Download or read book Escaping the Illusion written by Brian Rubenstein and published by Andrews UK Limited. This book was released on 2022-11-07 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A knife streaked with blood. A teenage gang held in jail. A dangerous man owed a load of money. A life-changing offer too good to refuse. Welcome to the world of fifteen-year-old Evan Banksky, a world that seems to be spinning dangerously out of control. A world that seems impossible to escape. Until he gets some unexpected help from a mysterious group on a mission to reveal the truth behind a great illusion. Embarking on a journey that takes him to places he never imagined, Evan learns that he must look deep within himself to find the answer to a series of profound dilemmas. From the gritty council estates of London to the rolling plains of the African wilderness, join Evan as he confronts his family and his friends, his past and his future, arriving at crucial decisions that will change his life forever. Gripping, funny and full of unforeseen twists and turns, Escaping the Illusion is a thrilling, heart-wrenching novel about discovering the true super-power that exists within us all, even in the most challenging of circumstances.
Download or read book In Gods We Trust written by Scott Atran and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-12-09 with total page 748 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ambitious, interdisciplinary book seeks to explain the origins of religion using our knowledge of the evolution of cognition. A cognitive anthropologist and psychologist, Scott Atran argues that religion is a by-product of human evolution just as the cognitive intervention, cultural selection, and historical survival of religion is an accommodation of certain existential and moral elements that have evolved in the human condition.
Download or read book Houdini written by Clinton Cox and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biography of famed magician and illusionist Harry Houdini explores how he carried out his amazing feats and exposes the secrets behind many of Houdini's tricks. The author cites Houdini's brilliance, physical dexterity, and wild imagination as factors that made him a true master of illusion. Photos.
Download or read book Darwin s Cathedral written by David Wilson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2003-10 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the great intellectual battles of modern times is between evolution and religion. Until now, they have been considered completely irreconcilable theories of origin and existence. David Sloan Wilson's Darwin's Cathedral takes the radical step of joining the two, in the process proposing an evolutionary theory of religion that shakes both evolutionary biology and social theory at their foundations. The key, argues Wilson, is to think of society as an organism, an old idea that has received new life based on recent developments in evolutionary biology. If society is an organism, can we then think of morality and religion as biologically and culturally evolved adaptations that enable human groups to function as single units rather than mere collections of individuals? Wilson brings a variety of evidence to bear on this question, from both the biological and social sciences. From Calvinism in sixteenth-century Geneva to Balinese water temples, from hunter-gatherer societies to urban America, Wilson demonstrates how religions have enabled people to achieve by collective action what they never could do alone. He also includes a chapter considering forgiveness from an evolutionary perspective and concludes by discussing how all social organizations, including science, could benefit by incorporating elements of religion. Religious believers often compare their communities to single organisms and even to insect colonies. Astoundingly, Wilson shows that they might be literally correct. Intended for any educated reader, Darwin's Cathedral will change forever the way we view the relations among evolution, religion, and human society.
Download or read book La Grande Illusion written by Julian Jackson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-07-25 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jean Renoir's 1937 film La Grande Illusion is set during the First World War, but its themes of Franco-German conflict, divided loyalties in a time of war and the rise of anti-Semitism made it compelling and controversial viewing. Julian Jackson traces the film's historical context and its reception history.
Download or read book Collective Illusions written by Todd Rose and published by Hachette Go. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and social psychology research, an acclaimed author demonstrates how so much of our thinking is informed by false assumptions—making us dangerously mistrustful as a society and needlessly unhappy as individuals. The desire to fit in is one of the most powerful, least understood forces in society. Todd Rose believes that as human beings, we continually act against our own best interests because our brains misunderstand what others believe. A complicated set of illusions driven by conformity bias distorts how we see the world around us. From toilet paper shortages to kidneys that get thrown away rather than used for transplants; from racial segregation to the perceived “electability” of women in politics; from bottled water to “cancel culture,” we routinely copy others, lie about what we believe, cling to tribes, and silence people. The question is, Why do we keep believing the lies and hurting ourselves? Todd Rose proves that the answer is hard-wired in our DNA: our brains are more socially dependent than we realize or dare to accept. Most of us would rather be fully in sync with the social norms of our respective groups than be true to who we are. Using originally researched data, Collective Illusions shows us where we get things wrong and, just as important, how we can be authentic in forming opinions while valuing truth. Rose offers a counterintuitive yet empowering explanation for how we can bridge our inference gap, make decisions with a newfound clarity, and achieve fulfillment. **National Bestseller** **Wall Street Journal Bestseller** **Named Amazon's 2022 Best Book of the Year in Business, Leadership, and Science**
Download or read book City of Illusion written by Victoria Ying and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Read the follow-up to the action-packed adventure that Dan Santat called "An-edge-of-your-seat thriller!" It's been a peaceful three months since Hannah Morgan and Ever Barnes saved their beloved Oskars, and activated the powers of their city's Megantic. Ever now lives with the Morgan family and the two children watch over and learn more about Oskar (the Megantic) every day. But their conflict-free days come to an abrupt end when Mr. Morgan is captured while on a family trip to nearby Alexios, and the kids get into a spat with a group of street magicians who con Hannah out of her pocket money. Chifa and Tanan were never planning to make friends while performing their tricks, but when Hannah and Ever learn of their connection to Vash, they realize there's much more at stake than a few coins. If Hannah and Ever want to find out what Vash is hiding and save both Oskars and Alexios before time runs out, they'll have to learn to trust Chifa and Tanan, and most importantly, find a way to work together.
Download or read book The Shadow written by Cullen Bunn and published by Dynamite. This book was released on 2016-05-25 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Shadow infiltrates the sanctum of The Society of United Magicians, an esoteric enclave of illusionists who are hellbent on escaping the ultimate trap: death itself! Learning the secret of the so-called "Last Illusion" from the spirit of escape artist Harry Houdini himself, The Shadow becomes the next target of their murderous scheme. To thwart their plans, he must evade twisted traps and solve spellbinding puzzles, while simultaneously evading the deadly skills of Sandman, the magician assassin. A good (or evil) magician never reveals his secrets... but the Shadow knows!
Download or read book The Price of Illusion written by Joan Juliet Buck and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Joan Juliet Buck, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris and “one of the most compelling personalities in the world of style” (New York Times) comes her dazzling, compulsively readable memoir: a fabulous account of four decades spent in the creative heart of London, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris—“If you loved The Devil Wears Prada, you’ll adore The Price of Illusion” (Elle). In a book as rich and dramatic as the life she’s led, Joan Juliet Buck takes us into the splendid illusions of film, fashion, and fame to reveal, in stunning, sensual prose, the truth behind the artifice. The only child of a volatile movie producer betrayed by his dreams, she became a magazine journalist at nineteen to reflect and record the high life she’d been brought up in, a choice that led her into a hall of mirrors where she was both magician and dupe. After a career writing for Vogue and Vanity Fair, she was named the first American woman to edit Vogue Paris. The vivid adventures of this thoughtful, incisive writer at the hub of dreams across two continents over fifty years are hilarious and heartbreaking. Including a spectacular cast of carefully observed legends, monsters, and stars (just look at the index!), this is the moving account of a remarkable woman’s rocky passage through glamour and passion, filial duty and family madness, in search of her true self.
Download or read book The Illusion of Separateness written by Simon Van Booy and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-06-11 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The uncanny beauty of Van Booy’s prose, and his ability to knife straight to the depths of a character’s heart, fill a reader with wonder.” — San Francisco Chronicle Award-winning author Simon Van Booy tells a harrowing and enchanting story of how one man’s act of mercy during World War II changed the lives of strangers, and how they each discover the astonishing truth of their connection. The characters in Van Booy's The Illusion of Separateness discover at their darkest moments of fear and isolation that they are not alone, that they were never alone, that every human being is a link in a chain we cannot see. This gripping novel—inspired by true events—tells the interwoven stories of a deformed German infantryman; a lonely British film director; a young, blind museum curator; two Jewish American newlyweds separated by war; and a caretaker at a retirement home for actors in Santa Monica. They move through the same world but fail to perceive their connections until, through seemingly random acts of selflessness, a veil is lifted to reveal the vital parts they have played in one another's lives, and the illusion of their separateness.
Download or read book The Eve Illusion written by Giovanna Fletcher and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2020-04-16 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE SECOND BOOK IN THE BESTSELLING EVE OF MAN TRILOGY AND NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - EVE AND BRAM HAVE ESCAPED, BUT CAN THEY SURVIVE? Eve is the last girl on earth. For the last sixteen years, Eve has been a prisoner. Guarded by the Mothers. Trapped by her fate. Watched by the world. Until she took her chance, and escaped. Eve finally has the freedom she has wanted for so long, and with Bram she has the love. But both come at a price. In this dangerous new world beyond the Tower, the regime is only ever one step behind. And, together with the desperate rebel group fighting against them, Eve has found herself in more danger than she ever could have imagined. With everything stacked against them, can Eve and Bram survive? Praise for Eve of Man 'A Hunger Games-esque novel . . . a compelling read' The Mail on Sunday 'Set in a dystopian future that has seen no girls born for 50 years . . . This promises to be one of the big books of the year. You'd be a fool to miss it' Heat 'This chilling dystopia is at heart a love story, and the vivid characterisation has you rooting for the duo from page one' CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE MONTH Mail on Sunday 'A thoughtful, and excellent read' The Sun
Download or read book Surviving the Great War written by Aaron Pegram and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surviving the Great War is the first detailed analysis of Australians in German captivity in WW1. By placing the hardships of prisoners of war in a broader social and military content, this book adds a new dimension to the national wartime experience and challenges popular representations of Australia's involvement in the First World War.
Download or read book Models Behaving Badly written by Emanuel Derman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-10-25 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, “a compelling, accessible, and provocative piece of work that forces us to question many of our assumptions” (Gillian Tett, author of Fool’s Gold). Quants, physicists working on Wall Street as quantitative analysts, have been widely blamed for triggering financial crises with their complex mathematical models. Their formulas were meant to allow Wall Street to prosper without risk. But in this penetrating insider’s look at the recent economic collapse, Emanuel Derman—former head quant at Goldman Sachs—explains the collision between mathematical modeling and economics and what makes financial models so dangerous. Though such models imitate the style of physics and employ the language of mathematics, theories in physics aim for a description of reality—but in finance, models can shoot only for a very limited approximation of reality. Derman uses his firsthand experience in financial theory and practice to explain the complicated tangles that have paralyzed the economy. Models.Behaving.Badly. exposes Wall Street’s love affair with models, and shows us why nobody will ever be able to write a model that can encapsulate human behavior.
Download or read book Analytical Buddhism written by M. Albahari and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-25 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does the self - a unified, separate, persisting thinker/owner/agent - exist? Drawing on Western philosophy, neurology and Theravadin Buddhism, this book argues that the self is an illusion created by a tier of non-illusory consciousness and a tier of desire-driven thought and emotion, and that separateness underpins the self's illusory status.
Download or read book Escaping From Houdini written by Kerri Maniscalco and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The #1 bestselling series that started with Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula continues its streak in this third bloody installment . . . Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell find themselves aboard a luxurious ocean liner that becomes a floating prison of horror when passengers are murdered one by one, with nowhere to run from the killer. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria , Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly. But privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow more and more bizarre. It's up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation before more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer's horrifying finale?
Download or read book Escaping the Matrix written by Gregory A. Boyd and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2005-04-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In some way or another most of us are "stuck"-in a secret sin we can't control or maybe by an inability to stand up for ourselves. In Escaping the Matrix, authors Gregory A. Boyd and Al Larson use the vehicle of The Matrix film trilogy to argue that our struggles with habitual sin, thought patterns, damaged emotions, and phobias happen because we do not know how to take charge of the way we experience reality. The authors draw on biblical and psychological insights to provide practical resources for helping believers escape the matrix of the world system that ensnares them. While this book is aimed at the newest generation of Christian readers, all ages will be inspired by the book's innovative strategies for experiencing a deeper life in Christ.
Download or read book The Spectacle of Illusion written by Matthew L. Tompkins and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A spectacular treasury of treats. Page after page of utter joy: I can't tear my eyes away' - Derren Brown In The Spectacle of Illusion, professional magician-turned experimental psychologist Dr. Matthew L. Tompkins investigates the arts of deception as practised and popularised by mesmerists, magicians and psychics since the early 18th century. Organised thematically within a broadly chronological trajectory, this compelling book explores how illusions perpetuated by magicians and fraudulent mystics can not only deceive our senses but also teach us about the inner workings of our minds. Indeed, modern scientists are increasingly turning to magic tricks to develop new techniques to examine human perception, memory and belief. Beginning by discussing mesmerism and spiritualism, the book moves on to consider how professional magicians such as John Nevil Maskelyne and Harry Houdini engaged with these movements - particularly how they set out to challenge and debunk paranormal claims. It also relates the interactions between magicians, mystics and scientists over the past 200 years, and reveals how the researchers who attempted to investigate magical and paranormal phenomena were themselves deceived, and what this can teach us about deception. Highly illustrated throughout with entertaining and bizarre drawings, double-exposure spirit photographs and photographs of spoon-bending from hitherto inaccessible and un-mined archives, including the Wellcome Collection, the Harry Price Library, the Society for Physical Research, and last but not least, the Magic Circle's closely guarded collection, the book also features newly commissioned photography of planchettes, rapping boards, tilting tables, ectoplasm, automata and illusion boxes. Concluding with a modern-day analysis of the science of magic and illusion, analysing surprisingly weird phenomena such as ideomotor action, sleep paralysis, choice blindness and the psychology of misdirection, this unnerving volume highlights how unreliable our minds can be, and how complicit they can be in the perpetuation of illusions.
