Home › Faith › They Flew: A History of the Impossible
Critically Recognized
  • They Flew: A History of the Impossible by Carlos M. N. Eire book cover
  • They Flew: A History of the Impossible by Carlos M. N. Eire book cover
1 2

They Flew: A History of the Impossible

by Carlos M. N. Eire

Impossible events and the making of modern boundaries

$22.25 USD
$37.09 USD $22.25 USD
Save 40%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Shortlisted for the International Society for Science and Religion Book Prize

    Shortlisted for the prize.

  • Critical praise

    Praised by the Wall Street Journal as “Historically rich and superbly written”

    Described as “Historically rich and superbly written.”

AlbakiReads Editorial

Impossible events and the making of modern boundaries

Carlos M. N. Eire examines accounts of levitation, bilocation, witchcraft, and demonic possession in the early modern era, when empirical science and skepticism were gaining ground alongside religious belief. Drawing on firsthand accounts and cases involving figures such as St. Teresa of Ávila and St. Joseph of Cupertino, the book places reports of extraordinary phenomena within the period’s wider religious and intellectual history. Its central question is how a culture increasingly oriented toward scientific thinking understood events that influential thinkers considered impossible—and how those accounts complicate the familiar divide between the natural and supernatural at the threshold of modernity.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in early modern history and religious belief.
  • Readers exploring how supernatural accounts intersected with the rise of empirical science.
  • Readers interested in historical accounts of levitation, bilocation, witchcraft, and possession.

Themes

Early modern religion and intellectual changeFaith, skepticism, and empirical scienceNatural and supernatural boundariesHistorical accounts of extraordinary phenomena

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

An award-winning historian's examination of impossible events at the dawn of modernity and of their enduring significance

"Historically rich and superbly written."--David J. Davis, Wall Street Journal

Shortlisted for the International Society for Science and Religion Book Prize

Accounts of seemingly impossible phenomena abounded in the early modern era--tales of levitation, bilocation, and witchcraft--even as skepticism, atheism, and empirical science were starting to supplant religious belief in the paranormal. In this book, Carlos M. N. Eire explores how a culture increasingly devoted to scientific thinking grappled with events deemed impossible by its leading intellectuals.

Eire observes how levitating saints and flying witches were as essential a component of early modern life as the religious turmoil of the age, and as much a part of history as Newton's scientific discoveries. Relying on an array of firsthand accounts, and focusing on exceptionally impossible cases involving levitation, bilocation, witchcraft, and demonic possession, Eire challenges established assumptions about the redrawing of boundaries between the natural and supernatural that marked the transition to modernity.

Using as his case studies stories about St. Teresa of Avila, St. Joseph of Cupertino, the Venerable Mar

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all