What's the difference between a square knot and a granny knot? What kinds of knots do fishermen use? How do you make a rope ladder? A tourniquet? What's the best way to secure a boat to its mooring, or pitch a tent? How do you tie stretcher knots? These questions and many others are answered in Allan and Paulette Macfarlan's encyclopedic work on the practical art of knot tying. Knowing how to tie a variety of useful and reliable knots is a necessity for weekend sailors and campers: it's a passport to safety and success. Rock climbing, horseback riding, and other outdoor activities also inspire the enthusiast to pursue the requisite knots. In unusually clear illustrations rendered by artist Paulette Macfarlan, accompanied by precise written instructions, the authors of this book explain how to tie hundreds of knots, including basic knots, stopper knots and hitches, toggled knots, knots for joining two ends of rope, hitches and knots for typing ropes to things, whipping, seizings, loop knots, horsey knots and hitches, decorative knots, lashing, and splicing. Practical applications are also discussed: rappelling, raft building, tracking a canoe or small boat, heaving line, log rolling, making a travois, and rope tent-frames, beds, and bunks. In addition to discussing the practical side of knot tying, the Macfarlans cover the entertaining end of the craft: knots and ropes in history and literature, knot mystery and magic in ancient and contemporary times, and games, tricks, and stunts with ropes and knots. Nearly every aspect of knot tying is represented in this comprehensive and concise reference work. Boaters, campers, boy scouts, and others interested in practical or decorative knots will want to add this volume to their bookshelves.

A mysterious library book opens the door to a world of magic and danger in the first book in the beloved Young Wizards series. Bullied by her classmates, Nita Callahan is miserable at school. So when she finds a mysterious book in the library that promises her the chance to become a wizard, she jumps at the opportunity to escape her unhappy reality. But taking the Wizard's Oath is no easy thing, and Nita soon finds herself paired with fellow wizard-in-training Kit Rodriguez on a dangerous mission. The only way to become a full wizard is to face the Lone Power, the being that created death and is the mortal enemy of all wizards. As Nita and Kit battle their way through a deadly alternate version of New York controlled by the Lone Power, they must rely on each other and their newfound wizarding skills to survive--and save the world from the Lone One's grasp.

Nita and Kit rejoin forces when a strange darkness of the mind overcomes the older wizards, stealing away their power, and forcing the younger wizards to go to war to save the world.

A novel “filled with very credible teen angst, morality, and an intriguing blend of science fiction and fantasy” from the author of A Wizard Abroad (School Library Journal). Still recovering from an overly eventful vacation in Ireland, teenage wizard Nita Callahan is looking forward to some peace and quiet in her suburban New York home. Instead, her close friend Kit seems to be acting a little weird, and Nita keeps running into problems for which wizardry either isn’t the answer or else it’s the wrong one. How do you fix what can’t be fixed? Only the Transcendent Pig knows, and it’s not telling. But Nita needs to find out—and soon. Her wizardly partnership with Kit starts to fall apart. Much worse, her mother gets sick . . . so sick she may never leave the hospital.Only one person can help Nita—the One she’s devoted her life to fighting. “Powerful and satisfying.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A gripping and dynamic fantasy . . . Fans of the author will flock to this new adventure, which likely will bring new readers to the series.”—VOYA Praise for the Young Wizards series “Duane is tops in the high adventure business . . . This rollicking yarn will delight readers.”—Publishers Weekly “High Wizardry is . . . high entertainment.”—Locus “Recommend this series to young teens who devour books about magic and wizards . . . or kids looking for ‘Harry Potter’ read-alikes.”—School Library Journal “Stands between the works of Diana Wynne Jones . . . and Madeleine L’Engle . . . An outstanding, original work.”—The Horn Book

A debut novel that's as sharp as a knife's point. Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver's daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden charms are so fine that some even call her "witch-blade" -- a dangerous nickname in a town where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

Frazer's series which attempted to define the shared elements of religious belief and scientific thought, discussing fertility rites, human sacrifice, the dying god, the scapegoat, and many other symbols and practices whose influences had extended into 20th-century culture. His thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a sacred king. Frazer proposed that mankind progresses from magic through religious belief to scientific thought.