World Myths

In this detailed study, Terri Blom Crocker provides the first comprehensive analysis of both scholarly and popular portrayals of the Christmas Truce from 1914 to present. This new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence. The vast majority of these accounts depict the soldiers as acting in defiance of their superiors. Crocker, however, analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes.

Think there's just one fairy tale with a beautiful girl and a monster? Think again! Cultures all around the world have their own Beauty and the Beast stories. Visit France, China, and Switzerland, to find out who asks for a grape instead of a rose, and whose beast is a snake.

The wind has stopped, just stopped, all across the world. As panic begins to build one boy, storm-born Hurricane Smith, is especially affected. After all, the wind has always been his friend, always had his back. Hurricane's despair only increases when his mother's breathing problem lands her in the hospital. That night, alone in their apartment, a strange man appears to him, with an even stranger message: “I am Zephron Windlord, and I need your help to rescue the wind.”

Is geography really destiny? Our maps may no longer be stalked by dragons and monsters, but our perceptions of the world are still shaped by geographic myths. Myths like Europe being the centre of the world. Or that border walls are the solution to migration. Or that Russia is predestined to threaten its neighbours. In his punchy and authoritative book, Paul Richardson challenges recent popular accounts of geographical determinism and shows that how we see the world represented often isn't how it really is - that the map is not the territory.

A flower-spouting princess, gobbling prince, emerald-winged fairy, foolish giants, fearsome ogres, and talking frog and fish are just a few of the captivating characters found in this anthology of beloved stories from 29 places around the world, from the Arctic to Africa to Asia to Australia to Europe to the Americas.

Here are the incredible true stories of some of the mortals who achieved notoriety in history and folklore through horrible means. Monsters of this sort - serial killers, desperate criminals and socially mobile people with much darker double lives - are, in fact, quite real...including H. H. Holmes, the infamous Chicago serial killer; William Brodie, the Edinburgh criminal mastermind who inspired The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; and Bela Kiss, a Hungarian tinsmith with a most disturbing hobby: collecting women in gasoline drums.

With Straits, celebrated historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto subjects the surviving sources to the most meticulous scrutiny ever, providing a timely and engrossing biography of the real Ferdinand Magellan. The truth that Fernández-Armesto uncovers about Magellan's life, his character, and the events of his ill-fated voyage offers up a stranger, darker, and even more compelling narrative than the fictional version that has been celebrated for half a millennium.

The teacher, Patrick Healy, traveled around the world, talked with people in different places, and collected around half a thousand myths, legends, and folktales and their several alternative versions. His opinion and comments (directly or indirectly) are inevitable. This is the second volume of his work. Patrick grouped 14 famous Czech children's stories and myths with his words. He retold the stories with his own opinion and approach to them.

A mysterious prisoner, long forgotten. A sly trap is sprung with terrifying consequences. Ancient blood ties of horrifying significance. Kara, heart bearer of Bastion, returns to Gaia to begin her mission. Aided by her djinn Dragonmerger, Chryso and a feisty dragon named Beryl, she embarks on a journey into the core of the emperor's dangerous stronghold. Her quest to bring down the barrier is overshadowed by her mother’s urgent plea to free a man imprisoned within the citadel’s stone walls. It does not take long before Kara is confronted by her brother Jasper, a wizard who has sworn ...

The dream is broken. The world is burning. Anise must find a new way to fight. Cast into the heart of the dream realm, Anise awakens to a world unraveling. Dragons darken the skies. Nightmares spill into the waking world. And those she once trusted have become strangers. Armed with her channeler’s magic—and guided by an unlikely ally in the god of death—Anise must weave light from shadow before Liamec falls to ruin. But dreams are tricky things. Old enemies wear new faces. Love and loyalty blur. And at the end of the path waits a sacrifice no magic can undo. In a battle where dreams ...

Leo Braudy, a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, has won accolades for revealing the complex and constantly shifting history behind seemingly unchanging ideas of fame, war, and masculinity. Continuing his interest in the history of emotion, this book explores how fear has been shaped into images of monsters and monstrosity.

Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. That's because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking while their breakfast cools off. Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots, and finally crawls into the smallest bed for a nap. Meanwhile, Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear see her dogs adrift, swim out to rescue them and return home to find Aloo-ki fast asleep in Baby Bear's bed.

In this ancient Mexican folktale, the Aztec Sky god and Wind god attempt to fix silence on Earth by bringing music to the world. They set out to the Sun palace, where legions of musicians play for the almighty Sun. Unfortunately, this hot-headed ruler won’t give up his musicians without a fight!

Mildred Groves, an unusual young woman gifted and cursed with the ability to see the future, goes to work in a top-secret research facility during WWII, only to be tormented by visions of what the mission will mean for humankind.

Explore an extraordinary adventure through the fascinating realms of mythology with "Mythology for Kids." From A to Z, explore an enchanting collection that transports young readers to a vibrant world filled with legendary wonders. Take a look at a wide range of mythological creatures that have captivated numerous societies around the world. Learn about dragons, vampires, unicorns, goblins, mermaids and much more! "Mythology for Kids" is a captivating invitation into the fascinating world of myths, filled with enchanting narratives and vibrant illustrations. This charming book sparks ...

"The world is in great peril," the Pope said. "Of being destroyed!" Jules Verne and Alexander Dumas stood in stunned silence at the words spoken by the Pope. If true, it could mean the end of the world . If not true, it could mean the end of their world. A mission is described which is so important and so dangerous that only these two brave young men were chosen to take it. But to be honest, can two authors, even if smart and brave, be enough to stop the destruction of the world? As they embark on their mission, they are joined by a third party. An international pirate. A man dedicated to ...

"What is your favorite story?" is the question children across the country often ask professional storyteller Pleasant DeSpain. As he attempts to answer, his list grows longer and longer, until he confesses he likes them all. An untiring researcher of oral traditions, DeSpain is known for his concise versions of world folktales specifically crafted for retelling.

Professor Frank McDonough is one of the leading scholars and most popular writers on the history of Nazi Germany. His work has been described as 'modern history writing at its very best...Ground-breaking, fascinating, occasionally deeply revisionist' by renowned historian Andrew Roberts. Drawing on a detailed examination of previously unpublished Gestapo case files this audiobook relates the fascinating, vivid and disturbing accounts of a cross-section of ordinary and extraordinary people who opposed the Nazi regime.

A year has passed since the ancient gods of myth and legend returned and irrevocably changed humankind as we know it. All across the earth, survivors of the initial onslaught have now abandoned their faith in the modern world and have begun to worship the pagan deities once again. The United States hangs perilously close to ruin as the newly resurgent Aztec Empire begins its final assault against the country. In this maelstrom of chaos and destruction, a small of group of individuals holds the key to either stop or to aid this terrible menace. Across these devastated lands, Tara Weiss ...

When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment. Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis. Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason's band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?