Puppetry is arguably the most widespread form of performance. The artistry of puppetry includes aspects of the visual arts, theatre, music, and dance. Puppets can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and are found today in cultures worldwide, across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. John Bell shows how puppets have been used to relay myths, poke fun at political figures, comment on cultural events of the period, express moral stories, and entertain adults and children alike. This richly illustrated book gives a historical overview and looks at the wide variety of this traditional art form. From European and Asian puppets in modern and ancient times to the Puppet Modernism movements, the book explores the important innovators and innovations of puppetry. Brief biographies of key figures such as Tony Sarg (credited with creating the first over-life-size puppets used for parades), Paul McPharlin (creator of Punch’s Circus), and Jim Henson (world-reknowned creator of many puppets, including the Muppets) help describe the evolution of puppetry. Definitions and descriptions of a variety of puppet styles, including shadow puppets, marionettes, hand puppets, rod puppets, and many others, add to the understanding of this fascinating form of art. With over one hundred color illustrations, this book highlights the "lives" of such characters as Kermit the Frog, Punch and Judy, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the traditional Chinese puppet Te-Yung to reveal the ways that puppets have become an integral part of many cultures. Captivating and fun, this book offers valuable insight into the wonderful world of puppetry.

A fascinating account of greed on a gigantic scale, of market manipulation, option swaps and underhandedness, within the financial industry. This is a novel, with a hint of truth, behind the lies. The collapse of financial institutions goes global, as the economic market heads into freefall and insider trading is uncovered. Journalist, Tim Parkes, is to fit the pieces together, after surreptitiously been left clues to uncover. Just who is it, that started it all? As murders from large corporations are exposed, along with the murder of scientists; world leaders in semiconductors and gene manipulation for chemical and germ warfare become known, the financial world goes into a tailspin. With the knowledge of bribery and underhanded deals, Tim goes on a search to find the truth. He’s being targeted and watched and he knows it. He knows he needs to open this can of worms and bring the treachery to the table, before he becomes yet another dead pawn, in somebody’s game. As world-wide lending institutions, succumb to the ravages of global financial collapse, developed through their own unscrupulous activities, more and more people are left to fend for themselves. The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage industry, has left financial institutions to do, or to die. The sub-prime mortgage industry has disintegrated, leaving millions of people destitute in its wake. With lawlessness, disorder, looting and riots a way of life, this is a story, which brings price fixing to the fore, exposing cover-ups, market manipulation and murder. Anarchy raises its ugly head, as Wall Street teeters, before collapsing, while Tim sorts out truth, from lies. Just who is the marionette director? Who is the person pulling the strings in the shadows, the puppet master, in this game of espionage, market manipulation, murder and mayhem? The answer may just surprise you.

In a war between democracy and civil rights, which do you choose? "The ability to control one’s own future is not a privilege, it’s a right!" The image of the figure who spoke was carried across all the comms channels by a hacker signal. It was an extreme ectomorph, tall and ultra thin, with slanted eyes, swirling dotted tattoos, an extended cranium and high curling hair.… "The ability to select one’s own government," it continued, "is not a privilege, it’s a right. Democracy is the only form of government that ensures these privileges remain rights - inalienable human rights. Rights that cannot be controlled by the privileged few, nor shared with bug-eyes, slimies or others whose alien ways corrupt human society! I am the Dalang, Speaker of the Wayang Liberation Front, and this is not the last you will hear from me! Long live the Federalist Revolution!" Strings on a Shadow Puppet is the exciting debut novel from T. L. Evans that combines the thrills of military science fiction with the thoughtful intrigue of espionage and mystery. With sympathetic characters, dark conspiracies, and enough fast paced combat to keep any action junkie on the edge of their seat, Strings on a Shadow Puppet will keep you turning the pages until the last plot twist is revealed.

Clear explanations and over 70 illustrations demonstrate how to position your hands to make lifelike shadows of a lumbering dinosaur, a pair of playful monkeys, an eagle taking flight, a cat scratching itself, a howling wolf, a neighing horse, a dog that eats a rabbit, and many other figures.