Shapeshifters

Author: John B. Kachuba
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1789140978
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Book Description
There is something about a shapeshifter—a person who can transform into an animal—that captures our imagination; that causes us to want to howl at the moon, or flit through the night like a bat. Werewolves, vampires, demons, and other weird creatures appeal to our animal nature, our “dark side,” our desire to break free of the bonds of society and proper behavior. Real or imaginary, shapeshifters lurk deep in our psyches and remain formidable cultural icons. The myths, magic, and meaning surrounding shapeshifters are brought vividly to life in John B. Kachuba’s compelling and original cultural history. Rituals in early cultures worldwide seemingly allowed shamans, sorcerers, witches, and wizards to transform at will into animals and back again. Today, there are millions of people who believe that shapeshifters walk among us and may even be world leaders. Featuring a fantastic and ghoulish array of examples from history, literature, film, TV, and computer games, Shapeshifters explores our secret desire to become something other than human.

Shapeshifters

Author: Meg Gaertner
Publisher: Monster Histories
ISBN: 1543571255
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

Book Description
"Explores the history behind stories of shapeshifters"--

Shapeshifters

Author: Délani Valin
Publisher: Harbour Publishing
ISBN: 0889714290
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 92

Book Description
In Shapeshifters, Délani Valin explores the cost of finding the perfect mask. Through a lens of urban Métis experience and neurodivergence, Valin takes on a series of personas as an act of empathy as resistance. Some personas are capitalist mascots like the Starbucks siren, Barbie and the Michelin Man, who confide the hopes and frustrations that lay hidden behind their relentless public enthusiasm. Others include psychiatric diagnoses like hypochondria, autism and depression, and unlikely archetypes such as a woman who becomes a land mass by ending the quest to shrink herself. In more confessional poems, the pressure to find relief from otherness often leads to magical thinking: portals, flight, telepathy and incantations all become metaphors for survival. Shapeshifters maps ways in which an individual can attempt to fit into a world that is inhospitable to them, and makes a case to shift the shape of that world.

Viral Shapeshifters

Author: Gerard KM Goh
Publisher: Simplicity Research Institute
ISBN: 9811147140
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Book Description
Despite billions of dollars spent on decades of research, no vaccine has been found for the deadly HIV. Why has it been so difficult to find an effective vaccine for HIV, or the herpes simplex virus-2, while we have managed to find those for rabies, polio and smallpox? After years stalking the HIV and other viruses with a computer, the author detected something very strange in the outer shell protein of HIV-1. He believes that the virus is literally acting as a shapeshifter in evading the host immune system. This book is about a scientific adventure that covers the HIV, SARS, Yellow Fever, Ebola and other viruses. As this book explains, each virus has its own story in terms of evolution and its interactions with humans. It also argues that early vaccine successes with the smallpox, rabies and polio viruses were due to the hard shells of those viruses. The concept of viral shapeshifting also opens up a new world of possibilities in improved treatments for cancers and infectious diseases. The presentation in this book is aimed both at the curious layman and researchers.

Werewolves and Other Shapeshifters in Popular Culture

Author: Kimberley McMahon-Coleman
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786492503
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 213

Book Description
In recent years, shapeshifting characters in literature, film and television have been on the rise. This has followed the increased use of such characters as metaphors, with novelists and critics identifying specific meanings and topics behind them. This book aims to unravel the shapeshifting trope. Rather than pursue a case-based study, the works are grouped around specific themes--adolescence, gender, sexuality, race, disability, addiction, and spirituality--that are explored through the metaphor of shapeshifting. Because of the transformative possibilities of this metaphor and its flexibility, the shapeshifter has the potential to change how we see our world. With coverage of iconic fantasy texts and a focus on current works, the book engages with the shapeshifting figure in popular culture from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The Shapeshifters

Author: Stefan Spjut
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 054408408X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 595

Book Description
Far off the grid in northern Sweden, a small network of people have been tasked with hiding the last remaining trolls from the public eye, and one young woman will do whatever it takes to bring the truth to light, in this literary thriller that is "intensely riveting and constantly surprising" (Karl-Ove Knausgard).

Coyotes! Nature's Shapeshifters

Author: Dr. Richard A. NeSmith
Publisher: Applied Principles of Education & Learning
ISBN:
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 50

Book Description
Coyotes were the most misunderstood, maligned, and hated creatures on the North American continent. Most of the hate for coyotes was propagated by people who did not understand the importance or the contribution coyotes make to create a healthy environment. As you begin to understand the role that coyotes play in nature, you will see how they are not evil creatures but keystone species. When you start to see how they shape to their environment, new respect and awe develop. After a closer look, we have discovered that coyotes are indeed keystone species that benefit other animals in their ecosystems. Finally, you will be impressed by coyotes' ability to withstand nearly all odds of attacks and attempts to eradicate them.

Oracle of the Shapeshifters

Author: Lucy Cavendish
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1582703760
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
This striking collection of forty-five illustrated cards and an in-depth guidebook entertain and empower with sage advice. The wisdom of magickal familiars—once the companions of shamans, witches, wizards, and wise ones—is now directly accessible in this deck of forty-five cards and comprehensive guidebook. These mystical allies possess the hidden knowledge of shapeshifting, camouflage, invisibility, and metamorphosis. They are ready to share their very honest, truly instinctual guidance for personal and planetary times of transition. These trustworthy companions will lend you their courage, point out new paths, help you make fresh discoveries, spark your creativity, inspire you with encouragement, and teach you to develop abilities to adapt and change—not only for survival, but to thrive and find peace, joy, accomplishment, and satisfaction in a changing world. With a 176-page guidebook by Lucy Cavendish revealing the history, legends, lore, and magick of the shapeshifters—including practical spreads for accurate readings—and 45 colorful cards featuring stunning art by Jasmine Becket-Griffith, the Oracle of the Shapeshifters is truly a unique and empowering deck.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Shapeshifters HC

Author: Andre R. Frattino
Publisher: Boom! Studios
ISBN: 1646686071
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 115

Book Description
Locus Award-winning writer Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth, Marvel’s Voices: Indigenous Voices #1), and esteemed writers Andre R. Frattino (Simon Says: Nazi Hunter) and Deron Bennett, along with up-and-coming artists Nori Retherford, Alexandra Fastovets, Dani Pendergast, and celebrated cartoonist Em Niwa (INGOVY) bring together a timeless collection of tales about shapeshifters from around the world. With themes ranging from the importance of heritage and familial love, to cautionary tales best heeded, these stories are sure to delight all fans of Jim Henson’s beloved and timeless Storyteller. Collects Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Shapeshifters #1-4.

Shapeshifters

Author: Nick Redfern
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN: 0738753998
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Book Description
Shapeshifters are real. You're about to meet them, in all their savage and sinister glory. While most people think of shapeshifters as little more than the werewolves and vampires of mythology and pop culture, the truth is much more fascinating. And dangerous. Shapeshifters are real, they come in all kinds and sizes, and they have existed for countless millennia. This thrilling guide invites you to meet each of them...if you dare. Shapeshifters presents a menagerie of otherworldly creatures and half-human monsters, from were-cats to blood-suckers to aliens. Discover legends and lore from around the world and experience first-hand encounters with shape-changing beasts that lurk in the night. Nick Redfern takes you deep into their domain, opening your eyes to paranormal secrets and cryptozoological wonders. Just be sure to keep some silver bullets close at hand.