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Still recovering from her deadly encounter with the Phantomwitch, Ayleth finds herself the unwilling guest of the Golden Prince, forced to enjoy his hospitality...and the not-so-gentle ministrations of Venator Fendrel du Glaive. There's something strange about Fendrel. The way he stares at her is unsettling - as though she's a monster, as though she's guilty of some great sin. But didn't she just defeat one of the worst enemies the kingdom has ever known? Hasn't she proven her worth?

UFO abductions, television psychics, paranormal phenomena, skeptics and believers alike, find themselves debating truths and lies in the strange web of pseudoscience and the occult. Now, director of the Skeptics Society Michael Shermer explores the very human reasons why we find other worldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing.

Brought to Cuba as slaves, the Yoruba people of West Africa preserved their religion's heritage by disguising their gods as Catholic saints and worshipping them in secret. The resulting religion is known as Santeria, a blend of primitive magic and Catholicism now practiced by an estimated five million Americans. Santeria: The Religion is an informative and insightful examination of an African religion's survival in the New World.

Drawing directly from the actual surviving Icelandic books of magic, Stephen Flowers presents a complete system of magic based on Icelandic lore and magical practices from the 16th century onward. He explores the history of magic in Iceland in pagan and early Christian times and reveals specific practical techniques and ritual templates that readers can adapt to their unique purposes. Illustrating traditional Icelandic magical practices and the Icelanders’ attitudes toward them, he shares original translations of Icelandic folktales.

Alexander of Macedon has one wild dream: to rule the world. And with his childhood friends and his beloved horse Bucephalas, he sets out from his home in ancient Greece to do just that. With historian Dominic Sandbrook as our guide, join Alexander on his incredible journey, travelling through the deserts of Egypt and over the snow-capped mountains of Persia all the way to India, defeating all who stand in his way. For anything is possible with the blessing of the gods.

The Secrets of Santa Muerte is a practical handbook on how to connect with the mysterious Mexican folk saint. Drawing from authentic Mexican sources and traditions, it details secret, esoteric knowledge that will foster a deep connection with the Saint of Death. Prayers, spells, and rituals are included for a wide range of needs: love, sex, money, good health, aid with legal matters, as well as hexes against and protection from enemies.

This is a selection of the myths and legends of Scotland, filled with local color, from Scottish journalist, folklorist, and writer Donald Alexander Mackenzie. These stories offer not only glimpses of ancient times and of old habits of thought and life but also of the country itself at different times of the year.

In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived at Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina to establish the first English settlement in the New World. But when the new colony's leader returned to Roanoke from a resupply mission, his settlers had vanished, leaving behind only a single clue - a "secret token" etched into a tree. What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? That question has consumed historians, archeologists, and amateur sleuths for 400 years. In The Secret Token, Andrew Lawler sets out on a quest to determine the fate of the settlers.

The Poetic Edda is the most important collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry, covering the creation of the world and the coming of Ragnarok, The Doom of the Gods.

Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, lives in secrecy among mortals, concealing her divine identity while offering her services as a skilled protector and mercenary. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it, and she was totally fine with it until one day, when a mortal man kissed her, she experienced peace for the first time. And she's been pouting about it ever since.

In Hear My Sad Story, Richard Polenberg describes the historical events that led to the writing of many famous American folk songs that served as touchstones for generations of American musicians, lyricists, and folklorists. Those events, which took place from the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries, often involved tragic occurrences: murders, sometimes resulting from love affairs gone wrong; desperate acts born out of poverty and unbearable working conditions.

This audiobook contains 17 short stories inspired from famous classic fairy tales. In addition to 17 classic tales, you’ll get another three bonus stories from Aesop’s Fables book.

In this guide to Celtic Mythology, several stories are not only outlined, but narrated elaborately. Others are quickly mentioned, and some historical background about the Celts, Irish, and Scottish is provided to set the stage. Overall, a fantastic guide to both be entertained and informed. Get started now!

In the groundbreaking tradition of In the Dream House and The Collected Schizophrenias, a gorgeously illustrated speculative memoir that draws upon the Japanese myth of the Hyakki Yagyo—the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons—to shift the cultural narrative around mental illness, grief, and remembrance.

In The Heretic’s Handbook, the internationally bestselling author of The Secret History of the World has collected and codified ancient, secret wisdom from around the world, formulating a complete philosophy on how to live a happy and successful life. An acclaimed author and public speaker, Black shows how this body of knowledge has been declared ‘heretical’ both by the established church and by today’s atheistic intellectual elite.

Private Kaylin Neya already has Dragons and Barrani as roommates. Adding one injured, flightless Aerian to her household should be trivial. Sure, the Aerian is Sergeant Moran dar Carafel, but Kaylin's own sergeant is a Leontine, the definition of growly and fanged. She can handle one Aerian. But when a walk to the Halls of Law becomes a street-shattering magical assassination attempt on the sergeant, Kaylin discovers that it's not the guest who's going to be the problem.

The legend of King Arthur - founder of Camelot and wielder of Excalibur - was born of disputed historical fact, folktales, and romantic literary invention. Compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century and edited by Sir James Knowles in the nineteenth, these stories begin with Merlin’s prophecies of Arthur’s birth. We follow the king from the fellowship of the Round Table to the quest for the Holy Grail and into war with Sir Lancelot of the Lake. Knowles’s 1862 edition, dedicated to Alfred Tennyson, returned Arthur to cultural prominence....

From his remarkable debut The Hawk in the Rain (1957) to his death in 1998, Ted Hughes was a colossal presence in the English literary landscape. He was also admired as a performer of his own work. Tales from Ovid, Ted Hughes' masterful versions of stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses, includes those of Phaeton, Actaeon, Echo and Narcissus, Procne, Midas and Pyramus and Thisbe as well as many others.

We have all heard stories of demigods and their epic battles or ultimate demise. But which parts are true and what is fabricated? If you want to discover the superhumans from Greek, Norse, Celtic, African, Egyptian, Japanese, and Hindu mythology, then this is the book you need.