Mythology Books

I'm a fourth grade teacher and have read this book to my class after/during teaching Texas Independence. Although it has some fictional elements, it makes history come alive through the eyes of Liberty (Sam Houston's dog). A GREAT extension to a students learning!

Liberty, Justice, and F'rall is a fun historical novel about the dog heroes of the Republic of Texas. Liberty is the soft-spoken golden retriever/narrator owned by Sam Houston; Justice is a handsome, black labrador who faithfully attends Jim Bowie; and F'rall is their mutt of a pup. Liberty gives a dog's eye view of life with Sam Houston, from the time she was given to Sam by President Andrew Jackson, through the war with Mexico. I read parts of this book aloud to third, fourth, and fifth graders during their library storytime. My Texas accent finally came in handy! The waiting list for this book is longer than the number of weeks left in school, so I will be buying two additional copies. It's a fun, energetic look at the war for Texas independence, which, by the way, took only 18 minutes to vanquish Santa Anna's army.

If you want your children to get into history this is a good start.

The author is familiar with all the aspects of the fall of the Alamo and puts the story from the view of the dogs (named Liberty, Justice and Furall) that were owned by the main characters of the hitorical incident.

The characters are easy and fun to follow for every adult that may read this wonderful and heartwarming story to their children. There is no political overtone, only a pivital hitorical event told from a different aspect.

This book has been chosen by the Daughter's of the Texas Revolution to be sold AT the Alamo book shop!

It isn't easy to characterize an empire that lasted over 1000 years in one book. But I can't imagine a better introduction to Roman, art, history, and culture. The photographs are dazzling. If you are new to ancient Roman civilization, this is definitely the first book you should read.

This is a great introduction into Roman History, Culture & Society through brief, simple but concise historical content. It takes the reader from the beginnings of Rome and Romans to the fall of the Empire with gorgeous images and an eye catching layout.

This is a book for everybody, from the general public to those who are familiar with the history and art, etc. of the Romans. The text isn't complicated and with the stunning photos, even small children could get something valuable from it.

Highly recommended as a general reference for all ages!

Author Tony Allan draws upon his experience and expertise as the editor of Time-Life's "History of the World" and as the author of the twenty-volume series "Myth and Mankind" to provide readers with Life, Myth, And Art In Ancient Rome, a richly illustrated volume that explores the unique dichotomy of Roman culture that creating crowning achievements of Western civilization on the one hand, and their darker, barbaric, bloody politics and pastimes on the other. The Roman culture was one of just government and impartial legal institutions juxtaposed with slavery, conspiracy, superstition, and savagery. Full-color photographs of architectural sites, artifacts, mosaics, paintings, statues, and art objects enhance an informed and informative text, hallmarked with sidebars offering key information on specific sites or topics within each thematically organized chapter. Life, Myth, And Art In Ancient Rome is an especially recommended acquisition for school and community library World History collections.

Donald Harington, a protege of William Styron, introduces us to the whacky and wonderful Stay More, Ark. Harington is a masterful storyteller who is just started with this funny, poignant, sometimes bawdy tale of the crazy cast of misfits that live in Stay More. This is not for those who prefer a straight linear story, for Harington is both narrator and character in this story as well.

It began with that sound.

I traveled to Stay More on this book for the first time in 1999. It was a wonderful visit and provided the road map for many more visits over the next year or so. Each visit was very different, but all were enjoyable and I always looked forward to going back.

I am currently riding this book back to Stay More for another visit, and this trip is even more enjoyable than the first. I'm having fun here. It looks exactly as I remember it.

This book will be endearing to any and all who will read it. I will encourage you to pick it up and take the trip. You will not regret it.

Since reading this book years ago in college, I have bought dozens of copies to give to friends, and teach it now myself . It is a wonderful, fun and easy to read story that also plays intricately with the standards of literature, storytelling and relationships.

I heartily recommend this book! The authors' clear and concise retelling of the myths is worth the price of the book alone. In college, I was befuddled by Edith Hamilton's approach.

As a practitioner faculty at the University of Phoenix, I facilitate discussions of literary works in terms of what we can learn about ourselves. For example, I ask my students, "How can we apply the lessons learned in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House to our own lives?

For those of you who may be concerned that myths are about religion, faith, and worship--they are not! We would no more worship Nora in A Doll's House than we would worship Heracles in "The Labors of Heracles." (Chapter 6) However, both characters serve as inspirational models to live by.

Therefore, I am pleased that the authors take a secular approach with the myths. First, they provide us insights as to how we can apply these highly imaginative Greek myths to our own lives. Secondly, they provide us with activities to heighten our self-awareness and with relevant, thought-provoking questions so we can "live the myths." Thirdly, in the appendices, they give us other excellent resources (models, etc.) to heighten our self- awareness and, dare I say it, to improve our character.

Live the Myth! gives us much food for thought and growth.

"Live the Myth!" is an engaging, easy to read, yet challenging book. It is suitable for individuals to absorb to gain wisdom from the application of metaphors, but is particularly applicable for group study in a classroom setting. The book is appropriate for those who know nothing about myths as it provides the reader with background on the role of myths in the first 2 chapters and the appendices provide sufficient reference information to help the novice mythologist. Those 2 chapters and the appendices also provides the readers with a strong background in mythology a brief review and introduction to the rest of the treatise. The organization of the chapters in which each presents a discourse on one of the 16 myths provides the reader with activities and discussion questions to lead the reader into practical application of the metaphors of each myth to everyday life. I highly recommend this book.

Jack Tirrell
Practitioner Faculty Member
University of Phoenix

This is an extremely well written and highly informed text. Above all else, it is an *interesting* (even exciting!) read. As an instructor of philosophy and literature, I am quite familiar with the challenge of helping students see connections between characters, themes, ideas and the connections these have to their lives. 'Live the Myth!' deals with this challenge and does so in a clear, organized, and thorough way. It is a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend this text to my students and to anyone interested in the humanities. One need not be a classicist in order to find 'Live the Myth!' relevant and helpful. It is just as interesting and helpful to the lay person as it is to a seasoned classicist.

The 2002 Sun Sign Book is a perfect little everyday horoscope book. Each Astrological sign is covered on a month to month basis, the correspondences are examined, each sign is analyzed and the year in general is outlined. The horoscopes and sign descriptions for this book are written by Gloria Star, who has been doing this since 1990 for Llewellyn. She also is a professional astrologer, which is what shows in the material offered in this book. It looks like it's going to be an interesting year for me, and this book could give you an interesting outlook on what's in store for you next year.

This book is great! This is my first year reading it and I must say the horoscopes and information are fresh, exciting, fun to read, and most of all accurate. I will no doubt be buying it every year from now on.

The Sun Sign Book begins with an overview of astrology and the zodiac, followed by a glossary and a VERY useful table for figuring out your rising sign. The book then is divided into 12 sections, one for each sign. Unlike most annual horoscope books, this one has every sign so you can have horoscopes for not only yourself but also your friends. Each sign has a table of correspondence, a description of the sign's traits, a horoscope for the year, a yearly affirmation, and then the horoscopes are divided into months. Each month offers a forecast for love, fitness, major changes, finance and an affirmation. Rewarding and Challenging days are also listed. Each sign ends with an action table listing the best times to do various things such as start a diet, end a relationship, ask for a raise, etc.

The final section of the book has articles on related subjects, such as predictions for the year, friendship, and personality types. I cannot possibly recommend this book more, it's great and should be acquired by anyone wanting a comprehensive, well-written horoscope.

I really think that this had to of been the best source to get horoscopes from. I wish that Gloria had a web site!

This, of course, is a retake on the wonderful Finish Folk Tale, Kalevala. I am not going to ruin the tale here by going into a blow by blow account here, as Publisher's Weekly did above (hey guys, why not just go ahead and retell the tale for us on all your reviews and save us the time spent reading the original). There will be no spoilers here. This basically is the tale of a witch, a rather grumpy lovable witch. While I do agree with PW in that this version is not as good as the original, it certainly will do for a kids book and this is what this one is. The art work by Barbara Cooney is fantastic, some of the best I have seen for quite some time now. The text is clear and concise. This is a wondeful read along book and one you will want to add to your collection. Highly recommend this work.

I learned to read with this book, and now, as an adult, i am still in love with it. It has beautifull illustrations and a great plot.

Beautifully illustrated and written, an unusual story of magic, nature, and the age-old battle between good and bad, with the bad being a grumpy, tantrum-throwing, but all in all, rather endearing witch. My daughter's favorite for many, many years.

This is a lovely little story worth reading and sharing. The character who can speak his love only through music touches something deep within the human spirit and human yearning. A sweet romance!

What's great about this book, besides the illustration, is the detailed cultural commentary that describes how the love flute was used in courtship rituals. For older students, this information promotes historical mindedness and provokes meaningful discussion on cultural topics and cultural values. [Note: this courtship section, of course, is probably not appropriate for very young children, so parental guidance / discretion is recommended. For example, the author states, "Courtship was formal and carried out in front of everyone. There was little privacy in a tipi village; inside or outside the tipi, the only privacy was under a blanket, and what other people were polite not to hear or see." It's easy to identify this section of the book, though, because the print is in italics.]

Another great feature of this book is the collection of flute drawings, which generate interest in the personal nature (and design) of the Native American Flute and its special relationships with it owner. This book would make an excellent tie-in to Native American studies---art, music, etc. For people who love and appreciate Native American flute music, this book might make an interesting little friendship gift.

Parents who home school can use this book in concert with other Native American concepts to provide some cultural education / awareness / music studies for their older children. [For more exploration beyond the "love flute" book, you might google Odell Borg of High Spirit flutes. He is an excellent teacher of the Native American flute. His website offers more information about the very real instruments that people do play.]

It has been a while since I have come across a "new" Paul Goble book (meaning one that I have not seen). Usually in one of his illustrated stories taken from the Plains Indian culture you find out the origins of the story and the sources for Goble's attention to detail in his paintings in the back of the book. But for "Love Flute," the explanation comes up front, before the story. This is where we learn that the titular object was the courting flute, used only by men to play love songs, not just when they were courting but to serenade their wives. When a man died, his flute was wrapped with his body. Goble goes into detail regarding the courtship practices (e.g., the young man brings a large blanket so he can wrap himself and the girl he is wooing underneath it and have some relative privacy in the middle of the camp in plain view of everybody).

However, the focus of "Love Flute" is not on such rich details, but rather on telling the story of the first courting flute. As Goble wryly observed, "men have always needed supernatural help to attract, and to keep, the women they love." This particular version of the story of how the love flute was given to the people is based on various myths, but most specifically one from the Santee Dakota. The story is of a shy young man who would rather face enemy warriors in battle or lead the dangerous buffalo hunt than speak to the girl he loved. He knew in his heart that he could never ever tell the young girl all he wanted to say. In despair the young man left the camp one morning and shot an arrow into the air without thinking about what he was doing. To his surprise the air stayed up in the air, pointing in a direction and leading him on at a walking pace. The young man knew that he was being guided by unseen powers and that something wonderful was going to happen (this particular legend is going to make more of an impression on adolescent students rather than the younger ones who would usually be enthralled by a Paul Goble book).

The love flute is the gift of all of the birds and animals, and one of the things Goble does in telling and illustrating this story is to emphasize how the men of the Plains tribes woo women just like the birds and animals. A young man who was courting would be dressed up in his finest clothing, scenting and painting himself, copying the birds and animals. I have always been impressed by Goble's commitment to depicting the clothing and homes of these people, and items such as their flutes, and the fact that he always details his references. At the front of this book he lists the places around the (mostly) Plains states where he found the fifteen different flutes shown (these are pencil and ink drawings that run from the top to the bottom of a page, accompanying the text and colored illustrations, which continue to demonstrate Goble's wonderful stylized interpretation of the artwork of the Plains Indians. Even if you have not seen examples of such historic artwork, you are going to be hooked on what Goble does, which is why it is good that there are so many of his books out there to be enjoyed.

An enchanting tale of wonder and love. It is a beautiful story combining the magic of folklore with the magic of alternate forms of communication. Children love it for the magical content. Adults will love it for the sensitive introduction to Native American myth and legend.

The worldwide popularity of the Harry Potter books has been seen as a boon not just for publishers, but for children who are getting excited about reading and are looking forward to reading the next one. But a large segment of American society does not see this as good news. The books are seen by some Christian fundamentalists as spiritually dangerous to children, since they introduce concepts of the occult in attractive ways. Certainly not all Christians feel this way, recognizing the books as belonging to the type of fantasies written by Christians like C. S. Lewis and others. If fundamentalists feel that the Harry Potter books are the works of the devil, however, they are in good historical company. In _Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture_ (University Press of Kentucky), Bill Ellis has continued an academic query which he described in his previous _Raising the Devil_. While his current book is not an analysis of Harry Potter books and the movement against them, J. K. Rowling's works are shown to be just a contemporary part of folklore beliefs that have gone back for centuries.

Witchcraft was (and is) practiced in opposition to an increasingly rationalistic theology. The practices allow marginalized groups to use traditions to give themselves a sense of degree of control over their lives, but can also be employed by those who have no particular conflict with society. Ellis examines such hardware of the occult as the "grimoire" or magic book, chain letters (!), and even the rabbit's foot. He shows how young people are especially prone to old-time occult activity. Since medieval times, people have made special trips to, say, Neolithic monuments. Folklorists call this "legend-tripping," and teenagers have kept up the tradition. The trip, often to a forbidden house or a graveyard, is made in a cultivated atmosphere of fear; stories of previous trippers who suffered the penalty for violating the taboo get passed along and keep the tripping alive rather than restraining it. Ellis shows that teens calling upon spirits by means of the Ouija board is quite similar to calling spirits out during exorcisms, an illustration of how belief in the occult actually compliments and supports orthodox belief. Frightened fundamentalists may be taking the Ouija threat too seriously; one student user says, "You really don't get any answers that mean anything. We just get drunk and have a good time."

Ellis, himself an active Lutheran, makes clear that he is not advocating for the folklore practices described here, or even apologizing for them. He admits that while many of the practices might be harmless, spooky fun for teens, there may be bad consequences as well. He gives such concrete examples as vandalism resulting from a graveyard visit, rather than the possibility that Satan might take over the souls doing the trip. His is an academic work, but even so, with its unusual themes, it is an entertaining one. He is especially amused by the famous spoof article in the satirical paper _The Onion_, telling about how satanic groups were being overwhelmed by Harry Potter readers trying to join up. The article was ridiculous, but was sent as a chain letter by many Christian youth counselors as a bona fide warning about the danger Harry poses. Their more Internet-savvy students were embarrassed that their elders could not tell reality from a joke. _The Onion_ just gave the elders an opportunity to overreact, but Ellis's book shows that the pattern of overreaction, giving definition to both orthodoxy and the occult, has been going on for centuries.

Bill Ellis, associate professor of English and American Studies at Penn State Hazleton, published in the year 2000 the book Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media. That was a great read indeed, and so is its companion Lucifer Ascending, where Ellis continues his studies and research of Satanism, the occult, and alternative worldviews and what they mean to the people involved.

But first a few words about the author. It should be stated that Ellis is a Christian, a fact that many Satanists or other non-Christians will claim makes him much too subjective to be able to explore the left-hand path. Yeah, well, one shouldn't forget that he's also a scholar. And a damn good one, too. Ellis, an active member of The Evangelical Lutheran Church, makes it clear from the very start that he believes in God, that he's taught in Sunday School, that his daughter went to a catholic church during her childhood, and so on. But despite all this he's still lightyears away from a stereotype American fundamentalist who despises and loathes everything that happens not to be Christian.

Because, as I said, Ellis is a scholar. And he's written another book that cannot, and should not, be missed.

A common theme that appears throughout the book is Harry Potter. Many fundamental Christian groups in America fully believe that J.K. Rowling's stories about the spectacled wizard are indeed propaganda in order to promote "traditional" (whatever that means) satanic and occult teachings, and this debate, which is still pretty heated from place to place, has received a lot of attention in American media. Ellis dissociates himself from this craziness and flatly admits that the adventures of Harry Potter are both well-written and makes a great read. The notion that children who read them will become Satanists or something equally horrible is something Ellis denies. With a passion.

However, the debate itself is definitely worth studying, and each chapter in Lucifer Ascending deals with something from this debate, or the books themselves, that can be analyzed and questioned using different religious and sociological perspectives. Ellis makes clear that young people's fascination with the forbidden, mystical, paranormal and (at least according to some) anti-Christian is nothing new, and he refutes the somewhat paranoid ideas about how Ouija boards are a serious threat to the Christian faith, a claim made by several different organizations with an anti-occult agenda.

Beware, though. Lucifer Ascending is not an easy book to read, and if you're unfamiliar with scholarly books this one will turn out to be quite a challenge. The witch-hunts during the 17th and 18th centuries are thoroughly described, and Ellis isn't afraid to criticize what "his" faith has done to numerous innocent people through the centuries. Furthermore, he's not, and in this he's differing from many other American Christians, convinced that some sort of satanic conspiracy is responsible for the abduction of infants and drinking of virgins' blood.

"(...) we should not be so naïve as to assume that `there were no witches' or `there are no satanists'. Occult practices have existed for many centuries, and they provide a ground for the more sensational claims that emerge from time to time. But crusades have always exaggerated the number and seriousness of crimes committed by witches and Satanists, as well as the numbers said to be involved."

No one is perfect. We all have our flaws, and Ellis believes his task to be to ANALYZE, not CRITICIZE. There's a great difference between the two attitudes, but not everybody are willing to accept that.

Both Anton LaVey and Michael Aquino receive acknowledgement in the beginning of the book, and the chapter about LaVey's Church of Satan is both balanced and interesting. He's even found a typo in The Satanic Bible (Avon's paperback edition) where the black mass is described. On page 109 it says "...he is careful not to choose one that is not in vogue to parody." However, and which LaVey himself confirmed to Ellis, "not" is a typo. The correct word should be "now".

And believe it or not, this book's also got a dose of humor and self-irony. For instance, the chapter about Ouija boards, with the great name "The @#$%&! Ouija Board", has a section named - and this is sure to make many Christians mad with anger - something as controversial as "Suck the Greasy Cock of the Dark Lord!".

That last one almost made me fall of my chair from uncontrollable bursts of laughter. And how often does that happen when you read a non-fiction book about religion?

Lucifer Ascending is an interesting study of occult traditions throughout the centuries and the only thing I can do is to fully recommend it. Bill Ellis is living proof that narrow-minded self-appointed Satanists who claim to "hate all Christians" (and by all means their Christian counterparts) really should do some serious research before they start arguing about something as complex as religious beliefs.

This book is an excellent read, especially for mainstream, conservative Christians who become a bit paranoid, or overly concerned about "demonic" influences. This book gives a balanced perspective in understanding the underlying social and religious influences that brought about the practice of folk magic. Subjects discussed are the origins of chain-letters, the "lucky" rabbit's foot, Ouija Boards, Root Doctors, Mirror-Gazing, scary graveyard legends, and many other related folklore topics. While reading this book, most people will recall the use of some sort of folk magic or practice within their own family history or from their own personal experiences. It is very interesting to read how and why these practices came about.Of particular interest is the chapter that addresses Evangelical Christianity and the roots of its beginning...a real eye-opener for Christians who want to "cast the first stone" at anything that even remotely has the "appearance of evil".This is a great read, and I highly recommend it.

This a really great book and I definatly recomend you read it! Very informitive!

This book is a great occult treasure of traditional witchcraft information. This book is very helpful and can help you identify items that can be used as "magic charms" that may be laying around your home that you can empower through a ritual or make yourself. This book basically goes through many charms in an A to Z order.

At the end of the book you find some great and valuable information that is very excellent!!! The book gives you three different traditional ways to bless and empower your charm that you have chosen or put together. This is great information.

It also ends with some other good tid bits, tables and occult information.

I highly recommend any book by this publisher!

Much Love & Many Blessings,
Thorn Nightwind

This a really great book and I definatly recomend you read it! Very informitive!

This book was purchased for a college course. I am thoroughly enjoying this collection of literature by Californians! I love the different perspective of each piece. I recommend this to anyone who lives in the state or anyone who wishes they did.

Haslam does a wonderful job capturing the many illusions of California. It's a good book to jump around reading because you'll always find something you like. All California-philes should own a copy!

Many Californias, edited by Gerald Haslam contains a teriffic, eclectic collection of writing about the Golden State. The name "California" is like Kevin Bacon to the wide universe of writers and poets who ever lived, wrote or were associated with it in some way. Haslam ponders, " Where is California? What is it?," then offers, "California remains at least as much state of mind as state of the union."

This collection is a great place to start to answer Haslam's questions and contains not only bright essays about this fabled island but also reveals some darker points in its history. From early accounts of California before the gold rush days, to Beat poets and Fresno poets, readers will enjoy what so many have had to say about the state, whether real or imagined. Subjects as diverse as Mark Twain's story of blue jay speech habits, Joan Didion's evocation of the southland's Santa Ana winds to Bukowski's ride in a red Porsche all add layers to such a rich subject. An added bonus is the selected California bibliography at the end.