Bøker av Graham Harvey

'As hilarious, charming, eccentric, informative, addictive and delightful as the show itself' STEPHEN FRYMuch-loved radio drama The Archers has been at the heart of British life for over seventy years, and the momentous events and changes of this time have all found a place in Ambridge. For more than three decades, scriptwriter Graham Harvey was the man behind the show's farming storylines, writing over 600 episodes and crafting some of its most memorable moments: the Great Flood, the trashing of Brian's GM crop, the loss of the Grundy family farm. In this book Graham interweaves personal memories of these moments with extracts from the scripts he created, offering behind-the-scenes details of how key characters and plotlines were developed, keeping pace with the real changes taking place in village and farm life. He also explores the part the show played in setting Britain on its disastrous transition from small-scale, sustainable farming to industrial agriculture. Could it now help guide the nation back to the nature-friendly, planet-saving methods we so desperately need?Underneath The Archers relates a personal drama, too: how Graham uncovered his father's dark, wartime secret, the trauma which was to blight their family life. The insecurities of his youth gave Graham a deep attachment to the fictional community he was creating. The reassurance he found was in a love for England: its land, its soil, its farming culture - a love that found its perfect expression in the world of Ambridge and its inhabitants.

A broad-based introduction to the main trends of contemporary Paganism

"The Handbook of Contemporary Animism" brings together an international team of scholars to examine the full range of animist worldviews and practices.

Few religious traditions have generated such diversity and stirred imaginations as shamanism. In their engagements with other worlds, shamans have conversed with animals and ancestors and have been empowered with the knowledge to heal patients, advise hunters, and curse enemies. Still other shamans, aided by rhythmic music or powerful plant helpers, undertake journeys into different realities where their actions negotiate harmony between human and other than human communities. Once relegated to paintings on cave walls, today Shamanism can be seen in performances at rave clubs and psychotherapeutic clinics.The A to Z of Shamanism has the duel task of exploring the common ground of shamanic traditions and evaluating the diversity of both traditional indigenous communities and individual Western seekers. This is done in an introduction, a bibliography, a chronology, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries, which explore the consistent features of a variety of shamans, the purposes shamanism serves, the function and activities of the shaman, and the cultural contexts in which they make sense.

This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Shamanism contains a chronology, an introduction, and extensive bibliography. The dictionary contains over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on individuals, groups, practices and cultures that have been called "shamanic". This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Shamanism.

'What Do We Believe?', a new series from Granta Books, introduces different beliefs from across the world in lively, accessible and intelligent short books.