I confess to being a nonfiction reader, and that's what's so striking about this book. Carlos Eire is a respected historian. They Flew, published by a mainstream university press (Yale), offers a no-nonsense, historical rendition of saints that were reported to have levitated, or outright flown. Like others who've addressed this topic seriously, Eire makes the point that we can't simply dismiss historical records because they don't match our modern expectations. This is a fairly big book, and it takes a lot for me to select a long book as my favorite for the year, but this one did so. It was well written and authoritatively told.
An award-winning historian's examination of impossible events at the dawn of modernity and of their enduring significance
"Historically rich and superbly written."-David J. Davis, Wall Street Journal
Accounts of seemingly impossible phenomena abounded in the early modern era-tales of levitation, bilocation, and witchcraft-even as skepticism, atheism, and empirical science were starting to supplant religious belief in the paranormal. In this book, Carlos M. N. Eire explores how a culture increasingly devoted to scientific thinking grappled with events deemed impossible by its leading intellectuals.
Eire observes how levitating saints and flying witches were as essential a component of early modern life…
Continuing my nonfiction theme, I read this book because I wanted to find out about "A Visit from St. Nicholas," or "Twas the Night before Christmas." The poem is attributed to Clement Moore, but Foster, who is a master sleuth of writing, shows why it almost certainly wasn't written by Moore. This case comes late in the book, however, and Foster expertly draws the reader in with his involvement in the Unabomber case, as well as other writers who wanted to hide their identities for various reasons. After he establishes how an English professor came to be consulted by the FBI, he turns his attention to a favorite Christmas poem. Very well done indeed.
From the professor who invented literary forensics--and fingered Joe Klein as the author of Primary Colors--comes the inside story of how he solves his most challenging cases
Don Foster is the world's first literary detective. Realizing that everyone's use of language is as distinctive as his or her DNA, Foster developed a revolutionary methodology for identifying the writer behind almost any anonymous document. Now, in this enthralling book, he explains his techniques and invites readers to sit by his side as he searches a mysterious text for the clues that whisper the author's name. Foster's unique skills first came to…
We have become mired in the morass of believing mind and brain are the same thing. The mind, consciousness—whatever you want to call it—isn't just electrochemical signals in the brain. And our minds can change our bodies. Robson is a science writer with the goods. He demonstrates across several cases that a person's mind can make physical changes in their body by the power of "expectation" alone. This is not "woo-woo," but scientifically backed information. A mind-blowing book that could change your life.
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022: HEALTH AND WELLBEING A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2022: POPULAR SCIENCE
People who believe ageing brings wisdom live longer. Lucky charms really do improve an athlete's performance. Taking a placebo, even when you know it is a placebo, can still improve your health. Welcome to The Expectation Effect.
In this book David Robson takes us on a tour of the cutting-edge research happening right now that suggests our expectations shape our experience. Bringing together fascinating case studies and evidence-based science, The Expectation Effect uncovers new…
Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is an American myth. Translated to film shortly after the birth of the movie industry, this short story became mythic through repeated retelling. Although two major films come immediately to mind—Disney’s 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and, fifty years later, Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow—the tale has had a host of afterlives. We will explore these movies and many others, as well as television adaptations and even contemporary novels, in order to explore how this gothic, but comic, story became a cultural landmark. The early pairing of the legend with Halloween fueled the growth of both together. Burton’s film brought the story back to the adult world of horror, opening the floodgates to new adaptations. In 2013 Fox Television aired Sleepy Hollow, a re-imagining of Ichabod Crane and Rip Van Winkle. Although lasting only four seasons, this new version spun off yet more inventive retellings that have not slowed since. This book explores unexpected connections between the many adaptations of this tale, weaving the story together anew for each generation.
