Wizards and Their Wonders


Book Description

Your company has just announced a major change in its business direction. Even top performers are questioning their job security, and it’s your responsibility to see that productivity and quality levels are not disturbed, or the consequences could be even greater. How do you manage this situation and keep it from snowballing our of control?Downsizing, acquisitions, mergers, and plant closings are examples of changes that impact employees. When change strikes your organization, you need to find a way to position your people to take advantage of the situation, rather than be overcome by it. A rider pits human intelligence against the superior strength of a wild horse, in this case,change.You will not try to master the animal, but rather exploit its strength to achieve your goals. This book shows how to become a successful ”Change Rider.”Gary Kissler, in his past work and in his current position providing Change Management Services for Andersen Consulting, has had the unique opportunity to see how change is handled in organizations. InThe Change Riders,he offers these ”was stories” so that others may learn from them and he provides insights to explain their success or failure.The Change Ridersalso presents practical tools to guide organizations in managing the impact of change. These tools include a ”blueprint” showing major variables that need to be considered, and a ”roadmap” to plan out the steps.




Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards


Book Description

Middle Earth, Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo: The places and characters that sprang from the mind of J.R.R. Tolkien will live forever in the imaginations of millions of readers. In Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards, Michael Stanton, a scholar of science fiction and fantasy literature, offers an extraordinary encounter with The Lord of the Rings. Believing that there is no epic of contemporary literature to match The Lord of the Rings, Stanton delves critically into the richness of the story. He explores the intricacies of its dialogue and illuminates the idiosyncratic nature of it characters. He looks at places, dreams, notions of time and history. Eschewing academic jargon, Stanton provides an intriguing look at Tolkien's fantasyscape that ultimately shows how all of these parts meld into a singularly compelling work of art that lives and breathes. For those who have read and loved The Lord of the Rings, Stanton embarks on an exploration of Tolkien's genius, painting a rich and wonderful critical portrait of the world he created, a portrait that no one who truly hopes to understand Tolkien's vision will want to be without.




Fred: Wizarding Wonder


Book Description

From the prize-winning author of You Must Bring a Hat comes a young fiction series for ages 6+ full of magic and fun, with illustrations from Dave Pigeon’s Sheena Dempsey. The perfect read for young fans of Harry Potter, Ben Miller and Steven Lenton! Fred may look ordinary, but sometimes people who look ordinary turn out to be not very ordinary at all . . . because it just so happens that Fred is a wizard! The only problem is that Fred is totally, absolutely, mind-boggingly terrible at magic. . . In his third adventure, Fred is invited to stay at the world-famous Magic Camp for Wizards of Astounding Genius, which has to be a mistake, surely? Will being surrounded by incredible magicians make Fred’s rubbish spells look even worse, or will he discover he has more tricks up his sleeve than he realises?




The Art of Oz


Book Description

In this must-have book for all fans of Oz big and small, artist and visionary Gabriel Gale brings to vivid life all the creatures from L. Frank Baum’s beloved series, from the iconic characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to many others that are visualized here for the first time. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the best-selling American children’s book of the twentieth century, and the classic 1939 movie of this quintessential American fairy tale left a permanent mark on the hearts and imaginations of devoted fans throughout the world. In THE ART OF OZ: WITCHES, WIZARDS, AND WONDERS BEYOND THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD artist and Oz archeologist Gabriel Gale brings to life all the creatures and inhabitants from L. Frank Baum’s beloved series, many illustrated here for the first time: wicked witches and their armies, mythical beasts, elemental fairies, robots, insects, one-legged and two-sided people, and many more sky, land, sea, and underground creatures. THE ART OF OZ also debuts the first-ever “Google Map” of the Land of Oz! Gabriel Gale has mapped the country and animated all the creatures he found there. He has sketched Emerald City the buildings and habitats of the enchanted Land. Through spectacular illustrations, in original and precise style, Gale portrays each character in detail, often with attention to anatomy, structure, size and scale. Gale’s fantastical, vivid, and delightful renderings are also accompanied by excerpts and drawings from the fourteen books in Baum’s Oz series and the most famous inhabitants of Oz—Professor H.M. Woggle-Bug, T.E., Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Toto, Glinda the Good, and the Wizard—add context to this magical endeavor This is the perfect book for the whole family to share and for anyone entranced by the fantasy and everlasting magic of Oz




The Wonderful World of Oz


Book Description

This fully annotated volume collects three of Baum's fourteen Oz novels in which he developed his utopian vision and which garnered an immense and loyal following. The Wizard of Oz (1900) introduces Dorothy, who arrives from Kansas and meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and a host of other characters. The Emerald City of Oz (1910) finds Dorothy, Aunt Em, and Uncle Henry coming to Oz just as the wicked Nome King is plotting to conquer its people. In Baum's final novel, Glinda of Oz (1920), Dorothy and Princess Ozma try to prevent a battle between the Skeezers and the Flatheads. Tapping into a deeply rooted desire in himself and his loyal readers to live in a peaceful country which values the sharing of talents and gifts, Baum's imaginative creation, like all great utopian literature, holds out the possibility for change. Also included is a selection of the original illustrations by W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.




The Wizards of Once: Knock Three Times


Book Description

From the author of How to Train Your Dragon: Two young heroes fight to save their beloved homes in the next thrilling installment of the internationally bestselling Wizards of Once series. Xar and Wish are heroes with a huge task ahead -- confronting the Nuckalavee is not for the fainthearted. But with Magic and Iron together, they might just have a chance of saving their beloved homes from those who seek to destroy everything they hold dear. The third electrifying book in The Wizards of Once series fizzes with magic and introduces us to a host of glorious new characters: bears and piskies and magical pins and needles to name but a few. Beloved bestselling author Cressida Cowell once again brings her trademark wit and stunning combination of action, adventure, humor, and incredible artwork to this epic new adventure, sure to transport and enchant readers. Stunningly written, magnificent in scope, hilarious and thrilling, Knock Three Times immerses you in a world you won't ever wish to leave.




Age of Wonders II


Book Description

BradyGames Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne Official Strategy Guide provides detailed strategies and area maps for the challenging scenarios in the game. Complete unit list and rundown of the Spheres of Magic to help players defeat enemies. Tactics for customizing magical skills and abilities and how to specialize in each. Tips for building intimidating defenses including training grounds for armies and more. Multiplayer tips and strategies.




Wizard's Hall


Book Description

An inept wizard-in-training is the only one who can save his classmates from the terrible sorcery that threatens to devour their magical school Acclaimed master fantasist Jane Yolen imagines an academic world of wonders where paintings speak, walls move, monsters are made real, and absolutely anything can happen—as she introduces readers to a hero as hapless as the legendary Merlin is powerful. It was Henry’s dear ma who decided to send him off to Wizard’s Hall to study sorcery, despite the boy’s apparent lack of magical talent. He has barely stepped through the gates of the magnificent school when he is dubbed Thornmallow (“prickly on the outside, squishy within”). Still, regardless of his penchant for turning even the simplest spell into a disaster, Thornmallow’s teachers remain kind and patient, and he soon has a cadre of loyal, loving friends. But there is something that no one is telling the boy: As the 113th student to enroll in the wondrous academy, Thornmallow has an awesome and frightening duty to fulfill—and failure will mean the destruction of Wizard’s Hall and everyone within its walls.




Wonder Tales from the Baltic Wizards


Book Description




Wonder Tales from Baltic Wizards


Book Description

The selections in this book come from German and English sources. There is a mass of East Baltic folk-lore from which to choose which gives but a feeble idea of the extent of Baltic folk-lore. In this volume you will find tales of Enchantments, Wizards, Witches, Magic Spells, Nixy Queens, Giants, Fairy White Reindeer, and glittering Treasures from the Baltic Lands -- Lapland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Their setting is the Long Winter Night with its brilliant play of Northern Lights over the snow-covered tundra; or the brief Arctic summer--its sun burning night and day--with its birds, flowers, insect-clouds, singing waters, and almost tropic heat; or the golden sunshine of the southern amber coast. But it is the Northern Lights themselves, flashing and flaming through the dark heavens, that cast their mystic weirdness over many of these tales moulded by the peculiar imagination of the Asiatic and European East Baltic folks. The farther our stories draw south from Lapland, the lower sink the Northern Lights and their influence on folk-tales, till at last they merge with the warmer lights of Lithuania - the amber-land. Wizards and wizardry abound in Lappish, Finnish, and Estonian tales, Witches appear more often in Latvian and Lithuanian ones. And in all these countries except Lapland, many European folk-tale themes, which we know in the Grimm collection, are found in new forms. 33% of the net profit from this book will be donated to charities. YESTERDAY'S BOOKS for TOMORROW'S EDUCATIONS