Book Description
The first comprehensive illustrated study of the use of amulets around the world and throughout history
• Explores not only the substances and symbolism from which amulets derive, but also the people and objects they protect
• Explains the differences between and the purposes of amulets, talismans, charms, and fetishes
All over the world and throughout history amulets have offered protection against negative forces, whether witchcraft, the evil eye, enemies, sickness, or accidents. Intricately beautiful or starkly simple, they come in an astonishing variety of guises: from stones, shells, and seeds, through animal tails, teeth, and claws, to beads, mirrors, needles, and bells.
With over 400 lavish color photographs, this book explores amulets from every angle, including their symbolism and the diverse material used to craft them as well as the people and objects they protect. Sheila Paine traveled all over the world--from Afghanistan, Russia, and Albania, to Cameroon, Tunisia, and Mexico--to research the form, properties, and use of amulets, whether for health and safety or as channels for spiritual or magical powers. Worn as necklaces, sewn to clothing, painted on buildings, or hung in vehicles, amulets guard babies and brides; warriors, hunters, and travelers; livestock, crops, and homes through magical, not physical, means. Malign spirits and hobgoblins at crossroads have been feared since ancient times, but modern dangers--car crashes, new diseases, even cell phones--have ensured an abiding faith in the magical protection that amulets afford us that is still widely evident today.
Customer Reviews:
and a half Stars - Excellent Book on the Topic.......2004-11-24
Sheila Paine is an expert on tribal societies and textiles, and is the author of several books covering textiles and their tribal use. This book, Amulets, is a source of history, cultural background, stories and photographs of amulets the author has collected from her travels to more than thirty countries.
The book is a lovely presentation. Printed on glossy paper, it has detailed photos of the amulets covering each page of the book along with a caption for each picture so you know exactly what you are looking at as well as where it came from in just a brief view of the material. This book reads like a museum catalogue, and the discussion of the material is at the same high level, to the author's credit.
The photos are not limited to the amulets alone, but also present us with pictures that express the culture of the people who produce these spiritual works of art. Tribal photos, showing the use of amulets in their daily dress or their festive dress, both from the past as well as modern day give the reader the background and good visual references for the culture. Amulets are not just small bits of bone or stone, but can be as complex as tribal masks, woven hats or cloth, pottery animals or elaborate shields. The variety presented in this book gives us a very large picture of the topic where many of us would only be familiar with a few.
The book is a good reference on the cultural aspects of amulets, as well as a basic study on some tribal culture. If you are not familiar with either topic, this book presents a good base to the study and is easy to understand and follow. While it is not National Geographic, it is just as easy to read, and holds your interest. Nothing dry and boring here.
The layout of the book is by what the amulet is made of, such as "Buttons, beads and blue" or "Hands and crosses". If you are just "cruising" through the book, the Table of Contents gives you a place to start. The Bibliography is quite extensive and presents many sources that you may not have seen before. And the index is extensive, well thought out and makes for easy reference. There is even a "Picture Credits" giving the photographers credit for their contributions.
The research, the notations of how the amulets are used and the history of the pieces discussed in the book makes this an excellent reference for those who are serious about studying this topic. While not a book on "magic", it is a book on an aspect of magic we practice and its cultural and sociological background. It borders on anthropological, but is fascinating for the history, lore and background it will give the average practitioner.
This is a very fine, intelligent and professional presentation and discussion of a topic that will interest many. I recommend this to those who have an interest in Amulets, as well as those who study cultural and tribal history. This is an excellent reference on the work, and one that will be at home on the coffee table or in the serious library. boudica
Book Description
Scrying--the art of divining by looking into an appropriate surface and receiving information in the form of visions--has been used by healers, shamans, and witch doctors for divination since ancient times. In Crystal Ball, Sibyl Ferguson offers a concise and accurate account of the history and the art of using crystal balls, or "shewstones," as they were called in the Bible, as a tool for enhancing daily life. This revised and expanded edition includes additional guidance for crystal ball use and care as well as information on using crystals and gemstones for healing and protection. Also, included is an A-Z list of stones and their lore, power, and healing properties. Discover which stones to use for which specific purposes.
Book Description
Here at last–the first exciting book in a bold new series of Lara Croft novels tying directly into the popular video games. The Amulet of Power reveals the never-before shown events that took place between “The Last Revelation” and “Angel of Darkness.” Trapped beneath the ruins of an Egyptian tomb, Lara faces certain death . . . until fate intervenes and sets her on the trail of an ancient talisman of power.
Archaeologist and explorer Lara Croft travels the world in search of ancient relics, forgotten crypts, and lost cities. Highly trained for combat and possessing an insatiable appetite for adventure, she answers to no one and goes wherever the quest takes her–heedless of the danger.
When Lara turns up in the Middle East, despite the rumors of her death, religious fanatics believe she has located the coveted Amulet of Mareish. Lost since the siege of Khartoum, the amulet is rumored to grant the wearer untold power. Some long to possess it, others want to see it destroyed, and both sides pursue Lara relentlessly. While she fights trained warriors and ruthless mercenaries, and desperately searches for the jewel they all seek, one thing becomes clear: the fate of the world rests in the hands of . . .
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER.
Download Description
Here at last -- the first exciting book in a bold new series of Lara Croft novels tying directly into the popular video games. The Amulet of Power reveals the never-before shown events that took place between "The Last Revelation" and "Angel of Darkness." Trapped beneath the ruins of an Egyptian tomb, Lara faces certain death... until fate intervenes and sets her on the trail of an ancient talisman of power.
Archaeologist and explorer Lara Croft travels the world in search of ancient relics, forgotten crypts, and lost cities. Highly trained for combat and possessing an insatiable appetite for adventure, she answers to no one and goes wherever the quest takes her-heedless of the danger.
When Lara turns up in the Middle East, despite the rumors of her death, religious fanatics believe she has located the coveted Amulet of Mareish. Lost since the siege of Khartoum, the amulet is rumored to grant the wearer untold power. Some long to possess it, others want to see it destroyed, and both sides pursue Lara relentlessly. While she fights trained warriors and ruthless mercenaries, and desperately searches for the jewel they all seek, one thing becomes clear: the fate of the world rests in the hands of... Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Customer Reviews:
READ A BOOK BAD REVIEWERS!! .......2007-08-09
You people are tripping who say this item is bad and i think the only reason some of you people think its bad, is because its probably the first book you`ve read since 1 st grade because you`ve been too busy playing video games =]. This book is filled with action and adventure and i highly recommend it. You guys will not be disappointed with this book! Its all you need in a good book.
Average game novel, at best.......2007-06-10
If this were any other type of book it would have failed miserably in ever respect. But you can't hold campy game novels to the same standards you do actual works of literature. Even with this in mind, it's still not a good book. The plot is uneven, with enough holes and nonsensical twists to nearly kill any coherence it might have had were it not for the absolutely godawful exposition. Again, this could be sidestepped, but the central problem is that the author really doesn't demonstrate any knowledge of the Lara Croft character. She's not nearly intelligent enough, and doesn't that that Tomb Raider edge. If the names were changes, the author could have been writing about any female hero on the run. It's really tragic that this is an official book. Kind of a waste, even for a game novel.
Lara Croft.......2005-05-19
Lara Croft is a famous archaeologist who travels the world looking for lost artifacts. She turns up in Egypt even though she is believed to be dead. People believe she has found the lost amulet of Mareish. The amulet is supposed to give the one who has it great power. Some people long to posses it and others want it to stay lost forever. Will Lara Croft make it out of this adventure alive or die trying?
The genre of this book action/adventure. The main characters of this book were Lara Croft, Omar, Gafaar, Hassam, and Kevin. I liked this book and didn't want to stop reading it because it is an exciting book and seems like it will never end. When I finished the book I was kind of upset because I didn't want it to end.
I recommend Lara Croft: Tomb Raider the Amulet of Power to everyone who likes action/adventure books. People will like this book because of all the sudden turn of events.
a pretty good book.......2005-01-26
while digging through a tomb, lara is buried under it when the tomb collaspes. while she is recuperating, she is targeted by assassins and almost killed. they are assuming that she found a amulet that has been missing for 100 years. the book is about the race to find the amulet and all the parties that want to make sure that it is either never found or found. the book is action pack and a pretty interesting. i would reccommend it.
Raiders lite........2004-12-10
This original novel evidently starts where the first Tomb Raider game ended, with Lara Croft buried alive in the Temple of Horus. She is saved, but before she even has time to recover from her injuries enigmatic hitmen are trying to kill her. Her rescuer becomes her partner and the two are soon dashing across Africa searching for a mysterious amulet that everyone seems to think that she has. Can Lara Croft find the amulet and save her life? The Amulet of Power is the first original novel based on the video game series, none of which I have played - yet. My only knowledge of Lara Croft comes from the film series, but this is a nice, pulpy read. Packed with enough action and monsters to satisfy those looking for nothing else. Sadly the book fails to bring any dimension to Croft herself, she runs from one adventure to the next without feeling fatigue, hunger, thrist, or any kind of emotion. This changes at the climax, but it is too little too late. Still, the book shows that there is plenty of juice left in the franchise. Fans should enjoy it.
Average customer rating:
- Ian Myles Slater on: Angels, Students, and Magic
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Ritual Practices to Gain Power: Angels, Incantations, and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism (Harvard Theological Studies series)
Rebecca Macy Lesses
Manufacturer: Morehouse Group
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ASIN: 1563382199 |
Customer Reviews:
Ian Myles Slater on: Angels, Students, and Magic.......2005-01-20
This is a deeply impressive, rewarding, but also difficult work. "Ritual Practices to Gain Power" is a description in recent use for some of the procedures that are commonly referred to as "magic," a designation with many problems. The book is aimed at readers already familiar with studies of Jewish mystical and magical texts of late antiquity and the early middle ages, and their non-Jewish (pagan, Gnostic, and Christian) counterparts. Lesses provides excellent bibliographic guides and useful summaries of previous scholarship, but I suspect that a reader not already familiar with both post-Biblical Judaism in general and at least some studies of the mystical and magical fringes of Rabbinic Judaism in particular will be baffled.
Which is to say that the book is aimed at serious scholars, and those willing to read serious scholarship, even if they are not equipped to contribute to it themselves. For these, and for those willing to familiarize themselves with the basic literature, the book should be worth their time and effort. Lesses considers such issues as asceticism and ritual purity from points of view not often treated in discussions of Rabbinic thought, namely, their role as sources of power and access to knowledge.
The practices Lesses describes and analyses may seem surprising to many readers. They do not fit well into some of the standard models of Jewish history. The emergence of an elite based on mastery of knowledge, rather than inherited status and the performance of public rituals was, from our perspective, a democratization. This is an attractive simplification. The basic Rabbinic legal code, "The Mishnah," was originally supposed to be transmitted in oral form alone. The debates over its rulings, which allowed the development of a body of learning ultimately embodied in the Talmud (actually, two Talmuds), was also supposed to be purely oral, which meant learning by rote from living teachers.
All were eventually committed to writing, and made the basis of further written commentaries and codes. Even after printing made texts more readily available, however, the process of learning this material was (and is) difficult. In the earliest stages, those without the economic resources to spend years in study, and those students who found the memorization of recited traditions an insurmountable obstacle, must surely have been anything but happy with the situation. Social standing, not to mention intimacy with God, seemed to be just out of reach.
One way out for those so frustrated was the pursuit of knowledge through other means, including ritual practices. Goals ranged from acquiring angelic aid in memorization, to actual inspiration by the "Prince of Torah" -- knowing the answers without the bother of studying. (I suspect that rituals for the former purpose may sometimes have seemed to work; the intense concentration required by these rituals must have been good training in themselves, and their performance a builder of confidence.)
These forms of scholarly "magic" merge, through common practices and forms, with other, more secular pursuits of other goals, whose lack of legitimacy was usually more obvious. With the passage of time, these traditions, probably always marginal, passed almost completely out of the sight of Jewish scholarship. Their recovery, from medieval manuscript collections of esoteric lore, and from discarded documents accidentally preserved in the Cairo Genizah, was one of the more remarkable episodes of twentieth century scholarship, and is still continuing.
The Genizah, by the way, is the "attic" in which un-needed or unwanted documents written in the sacred Hebrew letters were stored, until they turned to dust of sheer age. The equally reverent European Jewish practice was to bury them like human remains, so the Great Synagogue of Old Cairo became a repository of Jewish texts, and texts merely written by Jews, of enormous historical and literary value.
This illustrates a problem. If you aren't already familiar with the term, you will certainly need an introduction to the Jewish mystical literature, and to several allied subjects. The Listmania of "Merkabah and Hekhalot Mysticism: in English," currently included as a link on this page, has excellent suggestions. However, I would recommend few if any of them for a complete beginner in Jewish studies, not already reasonably at home in at least the main personalities and events of the Second Temple and Talmudic periods.
Not that all of it is terribly difficult (although some of it is), but because it is still a fairly specialized area of study, and a good general education will be of only limited help. As a very basic, but sound, introduction, I would suggest "Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts," edited by Barry W. Holtz.
(Reposted from my "anonymous" review of September 9, 2003.)
Average customer rating:
|
Children of the Amulet: Fight for Chrystalina
Lynne Michelle Quinpool
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1553696794
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Book Description
Feel the power within, experience the importance of extraordinary children in extraordinary circumstances as you follow the adventures of The Children of the Amulet.
Average customer rating:
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"Prediction" Book of Amulets and Talismans (PBK)
Jo Logan
Manufacturer: Javelin
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Thais snap up amulets; Believe coin-shaped talismans have magical powers.(Faith): An article from: Winnipeg Free Press
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on August 12, 2007. The length of the article is 688 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Thais snap up amulets; Believe coin-shaped talismans have magical powers.(Faith)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication:
Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 12, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: b7
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Wine drinkers around the world refer to Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Bordeaux simply as "The Bible."
First published in 1985, this landmark consumer guide launched one of the most illustrious careers in wine criticism. Robert Parker's mission, in his newsletter The Wine Advocate and his many bestselling books, has always been to give wine drinkers honest, informed advice about which wines are worth their money, and which wines aren't.
The fourth edition of Bordeaux presents a complete guide to vintages between 1961 and 2001. This latest volume brings readers up-to-date on the abundance of new producers in France's most important wine region and for the first time includes more than 700 wine labels. Parker has retasted and reevaluated many of Bordeaux's finest wines -- and adjusted their ratings accordingly -- so readers of his previous editions will discover herein a wealth of new material.
Parker begins with an overview of each year, which includes insight into growing conditions and yields, notes on anticipated maturity, general price ranges, and lists of best wines. The heart of the book is the chapter "Evaluating the Wines of Bordeaux," in which he meticulously reviews wine producers of every appellation. Organized geographically, the chateaux are listed in alphabetical order, and entries include contact information, vineyard size, details about the wine-making style, and a general evaluation of the chateau's wines. Best of all, each entry includes extensive tasting notes on important vintages, all of them featuring Parker's celebrated rating system -- in which every wine is assessed on a scale ranging from 50 to 100. In later chapters, he also offers essential information about the elements of a great Bordeaux wine, practical travel information about the region, a glossary of wine terms, and more.
An invaluable guide for consumers, Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Bordeaux provides all the information amateurs and connoisseurs alike could possibly need in their search for that perfect bottle.
Customer Reviews:
Bordeaux Bible.......2006-07-14
Anyone that enjoys good bordeaux need this book.
Excellent reference book.
A must have for bidders, wine collectors and wine buyers.
Extensive information of the best and not so good vintages and chateau's wines.
Love french wine from bordeaux you will love the book.
User friendly
Easy to read and search.
Excellent historical record of chateau's evolution.
Indispensable Guide.......2005-09-30
Recently I toured wineries in Bordeaux. Robert Parker's book is the indispensable guide to wineries in that region. He discusses each estate in detail and is quite frank in his reviews. He also recommended some hotels and restaurants, which proved to be excellent recommendations.
comprehensive.......2005-09-01
What a book!! Everything you wanted to know about Bordeaux and more. A comprehnesive and stunning, detailed account of the major chateaux in Bordeaux (there are hundreds of them!!)
Detailed tasting notes, going back many vintages. it is an excellent reference guide on the wines in this area.
You just have to think "the lucky so and so"; getting to taste the great wines and the great vintages of this region. To be honest you have to marvel about how he manages to do it.
This is an excellent guide; this edition has included pictures of the labels with each Chateau that is reviewed. One might hope that a future edition would have them in colour rather than B&W. A minor carp!!
Merci tres beaucoup, Monsieur Parker........2005-08-25
An extraordinary insight into the vineyards of Bordeau
this book also is extremely useful while I continue to
purchase and consume my favorite "les vins de Medoc.
The book is both an exceptional reference tool and
an historic review of France's finest Chateaux.
"Le livre est tres magnifique!" Monsieur Parker,
"je vous remarcie"! En anglais, "I thank you"!
All You Need: Comprehensive and Focused.......2005-03-25
Parker's insight is penetrating, but he manages to maintain an epic perspective. Parker's passion for wine vertibly sparkles from every page. His views can be idiosyncratic and he is not afraid to critisized grand crus which no longer merit the title. But only a scholar with Parker's passion could amass this comprehensive resource. This book is full of history, reviews, vintage analysis and ratings of all the chateaux, whether grand cru classe or cru bourgeois. If you are casually interested in wine or not ready to start spending big money, then this will be too much information. Let's face it: Good Bordeaux is expensive, and the shear volume of Parker's resources will overwhelm the uncommitted. But if you are willing to invest the time and money, you could not start at a better place than Robert Parker's Bordeaux.
Customer Reviews:
i share your thoughts with other readers!.......1999-06-02
i share my thought with other.this is a good book. BORDEAUX
An excellent guide to the grand crus of Bordeaux........1998-08-11
Perfect for grand cru classé wines but a bit thin on the cru bourgeois. I understand that a revised edition is on the way...
Useful buying guide for Bordeaux.......1997-02-12
Love Parker or bash Parker, just about every American wine lover pays attention to what he says. We have to ... his ratings make the market move as the wines he rates fly off the shelves. This revised version of his Bordeaux offers concise summaries of the major chateaux and his ratings of the wines they produce
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