Download or read book Magic and Mayhem written by Derek Leebaert and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ are the latest in a string of blunders that includes Vietnam and an unintended war with China from 1950 to ’53, those four fiascoes being just the worst moments in nearly a lifetime of false urgencies, intelligence failures, grandiose designs, and stereotyping of enemies and allies alike. America brought down the Soviet empire at the cold war’s most dangerous juncture, but even that victory was surrounded by myths, such as the conviction that we can easily shape the destinies of other people. Magic and Mayhem is a strikingly original, closely informed investigation of two generations of America’s avoidable failures. In a perfectly timed narrative, Derek Leebaert reveals the common threads in these serial letdowns and in the consequences that await. He demonstrates why the most enterprising and innovative nation in history keeps mishandling its gravest politico-military dealings abroad and why well-credentialed men and women, deemed brilliant when they arrive in Washington, consistently end up leading the country into folly. Misjudgments of this scale arise from a pattern of self-deception best described as "magical thinking." When we think magically, we conjure up beliefs that everyone wants to be like us, that America can accomplish anything out of sheer righteousness, and that our own wizardly policymakers will enable gigantic desires like "transforming the Middle East" to happen fast. Mantras of "stability" or "democracy" get substituted for reasoned reflection. Faith is placed in high-tech silver bullets, whether drones over Pakistan or helicopters in Vietnam. Leebaert exposes these magical notions by using new archival material, exclusive interviews, his own insider experiences, and portraits of the men and women who have succumbed: George Kennan, Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Presidents Kennedy, Carter, and George W. Bush all appear differently in the light of magic, as do wise men from Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, and think tanks such as RAND and Brookings, as well as influential players from the media and, occasionally, the military, including General David Petraeus as he personifies the nation’s latest forays into counterinsurgency. Magic and Mayhem offers vital insights as to how Americans imagine, confront, and even invite danger. Only by understanding the power of illusion can we break the spell, and then better apply America’s enduring strengths in a world that will long need them.

Download or read book WarCraft written by Mike Johnstone and published by Arthaus. This book was released on 2004-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magic and Mechanics Clash! Sorcerers and wizards truck with demons while tinkers and engineers build mighty engines of battle in this sourcebook for Dungeons and DragonsR WarcraftR the Roleplaying Game, which translates the hugely successful Warcraft computer game series into an exciting pen-and-paper roleplaying game world based on the popular d20 System rules! Requires the use of the Dungeons and DragonsR Player's Handbook, published by Wizards of the CoastR. This product utilizes updated material from the v.3.5 revision Designed with extensive input from the creative minds behind the Warcraft computer games, Magic and Mayhem includes: * In depth discussion of magic in the Warcraft setting, including rules for arcane corruption and a new type of magic called rune magic. * The new runemaster core class; 8 new prestige classes, including the warden and the steamwarrior; and several new feats. * New spells, as well as full descriptions of the new rune families and runes used by the runemaster. * A horde of new magic items and technological devices, as well as expanded details on creating technological devices. * Statistics for Warcraft constructs-the ultimate in the merging of magic and technology!

Download or read book Magic and Mayhem written by Sylvia Day and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sexy and lighthearted Halloween anthology featuring intertwined short stories from two New York Times–bestselling romance authors! Magic by Cathryn Fox: Good witch Brianna James writes a sexy, forbidden love spell on her thirty-first birthday—on the thirty-first day of October during a full moon—and conjures up on roguish, bad boy warlock! But she has no idea that she’s about to experience a passion so intense it will forever turn her good girl days into bad girl nights. And when that spell lands in the wrong hands, be prepared for a little mayhem . . . Mayhem by Sylvia Day: When Abigail Garvey steps into Conjure, the local magic shop, all she’s looking for are a few props to round out her fortune teller Halloween costume. Abby isn’t looking for a love spell that turns her drop-dead gorgeous, but long-oblivious neighbor into an aggressive alpha sex machine. Sure his single-minded pursuit (and follow-through!) is the stuff her wickedest fantasies are made of, but how much of it is the real deal? And how much of it is just a little magical mayhem?

Download or read book Harklights written by Tim Tilley and published by Usborne Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2021-07-07 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A charming fairytale adventure with an enduring ecological message." Peter Bunzl, author of Cogheart Wick has always lived in the dark and dreadful Harklights Match Factory and Orphanage, working tirelessly for greedy Old Ma Bogey. He only dreams of escaping, until one day a bird drops something impossible and magical at his feet - a tiny baby in an acorn cradle... As midnight chimes, Wick is visited by the Hobs, miniature protectors of the forest. Grateful for the kindness shown to their stolen child, they offer Wick the chance of a lifetime - escape from Harklights and begin a new life with them in the wild... Winner of the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize, Harklights is a magical story celebrating family, friendship and the natural world, filled with a message of hope for our times.

Download or read book Mums and Mayhem written by Amanda Flower and published by Crooked Lane Books. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A famous fiddler has been kilt. A magic garden's left to wilt. Does Fiona Knox's father hold the guilt? Will florist Fiona's blood be spilt? World-famous fiddle player Barley McFee arrives in blustery Bellewick, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, for a grand homecoming concert organized by jeweler Bernice Brennan. Fiona Knox, owner of the Climbing Rose Flower Shop, is starting to regret volunteering to help with the concert. Bernice is an exacting taskmaster, and Fiona has enough tension dealing with her parents, who have traveled from Tennessee to visit Fi and her younger sister, Isla, and to reveal a secret about Fi's birth. But when Barley is found dead in his trailer during the concert's intermission, and his death is shockingly tied to Fiona's father, Fiona discovers there are more secrets surrounding her family than she realized. Much to the chagrin of handsome Neil Craig, Chief Inspector of the County Aberdeen Police, Fiona delves into the case to clear her father's name. To make matters worse, Fiona learns that Duncreigan, the magical garden that she inherited from her godfather, is dying. At some point during the concert, someone broke into the garden and cut the centuries-old climbing rose--the source of the garden's magic--from the standing stone. The stakes are higher than ever and Fiona could lose all that she's grown unless she's able to dispel this terrible curse and dig up the truth--fast.

Download or read book Kissed by Magic written by Erica Ridley and published by Erica Ridley. This book was released on 2019-10-09 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enjoy an Outlander-meets-Frozen romantic comedy from a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author! Adventurer Lance Desmond needs to produce a fortune before his arch-rival collects the bounty on his head. He risks an ancient curse to retrieve treasure hidden within icebound Castle Cavanaugh, only to become trapped inside. Not with the gold he so desperately needs, but with medieval Princess Marigold who's been cooling her heels since...well, medieval times. The lonely princess refuses to acknowledge the blossoming attraction between them. Not just because she deserves a better future than a penniless rogue. But because at midnight, he'll vanish like all her other would-be heroes. And the evergreen in the parlor will have one more figurine hanging from its boughs... A previous edition was published as Let It Snow.

Download or read book Witch Glitch written by Robyn Peterman and published by . This book was released on 2015-12-07 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Witches and glitches and testicle obsessed cats... Oh my. One dilemma down and approximately 74,876,283 to go. I think being the Shifter Whisperer is hard-or Shifter Wanker as I enjoy referring to my new job-but healing wounded Shifters is easy compared to finding and eliminating the lurking freaking evil. Throw in a ghost, a potentially explosive ex-cellmate, a long lost dad and a smokin' hot werewolf who's convinced he's my mate, and suddenly it's party time-from hell. And this is my mission? Life is getting messy and I don't do messy. With feelings I didn't know I was capable of having, and the word love being thrown around like a football on Super Bowl Sunday, poofing away with a magical twitch of my nose is becoming more appealing by the moment. But to show I'm not a weenie, I'm gonna pull up my big girl panties and hurl some fireballs at Baba Yaga's older than dirt warlock posse if they don't pony up the info I need. If I don't burn the town of Assjacket down while trying to save it, I'm donning my red cape and playing who's the big bad wolf with a for real wolf who's hotter than any fireball. I just pray to the Goddess my heart doesn't get burned in the process...

Download or read book Occult Botany written by Paul Sédir and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • Includes a dictionary of nearly 300 magical plants with descriptions of each plant’s scientific name, common names, elemental qualities, ruling planets, and zodiacal signatures, with commentary on medico-magical properties and uses • Explores methods of phytotherapy and plant magic, including the Paracelsian “transplantation of diseases,” ritual pacts with trees, the secret ingredients of witches’ ointments, and the composition of magical philters • Explains the occult secrets of phytogenesis, plant physiology, and plant physiognomy (classification of plants according to the doctrine of signatures) Merging the scientific discipline of botany with ancient, medieval, and Renaissance traditions of occult herbalism, this seminal guide was first published in French in 1902 as a textbook for students of Papus’s École hermétique and sparked a revival in the study of magical herbalism in early twentieth-century France. Author Paul Sédir, pseudonym of Yvon Le Loup (1871-1926), explains the occult secrets of phytogenesis (the esoteric origin and evolutionary development of the plant kingdom), plant physiology (the occult anatomy of plants), and plant physiognomy (classification of plants according to the doctrine of signatures). Unveiling the mysteries behind planetary and zodiacal attributions, he provides readers with the keys to make their own informed determinations of the astral properties of plants. Moving from theory into practice, Sédir explores various methods of phytotherapy and plant magic, including the Paracelsian “transplantation of diseases,” the secret ingredients of witches’ ointments, and the composition of magical philters. In the third section of the book, Sédir offers a dictionary of magical plants that covers nearly 300 plant species with descriptions of their astral signatures, occult properties, and medico-magical uses. Compiled from an array of rare sources and esoterica, this classic text includes a wealth of additional materials and supplemental charts and diagrams drawn from Sédir’s occult colleagues, all of whom adopted and expanded upon Sédir’s pioneering system of plant correspondences.

Download or read book Midsummer s Mayhem written by Rajani LaRocca and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Kirkus Best Book of 2019! An Indies Introduce Selection for 2019! An Indie Next Pick for Summer 2019! "A delectable treat for food and literary connoisseurs alike." Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW "What a wonderful, intriguing, and magical book. And wow, did it ever get my tastebuds going! Each time I picked it up, I felt the urge to head to my kitchen. . . . What I loved most was the smartness of it. It never once doubted its young readers." Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor- and National Book Award-Nominated author "Midsummer's Mayhem is an enchantment of a novel, bursting with magic, mystery, and mouth-watering baked goods. Readers who have their own baking-show dreams will be cheering for Mimi until the very last page." Kate Messner, award-winning author of Breakout, The Seventh Wish, and All the Answers Can Mimi undo the mayhem caused by her baking in this contemporary-fantasy retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream? Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson comes from a big Indian American family: Dad's a renowned food writer, Mom's a successful businesswoman, and her three older siblings all have their own respective accomplishments. It's easy to feel invisible in such an impressive family, but Mimi's dream of proving she's not the least-talented member of her family seems possible when she discovers a baking contest at the new bakery in town. Plus, it'll start her on the path to becoming a celebrity chef like her culinary idol, Puffy Fay. But when Mimi's dad returns from a business trip, he's mysteriously lost his highly honed sense of taste. Without his help, Mimi will never be able to bake something impressive enough to propel her to gastronomic fame. Drawn into the woods behind her house by a strangely familiar song, Mimi meets Vik, a boy who brings her to parts of the forest she's never seen. Who knew there were banyan trees and wild boars in Massachusetts? Together they discover exotic ingredients and bake them into delectable and enchanting treats. But as her dad acts stranger every day, and her siblings' romantic entanglements cause trouble in their town, Mimi begins to wonder whether the ingredients she and Vik found are somehow the cause of it all. She needs to use her skills, deductive and epicurean, to uncover what's happened. In the process, she learns that in life as in baking, not everything is sweet. . . .

Download or read book Dragon World written by Tamara Macfarlane and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Immerse yourself in the rich, fascinating history of dragons in this illustrated gift ebook. Meet the fire-breathing beasts of mythology in this beautifully illustrated ebook brimming with scaled behemoths. Lurking in every corner of the earth, from the deepest depths of the oceans, to the tips of the tallest mountains, even tucked beneath the very ground that you tread on, dragons watch and wait. They take many forms--sea monsters, serpents, wild cats, eagles, and they represent many different things; Gods to be revered, evil kings to be feared, wise friends, and fierce foes. So, when you accidentally step on a sinewy vine and it whips out from under your feet, or invisible forces gently fan warm air across your face, or the acrid smell of cinders pokes at the back of your throat, how will you know whether to stand and wonder, or run and hide? Dragons have breathed fire into our minds since we could first imagine, but why do they exist in stories from every land in the world? Come in and explore Dragon World. Look into their lairs while they make shape-shifting mischief, playing with the weather and protecting earthly treasures. Soar across continents into tales as old as time. Prowl through the pages to discover rare dragon species. Find clues to track them and master how to draw them. Behold the earthly dragons of today!

Download or read book Mayhem written by Estelle Laure and published by Wednesday Books. This book was released on 2020-07-14 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel. It's 1987 and unfortunately it's not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy's constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem's own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren't like everyone else. But when May's stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem's questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good. But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost. From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.

Download or read book Tragic Magic written by Thal Dixon and published by . This book was released on 2019-10-31 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From award-winning author, Thal Dixon, and award-winning illustrator, Mikey Brooks, comes an all-new book filled with magic like you've never seen before. Curiosity can be a dangerous thing, especially when mixed with magic. After a boy finds an old trunk containing a magical book in the attic, his life is turned upside down--literally. Now his house is filled with waring goblins, rotting zombies, hungry alligators, and even a dragon. To change things back to normal, he must find the magical book, which has mysteriously disappeared, and put it back in the trunk before his house, and possibly the world is destroyed by tragic magic.

Download or read book A Witch in Time written by Robyn Peterman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-04-23 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Caring for people wasn’t in my repertoire until I landed in Assjacket, West Virginia. Falling in love wasn’t anywhere on my agenda. It’s messy. However, I’ve been told messy is what showers and therapy are for. I’m hoping that info is correct because Goddess knows I’m trying. Never until now have I been a witch that wanted it all—the guy, the job, the friends and the place called home. Now I just have to fix my slightly irresponsible and somewhat unstable witchy ways so I deserve it."--Page 4 of cover

Download or read book Three s a Charm written by Robyn Peterman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-01-29 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's a witch to do when her magic is on the fritz and there's a huge pile of laundry to be done? Easy. Flood the entire house. Everyone wants a bubbly indoor freakin' swimming pool... right? Just when everything is right in my life, something has to go wrong-times three. Number one: an unknown evil force wants to steal my power. Now, instead of protecting and healing the whacked out inhabitants of Assjacket, my power has wonked out on me and I've blasted ginormous holes all over town. Not to mention Roger the Rabbit is now sporting a pentagon of penii thanks to me and is keen on contacting the Guinness Book of World Records. Unacceptable. Armed with questionable voodoo skills and seriously frayed nerves, I'm Two: gonna do what any partially-sane, potty-mouthed, witch would do... I'm calling in the semi-evil, butt-ugly Bermangoggleshitz to train me. The warlock's penchant for push-ups makes me hate him with the fire of a thousand suns, but if I can't control my dark magic, it will control me. Way unacceptable. With Sassy and Cookie Witch by my side, I'll Three: get a handle on my dark voodoo-or doodoo as I've renamed it-so Assjacket won't end up as one massive crater. And I need all the help I can get. An evil like we've never seen is gunning for us-specifically me. Wildly unacceptable. We'll be the Three Amigos. The Three Musketeers. The Three Stooges. Whatever. As the saying goes...three's a crowd, three's company, three's a party. Nope. Three's a charm. And I'm gonna turn it on for all I'm worth.

Download or read book That Mafioso Magic written by Nicholas Bella and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-24 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Private detective, Adrian Elias, knows what trouble looks like, and ruthless mobster and lion shifter, Sage Tamir, was just that with a capital T. On top of smelling like heaven, the man has the face of an angel, with a body made for unbridled sin. A combination Adrian finds very hard to resist. Unfortunately, someone is trying to kill Sage and they're using magic to do it. Sage usually takes these types of matters into his own hands, but this time, he's out of his league. He believes the only person who can help him is the down-on-his-luck detective. Problem is, Adrian doesn't want to take his case because he feels it may be too dangerous. Never mind the volcanic-level attraction they seem to share for each other raising the stakes. Magic and mayhem awaits.Reader Advisory: 18 and older. Strong adult situations and language. A sarcastic PI and a no-nonsense mobster will keep you turning the pages way past your bedtime. Best order that pizza, because once you start this book, you won't want to stop.

Download or read book The Pits of Hell written by Ebisu Yoshikazu and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-28 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A teacher tortured by his students finally explodes in a violent rage. Exhausted Salarymen are pushed beyond the brink. Blood, sweat and screams of 'FUCK YOU!' pour out of the characters within The Pits of Hell, and yet a sense of humour always shines through. Bold, absurd and all too real, Ebisu Yoshikazu's work feels distinctly underground, almost punk. The Pits of Hell collects eight classic stories by Ebisu Yoshikazu, originally published between 1969 and 1981. The collection features a foreword by Minami Shinbo and an essay by Ryan Holmberg placing Ebisu Yoshikazu and his work into context.

Download or read book Mayhem and Magic The Graphic Novel written by Sarah Fine and published by Jet City Comics. This book was released on 2016-11-02 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling author Sarah Fine (Marked, Sanctum) gives hard-boiled noir a magical edge in this stand-alone four-issue comic book adventure--where crime collides with conjuring in the spellbinding world of her Reliquary series. Featuring an action-packed script by Alex De Campi (No Mercy, Grindhouse) and stunning art from Dennis Calero (X-Men Noir). Freelance thief-for-hire Asa Ward's latest job is heisting a powerful magic relic from a gangster's lair. But what should be an easy payday quickly becomes larceny the hard way--when he's dragged into a three-way crime war where mind-bending, body-racking magic is the most lethal weapon of all. And just when Asa thinks he's scored, the ruthless kingpin he's ripping off strikes back...threatening the only life Asa values more than his own.