An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Classical Analyse on Modern Witchcraft for Serious Wiccans
  • A must read for all Witches and Wiccans!
  • Good Encyclopedia on Witchcraft
  • Couldn't put it down
  • The Old Ways
An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present
Doreen Valiente
Manufacturer: Phoenix Publishing (WA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

WiccaWicca | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0919345778

Book Description

What is the relationship of the Bible to Witchcraft? What are Fairies, and Magical Alphabets? What were the links between Druidism and Witchcraft? An ABC of Witchcraft covers these subjects and many more from the well-informed and gentle viewpoint of practicing witch, Doreen Valiente.

Arranged in alphabetical order for easy reference, the book discusses over 125 subjects that may concern anyone wishing to know more about this ancient pagan religion. Other topics include Atlantis, Witches' Familiars, Dancing, Fire Magic, Flying Ointments, Horses and Witchcraft, Initiations, Love Charms, Royalty and its connection with witchcraft, etc., etc., with up to several pages on each subject.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Classical Analyse on Modern Witchcraft for Serious Wiccans.......2007-09-13

Madame Doreen Valiente has written an excellent Witchcraft text that has stood the sands of the hour-glass.She offers a critical review of all the major famous people associated with classical and modern witchcraft.It's omnificent story-telling without any fluffy piffling tales presented.It's serious reading for any neo-pagan,who wants to expand one's Craft knowledge. From that of a mere novice to a higher level of a trusted Occult scholar. This book has more persuasive and insightful opinions on the British Witchcraft-Gardnerian traditions and customs,than any other recent English Craftbook.So i can only recommend this classical work on historical and near present British Magick.I have the original edition,with the moon priestess,around the witching midnight hour.The newer copies offer a sky-clad witch, that may turn some serious wiccans, widdershins away from it.This book is not a 'pig in the poke',short-changing the true followers of Wicca.Read the book and judge for yourself.You will not be disappointed.Also check out www.highcrossquarter.com for current information about today's British witches & wizards.

5 out of 5 stars A must read for all Witches and Wiccans!.......2007-09-01

I'm always suprised when I see really great books on the Craft have few reviews compared to a lot of the "junk food" type stuff that is constantly published today. This isn't a how to book for beginners, but a great history that's set up in a dictionary type way. There's so much info and so much to learn here. This isn't just a book for practicing Witches, but for anyone interested in witchcraft. I could see this book being a great resource for anyone doing a paper on witchcraft. It can be a little dry in some spots, but not very many!

5 out of 5 stars Good Encyclopedia on Witchcraft.......2007-08-22

This is a great little encyclopedia on witchcraft and occult topics that relate to the pratice of both witchcraft and also Wicca. If you are looking for a good book to help expand your magical vocabulary or a great book that will help you become a more well-rounded witch, this is the book for you..... What I recommend is that you get the book and you start reading the information presented here-in. Then if you are looking for more information or updated books about any articles what you see, come online and see if you can find any specific books relating to the topics presented or look around on the web. It is easy to read and Doreen keeps your interest peeled!

Any books by this author is highly recommened!

Much Love & Many Blessings,
Thorn Nightwind

5 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down.......2006-11-12

This book was so full of information from the very first page, I just couldn't put it down.It was certainly a important addition to my Wiccan library.If you want to find out what, where, and why ,this book will give you all of that .I have been a student of Wicca since I was thirteen ,and am now forty-eight ,having this book all those years ago would have definately been a blessing.

5 out of 5 stars The Old Ways.......2006-08-19

Doreen Valiente was always interested in the truely old craft. Here she gives us interesting factiods on various topics. Most concern pre-revival traditions like the witch balls, holed stones, flying ointments and the like. Also matters of historical importance like the minibiographies of the revivalists (Garder, Crowley, etc.), laws against witchcraft and some of the more famous witch trials. Several important dieties and holidays are also covered. And of course, the witches' tools. The articles are mostly 2 - 5 pages in length, so they depth as well as breadth.

Far more than an alphabetical reference book An ABC of Witchcraft takes you in and gives even an experienced witch food for thought. I highly recommend.
Managing European Coasts: Past, Present and Future (Environmental Science and Engineering / Environmental Science)
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    Managing European Coasts: Past, Present and Future (Environmental Science and Engineering / Environmental Science)

    Manufacturer: Springer
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    GeneralGeneral | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 3540234543

    Book Description

    This book focuses on the interchange between a selected multidisciplinary team on future coastal management in Europe. It serves as a background for the successful implementation of EC directives relevant to the coast. The study summarizes methodologies and analyses for supporting implementation of these directives and evaluates institutional and capacity requirements. It addresses issues of globalization including climate change and economic development. Integrated assessment is used and future scenarios for the coast are developed.
    Economic Geography: Past, Present and Future (Routledge Studies in Economic Geography)
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      Economic Geography: Past, Present and Future (Routledge Studies in Economic Geography)
      Sha Bagchi-sen
      Manufacturer: Routledge
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

      EconomicsEconomics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books | Agricultural | Commercial Policy | Comparative | Consolidation & Merger | Cooperatives | Debt & Deficits | Development & Growth | Econometrics | Economic Conditions | Economic History | Economic Policy & Development | Exports & Imports | Free Enterprise | Inflation | International | Labor & Industrial Relations | Macroeconomics | Microeconomics | Money & Monetary Policy | Natural Resources | Privatization | Public Finance | Statistics | Sustainable Development | Theory | Unemployment | Urban & Regional
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      ASIN: 0415367840

      Book Description

      The impact of economic geography both within and beyond the wider field of geography has been constrained in the past by its own limitations. Drawing together the work of several eminent geographers this superb collection assesses the current state of knowledge in the sub discipline and its future direction. In doing so, the contributors show how economic geographers have offered explanations that affect places and lives in the broader context of the global economy.
      Offering a discussion of theoretical constructs and methodologies with the purpose to show the need to combine different approaches in understanding spatial (inter) dependencies, contributors also demonstrate the need to engage with multiple audiences, and within this context they proceed to examine how geographers have interfaced with businesses and policy.
      This excellent collection moves economic geography from a preoccupation with theory towards more rigorous empirical research with greater relevance for public policy. With excellent breadth of coverage, it provides an outstanding introduction to research topics and approaches.

      Hurricanes and Typhoons: Past, Present, and Future
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        Hurricanes and Typhoons: Past, Present, and Future

        Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover

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        ASIN: 0231123884

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        This book surveys the past, present, and potential future variability of hurricanes and typhoons on a variety of timescales using newly developed approaches based on geological and archival records, in addition to more traditional approaches based on the analysis of the historical record of tropical cyclone tracks. A unique aspect of the book is that it provides an overview of the developing field of paleotempestology, which uses geological, biological, and documentary evidence to reconstruct prehistoric changes in hurricane landfall. The book also presents a particularly wide sampling of ongoing efforts to extend the best track data sets using historical material from many sources, including Chinese archives, British naval logbooks, Spanish colonial records, and early diaries from South Carolina.

        The book will be of particular interest to tropical meteorologists, geologists, and climatologists as well as to the catastrophe reinsurance industry, graduate students in meteorology, and public employees active in planning and emergency management.

        Geodynamics of Lithosphere and Earth's Mantle: Seismic Anisotropy as a Record of the Past and Present Dynamic Processes (Pageoph Topical Volumes)
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          Geodynamics of Lithosphere and Earth's Mantle: Seismic Anisotropy as a Record of the Past and Present Dynamic Processes (Pageoph Topical Volumes)

          Manufacturer: Birkhäuser Basel
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          ASIN: 3764359072

          Book Description

          Plate tectonics has significantly broadened our view of the dynamics of continental evolution, involving both the processes currently active at the surface and those extending deep into the interior of the Earth. Seismic anisotropy provides some of the most diagnostic evidence for mapping past and present deformation of the entire crustmantle system. This volume contains papers presented originally at an international workshop at the Chateau of Trest in the Czech Republic in 1996. This workshop brought together geophysicists and geologists who work in the field of observational and theoretical seismology, mineral and rock physics, gravity studies and geodynamic modelling. Topics include large-scale anisotropy of the Earth's mantle, mantle heterogeneity vs. anisotropy 3-D velocity and density structures and inferences on mantle dynamics, mineral and rock physics studies, and mathematical aspects of complex wave propagation.
          Global Environmental Change: Past, Present, and Future
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            Global Environmental Change: Past, Present, and Future
            Karl K. Turekian
            Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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            Binding: Paperback

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            ASIN: 013303447X
            Time and Place in New Orleans: Past Geographies in the Present Day
            Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
            • Very Interesting But Poorly Designed
            • Terrific book for looking below the surface
            • A highly recommended topographical & geographical portrayal
            Time and Place in New Orleans: Past Geographies in the Present Day
            Richard Campanella
            Manufacturer: Pelican Publishing Company
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover

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            ASIN: 1565549910

            Customer Reviews:

            3 out of 5 stars Very Interesting But Poorly Designed.......2004-01-05

            Here's a geography book in coffee-table guise that has a lot going for it: expert research, generous format and a sympathetic publisher. It's a valuable addition to standard academic textbooks about the Crescent City. The author deftly peels back the strata that define New Orleans and make it all the more evanescent. I learned a great deal about the hidden realm squirming under our feet here in N'awlins. However: The book is, to put it simply, 10 pounds of good intention in a 5 pound bag. The author has analyzed the geography and its effect on the city from so many angles, with so much data, that the effect is overwhelming, even to a professional technical writer such as myself. As much as possible was shoe-horned into this book, without considering readability. A magnifying glass is a must for the small text and even smaller captions on the amazing number of graphs and charts. Geography is Campanella's forte, but social history is not: he is out of his depth trying to revisit the Creole/American boundary question. The designer and publisher should have tactfully reined in the author's manic approach, and the result would have been a much better, more taut tome.

            4 out of 5 stars Terrific book for looking below the surface.......2002-07-23

            I admit to being fascinated by pictorial histories of cities. I enjoy being able to stand on a street corner, or on the observation deck of a tall building, with such a book in hand and "see" into the past. All cities are formed by their geography and this is perhaps truer for New Orleans than most. Campanella, an environmental analyst and historical geographer, and the author of _New Orleans Then and Now,_ begins with the problematic founding of the city (the malarial swampland between the river and the lake wasn't anyone's first choice). As the city expanded, land reclamation became necessary, but this was complicated by the high water table and the need for a complex drainage system. Its geography also formed the city's culture, its districts, neighborhoods, nodes, street patterns, and shifting industrial center. But many readers may be less interested in the civil engineering case studies and more attentive to this coffee-table volume's glossy photographs, many of them aerial. And most residents of the Crescent City will agree with his description of St. Charles Avenue as the city's "spinal cord" and perhaps be surprised to learn that many of the radiating streets of their city are the exact descendants of footpaths traced on early maps.

            5 out of 5 stars A highly recommended topographical & geographical portrayal.......2002-06-07

            Time And Place In New Orleans: Past Geographies In The Present Day by Richard Campanella (Assistant Director of Environmental Analysis at the Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities) is a trip through time, showcasing the history of New Orleans in words and color photography, and illustrating its most notable geographical and architectural landmarks. From the problematic founding of New Orleans to the mixture of cultural elements that make it so distinctive today, Time And Place In New Orleans is a truly informative and highly recommended topographical and geographical portrayal of the growth and development of an American city lying along the curved banks of the Mississippi River.
            Hurricane Almanac 2006: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future (Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, & Fu)
            Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
            • Very Disappointing and Sketchy
            • Great Useful Information
            Hurricane Almanac 2006: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future (Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, & Fu)
            Bryan Norcross
            Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

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            5. Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms

            ASIN: 0312362978
            Release Date: 2006-07-11

            Book Description

            Bryan Norcross's pioneering and courageous TV coverage of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 helped thousands of people in Florida cope with the killer storm. With hurricanes back in the headlines and destined to stay there, one of America's leading experts offers a unique almanac compiling hundreds of nuggets of fascinating, useful, and potentially life-saving information.
            Bryan Norcross's Hurricane Almanac 2006 reviews the catastrophic season of 2005, including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, looks forward to hurricane seasons to come, highlights the fascinating history of hurricanes interacting with civilization, and details our rapidly increasingly ability -- but still with limitations -- to predict the severity and paths of storms. Key sections offer checklists of items needed to make homes, businesses, and people safe during storms, and where to find the best information before and during a storm and how to best interpret it. Bryan will also include a provocative chapter entitled: What I'd do better: ideas for a better hurricane system.

            Customer Reviews:

            2 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing and Sketchy.......2006-09-11

            South Florida television meteorologist Bryan Norcross earned local rock-star status and even some national notoriety for his commendable reporting before, during, and after Hurricane Andrew's strike on Miami in 1992. Now Norcross has authored a Hurricane Almanac. Norcross states in the book that he hopes to produce annual updates of the book. Perhaps future editions will be better fleshed out, but the inaugural version has quite a number of rough spots.

            My main issue with the book is that whenever a section begins to become interesting and useful and the reader thinks some in-depth advice and analysis is about to follow, the section ends abruptly. The reader is often then urged to check an accompanying website that Norcross has helped start in order to get more detail. But such detail is in fact not currently available on the site, which basically contains only some links to other sites where one may buy batteries, etc., in bulk. Of course Rome wasn't built in a day, and maybe the site will be far more useful in future years. But if he is going to specifically title a book "Hurricane Almanac 2006" and include repeated references to a supposedly helpful website, he has a responsibility to actually provide useful information during the 2006 hurricane season. Otherwise, it would have been better for him to just wait until 2007 and do it right.

            The book seems to have been rushed into print, which might explain (though not excuse) the lack of detail. Norcross's acknowledgments imply there was a severe time rush. Perhaps the publishers and Norcross wanted to at least get something out there this year. "Something" is often better than nothing, but not always. Sometimes it's better just to say nothing rather than to give half a story.

            I know a number of South Floridians who feel that although Norcross was far ahead of his counterparts at other TV stations in 1992, the gap has been narrowed or even altogether eliminated in recent years. It isn't that Norcross is unintelligent, but he has become somewhat preachy and scolding. He is given to relentlessly lecturing his audience, where some of the newer area meteorologists seem more flexible and are willing to not only constantly recite the basics, as is needed, but to sometimes go beyond them.

            I mention this here because this same unhelpful patronizing attitude comes across at numerous points in the book. For instance, Norcross's first bullet point of what to do or not do during a storm once the winds reach 40 mph is not to have any open flame. True and necessary to say. But then right below that, in the "what to do when the winds reach 60" section, he says the same thing (in all caps). It's still true, but it's still also blindingly obvious. The same pattern of unnecessary repetition occurs in his almost-identical long lists of how home dwellers should deal with a storm and how high-rise dwellers should deal with one. This is more of an editing flaw than an authorial one; the editors should have condensed confusingly similar lists to one large one that is common to all circumstances, plus a few shorter ones that address problems specific to living in tall buildings, for example.

            Then there is just too much plain mastery of the obvious. Consider this bit of advice from Norcross, for example: "I have a little solar-powered radio. It works well as long as it's in the sun, meaning it doesn't work well at night." Well, that's certainly another true statement. And if you're the sort of person who would normally expect their solar-powered devices to run well at midnight, it may even be news to you. But I'm betting it probably isn't.

            Then there are times when Norcross throws out useful suggestions, but without enough of an explanation or follow-up. At different points he lists several ways in which a bathtub may be put to good use in a hurricane: it may be filled with water to be used later for sanitary purposes, or people may shelter themselves in it with a mattress over them for protection during a storm, or valuables may be placed in it for protection. Maybe these are each useful suggestions, taken individually. But there is no attempt made to coordinate these very different ideas. Newcomers to hurricane country might still have no idea as to who or what should actually be placed into their bathtub(s) as a storm approaches.

            The book contains an overview of what tropical systems are and how they form. It has a somewhat helpful section on how to read and interpret the National Hurricane Center's various advisories and other statements. It has a brief though interesting overview of notable historical storms, which has apparently been culled from other books (especially for the pre-1870 storms). It has long sections on how to prepare for and act during a storm. These sections were to me the most disappointing; the length was in my opinion misused by constant repetition of the same few points instead of detailed explanation. The section on the various window-protection products was not nearly detailed enough (in terms of brands, etc.), and as I said the repeated referrals to the book's website provided no additional help.

            Norcross also includes a section on how he would do it (better). Despite his credentials and expertise, I was mostly unimpressed by his suggestions, chiefly because most were just general concepts thrown out there without any specificity or much attempt to meet possible objections. For instance, he calls strongly for a "National Catastrophe Fund," but his fund is just a title without a program behind it. He doesn't even attempt to give any estimates of what such a program would cost, what it would cover, etc. Would it pay for people to rebuild in the still dangerous low-lying sections of flooded New Orleans, for instance? Might some landlords or investors not bother to even protect their property if they knew the government was going to come in afterwards and reimburse them for any losses? If so, couldn't the "cure" be worse than the disease, in terms of leading to still more future tragedy and loss?

            The one suggestion I did find very convincing was his proposal that storm-proofing expenses be routinely added to homeowners' mortgages. As Norcross wisely points out, it's a lot more practical and possible for many homeowners to add another $10,000 to an existing $200,000, thirty-year mortgage and pay for safety that way than to come up with that same $10,000 (or more) in one lump sum. And lenders and mortgage holders should be more than willing to work with homeowners in this regard, as protecting the home protects their investment. Notice by the way that this one truly useful suggestion was the one that contained actual numerical estimates.

            The word Almanac and the 300 page length might suggest to some people that this is a fairly sizeable, densely-packed work. If so, that would be an incorrect assumption. The book doesn't have half the content of a 600 page "World Almanac," for example, or even one tenth or one twentieth of such content. The print is large, the line spacing is generous, and white space predominates throughout. There really wasn't enough written to fill a whole book; it's more of a very extended FAQ or pamphlet than it is an almanac. Again, with future editions of this book this may well change. The book could serve as a good outline for what its successor books should look like. But for right now, it's not much use and I would discourage anyone from purchasing the work in its present status.

            5 out of 5 stars Great Useful Information.......2006-08-03

            This book gives great advice on how to hurricane proof your home as well as preparing for a storm. Norcross writes in easy to understand language and gets right to the point. My husband is enjoying the book so much, it is hard for him to put it down. Bryan Norcross is as good in print as he is on television, especially when storm reporting.
            Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future (Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, & Fu)
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future (Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, & Fu)
              Bryan Norcross
              Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              ASIN: 0312371527
              Release Date: 2007-05-29

              Book Description

              Essential Information from CBS News’ Hurricane Analyst
              Bryan Norcross’s pioneering and courageous TV coverage of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 helped millions of people in Florida cope with the killer storm. This revised and updated version of last year’s popular almanac adds detailed stories of the powerful hurricanes of the past that would be catastrophes if they happened today and explores how explosive coastal development during a time of relatively few hurricanes has set the stage for mega-disasters. If hurricanes make landfall today at the rate they did in much of the twentieth century, how could we prevent the unimaginable destruction? A new section will also help you better understand hurricane advisories.

              Bryan Norcross’s Hurricane Almanac is two books in one. The first half is hurricane science, history, and perspectives on how we, as a society, deal with hurricanes. The second half is a personal guide to “Living Successfully in the Hurricane Zone.” In addition to reviewing and explaining the relatively mild 2006 hurricane season, it looks forward to hurricane seasons to come, highlights the fascinating history of hurricanes interacting with civilization, and details our rapidly increasingly ability---but still with limitations---to predict the severity and tracks of storms. With preparation checklists and shopping lists, an easy-to-understand guide to the technical information coming from the National Hurricane Center, and critical practical information, Hurricane Almanac is your essential guide to coping with Mother Nature’s greatest storms.

              A provocative chapter entitled: How I'd Do It Better details Norcross’s ideas for a better hurricane system.

              -Family Communications
              -Evacuation Decision-making
              -Staying in a House
              -Staying in an Apartment
              -Shutters
              -Hurricane-proof Windows
              -Backup Power
              -Generators
              -Computer Hurricane Plan
              -Post-storm Air-Conditioning
              -Candles
              -Pool Preparation
              -Pets, Boats, Cars, and Businesses
              -Insurance
              Art Journal: Volume 42, Number 3, Fall 1982: Earthworks: Past and Present
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                Art Journal: Volume 42, Number 3, Fall 1982: Earthworks: Past and Present
                John W. Dixon Jr. , Cheryl Nickel , Labelle Prussin , Esther Gordon Dotson , S. A. Mansbach , Rosemarie Haag Bletter , John Beardsley , and Virginia Dwan
                Manufacturer: The College Art Association of America
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Paperback
                ASIN: B000KFUJA6

                Books:

                1. Applied Hydrogeology (4th Edition)
                2. Auditing: Concepts for a Changing Environment
                3. Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future
                4. Casa California: Spanish-Style Houses From Santa Barbara to San Clemente
                5. Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of Modern Civilization
                6. Conservation and Globalization: A Study of National Parks and Indigenous Communities from East Africa to South Dakota (Case Studies on Contemporary Social Issues)
                7. Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries
                8. Debris-flow Hazards and Related Phenomena (Springer Praxis Books / Geophysical Sciences)
                9. Debris-flow Hazards and Related Phenomena (Springer Praxis Books / Geophysical Sciences)
                10. Diffusions, Markov Processes and Martingales (Cambridge Mathematical Library)

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