Download or read book Magic Is Dead written by Ian Frisch and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-02-26 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the vein of Neil Strauss’ The Game and Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein comes the fascinating story of one man’s colorful, mysterious, and personal journey into the world of magic, and his unlikely invitation into an underground secret society of revolutionary magicians from around the world. Magic Is Dead is Ian Frisch’s head-first dive into a hidden world full of extraordinary characters and highly guarded secrets. It is a story of imagination, deception, and art that spotlights today’s most brilliant young magicians—a mysterious club known as the52, who are revolutionizing an ancient artform under the mantra Magic Is Dead. Ian brings us with him as he not only gets to know this fascinating world, but also becomes an integral part of it. We meet the52’s founding members—Laura London, Daniel Madison, and Chris Ramsay—and explore their personal demons, professional aspirations, and what drew them to their craft. We join them at private gatherings of the most extraordinary magicians working today, follow them to magic conventions in Las Vegas and England, and discover some of the best tricks of the trade. We also encounter David Blaine; hang out with Penn Jillette; meet Dynamo, the U.K.’s most famous magician; and go behind the scenes of a Netflix magic show. Magic Is Dead is also a chronicle of magic’s rich history and how it has changed in the internet age, as the young guns embrace social media and move away from the old-school take on the craft. As he tells the story of the52, and his role as its most unlikely member, Ian reveals his own connection with trickery and deceit and how he first learned the elements that make magic work from his poker-playing mother. He recalls their adventures in card rooms and casinos after his father’s sudden death, and shares a touching moment that he had, as a working journalist, with his childhood idol Shaquille O’Neal. “Magic—the romanticism of the inexplicable, the awe and admiration of the unexpected—is an underlying force in how we view the world and its myriad possibilities,” Ian writes. As his journey continues, Ian not only becomes a performer and creator of magic—even fooling the late Anthony Bourdain during a chance encounter—he also cements a new brotherhood, and begins to understand his relationship with his father, fifteen years after his death. Written with psychological acuity and a keen eye for detail, Magic Is Dead is an engrossing tale full of wonder and surprise.

Download or read book Uncivilisation written by Paul Kingsnorth and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Magic of Our World written by Paul Dichter and published by Lerner Publications (Tm). This book was released on 2018-08 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compilation of four separately published works.

Download or read book The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind Volume 1 written by Gamei Hitsuji and published by J-Novel Club. This book was released on 2018-04-18 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suimei and two of his best friends find themselves mysteriously summoned to another world. There's a cute princess, magic galore, a Demon Lord that needs to be defeated, and a world that needs to be saved--the works! Too bad Suimei isn't interested. His friends are all too ready to play the parts of heroes, but Suimei just wants to get home. He has an advantage as a magician... but he's in for a rude awakening when he finds out what actually passes for magic in these parts.

Download or read book Here Is Real Magic written by Nate Staniforth and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An extraordinary memoir about finding wonder in everyday life, from magician Nate Staniforth. Nate Staniforth has spent most of his life and all of his professional career trying to understand wonder--what it is, where to find it, and how to share it with others. He became a magician because he learned at a young age that magic tricks don't have to be frivolous. Magic doesn't have to be about sequins and smoke machines--rather, it can create a moment of genuine astonishment. But after years on the road as a professional magician, crisscrossing the country and performing four or five nights a week, every week, Nate was disillusioned, burned out, and ready to quit. Instead, he went to India in search of magic. Here Is Real Magic follows Nate Staniforth's evolution from an obsessed young magician to a broken wanderer and back again. It tells the story of his rediscovery of astonishment--and the importance of wonder in everyday life--during his trip to the slums of India, where he infiltrated a three-thousand-year-old clan of street magicians. Here Is Real Magic is a call to all of us--to welcome awe back into our lives, to marvel in the everyday, and to seek magic all around us.

Download or read book The Magic World written by Edith Nesbit and published by Graphic Arts Books. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Magic World (1909) is a collection of twelve children’s fantasy stories by English writer Edith Nesbit. Using elements of magic and mystery familiar to readers of her beloved Bastable and Psammead Trilogies, Nesbit crafts tales of wonder and adventure for children and adults alike. In “The Cat-hood of Maurice,” a young boy learns firsthand the consequences of mistreating the family cat. One day, Maurice attaches an empty sardine can to Lord Hugh’s tail, terrifying and traumatizing the poor cat. When his father gets home, Maurice is told that he will be spending the next week at Dr. Strongitharm’s school for wayward boys. At the last moment, Maurice discovers Lord Hugh in his room, who reveals to the boy a magic word that will turn him into a cat. In “Accidental Magic,” a boy named Quentin is sent to school in Salisbury. Immensely interested in archaeology and history, Quentin is excited to learn that he will be able to visit Stonehenge while at school. After getting in a fight with a bully, Quentin runs away in fear of expulsion and escapes through the fields toward Stonehenge. There, he searches for the fabled altar stone, where, exhausted and scared, he falls asleep. When he wakes up, he finds he has been transported to the lost world of Atlantis, where the people call him the “Chosen of the Gods,” but fail to reveal what it is he is chosen for. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Edith Nesbit’s The Magic World is a classic of English children’s literature reimagined for modern readers.

Download or read book Science and Magic in the Modern World written by Eugene V. Subbotsky and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science and Magic in the Modern World is a unique text that explores the role of magical thinking in everyday life. It provides an excellent psychological look at the subconscious belief in magic in both popular culture and society, as well as experimental research that considers human consciousness as a derivative of belief in the supernatural, thus showing that our feelings, emotions, attitudes and other psychological processes follow the laws of magic. This book synthesises the science of ‘natural’ phenomena and the magic of the ‘supernatural’ to present an interesting look at the juxtaposition of the inner and outer selves. Fusing research into psychological disorders, subconscious feelings, as well as the rising presence of artificial intelligence, this book demonstrates how an engagement with magical thinking can enhance one’s creativity and cognitive skills. Science and Magic in the Modern World is an invaluable resource for those studying consciousness, as well as those looking at the effect of magical thinking on religion, politics, science and society.

Download or read book The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind Volume 2 written by Gamei Hitsuji and published by J-Novel Club. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suimei finally strikes out on his own, but what is life going to be like for a modern magician in an old-fashioned Adventurer's Guild? And what of Reiji, Mizuki, and Titania? How will any of them handle their first encounter with a real demon?

Download or read book Earth Magic written by Steven D. Farmer, Ph.D and published by Hay House, Inc. This book was released on 2009-02-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Earth Magic, Steven Farmer offers a unique synthesis of ancient spiritual practices and philosophies that have proven over millennia to help heal the spiritual causes of physical and emotional illnesses, augment personal power, enhance manifestation abilities, and encourage a balanced and harmonious relationship with our Earth. Although the foundation for Earth Magic is universal shamanic wisdom, you don’t need to have an interest in shamanism to benefit from its contents, as it expands beyond this topic to incorporate processes that are useful for all those with the sincere intention to heal themselves, others, and our planet.

Download or read book Magic in the Modern World written by Edward Bever and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays considers the place of magic in the modern world, first by exploring the ways in which modernity has been defined in explicit opposition to magic and superstition, and then by illuminating how modern proponents of magic have worked to legitimize their practices through an overt embrace of evolving forms such as esotericism and supernaturalism. Taking a two-track approach, this book explores the complex dynamics of the construction of the modern self and its relation to the modern preoccupation with magic. Essays examine how modern “rational” consciousness is generated and maintained and how proponents of both magical and scientific traditions rationalize evidence to fit accepted orthodoxy. This book also describes how people unsatisfied with the norms of modern subjectivity embrace various forms of magic—and the methods these modern practitioners use to legitimate magic in the modern world. A compelling assessment of magic from the early modern period to today, Magic in the Modern World shows how, despite the dominant culture’s emphatic denial of their validity, older forms of magic persist and develop while new forms of magic continue to emerge. In addition to the editors, contributors include Egil Asprem, Erik Davis, Megan Goodwin, Dan Harms, Adam Jortner, and Benedek Láng.

Download or read book The Magic of Reality written by Richard Dawkins and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author addresses key scientific questions previously explained by rich mythologies, from the evolution of the first humans and the life cycle of stars to the principles of a rainbow and the origins of the universe.

Download or read book The Magic Garden written by Lemniscates and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Chloe lives in a magic garden, but she doesn't know it! Incredible things happen there all the time: caterpillars become butterflies, insects change their colors and light up the night sky, and birds weave their nests. Trees lose their colorful leaves in the fall, but each spring, they grow again--just another enchanting bit of magic that happens year after year in the world of nature"--Back cover.

Download or read book The Little Book of Earth Magic written by Sarah Bartlett and published by Piatkus. This book was released on 2021-07-01 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Connect to the magic of the world around you for healing, empowerment and self-care Nature is filled with hidden, elusive energies: the growth spirals of sunflowers, the electromagnetic spectrum of rainbows, the bio-energy of trees and the sound waves of thunder. Working with the potent energy of nature's bounty, you will learn to nurture and embrace your inner guardian witch through spell work. Brimming with rituals, wishes and enchantments to encourage spiritual growth, abundance and prosperity, and featuring beautiful illustrations from the author, this book is an illuminating guide to harnessing the earth's power for personal reflection. It reveals how magic can be used as a reciprocal force for good that protects and promotes our well-being, as well as that of our planet. The Little Book of Earth Magic is for those who seek to form a meaningful connection with nature and take their spiritual practice to a new level.

Download or read book Where the Magic Happens written by Caspar Craven and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In June 2009, Caspar and Nichola created a plan to sail around the world with their young children. Most people thought they were crazy. But over the past seven years they've embraced every moment of this momentous chapter of their lives. Five years of planning – the vision, the values, the practicalities, the realities, the excitement, the highs, the lows and the seemingly adventure-stopping obstacles – led to two wonderful years of living their dream – the magical and the scary; enjoying life and learning as a family. This is Caspar's story. It's a story of a fabulous sailing adventure but it's also so much more than that – it's an inspirational tale for all those wishing they could do the same; it's a practical guide to show you just how you can make it happen; it's a motivational story of leadership and teamwork within a family; and it's a funny, heart-warming tale of slightly unconventional family life. The fascinating narrative of Caspar's story is accompanied by useful text features such as tip boxes, sidebars and chapter summaries, so that the reader can easily extrapolate the necessary nuggets about how they can make the dream a reality.

Download or read book Prayer Magic and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique World written by Scott Noegel and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the religious systems of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, gods and demigods were neither abstract nor distant, but communicated with mankind through signs and active intervention. Men and women were thus eager to interpret, appeal to, and even control the gods and their agents. In Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique World, a distinguished array of scholars explores the many ways in which people in the ancient world sought to gain access to--or, in some cases, to bind or escape from--the divine powers of heaven and earth. Grounded in a variety of disciplines, including Assyriology, Classics, and early Islamic history, the fifteen essays in this volume cover a broad geographic area: Greece, Egypt, Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Topics include celestial divination in early Mesopotamia, the civic festivals of classical Athens, and Christian magical papyri from Coptic Egypt. Moving forward to Late Antiquity, we see how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each incorporated many aspects of ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman religion into their own prayers, rituals, and conceptions. Even if they no longer conceived of the sun, moon, and the stars as eternal or divine, Christians, Jews, and Muslims often continued to study the movements of the heavens as a map on which divine power could be read. The reader already familiar with studies of ancient religion will find in Prayer, Magic, and the Stars both old friends and new faces. Contributors include Gideon Bohak, Nicola Denzey, Jacco Dieleman, Radcliffe Edmonds, Marvin Meyer, Michael G. Morony, Ian Moyer, Francesca Rochberg, Jonathan Z. Smith, Mark S. Smith, Peter Struck, Michael Swartz, and Kasia Szpakowska. Published as part of Penn State's Magic in History series, Prayer, Magic, and the Stars appears at a time of renewed interest in divination and occult practices in the ancient world. It will interest a wide audience in the field of comparative religion as well as students of the ancient world and late antiquity.

Download or read book Experiencing the Impossible written by Gustav Kuhn and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-03-12 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the scientific study of magic reveals intriguing—and often unsettling—insights into the mysteries of the human mind. What do we see when we watch a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat or read a person's mind? We are captivated by an illusion; we applaud the fact that we have been fooled. Why do we enjoy experiencing what seems clearly impossible, or at least beyond our powers of explanation? In Experiencing the Impossible, Gustav Kuhn examines the psychological processes that underpin our experience of magic. Kuhn, a psychologist and a magician, reveals the intriguing—and often unsettling—insights into the human mind that the scientific study of magic provides.Magic, Kuhn explains, creates a cognitive conflict between what we believe to be true (for example, a rabbit could not be in that hat) and what we experience (a rabbit has just come out of that hat!). Drawing on the latest psychological, neurological, and philosophical research, he suggests that misdirection is at the heart of all magic tricks, and he offers a scientific theory of misdirection. He explores, among other topics, our propensity for magical thinking, the malleability of our perceptual experiences, forgetting and misremembering, free will and mind control, and how magic is applied outside entertaiment—the use of illusion in human-computer interaction, politics, warfare, and elsewhere. We may be surprised to learn how little of the world we actually perceive, how little we can trust what we see and remember, and how little we are in charge of our thoughts and actions. Exploring magic, Kuhn illuminates the complex—and almost magical—mechanisms underlying our daily activities.

Download or read book Magic in the Cloister written by Sophie Page and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2013-10-21 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries a group of monks with occult interests donated what became a remarkable collection of more than thirty magic texts to the library of the Benedictine abbey of St. Augustine’s in Canterbury. The monks collected texts that provided positive justifications for the practice of magic and books in which works of magic were copied side by side with works of more licit genres. In Magic in the Cloister, Sophie Page uses this collection to explore the gradual shift toward more positive attitudes to magical texts and ideas in medieval Europe. She examines what attracted monks to magic texts, in spite of the dangers involved in studying condemned works, and how the monks combined magic with their intellectual interests and monastic life. By showing how it was possible for religious insiders to integrate magical studies with their orthodox worldview, Magic in the Cloister contributes to a broader understanding of the role of magical texts and ideas and their acceptance in the late Middle Ages.