# They Flew: A History of the Impossible - Hardcover

by **Carlos M. N. Eire** (Author)

**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_

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 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? de ﾁgreda, and three disgraced nuns, Eire challenges readers to imagine a world animated by a different understanding of reality and of the supernatural's relationship with the natural world. The questions he explores--such as why and how "impossibility" is determined by cultural contexts, and whether there is more to reality than meets the eye or can be observed by science--have resonance and lessons for our time.

### Author Biography

**Carlos M. N. Eire** is the T. L. Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University. He is the author of _Waiting for Snow in Havana_, winner of the National Book Award, and of _War Against the Idols_; _A Very Brief History of Eternity_; and _Reformations_. He lives in Guilford, CT.

**Number of Pages:** 512

**Dimensions:** 1.32 x 9.48 x 6.56 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** September 26, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 35.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 35.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- They Flew: A History of the Impossible - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/they-flew-a-history-of-the-impossible-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-21