Whether one is under the spell of conspiracies or the Internet, UFOs or religion, politics or MTV, Nazis or North Koreans, one best believe there’s a whole lot of brainwashin’ goin’ on. “What makes brainwashing so different from the equally insidious effects of indoctrination and conditioning, or even advertising and education? “Research findings from psychology show that brainwashing is not a special subversive technique; it is the clever manipulation of unrealized influences that operate in all our lives… This book, by breaking down so-called brainwashing to its individual elements, shows how social conditioning, need for approval, emotional dependency and much else that we are unaware of, prevent us from being as self-directed as we think and, conversely, which human traits make us the least susceptible to subtle influence.” GR

Publisher: Octagon
Hardback: 217 pages

A rich collection of Arabian folklore about dervishes, sultans, peasants and magicians. These tales of adventure, enchantment and strange twists of fate have been culled from around the campfires of several nomadic tribes throughout the Middle East. Passed down from past generations to the present day, these stories have been collected and retold by Amina Shah, chairwoman of the College of Storytellers in England and descendent of an ancient Afghan family of writers and savants. Anyone who lost themselves in The Arabian Nights will surely enjoy this fine example of the eldest art form known to humankind. MDH

Publisher: Octagon
Paperback: 204 pages

The author made two trips through the Middle East in the period after World War I when the British and the French were present, and even the United States was being asked to assume some sort of control over the Ottoman grant. Both these political happenings and the people the author encountered create a dramatic backdrop for the journeys. In Istanbul, Ankara, Lebanon and Syria, he meets Sufi mystics, Druse believers, sheiks who can help or hinder the traveler, dope smugglers (all over), historical figures like Kemal Atatürk (the great general and founder of the modern Turkish state), and caravan guides who make the desert their home. Written 50 years after the events took place, this is a vivid picture of a lost era. MET

Publisher: Octagon
Hardback: 198 pages

Noted Afghani Sufi scholar Shah investigates magical rituals and beliefs in the East. Includes Jewish, Iranian, Arabian, Indian and Egyptian Magic; the occult in Babylonia; Ju-ju Land of the Twin Niles; the fakirs and their doctrines; wonder-workers of Tibet; Indian Alchemy today, legends of the sorcerers and more.

Publisher: Octagon
Hardback: 206 pages

A study of the effects of music and its physiological and psychological effects on the individual human being.

Publisher: Octagon
Pamphlet: 11 pages