John Callow's Books

Embracing the Darkness

A Cultural History of Witchcraft

By: John Callow

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Embracing the Darkness

A Cultural History of Witchcraft

By: John Callow

As dusk fell on a misty evening in 1521, Martin Luther - hiding from his enemies at Wartburg Castle - found himself seemingly tormented by demons hurling walnuts at his bedroom window. In a fit of rage, the great reformer threw at the Devil the inkwell from which he was preparing his colossal translation of the Bible. A belief - like Luther's - in the supernatural, and in black magic, has been central to European cultural life for 3000 years. From the Salem witch trials to the macabre novels of Dennis Wheatley; from the sadistic persecution of eccentric village women to the seductive sorceresses of TV's Charmed; and from Derek Jarman's punk film Jubilee to Ken Russell's The Devils, John Callow brings the twilight world of the witch, mage and necromancer to vivid and fascinating life. He takes us into a shadowy landscape where, in an age before modern drugs, the onset of sudden illness was readily explained by malevolent spellcasting. And where dark, winding country lanes could terrify by night, as the hoot of an owl or shriek of a fox became the desolate cries of unseen spirits.Witchcraft has profoundly shaped the western imagination, and endures in the forms of modern-day Wicca and paganism. Embracing the Darkness is an enthralling account of this fascinating aspect of the western cultural experience.

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532

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1786722615

ISBN 13

9781786722614

The Last Witches of England

A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition

By: John Callow

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The Last Witches of England

A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition

By: John Callow

Fascinating and vivid." New Statesman "Thoroughly researched." The Spectator "Intriguing." BBC History Magazine "Vividly told." BBC History Revealed "A timely warning against persecution." Morning Star "Astute and thoughtful." History Today "An important work." All About History "Well-researched." The Tablet On the morning of Thursday 29 June 1682, a magpie came rasping, rapping and tapping at the window of a prosperous Devon merchant. Frightened by its appearance, his servants and members of his family had, within a matter of hours, convinced themselves that the bird was an emissary of the devil sent by witches to destroy the fabric of their lives. As the result of these allegations, three women of Bideford came to be forever defined as witches. A Secretary of State brushed aside their case and condemned them to the gallows; to hang as the last group of women to be executed in England for the crime. Yet, the hatred of their neighbours endured. For Bideford, it was said, was a place of witches. Though 'pretty much worn away' the belief in witchcraft still lingered on for more than a century after their deaths. In turn, ignored, reviled, and extinguished but never more than half-forgotten, it seems that the memory of these three women - and of their deeds and sufferings, both real and imagined – was transformed from canker to regret, and from regret into celebration in our own age. Indeed, their example was cited during the final Parliamentary debates, in 1951, that saw the last of the witchcraft acts repealed, and their names were chanted, as both inspiration and incantation, by the women beyond the wire at Greenham Common. In this book, John Callow explores this remarkable reversal of fate, and the remarkable tale of the Bideford Witches.

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Page Count

353

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1350196142

ISBN 13

9781350196148

John Osborne

The Many Lives of the Angry Young Man

By: John Heilpern

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John Osborne

The Many Lives of the Angry Young Man

By: John Heilpern

John Osborne, the original Angry Young Man, shocked and transformed British theater in the 1950s with his play Look Back in Anger. This startling biography–the first to draw on the secret notebooks in which he recorded his anguish and depression–reveals the notorious rebel in all his heartrending complexity. Through a working-class childhood and five marriages, Osborne led a tumultuous life. An impossible father, he threw his teenage daughter out of the house and never spoke to her again. His last written words were "I have sinned." Theater critic John Heilpern’s detailed portrait, including interviews with Osborne's daughter, scores of friends and enemies, and his alleged male lover, shows us a contradictory genius–an ogre with charm, a radical who hated change, and above all, a defiant individualist.

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Page Count

562

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307557170

ISBN 13

9780307557179

Memorials of "God's Acre", being Monumental Inscriptions in the Isle of Man

By: John Feltham,Edward Wright,William Harrison

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Memorials of "God's Acre", being Monumental Inscriptions in the Isle of Man

By: John Feltham,Edward Wright,William Harrison

Reprint of the original, first published in 1868.

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Page Count

182

Publisher

BoD – Books on Demand

Published Date

ISBN 10

3375013728

ISBN 13

9783375013721

On Turning Sixty-Five

Notes from the Field

By: John Jerome

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On Turning Sixty-Five

Notes from the Field

By: John Jerome

Personally, I've got a lot invested in reaching my stunning current age, and I'm damned if I'm going to hang on to that youthful crap. (I liked the idea of being a sixty-year-old so much I started claiming that age before I turned fifty-nine.) Parts of it, I don't like--the loss of energy that seems its inevitable accompaniment, for example--but when I consider how I used to boil that energy away as a younger man, and the things I boiled it away on, I am happy to accept a shorter tether and a more reflective way of going at things." John Jerome, author of such beloved books as Truck and Stone Work, entered his sixty-fifth year with a number of goals in mind: to battle the debilities of age, to master them through understanding when he could not physically defeat them, and to keep a journal of these efforts. As he puts it, "It was time to start planning an endgame." The result is a warm, compassionate, and honest look at the twelve months that led him to the gateway of old age--a survey of this time of life which ranges from strict physiology to expansive philosophy, from delicate neurosurgery to rough weather on a Canadian canoeing trip, from the despair and isolation of illness to the love and comfort of a sound marriage. The writing, in its clarity, grace, and humor, matches its author's spirit. "The quality of our lives depends on the quality of our time," Jerome reminds us. Reading this wise and funny chronicle of one man's--and everyman's--journey toward citizenship, senior division, will be time well spent, for young and old alike. It is that rare kind of book which comes to life as a companion, and even a friend.

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Page Count

273

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307786706

ISBN 13

9780307786708

The Studio

By: John Gregory Dunne

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The Studio

By: John Gregory Dunne

In 1967, John Gregory Dunne asked for unlimited access to the inner workings of Twentieth Century Fox. Miraculously, he got it. For one year Dunne went everywhere there was to go and talked to everyone worth talking to within the studio. He tracked every step of the creation of pictures like "Dr. Dolittle," "Planet of the Apes," and "The Boston Strangler." The result is a work of reportage that, thirty years later, may still be our most minutely observed and therefore most uproariously funny portrait of the motion picture business. Whether he is recounting a showdown between Fox's studio head and two suave shark-like agents, watching a producer's girlfriend steal a silver plate from a restaurant, or shielding his eyes against the glare of a Hollywood premiere where the guests include a chimp in a white tie and tails, Dunne captures his subject in all its showmanship, savvy, vulgarity, and hype. Not since F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West has anyone done Hollywood better. "Reads as racily as a novel...(Dunne) has a novelist's ear for speech and eye for revealing detail...Anyone who has tiptoed along those corridors of power is bound to say that Dunne's impressionism rings true."--Los Angeles Times

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273

Publisher

Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307817601

ISBN 13

9780307817600

The Gang

Coleridge, the Hutchinsons & the Wordsworths in 1802

By: John Worthen

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The Gang

Coleridge, the Hutchinsons & the Wordsworths in 1802

By: John Worthen

Over a dramatic six-month period in 1802, William Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge, Wordsworth's sister Dorothy, and the two Hutchinson sisters, Sara and Mary, formed a close-knit group whose members saw or wrote one another constantly. In this fascinating book, Worthen recreates the group's intertwined lives and the effect they had on one another. 20 illustrations.

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Page Count

380

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300088191

ISBN 13

9780300088199

Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown

Verses for a Despotic Age

By: John Lithgow

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Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown

Verses for a Despotic Age

By: John Lithgow

Following the success of his New York Times bestseller Dumpty, award-winning actor, author, and illustrator John Lithgow presents a brand-new collection of satirical poems chronicling the despotic age of Donald Trump. Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown is darker and more hard-hitting than ever. Lithgow writes and draws with wit and fury as he takes readers through another year of the shocking events involving Trump and his administration. His uproarious poems and illustrations encompass Trump's impeachment, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests, and much more. Lithgow targets Mitch McConnell, Mike Pompeo, Bill Barr, Jared Kushner, Elaine Chao, and many others, but also includes a few heroes of the moment, including Anthony Fauci, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and even Barack Obama. The book arrives at a time when it's needed most. With all-new poems and never-before-seen line drawings, Lithgow will once again make readers laugh and pause to remember some of the most defining moments in recent history—skewering the reign of King Dumpty one stanza at a time. Digital audio edition read by the author.

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Page Count

113

Publisher

Chronicle Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1797209485

ISBN 13

9781797209487

A Critical Introduction to Sport Psychology

A Critical Introduction

By: Aidan Moran,John Toner

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A Critical Introduction to Sport Psychology

A Critical Introduction

By: Aidan Moran,John Toner

The new third edition of A Critical Introduction to Sport Psychology is the only textbook in the field that provides a detailed overview of key theories, concepts and findings within the discipline of sport psychology, as well as a critical perspective that examines and challenges these core foundations. Fully revised and updated, the new edition covers key research findings affecting both participation and performance in sport, including topics such as motivation, anxiety, emotional coping, concentration, mental imagery, expertise and team cohesion. In addition, the book includes a range of helpful features that bring the science to life, including critical thinking exercises, suggestions for student projects and new "In the spotlight" boxes that highlight key advances in theory or practice. A comprehensive glossary is also included, whilst a final chapter examines some new horizons in sport psychology, including embodied cognition and socio-cultural perspectives. Sport is played with the body but often won in the mind; that is the theory. A Critical Introduction to Sport Psychology is the definitive textbook for anyone wishing to engage critically with this fascinating idea.

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Page Count

549

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1317329651

ISBN 13

9781317329657

The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Knt

In Thirteen Parts

By: Sir Edward Coke,John Henry Thomas,John Farquhar Fraser

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The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Knt

In Thirteen Parts

By: Sir Edward Coke,John Henry Thomas,John Farquhar Fraser

Originally published: New ed. / by John Henry Thomas, ... John Farquhar Fraser. London: J. Butterworth & Sons, 1826. New introd. by Stephen Sheppard.

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3596

Publisher

The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.

Published Date

ISBN 10

1584772395

ISBN 13

9781584772392

The Buried Past

An Archaeological History of Philadelphia

By: John L. Cotter,Daniel G. Roberts,Michael Parrington

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The Buried Past

An Archaeological History of Philadelphia

By: John L. Cotter,Daniel G. Roberts,Michael Parrington

The Buried Past presents the most significant archaeological discoveries made in one of America's most historic cities. Based on more than thirty years of intensive archaeological investigations in the greater Philadelphia area, this study contains the first record of many nationally important sites linking archaeological evidence to historical documentation, including Interdependence and Valley Forge National Historical Parks. It provides an archaeological tour through the houses and life-ways of both the great figures and the common people. It reveals how people dined, what vessels and dishes they used, and what their trinkets (and secret sins) were.

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563

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0812231422

ISBN 13

9780812231427

Walking Shadows

Orson Welles, William Randolph Hearst, and Citizen Kane

By: John Evangelist Walsh

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Walking Shadows

Orson Welles, William Randolph Hearst, and Citizen Kane

By: John Evangelist Walsh

Walking Shadows dramatically dissects the wild, high-profile battle between newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and famous young actor, director, and filmmaker Orson Welles over Welles's groundbreaking film Citizen Kane. In 1940 and 1941 it became the center of public controversy and scandal, especially in Hollywood where Welles's own stark honesty and blatant self-confidence heightened the drama. Citizen Kane portrayed the ruthless career of an all-powerful magnate bearing (not accidentally) a striking resemblance to Hearst, who immediately tried to kill the picture. John Evangelist Walsh here illuminates the conflict between these two outsize personalities and for the first time brings Hearst's vengeful anti-Kane campaign to the fore. Walsh provides thorough documentation, supplemental notes, and an extended bibliography.

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Page Count

336

Publisher

Popular Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0299205002

ISBN 13

9780299205003

Book's by John Callow

Embracing the Darkness

Embracing the Darkness

The Last Witches of England

The Last Witches of England

John Osborne

John Osborne

Memorials of "God's Acre", being Monumental Inscriptions in the Isle of Man

Memorials of "God's Acre", being Monumental Inscriptions in the Isle of Man

On Turning Sixty-Five

On Turning Sixty-Five

The Studio

The Studio

The Gang

The Gang

Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown

Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown

A Critical Introduction to Sport Psychology

A Critical Introduction to Sport Psychology

The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Knt

The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Knt

The Buried Past

The Buried Past

Walking Shadows

Walking Shadows

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