For a limited time at a special price, enjoy beloved mystery writer Tamar Myers' novel The Witch Doctor's Wife—an enthralling tale of duty, greed, danger, and miracles in equatorial Africa. As a bonus, you get an excerpt from The Headhunter's Daughter and The Boy Who Stole the Leopard's Spots, on sale May 8, 2012. The Congo beckons to young Amanda Brown in 1958, as she follows her missionary calling to the mysterious "dark continent" far from her South Carolina home. But her enthusiasm cannot cushion her from the shock of a very foreign culture—where competing missionaries are as plentiful as flies, and oppressive European overlords are busy stripping the land of its most valuable resource: diamonds. Little by little, Amanda is drawn into the lives of the villagers in tiny Belle Vue—and she is touched by the plight of the local witch doctor, a man known as Their Death, who has been forced to take a second job as a yardman to support his two wives. But when First Wife stumbles upon an impossibly enormous uncut gem, events are set in motion that threaten to devastate the lives of these people Amanda has come to admire and love—events that could lead to nothing less than murder.

Divination is any ritual and its associated tradition performed in order to ask a more-than-human intelligence for guidance. A universal human practice, it has received surprisingly little academic attention. This interdisciplinary collection by leading scholars in the field is dedicated to fascinating new insights into divination and oracles arising from recent work in anthropology, religious studies, history and classical studies. Central importance is given to the practical and theoretical perspectives of diviners as well as scholars of divination; several contributors are both. This book explores philosophical issues such as the nature of divinatory intelligence, the relationship between divinatory and metaphorical truth, the primacy of ontology over epistemology, the importance of reflexivity in scholarly studies of divination, and astrology as the principal Western form of divination. The ethnographic and historical examples range from contemporary Nigeria, urban Cuba, Mayan Guatemala and the shamanic cultures of the circumpolar Arctic to classical Greece and ancient Judea.

From beloved mystery writer Tamar Myers comes an enthralling tale of duty, greed, danger, and miracles in equatorial Africa. The Congo beckons to young Amanda Brown in 1958, as she follows her missionary calling to the mysterious "dark continent" far from her South Carolina home. But her enthusiasm cannot cushion her from the shock of a very foreign culture—where competing missionaries are as plentiful as flies, and oppressive European overlords are busy stripping the land of its most valuable resource: diamonds. Little by little, Amanda is drawn into the lives of the villagers in tiny Belle Vue—and she is touched by the plight of the local witch doctor, a man known as Their Death, who has been forced to take a second job as a yardman to support his two wives. But when First Wife stumbles upon an impossibly enormous uncut gem, events are set in motion that threaten to devastate the lives of these people Amanda has come to admire and love—events that could lead to nothing less than murder.

This is the Australian edition of a games book for parents, teachers, childcare workers, Cub Scout leaders, home-schooling families, and anyone else who supervises or entertains children. The book contains 339 activities, and is divided into three main sections: physical and mental, life skill, and educational. The physical and mental games are for fun and fitness, and can be enjoyed at birthday parties, family get-togethers and weekend outings. The life skill games are designed especially for Cub and Brownie Leaders, and include map and compass reading, knotting, first aid, home safety and outdoor cooking. The educational games include fun activities in maths, English, science, history, geography, foreign languages, art and music. Teachers and home-schooling families will find this section instructive, stimulating and very unusual. The games are suitable for 7 to 17 year olds, and some of the activities will stretch the minds of even the cleverest teenagers.

An abridged version of the 1937 an-thropological study of the Azande of the southern Sudan, the theoretical insights of which have proven increasingly influential among both anthropologists and others

His Dark Materials is one of the most popular, award-winning fantasies of all time, a bestselling trilogy hailed as "a modern classic" by The New York Times. Now, for the first time ever, Lois H. Gresh helps young readers examine Pullman's intricate universe with Exploring His Dark Materials, the ultimate companion guide. Gresh's fun, interactive book explores the complex science, religion, and fantastic elements of His Dark Materials in a way that's both informative and fun for younger readers. Exploring His Dark Materials is filled with sidebars, history, facts and an in-depth analysis of the books, answering questions like: *What are daemons? *Why is dust important to the series? * Is Dark Material real and how does it relate to our universe? * What are the origins of ghosts and shapeshifters? *And much more! Exploring His Dark Materials is a thrilling and essential guide for young adults to help them explore this fantastic and challenging fantasy world.