Mythology and Folklore Books

I'v been looking for a good version of the Odyssey to read to my kids for some time and this wins hands down. Its an absolutely beautiful book and does a wonderful job of telling this famous story. We got this from the library but I'm very tempted to buy a copy to add to our permanent collection.

My 6-year-old son loved having this read to him, and I loved reading it. Hugh Lupton has beautifully condensed the adventures of Odysseus into a fun and entertaining narrative, without making the story feel dumbed-down. The illustrations were lovely and suited the text very well. My son will enjoy reading this for years. Highly recommended.

Aesop's fables show us how some lessons never change. They represent an important part of the way we live our lives and hope to live our lives. These fables will be passed on for the rest of our lives

Aesop's fables show us how some lessons never change. They represent an important part of the way we live our lives and hope to live our lives. These fables will be passed on for the rest of our lives

The late Romula Lachatanere (1909-1952) was the first Afro-Cuban intellectual to write extensively on Afro-Cuban religious practices. Afro-Cuban Myths: Yemaya And Other Orishas is a collection of myths and tales first published in 1938 under the title "Oh, Mio Yemaya!". The first book to collect a sizeable sample of Cuban myths characteristic of the most widespread Afro-Cuban religion, Regla de Ocha, also known as Santeria, Afro-Cuban Myths is both exciting to read and thought-provoking in its responses to fundamental questions of popular theology and philosophy. Most of the myths are quite brief. Although they are no more graphic or gruesome than uncensored Greek and Roman myths, these uncensored Afro-Cuban fables (just like original Greek, Roman, and many other myths) are emphatically for mature readers only. Afro-Cuban myths includes stories of taboo subjects such as a son submitting to the incest of his mother, and tragic tales such as a wife who sacrifices her ears for her husband yet is then rejected for compromising her beauty. The black-and-white illustrations perfectly complement this recommended addition to mythology shelves.

This book deals with the myths of the orishas. Since it was published in
1938 under the title Oh, Mío Yemayá!, it has become a classic in the
field. It was the first attempt in Cuba to gather a sizeable sample of
the numerous patakíes or myths characteristic of the Regla de Ocha or
Santería, the most widespread of the Afro-Cuban religions practiced on
the island. The author had to overcome prejudice that considered the
religion and its associated literature undeserving of intellectual
attention and at the same time penetrate the secrecy in which black
believers cloaked their beliefs and practices, fearful-with good
reason-of attracting disdain, desecration, and persecution.

About Romulo Lachatañere:
The author (1909-1952) was the first Afro-Cuban intellectual to write extensively on Afro-Cuban religious practices. Together with Fernando Ortiz and Lydia Cabrera, he was the founder of Afro-Cuban research and made it part of the Cuban heritage. His main works offer a description of Santeria and fall somewhere between ethnology and literature. Since its publication in 1938 under the title "Oh, mio yemayá," this book has become a classic in its field. The book is illustrated by Siegfried Kaden, Instituto Superior de las Artes Plásticas, Havana.

About Siegfried Kaden:
Paiter and bookdesigner living in Havana, Cuba and Munich, Germany. He illustrated this book and Cuba Legends by Salvadore Bueno.
Hardcover Info:
ISBN 1-55876-317-1
180pp
$49.95

Paperback Info:
ISBN 1-55876-318-X
180pp
$24.95

This vast collection of folk tales from India and the Middle East known as "The Arabian Nights Entertainments" or "The Thousand and One Nights" is a framework of many tales that were told orally for centuries before finally being written down, so they are not attributed to any one author. "The Story of Aladdin, or The Wonderful Lamp" takes up about the first hundred pages of this 346 page book, and the rest of the book is filled with other great stories and illustrations which feature among others, "Sinbad the Sailor", "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", and "Prince Camaralzaman". Overall this book was extremely well written and entertaining, and I would highly recommend it for both children and adults alike. "The Story of Aladdin" is different in several ways from the Disney version but I liked it just as much or more. It is still the story of a poor boy who falls in love with the Sultan's daughter and with the assistance of a genie from a lamp wins her hand in marriage, but the thing I was most surprised to learn in this book was that Aladdin was actually Chinese, rather then Arabian as he is depicted in the movie. The Princess was also not called Jasmine, but Princess Badroulboudour. The Sultan is still her father, but Disney combines three of the book's characters (the African Magician, the Grand Vizier, and the Grand Vizier's son) to create their villain. There was no "Abu" the monkey, no flying carpets, and Aladdin although lazy, was no thief. Additionally there were several different types of genies in this book that inhabited quite a few things other then lamps. Rather than the nice blue version which Robin Williams plays of a genie in the Disney movie, in this book genies are considered to be big scary enslaved demons. Some also are more powerful than others. Depending on how powerful your genie was, rather than being limited to just three wishes, you could give him an endless amount of commands to carry out as long as you weren't ungrateful for the benefit you received in return for them. I was also surprised to see that Aladdin had a mother who played a big part in the story. From the movie you would think him to be an orphan. The tales of "Sinbad the Sailor" reminded me of the Greek tragedies. The stories were very good, but Sinbad seemed like a poor man's Odysseus from "The Odyssey" as he had to battle several monsters, and overcome several misadventures in order to return home. Just like Odysseus he even has to fight a Cyclops. I believe Sinbad takes seven trips in all and not once does he have a safe voyage. I would have thought after the third time this happened that all of the other sailors would have thought him to be a jinx and would have refused to have sailed with him, but for the sake of a good story I guess you have to ignore this type of oversight. I also think he should have been called "Sinbad the Merchant" rather than "Sinbad the Sailor" since he never actually sails any of these ships, but rather just travels upon them. There is always more than one captain who does the actual sailing. In one of the "Sinbad" stories when he is washed up on a desert island, just before he is about to die of thirst and starvation he is rescued by a "King Mihrage". I'm curious if this is where the term "mirage" originated from? There is also another Sinbad story in which the people he encounters have a custom for their married couples in that if one of them dies before the other, they still bury the living spouse with the dead one. I think this even covered in one of the Star Trek episodes I saw. I've never actually read the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" until now, but for some reason I had always assumed Ali was the captain of the thieves. I was surprised to find out in the book that he is just a poor man who stumbles upon the thieves hideout by accident in the story and that he is just lucky they did not find and murder him for discovering their secret. The star of the story is actually one of Ali's slave girls named Morgiana who saves Ali on several occasions by outsmarting the thieves. There are four type of religions represented throughout this entire book. There are Mussulmans (which if I'm not mistaken are a type of Muslim), Persians (who worship fire), Christians and Jews. All of the main characters are Mussulmans. Since for the most part these are mostly short stories I'm torn whether or not to include them on my listing of the greatest novels of all time, but they certainly are worthy of note none the less.

I never left my chair when I read this book. 5 stars, a winner.

I have just completed a remarkable book by Dr. Leonard Diamond entitled ALIEN CONSCIOUS. I heartily recommend this book. Dr. Diamond is a licensed Clinical, Forensic Psychologist. The book held my interest from the first to the last page and the reader is treated to a thorough discussion of alien abduction and alien-human interpersonal struggles. Dr. Diamond offers us important information about Hiram, Saul, Carly and Rosie from the time they are about five years old. At this time they were first abducted and their experiences with the Dollockians lasted throughout their lives. Dr. Diamond carefully documents sixty years of abductions and the results of those interactions. He expresses clearly the enhancements given to the humans by the aliens and how these enhancements have contributed to our society.
In addition to the stories of the four children who grow to be highly successful M.D.'s and Ph.D.'s, Dr, Diamond offers us a wealth of information received from the Dollockians. This information covers the "Roswell Incident"; predictive behaviors; Nostradamus; Edgar Cayce; junk science; Area 51; The Philadelphia Experiment; UFO's and other interesting subjects that have plagued our society for many years. Dr. Diamond clears up numerous topics and relays the Dollockian philosophies.
ALIEN CONSCIOUS should be read by every Ufologist and by every science fiction and science fact fan. As Dr. Diamond states in his Introduction;
"ALIEN CONSCIOUS is such an unusual story that this book may be viewed by many as "stranger than fiction"....It is the responsibility of the reader to weigh the data and reflect on the truth and competence of the information in this book".

Just as Freud exposed the unconscious of human beings, Dr. Leonard Diamond provides an explanation for unusual conscious achievements. As we follow the lifetimes of the characters in the book, it's easy to identify how extraordinary achievements have been atained by them. These ordinary people have been infiltrated by aliens. One becomes close and attached to the humanness of the characters and their noteworthy lack of fearfulness of aliens. The remarkable characteristics of people we've all known begins to be understood as having been influenced by their alien attachments. The author also exposes in great detail the fundamental principles employed by mediums and fortune tellers, and why their behaviors are a sham.

As a school teacher I find that children from grades one through five love and repeat the rhymes, jokes and stories in this book.

Although definitely not politically correct, this book peers into the world of children, their rhymes, their games, their jokes, and just about everything else that makes up childhood. What makes this book particularly interesting is the social, cultural, and psychological analysis given for each type of joke, rhyme, etc. If it is a gross rhyme the author notes when these became the most popular, the age groups it is most popular with and why. If it is a nonsense joke like elephant jokes then he notes when they were most popular and how they could have represented society changing to deal with civil rights. The book also includes various counting rhymes, games, toys, and other activities that are part of a child's world. For a nostalgic trip back to the days of childhood or a serious study of childhood social structures American Children's Folklore is a recommended read.

Happy millionaires, floating above money. Tastemakers and models where the substance of sign are widgets produced from the mysteries of Eurocentric sytle. Even anti-stye is currency spoken at the proper moment. Castles in the sky held up by anti-gravity - the collective will of the subordinate and subordinated who dare not look the other way. Whether it is the act of looking away or looking as in appearing the Other way, those in thrall refuse to ignore the central process, their ennobling whitewash without which they become the non-audience, those left outside the theater of the West.

Marshall Blonsky, in American Mythologies, examines the symbolic discourse between the performers and the performed upon as if to examine the state of the ceiling in the house whose walls have already collapsed. Yet it remains a valid work because while we all stand in the cold ruins, the ceiling remains frozen in mid-air suspended like our disbelief, while from its reflections we measure our steps. As intellectual excavator and personal ruminator par excellence, Blonsky will become the McLuhan of the 21st Century.

Con este libro, el cual no entendi hasta mucho mas tarde como con algunas grandes obras, tuve mi primer gran encuentro con la semiotica, el estudio de los simbolos, y fue tambien la primera vez que lei a umberto eco. me gusto mucho su descripcion de una silla y de sus diferentes significados dependiendo de muchos factores. este libro trata de analizar la cultura norteamericana, la simbologia, el pop art, usando la semiotica y lo hace de una manera magistral aunque a veces no es muy clara.

excelente lectura. LUIS MENDEZ luismendez@codetel.net.do

Stories are based on Persian tradition but they are great for children (pre school and younger) no matter where you are from.

I bought this collection of Persian stories for my children and they just loved it. My children are born here in the US and this book gave them a first hand opportunity to learn about the land of their parents. I strongly recommend this book for all those families who are part Iranian/Persian and part American. Also, all public libraries which have extensive collection of ethnic books must have this book in their collection.

By Sir Budge, (1857-1934), curator of the Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum, who also translated the "Egyptian Book of the Dead." From the book's preface: "I have described the principal amulets which were used by the Semitic peoples of Western Asia, Egypt, Nambia and Ethiopia. I have added a series of short chapters in which I have tried to set forth the principal theories about the powers of 'working' amulets, and the meaning of the inscriptions and symbols inscribed on them, and to indicate the beliefs concerning them which were held by the ancient Babylonian and Egyptian magicians, and by the later Kabbalists, Gnostics, both pagan and Christian, and astrologers. And I have incorporated in the many of the views of the astrologers, makers of horoscopes, casters of nativities, diviners, crystal gazers, palmists and fortune-tellers with who I came in contact in Egypt, the Sudan and Mesopotamia." The author discusses: the Evil Eye, and amulets used by: Arabs, Persians, Babylonians, Coptics, Egyptians, Abyssinians, Gnostic, Hebrew, Mandaeen, Phoenician, Samaritan, Syriac; the Ring amulet; beliefs concerning Divination by water or animal's livers or sand; the Hand of Fatima; Babylonian demon Humbaba, god Khepera, Rd, Thoth; the Seven Seals; and much, much more. Many photographs and illustrations. Originally published in 1930.

For all of you who like Ancient Egypt and such please buy this book it is really cool! it is mystical in every way so by it! E.A Wallis Budge is awesome while you're at it by The Egyptian Book of the Dead! that book is also really fascinating.

To learn more about Anansi stories, we purchased this audio CD, and we are not disappointed! Mr. Norfolk's stories and deliveries bring smiles and laughter into your household or to your own "Anansi Time." This lively "personality" product can be enjoyed by children as well as adults, anyone who loves to hear good stories well-told. Our favorite stories from this CD are "How Light Came Into the World" and "Anansi and the Tug o' War." Norfolk's sound effects and character voices are brilliant.

For teachers, this product is useful in many ways:

1) as an addition to multicultural units
2) as an example of "public" speaking
3) as an example of storytelling for effect (acting / voice / dialogue)
4) as an engaging listening exercise

I saw him live at our local library, and I think the parents were just as amused as the children. Children of all ages, from toddler to preteens, enjoyed his stories. It was a wonderful experience and I would not hesitate to buy several of his CDs.

Bobby Norfolk tells these stories very well. He catches the fun of Anansi stories and does a great job of creating the different voices. Our three year old son loves to listen to this CD and becomes absorbed in the stories.