This revised edition of West's revolutionary reinterpretation of the civilization of Egypt challenges all that has been accpeted as dogma concerning this ancient and enigmatic land. It features a new introduction linking Egyptian science with the perennial wisdom tradition and an appendix updating the author's work in redating the Sphinx. Illustrations.

The stories in Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky trace the history of the world from its beginnings in the dreams of the dual god, Ometeotl, to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico and the fall of the great city Tenochtitlan. In the course of that history we learn about the Creator Twins—Feathered Serpent and Dark Heart of Sky—and how they built the world on a leviathan's back; of the shape-shifting nahualli; and the aluxes, elfish beings known to help out the occasional wanderer. And finally, we read Aztec tales about the arrival of the blonde strangers from across the sea, the strangers who seek to upend the rule of Motecuhzoma and destroy the very stories we are reading. David Bowles stitches together the fragmented mythology of pre-Colombian Mexico into an exciting, unified narrative in the tradition of William Buck's Ramayana, Robert Fagles's Iliad, and Neil Gaiman's Norse Myths. Readers of Norse and Greek mythologies will delight in this rich retelling of stories less explored. Legends and myths captured David Bowles's imagination as a young Latino reader; he was fascinated with epics like the Iliad and the Odyssey. Despite growing up on the United States/Mexico border, he had never read a single Aztec or Mayan myth until he was in college. This experience inspired him to reconnect with that forgotten past. Several of his previous books have incorporated themes from ancient Mexican myths.

Sought, the Sphinx seems everywhere, whether the guardian of the pyramids on Egypt's Giza plateau or the beautiful man-eater with a deadly riddle, to be approached with awful caution. The Sphinx, that icon painted, sculpted, engraved, and exalted in poetry, fiction, and music, so impressed the philosopher Hegel that he pronounced the creature “the symbol of the symbolic itself.” With a wealth of illustrations, Book of the Sphinx confirms Hegel's lofty judgment, finding the Sphinx everywhere: in tragedies, paintings, opera, murder mysteries, brothels, bars, and advertisements. Pursuing the Sphinx through kaleidoscopic sightings and encyclopedic observations, Willis Goth Regier plumbs the symbol's mysteries, conducting the reader down ever more perplexing and intriguing paths. Wonderfully readable, his highly idiosyncratic tour of the ages and the arts leads at last to a conception of the Sphinx that embraces nothing less than all that is unknowable—proving once again that confronting a Sphinx is one of the most dangerous and exhilarating adventures of the imagination.

Recreates the ancient Egyptian sacred path of spiritual unfolding.

This early work by Will A. Page was originally published in 1911 and we are now republishing it as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Air Serpent' is a short story about a flying, reptilian-looking creature. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fantastical, and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures. Whether it be giant spiders, werewolves, lake monsters, or dinosaurs, the Cryptofiction Classics series offers a fantastic introduction to the world of weird creatures in fiction.

The Serpent of Stars (Le serpent d¢étoiles, 1993; reprinted 1999 Grasset) takes place in rural southern France in the early part of the century. The novel’s elusive narrative thread ties landscape to character to an expanse just beyond our grasp. The narrator encounters a shepherding family and glimpse by glimpse, each family member and the shepherding way of life is revealed to us. The novel culminates in a large shepherds’ gathering where a traditional Shepherd’s Play—a kind of creation myth that includes in its cast The River, The Sea, The Man, and The Mountain—is enacted. The work’s proto-environmental world view as well as its hybrid form—part play, part novel—makes The Serpent of Stars astonishingly contemporary. W.S. Merwin’s "Green Fields" begins, "By this part of the century few are left who believe/in the animals for they are not there in the carved parts/of them served on plates and the pleas from slatted trucks..." This novel leaves the reader believing not only in the animals, but the terrain they are part of, the people who tend them, and the life all these elements together compose.

#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns to her alternate history of the United States where magic is an acknowledged but despised power in this fourth installment of the Gunnie Rose series. Felicia, Lizbeth Rose's younger half-sister and student at the Grigori school within the capital of the New Holy Russian Empire in San Diego, is caught between secrets and powerful family struggles. As a distant relative to the Tsar, she provides an essential service to him by providing blood transfusions for his anemia, and she is thus given rare access and dismissed as if cattle. At the Grigori school she is seen as a charity case, a poor orphan with no prospects and no sign of magical prowess--the latter which Felicia keeps purposefully hidden. And yet, when a kidnapping attempt is made upon Felicia her past and her future crash together in violent ways. Continuing immediately after The Russian Cage, this fantastical fourth book takes a side step, exploring the Holy Russian Empire while also showcasing the dynamic depths of magic within Harris's alternate North America in curious mysteries. Felicia, it turns out, is far more than the Russian-Mexican waif Lizbeth rescued, and the journey of discovery she is on is filled with magical assassins and desperation, but above it all is her courage to never give in to the limitations imposed upon her.

In Serpent and Storm by Marella Sands, enter the world of Sky Knife: A Mayan youth who was cursed with an unlucky name from birth. From a vision given to his mother, Sky Knife is pledged to honor whatever destiny the gods have decreed. Farmer, soldier, merchant--all these roads are closed to him. He isn't even worthy as a sacrifice to the gods. Sometimes, however, the gods have a very wicked sense of humor...and what some sages think of as the worst cosmic luck may in fact be the touch of the gods' own hands. From temple pariah to hero, Sky Knife discovers the magic within him and not only thwarts all the evil plots surrounding his king, but wins the hand of the beautiful and beloved Jade Flute in the process. Enemies vanquished and evil magic dispelled, life is good. And as Sky Knife prepares for the birth of a long-awaited child, it seems like the fates have given him all that he desires. But it appears the gods aren't quite done with Sky Knife just yet. He is to be sent to the distant city-kingdom of Teotihuacan, to bring greetings and to reopen diplomatic ties with these strange people. From missed meetings to strange guides, corrupt counselors to a bizarre court, Sky Knife feels his world shifting dangerously out of balance. And when the Teotihuacan king is killed and bad luck seems to descend upon his kingdom, it is left to Sky Knife to solve the riddle of his death. Or he will be slaughtered in the killer's stead. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Exposes the many cycles of monument destruction and cultural suppression in Egypt from antiquity to the present day • Details the vandalism of Egyptian antiquities and suppression of ancient knowledge under foreign rulers who sought to cleanse Egypt of its “pagan” past • Reveals the real reason behind Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt: Freemasonry • Shows how the censorship of nonofficial Egyptology as well as new archaeological discoveries continued under Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass Called the “Mirror of Heaven” by Hermes-Thoth and regarded as the birthplace of civilization, science, religion, and magic, Egypt has ignited the imagination of all who come in contact with it since ancient times--from Pythagoras and Plato to Alexander the Great and Napoleon to modern Egyptologists the world over. Yet, despite this preeminence in the collective mind, Egypt has suffered considerable destruction over the centuries. Even before the burning of the Great Library at Alexandria, the land of the pharaohs was pillaged by its own people. With the arrival of foreign rulers, both Arabic and European, the destruction and thievery continued along with suppression of ancient knowledge as some rulers sought to cleanse Egypt of its “pagan” past. Exploring the many cycles of destruction and suppression in Egypt as well as moments of salvation, such as the first registered excavations by Auguste Mariette, Robert Bauval and Ahmed Osman investigate the many conquerors of Egypt through the millennia as well as what has happened to famous artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone. They show how Napoleon, through his invasion, wanted to revive ancient Egyptian wisdom and art because of its many connections to Freemasonry. They reveal how the degradation of monuments, theft of relics, and censorship of ancient teachings continue to this day. Exposing recent cover-ups during the tenure of Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass, they explain how new discoveries at Giza were closed to further research. Clearing cultural and historical distortions, the authors reveal the long-hidden and persecuted voice of ancient Egypt and call for the return of Egypt to its rightful place as “the Mother of Nations” and “the Mirror of Heaven.”

Named to ten BEST OF THE YEAR lists and selected as a William C. Morris Award Winner,The Serpent King is the critically acclaimed, much-beloved story of three teens who find themselves--and each other--while on the cusp of graduating from high school with hopes of leaving their small-town behind. Perfect for fans of John Green's Turtles All the Way Down. "Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." —The New York Public Library “Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” —BookRiot.com Dill isn't the most popular kid at his rural Tennessee high school. After his father fell from grace in a public scandal that reverberated throughout their small town, Dill became a target. Fortunately, his two fellow misfits and best friends, Travis and Lydia, have his back. But as they begin their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. His only escapes are music and his secret feelings for Lydia--neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core. Debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one’s true self in the wreckage of the past. “A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it’s as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking.” —PasteMagazine.com “A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it.” —Mashable.com “I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another.”—New York Times