Germany’s overseas colonial empire was relatively short lived, lasting from 1884 to 1918. During this period, dramatically different policies were enacted in the colonies: in Southwest Africa, German troops carried out a brutal slaughter of the Herero people; in Samoa, authorities pursued a paternalistic defense of native culture; in Qingdao, China, policy veered between harsh racism and cultural exchange. Why did the same colonizing power act in such differing ways? In The Devil’s Handwriting, George Steinmetz tackles this question through a brilliant cross-cultural analysis of German colonialism, leading to a new conceptualization of the colonial state and postcolonial theory. Steinmetz uncovers the roots of colonial behavior in precolonial European ethnographies, where the Hereros were portrayed as cruel and inhuman, the Samoans were idealized as “noble savages,” and depictions of Chinese culture were mixed. The effects of status competition among colonial officials, colonizers’ identification with their subjects, and the different strategies of cooperation and resistance offered by the colonized are also scrutinized in this deeply nuanced and ambitious comparative history.

Winner, CCCC Outstanding Book Award Until recently, American composition scholars have studied writing instruction mainly within the borders of their own nation, rarely considering English composition in the global context in which writing in English is increasingly taught. Writing in the Devil’s Tongue challenges this anachronistic approach by examining the history of English composition instruction in an East Asian country. Author Xiaoye You offers scholars a chance to observe how a nation changed from monolingual writing practices to bilingual writing instruction in a school setting. You makes extensive use of archival sources to help trace bilingual writing instruction in China back to 1862, when English was first taught in government schools. Treating the Chinese pursuit of modernity as the overarching theme, he explores how the entry of Anglo-American rhetoric and composition challenged and altered the traditional monolithic practice of teaching Chinese writing in the Confucian spirit. The author focuses on four aspects of this history: the Chinese negotiation with Anglo-American rhetoric, their search for innovative approaches to instruction, students’ situated use of English writing, and local scholarship in English composition. Unlike previous composition histories, which have tended to focus on institutional, disciplinary, and pedagogical issues, Writing in the Devil’s Tongue brings students back to center stage by featuring several passages written by them in each chapter. These passages not only showcase rhetorical and linguistic features of their writings but also serve as representative anecdotes that reveal the complex ways in which students, responding to their situations, performed multivalent, intercultural discourses. In addition, You moves out of the classroom and into the historical, cultural, and political contexts that shaped both Chinese writing and composing practices and the pedagogies that were adopted to teach English to Chinese in China. Teachers, students, and scholars reading this book will learn a great deal about the political and cultural impact that teaching English composition has had in China and about the ways in which Chinese writing and composition continues to be shaped by rich and diverse cultural traditions and political discourses. In showcasing the Chinese struggle with teaching and practicing bilingual composition, Writing in the Devil’s Tongue alerts American writing scholars and teachers to an outdated English monolingual mentality and urges them to modify their rhetorical assumptions, pedagogical approaches, and writing practices in the age of globalization.

Germany’s overseas colonial empire was relatively short lived, lasting from 1884 to 1918. During this period, dramatically different policies were enacted in the colonies: in Southwest Africa, German troops carried out a brutal slaughter of the Herero people; in Samoa, authorities pursued a paternalistic defense of native culture; in Qingdao, China, policy veered between harsh racism and cultural exchange. Why did the same colonizing power act in such differing ways? In The Devil’s Handwriting, George Steinmetz tackles this question through a brilliant cross-cultural analysis of German colonialism, leading to a new conceptualization of the colonial state and postcolonial theory. Steinmetz uncovers the roots of colonial behavior in precolonial European ethnographies, where the Hereros were portrayed as cruel and inhuman, the Samoans were idealized as “noble savages,” and depictions of Chinese culture were mixed. The effects of status competition among colonial officials, colonizers’ identification with their subjects, and the different strategies of cooperation and resistance offered by the colonized are also scrutinized in this deeply nuanced and ambitious comparative history.

It Begins... This book contains segments of letters found by an individual known as "The Editor." When first presented with these mysterious letters, it was clear the writer was sick. An individual so twisted... The Editor had no choice but to continue investigating this material and its origin. Is this material of fiction; a sick joke, perhaps? Or is this a dark literary outlet for a hidden serial killer or cult? The questions just keep stacking. Upon further research, The Editor was able to confirm his greatest fear... there were others! The thought sickens The Editor. Instead of the writings of one deranged person, we have reason to believe that there are actually more insane participants roaming the world; but how many? The Editor warns that the contents of this book are not for the light-hearted, or the sensitive reader. The Editor is just the messenger... but he brings the message of a killer. You have been warned... Have a glorious day! -The Editor-

Explains how to use handwriting analysis to interpret people's character traits, personalities, and backgrounds, and examines the handwriting of such dangerous individuals as Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, and Osama bin Laden.

Concerning "Letters from the Devil's Forest: An Anthology of Writings on Traditional Witchcraft, Spiritual Ecology, and Provenance Traditionalism", the latest published work by Robin Artisson, occultist & writer of some renown. IN THIS latest work, witch, metaphysician, and traditionalist Robin Artisson presents an in-depth and darksome interior vision of many dimensions of the old and nearly forgotten Art of true Witchcraft. "Letters from the Devil's Forest" is a lengthy anthology of Artisson's writings regarding every topic of essence and interest to the student or researcher of the half-remembered occult practices of "spirit-pacting" and spirit-allegiance: the timeless root-practices that underlie the genuine sorcerous traditions of the West. Over 130 chapters, representing public and private writings done by Artisson in the last five years, but drawing on over 20 years of his own practice and in-depth researches, are brought together into one informative tome, to better serve the needs of the modern mystic or malcontent in search of a roadmap to the hidden angles of life's most seductive mystery: the mystery of sorcery, and the parallel mystery of spiritual ecology. The generous amounts of material housed in this encyclopedia of lore comes divided into nine major portions, including a detailed treatment of the lost occult anthropology- the very oldest human beliefs on death, the soul, and dying- and what these beliefs can mean for us alive today; many ethical, practical, and instructional essays on various forms of sorcerous art, focusing on material long pre-dating the modern occult emergence; essays on the strange themes and practices of the "Hidden Seasons" or the Witch-sabbats; in-depth daimonological ponderings and writings on the "Master Entity" himself, the Witchfather who stands behind genuine covenants of Witchcraft and the Master-Spirits who share our world and act as tutelary spirits to Witch-kind; scathing criticisms of the lies and falsehoods of modernity and insightful essays offering soul-satisfying alternatives to unquestioned faith in modern myths; sharp philosophical countering and criticism of the mainstream religions that have besmirched the world with their hatreds and absolutisms for centuries, and continue to torment the world today; foundational essays concerning "Provenance Traditionalism" or the secret tradition that emerges from the origins of Western culture and whose metaphysics and insights are still to be discovered encoded in folklore and mythology. Also included is a potent selection of folktales and traditional stories, some original but most from deep in the folk-tradition, analyzed and elucidated to reveal the potent "soul-deep" codes that can transform men and women into wiser, more cunning people as they undergo their fateful journeys through this world. "Letters from the Devil's Forest" is a true treasury of the Hidden and Despised Art; it contains, in over 700 pages, almost ceaseless "Art-teaching" material, sorcerous maxims, gems of practice, some quite old invocations, poems, channeled writings, warnings, ethical and moral ponderings with regard to the sorcerous arts and to living outside of the mainstream of the modern and greedy spirit, inspirational quotes from past and present masters, wrapped together with Artisson's own sometimes sparkling, sometimes questionable brand of humor and wit, and crowned with original art flourishes and atmospheric ornamentation by Stephanie Houser.