Man the Myth-maker
Author : Wilfred Thomas Jewkes
Publisher : New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 11,5 MB
Release : 1973
Category : Literature
ISBN : 9780153335181
The Mythmaker
Author : Hyam Maccoby
Publisher : Barnes & Noble Publishing
Page : 268 pages
File Size : 17,54 MB
Release : 1986
Category : Christianity
ISBN : 9780760707876
Book Description
The author presents new arguments which support the view that Paul, not Jesus, was the founder of Christianity. He argues that Jesus and also his immediate disciples James and Peter were life-long adherents of Pharisaic Judaism. Paul, however, was not, as he claimed, a native-born Jew of Pharisee upbringing, but came in fact from a Gentile background. He maintains that it was Paul alone who created a new religion by his vision of Jesus as a Divine Saviour who died to save humanity. This concept, which went far beyond the messianic claims of Jesus, was an amalgamation of ideas derived from Hellenistic religion, especially from Gnosticism and the mystery cults. Paul played a devious and adventurous political game with Jesus' followers of the so-called Jerusalem Church, who eventually disowned him. The conclusions of this historical and psychological study will come as a shock to many readers, but it is nevertheless a book which cannot be ignored by anyone concerned with the foundations of our culture and society. -- Book jacket.
Plato the Myth Maker
Author : Luc Brisson
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 43,70 MB
Release : 2000-12-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780226075198
Book Description
We think of myth as a fictional story, and Plato was the first to use the term muthos in that sense. But Plato also used muthos to describe the practice of making and telling stories, the oral transmission of all that a community keeps in its collective memory. In the first part of Plato the Myth Maker, Luc Brisson reconstructs Plato's multifaceted and not uncritical description of muthos in light of the latter's famous Atlantis story. The second part of the book contrasts this sense of myth, as Plato does, with another form of speech that he believed was far superior: the logos of philosophy. Appearing for the first time in English, Plato the Myth Maker is a solid and important contribution to the history of myth, based on the privileged testimony of one of its most influential critics and supporters.
Mythmaker
Author : Anne E. Neimark
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page : 114 pages
File Size : 12,61 MB
Release : 2012-09-18
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 0547997361
Book Description
“Long before Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling, there were Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and J. R. R. Tolkien . . . This will bring the creator to vivid life” (Booklist). A philologist of world renown, a professor at Oxford, and the author of academic treatises, J.R.R. Tolkien was far more than a fantasy book writer. His lifelong fascination with medieval texts and languages gave him a unique vision and endless inspiration for his tales. His broad interests made possible his creation of faery worlds and entire races of beings, as well as the languages, cultures, and characters that make his books as engaging today as they were fifty years ago. This clear and thoroughly researched biography of the creator of The Hobbit is accompanied by magical illustrations that recall the mystery of Tolkien’s imaginary worlds. “Give[s] some interesting insight into the power Tolkien’s work has had on people over the years.” —School Library Journal
Charles Darwin
Author : A.N. Wilson
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 31,1 MB
Release : 2017-12-12
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0062433512
Book Description
A radical reappraisal of Charles Darwin from the bestselling author of Victoria: A Life. With the publication of On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin—hailed as the man who "discovered evolution"—was propelled into the pantheon of great scientific thinkers, alongside Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton. Eminent writer A. N. Wilson challenges this long-held assumption. Contextualizing Darwin and his ideas, he offers a groundbreaking critical look at this revered figure in modern science. In this beautifully written, deeply erudite portrait, Wilson argues that Darwin was not an original scientific thinker, but a ruthless and determined self-promoter who did not credit the many great sages whose ideas he advanced in his book. Furthermore, Wilson contends that religion and Darwinism have much more in common than it would seem, for the acceptance of Darwin's theory involves a pretty significant leap of faith. Armed with an extraordinary breadth of knowledge, Wilson explores how Darwin and his theory were very much a product of their place and time. The "Survival of the Fittest" was really the Survival of Middle Class families like the Darwins—members of a relatively new economic strata who benefited from the rising Industrial Revolution at the expense of the working classes. Following Darwin’s theory, the wretched state of the poor was an outcome of nature, not the greed and neglect of the moneyed classes. In a paradigm-shifting conclusion, Wilson suggests that it remains to be seen, as this class dies out, whether the Darwinian idea will survive, or whether it, like other Victorian fads, will become a footnote in our intellectual history. Brilliant, daring, and ambitious, Charles Darwin explores this legendary man as never before, and challenges us to reconsider our understanding of both Darwin and modern science itself.
Guderian
Author : Russell Hart
Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 30,7 MB
Release : 2006
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1597974536
Book Description
Biographers and historians have lionized Heinz Guderian as the legendary father of the German armored force and brilliant practitioner of blitzkrieg maneuver warfare. As Russell A. Hart argues, Guderian created this legend with his own highly influential yet self-serving and distorted memoir, which remains one of the most widely read accounts of the Second World War. Unfortunately, too many of Guderian's biographers have accepted his view of his accomplishments at face value, without sufficient critical scrutiny, resulting in an undeserved hagiography. While undoubtedly a great military figure of appreciable ego and ambition and with a volatile, impetuous, and difficult personality, Guderian was determined to achieve his vision of a war-winning armored force irrespective of the consequences. He proved to be a man who was politically naive enough to fall under the sway of Hitler and National Socialism and yet arrogant enough to believe he could save Germany from inevitable defeat late in the war, despite Hitler's interference. At the same time, Guderian was unwilling either to participate in attempts to remove Hitler or to denounce as traitors the conspirators who did. In the end, he distorted the truth to establish his place in history. In the process, he denigrated the myriad important contributions of his fellow officers as he took personal credit for what were, in reality, collective accomplishments. Thus, he succeeded in creating a legend that has endured long after his death. This brief biography puts the record straight by placing Guderian's career and accomplishments into sharper and more accurate relief. It exposes the real Heinz Guderian, not the man of legend.
The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Author : Chris Orcutt
Publisher : Have Pen, Will Travel
Page : 163 pages
File Size : 34,22 MB
Release : 2013-07-08
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 099627832X
Book Description
"Chris Orcutt serves up a deliciously cheeky and ironic collection of short stories that offer glimpses into the perilous lives of ten men from vastly different walks of life and eras."* An IndieReader Best Book of 2013. From the emotionally poignant to the outrageously humorous, this varied collection of stories dramatizes the lives of a wide range of fascinating men including The Last Great White Hunter... learns that on the African savanna, the most dangerous predator is Woman. The Bootlegger... goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family during the Great Depression. The Speechwriter... contends with something all men have since the beginning of time--gut-wrenching temptation. The Dogcatcher... earns his living finding the lost dogs of uber-wealthy clients. The Civil War General... reveals the pitiful but hilarious depths of his own self-deception. Brimming with action-adventure, ample humor, and clean, picturesque writing, The Man, The Myth, The Legend combines the compelling narrative drive of great movies ("What happens next?") with the gemlike beauty of the short story form. Readers Say: "Chris Orcutt's writing is a surprise at every turn of the page. The writing is impeccable and filled with underlying humor and wit." "I would recommend The Man, The Myth, The Legend to anyone who enjoys suspense, romance, intrigue and humor. So, pretty much anyone." "Orcutt's glib use of language and deft ability to switch into multifarious voices and writing styles captures the nuances of time, setting and mentality of each protagonist...making each story unique, engaging and insightful." "I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. Each story is unique and has a different feel to it. I personally loved the story 'Seven Whole Grains on a Mission.' It's just incredibly clever and made me laugh out loud through the entire thing." "Again, I was thoroughly engaged in Chris's beautiful use of our language." "Let this book take you away from the ordinary and whisk you away to other worlds of interesting lives. You'll find yourself engrossed in every chapter, thinking about the stories you've read days later." "This book is like a mahogany box of sample liquors and cigar on the side, each bottle providing a new flavor and a memorable aftertaste." --- "Author Chris Orcutt serves up a deliciously cheeky and ironic collection of short stories that offer glimpses into the perilous lives of ten men from vastly different walks of life and eras. Whether it is a hunter in Africa, or a feisty General of a Civil War-era army, a gentlemanly writer, a senior road engineer, dogcatcher, or an artist daring to live outside New England, Orcutt highlights the tongue-in-cheek intrigue, danger and adventure in each man's life. Orcutt's fresh, lively descriptions preserve the irony of the stories, as with the description of Nick Carraway's 'mean little bungalow that quaked in the shadow of Gatsby's mansion like a tick beneath a Burmese elephant....' Orcutt's glib use of language and deft ability to switch into multifarious voices and writing styles captures the nuances of time, setting and mentality of each protagonist...making each story unique, engaging and insightful. The Man, The Myth, The Legend is a stimulating and entertaining collection of stories about the adventure in every man's life, work and passion. (5 stars; IR approved)" —IndieReader
Bound for Glory
Author : Woody Guthrie
Publisher : Penguin Group
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 29,46 MB
Release : 1983-09-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0452264456
Book Description
First published in 1943, this autobiography is also a superb portrait of America's Depression years, by the folk singer, activist, and man who saw it all. Woody Guthrie was born in Oklahoma and traveled this whole country over—not by jet or motorcycle, but by boxcar, thumb, and foot. During the journey of discovery that was his life, he composed and sang words and music that have become a national heritage. His songs, however, are but part of his legacy. Behind him Woody Guthrie left a remarkable autobiography that vividly brings to life both his vibrant personality and a vision of America we cannot afford to let die. “Even readers who never heard Woody or his songs will understand the current esteem in which he’s held after reading just a few pages… Always shockingly immediate and real, as if Woody were telling it out loud… A book to make novelists and sociologists jealous.” —The Nation
H. P. Lovecraft
Author : Michel Houellebecq
Publisher : Abrams
Page : 118 pages
File Size : 17,23 MB
Release : 2019-09-03
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 1683359747
Book Description
The award-winning French novelist pays tribute to a literary hero in this critical biography of the master of horror—with a foreword by Stephen King. Best known for his acclaimed novels, such as the Prix Goncourt-winning The Map and the Territory, Michael Houellebecq devotes his single work of nonfiction to the pioneering author of horror and weird fiction, H. P. Lovecraft. In a volume that is part biographical sketch and part pronouncement on existence and literature, France's most famous contemporary author praises his prewar American alter ego, whose style couldn't be less like his own. With a foreword by Lovecraft admirer Stephen King, this eloquently translated edition is an insightful introduction to both Lovecraft’s dark mythology and Houellebecq’s deadpan prose.
The Mythmaker
Author : Carter Wheelock
Publisher : University of Texas Press
Page : 203 pages
File Size : 48,75 MB
Release : 2014-05-29
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 029272716X
Book Description
Readers who are intrigued, though often mystified, by the intellectual fantasies of Jorge Luis Borges will find this book a revelation, a skeleton key to one of the most fundamental and baffling aspects of Borges’s fictions: the pattern of symbolism with an inner meaning. Carter Wheelock’s study reduces a number of literary and intellectual abstractions to concrete terms, enabling the reader to understand Borges’s fantasies in ways that show them to be not so fantastic after all. Indeed, they are amazingly consistent and minutely accurate in their symbolic depiction of the magic universe of the mind. Wheelock also discusses the affinity between Borges’s philosophical idealism and his “esthetic of the intelligence,” the relationship between these and the esthetic ideas of French Symbolism, and the influence on his fictions of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Why is it that this “writer’s writer” from the Argentine—erudite, allusive, elusive—has attracted such international attention? In Wheelock’s opinion, it is because he has symbolized in his short stories the fundamental form of the human consciousness, the functioning of the imaginative (world-creating) mechanism, and the eternal battle between form and chaos. The Mythmaker is concerned with elucidating the particulars of Borges’s fictional works, but even as it does so it also reveals their universality.
