Mythology Books

Sleeping Beauty was, of course a good movie for those Disney fans who love the great artist's works. The three good fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather offered a single gift to the newborn princess. But the evil Maleficent crashed the party and cursed Aurora by pricking her finger to the venomous spindle of a spinning wheel and die at her 16th birthday. As a Disney fan, I'm considering that this beautiful young princess will be saved at last by the third of the fairy trio, Merryweather, who had given to her this almost tiny gift: When Aurora pricks her finger into evil witch Maleficent's spinning wheel, she cannot die. Instead of death, the princess will sleeping into a deep slumber until a charming prince wake her with the true love's kiss. So Maleficent turns herself into an evil black fire-breathing dragon to stop Prince Phillip to rescue sleeping Aurora. But the good fairies combine their magic to the mighty Sword of Truth, chanting "Now, Sword of Truth, fly swift and sure. That evil die and good endure!", and the prince throw his magic sword straight as an arrow into the dragon's heart. I'm sure that's a nice movie and I strongly recommend it to all the children beginning from 5 to 12 years old.

This book is a real treasure. Based on Walt Disney's widescreen animated fairytale epic "Sleeping Beauty," this is a nostalgic exact reprint of the storybook created for the film in 1959. It is illustrated with original artwork created especially for storybooks. It is a shame that more people have not discovered this wonderful book. It's one of those books that you can read to your children at bedtime and they can be captivated by the illustrations. It is one of those books that you keep in your bookcase after the children have gown up and you can pull it out from time to time and just reminisce.

This is a beautiful book. It is reminiscent of the images and style of children's books published at the time when Disney originally released SLEEPING BEAUTY. This is a real tribute and a cherished edition to have from one of Disney's best and often overlooked fairy tale classics. It has a real place in my heart.

This is a beautiful book. With Amazon not carrying a picture of it, I was a little afraid to order it, fearing what I might get. I am so pleased with it. The illustrations are very stylized, very 1950's era. The colors are brilliant, even to the endpaper. I love the angles of the characters' faces and shoulders. To get a general idea what the book looks like, check out "Walt Disney's Classic Storybook" and imagine a ten times more beautiful version. Enjoy!

This book is storytelling at a fine level. If you get a chance to see the author in person at a lecture, take it. He is quite enjoyable.

This a deeply personal review, and reflects the joy I felt as I read Meade's work in the early '90's, in the midst of the Men's Movement. I was very involved what was called the Mytho-Poetic wing of that movement, and Meade's work was so deep and rich and resonated so thoroughly. I went back to graduate school during that time and achieved a graduate degree, and began a counseling practice. I have used his work many times to illustrate myth and metaphor with men struggling to make sense of their lives. Some love it, and some hate it, but all are touched. I will be teaching it to my son, and my wife and I based our wedding ceremony on one on Meade's stories. Yes, I picked up the feather. Michael S. Logan, MS

I have just finished this book and I found it deeply moving and wise. The writer takes myths and uses them as a springboard to talk about the wounds that we all receive and how they can be healed.

It is not a light read or a glib self help book that gives you all you need in the title, but a thoughtful, measured and poetic way of re-framing our lives in a mythical context.

Along with the myths and his experience of working with ritual and various groups the author tells his own story of what he faced when drafted for the Vietnam war.

This book has great depth and honesty and clarity and I wholeheartedly recommend it for the thoughtful seeker. I found it powerful, engaging and a much needed antidote to both shallow self help and drab fundamentalism.

Did you ever listen or read a myth or fairytale and wonder "how does this apply to my life?" well here's a book from a master storyteller that opens a door to this question. By revealing the stories that shaped his life, Michael Meade lays out the territory of story and gives a new/old way of seeing the world for an individual and for a community as a whole. A must read for anyone to navigate this chaotic world.

I had this book as a child 30 years ago and loved it. From age five to age ten, it was one of my most requested bedtime books. My mother never understood why, as the illustrations were not vibrant as with other children's books, but the stories and far-away setting just entranced me. I still have my copy and will read it to my own daughter when she is old enough for stories. Highly recommend.

When the author was living in Turkey, she heard many tales about Nasreddin Hoca who was a religious teacher, Moslem priest and judge who lived several hundred years ago. He may be a mythical figure predating Emperor Tamerlane but he is so well loved that that his fame and stories have spread to many countries, where he is used to make a point because there is a tale to fit almost every situation. Hoca stories are very much alive today and Bruce Lansdale, Director of the American Farm School in Thessaloniki Greece from 1955 to 1990 used a Hoca story in every talk he gave. In fact, he was so famous for his Hoca stories that if by chance he had not told one, the audience insisted on a tale before he was allowed to sit down.

Hoca stories are not only full of wisdom but they are a way of breaking down barriers so if you are doing business in the Middle East you must anticipate hearing some in the course of your visit. In fact you would be wise to travel well armed with a collection of Hoca stories so you can tell one back to your client - especially if you have enough at your finger tips so that you have one appropriate to the point you want to get across. If you are giving a public speech, Hoca stories are a good alternative to a joke which the audience may have already heard. But the lovely thing about a Hoca story is that you can hear it time and again and it seems to get better. If you are reading to your child at bed time, a Hoca story is not only fun but later you can discuss the inner meaning and gain a double benefit. If you are an enterprising story teller, you can even make up your own Hoca stories. If you are teaching a course on the Middle East, you should definitely include Hoca stories; in fact if you started with a Hoca story your late arrivals will probably drop dramatically.

While this collection of 18 of the most popular stories has been prepared with children in mind, the message is there for people of all ages to appreciate alongside the beautiful illustrations which provide an insight into a very different culture from that of the West. At the end of some of the stories we are given a sentence such as: "This tale is so well known in Turkey that anyone whose innocent action brings down a punishment entirely out of scale with the offense is said to have 'frightened the potters' mules.'"

This book is well worth a read or giving as a present.

I look forward to reading this book. One of the stories is reproduced on the Teaching Tolerance website...
The reproduction also includes audio and the site is well worth a visit. It is simply written, but that enhances rather than detracts form the message.

I read the original edition of this book nearly 30 years ago, and keep buying it for friends, and my own daughter - it is a sensitive, whimsical and accessibly deep look at Islam, the nature of life, the Turkish culture, and simple, transcendent morals. The humor, and the points of the fables are all gently made, with a great deal of charm and simple eloquence. One of my favorite books of all time. Great for anything from laughter, to learning about another culture, to simple and timeless morals, to an understanding of the common ground we share with Islam

Stories which are on paper do not have the magical effect. The book gives a deep insight what the art of storytelling is.

I have read this book and it was in the summer of my discontent. And it lifted my weary spirit as a successful and busy African Storyteller, not knowing that this was called 'burn out!'.

Through the reading of The Way of the Storyteller, I realized I had to write the way of the African Storyteller, trying to motivate African and African American children to see how great it was that they were from Africa even though the world consistently tries to convince them that this is a shame and we as Africans are backward and disorganized.

I realized why God had called me to be a storyteller and the great healing art of telling.

I wonder if Ms. Sawyer is still living?

Carroll Durodola

This has all the wisdom that a lifetime of storytelling can bring and it's all written down for you. All aspects of storytelling are highlighted and thoughts are discussed, and Ruth Sawyer's rich experience is given.

The literature will help you see the big picture. Life is all about the detail and it is that detail that one has to focus on when doing a story. The practice of story telling is one in where one must too have lots of experiences, such as? Going on trips and seeing the different cultures and lands of other countries for example along with socializing with people. This also includes reading a lot of books and magazines in order to get ideas. Just read it, and don't judge the book by its cover and i hope you get the material in order to make your storytelling in writing or in oral situations fruitful.

This book is fabulous! It is a great story about being beautiful on the inside and respecting and loving yourself. What a great self-confident heroine!

My daughter (almost age 6) picked it up at the library along with other princess books and I enjoyed reading every page of this book. It has justice in it and a very happy ending: "People would often say what a handsome couple she and Egbert made, but they found their true joy reading good books to each other by the fire every evening, sharing a good laugh, and simply enjoying the pleasure of each other's company." THAT is a fairytale to emulate.

It was published in 2004, and I am greatly surprised not to see it plastered with awards. The illustrations are magnificent in and of themselves.

Apart from the entertaining story, the thing that really sets this book apart from the rest is its stunning and meticulous illustration. It is hard to believe that this is Rebecca Walsh's first childrens book! Can't wait to see the rest!

This is such a wonderful book. Not only are the illustrations gorgeous, but the heroine of the story is friggin' awesome! I love her tenacity, her love for her father, her brains, and her warm heart. Great story! I wish I'd written it myself!

I can't believe that this book hasn't recieved more attention. My daughter chose it at the library and it is fabulous. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is fabulous. The message is that beauty comes from within.

We bought three book by nick greaves while travel in south Africa. We buy books for our three grandchildren( age 4,6,8) while travelling in South Africa last year. We have given them so many books through the years from around the world. They love these books so much. First the parents read to them,every night now the oldest reads to the younger ones. I wish the author writes more books for children.

My 9-year old son came home from school today very excited about this book, which his teacher had started reading to the class. He took out his wallet, counted his money, and asked, "Can we go on line and buy this book right now? I have enough of my own money to buy it." This is enough proof for me that kids love it.

The sub-title "And other tales from Africa" seems to suggest that this book was written for children, but it is fun to read for adults as well. Nick Greaves tells stories, tales, fables and legends from the African tribes about different animals and after each section gives facts about them. By doing this especially for tourists the book gives a general idea of the wildlife one might come across while traveling in Africa and furthermore the book supplies the not native speaker with useful vocabulary. The illustrations of Rod Clement are just as good as photos, sometimes even better, because good close-ups of mainly the small and nocturnal animals are quite rare. "When Hippo Was Hairy" was followed up by "When Lion Could Fly", which is highly recommendable, too.

We recently moved to South Africa and, prior to our first visit to a game park we bought this book to read on our adventure- it is wonderful, full of short entertaining stories that were gathered from the various tribes of Africa to explain why certain animals have spots, long trunks, sleep standing up etc....

Our children loved it and we bought the other 2 in the series.

We love this book!!!! I read this to my son who is 9 1/2 years old and has ADD. He has such a short attention span with any book I read to him. He actually looked at the photos and listened to me read this book without taking his eyes off of it. The rabbit is cunning and the wildcat part is histerically funny, we laughed and laughed. Thank you and You need to keep writing more funny books about this funny rabbit, wildcat.

I was enchanted by Br'er Rabbit when I was a small child. Now as an adult, I find myself emamoured with Compere Lapin! "Why Lapin's Ears Are Long" is a truly delightful story of a mischevious rabbit who knows what he wants, usually gets it and sometimes a little more than he bargained for. It's easy to find yourself laughing while reading this story aloud with a Cajun accent. The stories and illustrations are equally wonderful! Hope Madame Doucet plans to write more Lapin tales!

The pronunciation guide is the subtle difference in this children's book. Granted, the stories are amusing and the illustrations captivating but the real enjoyment comes from reading the story to a child "in character."

I participate in a program in California called Rolling Readers. I am currently reading to a class of third graders. The children were enthralled with the book both with the stories and with the illustrations. They begged me to find more stories of Compere Lapin's antics. I cannot imagine a more successful book from their point of view.

The Library of America has performed a great service by making the writings of the American psychologist and philosopher William James (1842 -- 1910) available to a large audience in two large volumes. Volume 1, which I am reviewing here, consists of James's earlier writings from the period 1878 -- 1899. It includes the "Psychology: Briefer Course" (1892), the "Will to Believe and other Essays in Popular Philosophy" (1897), "Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals" (1899), and selected essays. The second volume of the series includes James' major works from 1900 until his death, including the "Varieties of Religious Experience", "Pragmatism", and "A Pluralistic Universe, and additional essays. The two collections do not include James's monumental "Principles of Psychology" (1890), his first important book and the product of twelve years of effort. The "Principles" would require a separate volume of its own. But they include virtually all James's other essential writings and offer an excellent way for the reader to get to know James first-hand and in-depth.

In reading both volumes, I was left with the impression of the continuity of James's themes and thought. James was trained as an MD, the only academic degree he ever received. He began with an interest in Darwin's theory of evolution and in physiology. He soon expanded his interests and became an important founder of modern psychology. His later work develops philosophies of pragmatism, radical empiricism, and pluralism.

This collection of James's early writings shows that James's philosophical concerns pervaded his writing, including his scientific writing, from the outset. James was an empiricist and a scientist committed, as the "Psychology" and several of the essays in this volume show to careful and painstaking scientific research. But James was far from advocating a philosophy of materialism or what today is called scientism or reductionism. Throughout his life, he was preoccupied with showing the complex and many-faceted character of human life. The determinism of the scientific method, for James, did not negate human purpose, activity, and free will. And, most importantly, for James, it did not negate the possibility of religious life or belief in God. In his famous essay "The Will to Believe" included in this volume (which would have better been called "The Right to Believe") and in its companion essays, James argued at length that the teachings and method of science did not destroy the possibility of religion.

In approaching this volume of James's early writings, it might be advantageous for the new reader to distinguish between James's more accessible, popular efforts and his more technical works. An excellent place for the new reader to start in this volume would be with the three essays to students in the "Talks to Teachers and to Students." The essay "On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings" is a wonderful brief introduction to James as it shows eloquently how every person tends to see the world through his own eyes and to ignore or downplay the thoughts and insights of other people. Following the three essays in Talks to Students, I suggest reading James' 1898 essay "Philosophical Conceptions and Practical Results" delivered in 1898 in Berkeley, California. In this essay, James first announced and articulated his philosophy of pragmatism, and stated his indebtedness to his philosophical colleagues Charles Peirce and Josiah Royce. This essay makes inspiring reading. James is direct and eloquent in relating his pragmatic philosophy to the religious quest.

After reading these short essays, a good next step would be to read the collection "The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy." In this collection, James is addressing educated college audiences as he explores questions of religious faith, free will, pluralism, and ethics. The final essay in this volume of James's writings, "On Immortality" can be read together with the essays in "The Will to Believe."

The two remaining books in this collection are both derived from James's massive "Principles of Psychology." The "Talks to Teachers" is short and accessible. It focuses on how psychology can be used to advantage in teaching young students. This short book offers an insightful and accessible introduction to James's psychology. Here is one of the more inspring passages in James from the "Memory" chapter of "Talks to Teachers" on the value of perserverence and purpose and the will to learn in the face of obstacles.

"Depend upon it, no one need be too much cast down by the discovery of his deficiency in any elementary faculty of the mind. What tells in life is the whole mind working together, and the deficiencies of any one faculty can be compensated by the efforts of the rest. You can be an artist without visual images, a reader without eyes, a mass of erudition with a bad elementary memory. In almost any subject your passion for the subject will save you. If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it. If you wish to be rich, you will be rich; if you wish to be learned, you will be learned; if you wish to be good, you will be good. Only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them with exclusiveness, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly." (p. 790)

The "Psychology: Briefer Course" was an abridgment James prepared of his "Principles" for use in college introductory courses in psychology. Even though it is an abridgment, the book includes a great deal of detail. It develops James's thought on the "stream of consciousness" and on the nature of the "self" and it is interlaced throughout with observations on the relationship between psychology, philosophy, and religion. Several of the remaining essays in the volume take up themes articulated in the "Psychology" and develop them in substantial technical detail.

James was an eloquent writer. His pragmatic philosophy has been highly influential, with thinkers such as Richard Rorty and Hilary Putnam acknowledging its influence. James preoccupation of reconciling the scientific and religious outlooks on life remains much with us. There is no better way to become involved with James's thoughts and issues than by serious and sustained reading of his works. The two volumes in the Library of America series will allow the reader to explore the work of William James. Readers wanting to get to know William James may also wish to read Robert Richardson's excellent biography "William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism".

Robin Friedman

These are the early writings of James, including the textbook for his course in psychology. The most well- known piece here is his essay on the 'Will to Believe'. Here James worked to contravene the principal enunciated by the philosopher Clifford that it is wrong to believe anything anywhere for which there is not sufficient evidence. James instead insisted that our passionate life, our life in decision means that we must make choices. And this leads us to believe in certain religious principles we do not have evidence to prove.
James here as elsewhere in his thought rejects a kind of Olympian and abstract stance, and tries to feel into and understand our actual way of being in everyday life.( Also with the mystical researches he would include in the 'Variety of Religious Experiences' in not so 'everyday life')
It is almost as if he is seeking to present a democratic philosophy, one which can defend and be understood by the man in the street.
James is for a philosopher a very clear writer.
I would only add that there is a second Volume of James' writing in the American Library which includes his 'Pragmatism' and 'Varieties of Religious Experience' a volume even deeper and more significant than this very valuable one.

OK--I readily admit it: I am both a big loser & a nerd. I had heard passing reference to William James is the abundance of schooling I have had, but never tried to read anything he wrote. Then, during one otherwise unmemorable episode of Star Trek--Next Generation, Patrick Stewart qua Captain Picard was enthralled with an "antique" volume by William James. The show did not mention which work it was--but that was good enough for me! And, courtesy of the fine people at Library of America, I picked up this edition.

First, in terms of Library of America editions, these are AMAZING. They are the right size in not being too big, but also are not what we used to call "trade paper backs" which are so hard to read. The binding is tight, yet the books easily lay flat. The paper is thin enough so the reader doesn't struggle with a three inch thick giant, yet thick enough to take lots of page turning. The selection & research that goes into producing each volume is second to none, and the works couldn't be more faithful. Most importantly, the books are priced to sell: you will be buying an edition meant to spread these works to the masses, one that will last a good long time & many readings. You are *not* buying a work of art, or an "investment" edition, or something that looks great on your book shelf. You're buying a book for reading. If you're looking for any work at all, and it comes in a Library of America edition, buy that book.

In terms of the specifics of William James, I'm pleased to report that Captain Picard once again shows that he knows his onions. For a book written before the turn of the century (and I mean the one one before the last turn), Dr. James writing style holds up remarkably well. All too often, books from that time period are simply unreadable, becasue writing styles have changed so much. Not so with William James. His writing & arguments are clear, interesting, even charming. He writes with a gentle amusment, especially when addressing difficult and challenging topics.

In terms of specific content, The Will to Believe is a defense of a certain type of belief in the face of rampent rationalism. James begins by pointing out the trivial nature of what passes for "belief," specifically dismissing "Pascal's wager" (You should believe in god because if you believe in god & there's no god, you haven't lost anything. But if you don't believe in god & there is a god, holy hades batman! That's bad!). Whatever "belief" may be, it is not "hedging your bets."

What James advoctates is a system of belief that strives for absolutes, yet always encourages skepticism and a scientific basis supporting those conclusions. James criticizes those who contend that no such absolutes exist, ironicly largely based on faith. While James may personally believe that such absolutes exist and can be discovered, those answers are found through search, evaluation, and careful study. While humans ultimately not discover those truths, it is still vital that we continue to seek them out.

I didn't agree with everything James argued, but found his viewpoint interesting and well worth considering. His writing is not as clear as Bertrand Russell's, but surprisingly Russell is the philosopher that James's work seemed closest.

If you have any interest in philosophy, especially on the shaddy lines between "psychology" and "philosphy," then this is a great place to go to. Don't wait for any other Star Trek captains to pick up this book--Lord only knows what else those guys (and Janeway) may be picking up.........

any lover of philosophy OR psychology should doubtlessly buy this book. if you are interested in the work of William James, and are searching for the right compilation of his writings, you have found it, no doubt. but i strongly recommend buying the second volume to this, which basically looks the same but with a different picture on him on it and obviously other works by him.

now as for the works themselves.... Will does seem to change his basis for thought a lot of the time. one thing that particularly got to me is his lack of psychological/scientific integration into his "the moral philosopher". it is nevertheless a wonderful peice. and the writing is wonderful.... his talks to teachers and students being the more effortlessly read. Psychology: Briefer Course outlines psychology in a way that allows us to think in a way that integrates actual physical psychology into our perspective, instead of mystical talk of "souls", etc.

The Will to Believe is a collection of enthrawling works, and i particularly enjoyed talks to teachers and students. i can say my favorite work in this book is "On a Certain Blindness", one of the 3 talks to students. when philosophy becomes spiritual, is when you know you can really use it. a great book, buy it.

We love to listen to this in the car. It is Classic and enjoyable.

The narrator is great, he created different voices for each of the characters so the listener can know who is talking. His voice is also very smooth and pleasant. It is a great addition to any collection and can be enjoyed by all age groups

This book won't let me go. I find myself quoting small animals! "Oh,Bother" has become my favorite exclamation. The author brings Mr Rat, Mole and Mr Toad to life with vivid descriptions of their surroundings. A wonderful book.

My grandchildren and I listened to this while on a car trip, and we loved it. In fact, I wanted to listen even when they weren't in te car. hte writeup states that you might want to buy one for the children and another for yourself, and that's probably true. Very well done.

Essentially this book gives a chapter for each of the 22 cards of the major arcana of the tarot, similarities are then made with the 22 Lamatl's of `The Book of Days' or the `Tonalamatl' of the Aztecs; correspondence is further made with the deities of Mesoamerica and also with classical European Mythology.

"The tonalamatl is a divinatory almanac used in central Mexico in the decades, and perhaps centuries, leading up to the Spanish conquest. It is Nahuatl in origin, meaning "pages of days". The tonalamatl was structured around the sacred 260-day year, the tonalpohualli. This 260-day year consisted of 20 trecena of 13 days each. Each page of a tonalamatl represented one trecena, and was adorned with a painting of that trecena's reigning deity and decorated with the 13 day-signs and 13 other glyphs. These day-signs and glyphs were used to cast horoscopes and discern the future. The best surviving examples of tonalamatl are the Codex Borbonicus and the Codex Borgia." (From Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia). It should be noted that there are apparently 2 additional trecena's reported by the author of this book; this then makes 22 trecena's, corresponding with the major arcana of the tarot.

I was glad for reading this book to further increase my knowledge of the tarot. My knowledge regarding Mesoamerican deities was fairly limited, so this information I also found very useful. On many occasions while reading this book, I wanted to put this book down and come up to speed via reading more about the Mesoamerican deities and the classical European Mythology (i.e. the Iliad and Odyssey etc); I would recommend doing this prior to reading this book, assuming you have the time. The connections that the author was trying to convey did not always match up for me; perhaps this was due to the gaps in knowledge on my part. Still I did learn a bunch of stuff even though I found this book a little hard going due to its dry nature. What made this book more difficult was trying to pronounce the Mesoamerican deity names and then trying to remember what these deities did in addition. I can't see why anyone would want to read a book like this but for a deep desire to know about spiritual matters. You've got to also wonder why this book is selling as low as it is on Amazon. Still I'm thankful to the author for all her hard work and for compiling all of this information; I have gained from reading this book.

I can't say that I'd use this book to say that all religions are essentially the same. I don't think that this was the intention of this book. I saw more that there is a deep esoteric undercurrent to be discovered.

The thread that binds cultures is stronger and more firm than most people think. Complicating beliefs in order to make them seem original has nothing to do with their essence. Underneath it all they spring from a common source, with an extraordinary parallelism. God is God, no matter by what name. All of that and more is embraced by this amazing book, beautifully written, thought-provoking, a reference source for a lifetime of consultation. Highly recommended.

This book is a fantastic read - it's passionate, poignant and well written. The research done to write it is obviously extensive and thorough - Carol Miller certainly did her homework! even though the subject is highly intellectual, it's an easy read - great for a flight or a trip to the beach.

This book is apparently complicated but in fact is quite simple: underneath the dogma and ceremony, all religions are the same. They have in common a need for answers but also a need for questions that lend themselves to lessons in morality, cautionary tales, structures of ethics that permit the fine fabric of law and society. And furthermore, the societies we think of as primitive are anything but that. Each culture devises a standard of values and behavior, that is essentially like every other culture. A valuable book, a fascinating and provocative one, as applicable as a textbook as a bedside reference source.