Otherwise rational people believe-or at least partially believe-in many fantastical myths about the world in which they live. Indeed, it is an entirely human inclination to want to believe in what might be called otherworldly explanations for phenomena for which there are no easily explainable causes. In these eye-opening lectures, Professor Susan A. Johnston of the George Washington University applies an archaeological perspective to the biggest myths and mysteries in world history. Exami...

Anthropologist Susan Johnston turns a scholarly eye on one of humankind's primary interests throughout history: the spiritual belief system. Beginning her lectures with an attempt to define religion, Professor Johnston continues this intriguing study with an examination of mythology and symbols, rituals and witchcraft, gender, politics, and religion's place in the many customs surrounding death. A continuing and often contentious presence in the world today, religion, from its origins to t...

were the Celts, who lived in Europe during the Iron Age, from about 600 BCE into the early centuries CE. They fascinated ancient Classical writers of Greece and Rome, who wrote about them often. They left behind an intriguing record of physical remains that have been recovered by archaeologists, and they have continued to hold our attention as modern populations claim a Celtic identity. Using historical, archaeological, linguistic, and anthropological evidence, Professor Johnston provides ...

Rich source of royalty-free design ideas. Circles, squares, rectangles, and other geometric figures combined in intricate patterns, symmetrical motifs, interlocking figures, etc. Rich, varied, complex — ideal for stained glass, textile, wallpaper, and other arts and crafts uses.

Drawing on texts and theorists of Greek myth, psychoanalysis, and masculinities, Susan Mackey-Kallis and Brian Johnston develop and offer a model of rhetorical and mythic criticism to analyze popular American film. In this book, Mackey-Kallis and Johnston focus their analysis on films that point to the need for father atonement, ego-decentering, and the resurrection of the lost feminine to heal our collective gendered cultural wounds. Many of these “mystic” films, they contend, affirm the ...

Reverence is defined as a sense of awe or profound respect for the person. It has become increasing rare in modern culture, not only in health care, but in education and in corporations, where people are too often treated in a dehumanizing way. This groundbreaking book is the most comprehensive volume to-date that explores in depth the concept of reverence and strengths-based approaches in the psychotherapy healing process as manifested in a wide variety of treatment modalities such as chi...

This book explores many of the theological and religious themes present in the Game of Thrones HBO television series and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Written for academics yet accessible for the layperson, the chapters explore themes of power, religion, and sacred institutions in Westeros; Christian ecclesiology in the Night’s Watch and the religion of the Iron Islands; Augustinian notions of evil in the Night King and anthropology in the Seven; Ori...

Institutions and Incentives in Regulatory Science explores fundamental problems with regulatory science in the environmental and natural resource law field. Each chapter covers a variety of natural resource and regulatory areas, ranging from climate change to endangered species protection and traditional health-based environmental regulation. Regulatory laws and institutions themselves strongly influence the direction of scientific research by creating a system of rewards and penalties for...

U2’s ongoing popular appeal is constructed in the spaces between band and fan, commercialism and community, spirituality and nihilism; finding meaning in a surface-oriented popular culture and contradiction in the depths of political and faith-based institutions. The band’s long-term success and continued relevance is a result of their ability to hold these energies in tension without one subsuming the other—to live in the liminal space that such contradictions invite. U2’s mythic trajecto...

Analyzing Intelligence, now in a revised and extensively updated second edition, assesses the state of the profession of intelligence analysis from the practitioner's point of view. The contributors—most of whom have held senior positions in the US intelligence community—review the evolution of the field, the rise of new challenges, pitfalls in analysis, and the lessons from new training and techniques designed to deal with 21st century national security problems. This second edition updat...

Each year, thirteen million anglers enjoy the sport of saltwater angling in the United States, generating an estimated $30 billion in sales and supporting nearly 350,000 jobs. Recreational saltwater fishing, however, can significantly impact species of concern-species overfished or experiencing overfishing. Traditional angling controls-bag and size limits and restricted seasons-have fallen short in controlling fishing impacts and reducing conflicts among fishing and non-fishing interests.

This is our final Christmas issue of 2025, and it features an extra helping of holiday stories. On behalf of the whole staff, we wish you a merry holiday season and much joy in the coming year. Black Cat Weekly is very much a team effort, and thanks to everyone who helped make this year a success: our Art Director, Ron Miller; our Acquiring Editors, Barb Goffman, Michael Bracken, Paul Di Filippo, Darrell Schweitzer, and Cynthia M. Ward; and our editorial board, Thomas A. Easton, Ryan Hines...