A classic fantasy/mystery from critically acclaimed novelist John Bellairs Lewis thought the amulet would bring him good luck--instead, it brought nothing but evil. Lewis is sure that Grandpa Barnavelt's 1859 lucky coin is really a magic talisman in disguise. With its power, he could do anything he wante--like get back at bully Woody Mingo. But as soon as he begins wearing the coin around his neck, strange things start to happen. Mysterious letters arrive in the dead of night. A strange, shadowy figure seems to be tracking him. And when Lewis finally gets his revenge on Woody, he feels as if someone else is inside his body, urging him to go even further. Has Lewis awakened a force beyond his control?

The second book in the series following on from the American classic The House With a Clock in Its Walls, now a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, starring Cate Blanchett, Jack Black and Kyle MacLachlan Settled into his new life, Lewis seems content living with his magical Uncle Jonathan and neighbour Mrs Zimmermann. He even has a new best friend, Rose Rita, who loves to play sport, build Roman ship models and play with magic - all the things Lewis loves to do too! After discovering Grandpa Barnavelt's 1859 lucky coin, Lewis is certain that it is magical, so he puts it to the test - he recites one of Mrs Zimmermann's spells to awaken its magic. Only Lewis hasn't awakened a good sort of magic. As he wears the coin around his neck, sinister things start to happen. Strange letters addressed to Lewis arrive at midnight, a dark shadowy figure begins to follow him in town and something seems to be inside his body controlling his actions. As the figure in the shadows appears more and more, Lewis is possessed by its power, unable to free himself. Has Lewis awakened a force beyond his control? And can Uncle Jonathan, Mrs Zimmermann and Rose Rita make it in time to rescue Lewis?

The aim of this book is to throw light on various facets of geometry through development of four geometrical themes.The first theme is about the ellipse, the shape of the shadow cast by a circle. The next, a natural continuation of the first, is a study of all three types of conic sections, the ellipse, the parabola and the hyperbola.The third theme is about certain properties of geometrical figures related to the problem of finding the largest area that can be enclosed by a curve of given length. This problem is called the isoperimetric problem. In itself, this topic contains motivation for major parts of the curriculum in mathematics at college level and sets the stage for more advanced mathematical subjects such as functions of several variables and the calculus of variations.The emergence of non-Euclidean geometries in the beginning of the nineteenth century represents one of the dramatic episodes in the history of mathematics. In the last theme the non-Euclidean geometry in the Poincaré disc model of the hyperbolic plane is developed.

Two unabridged addresses summarizing aspects of Einstein's Special and General Theories of Relativity comprise this succinct volume. The first, Ether and Relativity, was delivered in 1920 and examines the properties demanded of the ether of space by the theory of relativity. Geometry and Experience, delivered the following year, describes the limits within which the Euclidean system can be held to be approximately true in relation to the concept of a finite universe. Written clearly and concisely, these lectures are a fascinating read for both scientist and layman. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Visual illusions are compelling phenomena that draw attention to the brain's capacity to construct our perceptual world. The Compendium is a collection of over 100 chapters on visual illusions, written by the illusion creators or by vision scientists who have investigated mechanisms underlying the phenomena. --

J. R. R. Tolkien is arguably the most influential fantasy writer of all time--his world building and epic mythology have changed Western audiences' imaginations and the entire fantasy genre. This book is the first wide-ranging Christian Platonic reading on Tolkien's fiction. This analysis, written for scholars and general Tolkien enthusiasts alike, discusses how his fiction is constructed on levels of language, myth and textuality that have a background in the Greek philosopher Plato's texts and early Christian philosophy influenced by Plato. It discusses the concepts of ideal and real, creation and existence, and fall and struggle as central elements of Tolkien's fiction, focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth. Reading Tolkien's fiction as a depiction of ideal and real, from the vision of creation to the process of realization, illuminates a part of Tolkien's aesthetics and mythology that previous studies have overlooked.

The Cinema and Its Shadow argues that race has defined the cinematic apparatus since the earliest motion pictures, especially at times of technological transition. In particular, this work explores how racial difference became central to the resolving of cinematic problems: the stationary camera, narrative form, realism, the synchronization of image and sound, and, perhaps most fundamentally, the immaterial image—the cinema’s “shadow,” which figures both the material reality of the screen image and its racist past. Discussing early “race subjects,” Alice Maurice demonstrates that these films influenced cinematic narrative in lasting ways by helping to determine the relation between stillness and motion, spectacle and narrative drive. The book examines how motion picture technology related to race, embodiment, and authenticity at specific junctures in cinema’s development, including the advent of narratives, feature films, and sound. In close readings of such films as The Cheat, Shadows, and Hallelujah!, Maurice reveals how the rhetoric of race repeatedly embodies film technology, endowing it with a powerful mix of authenticity and magic. In this way, the racialized subject became the perfect medium for showing off, shoring up, and reintroducing the cinematic apparatus at various points in the history of American film. Moving beyond analyzing race in purely thematic or ideological terms, Maurice traces how it shaped the formal and technological means of the cinema.