Monthly Archives: December, 2009
Defining Myth
“Myths are universal and timeless stories that reflect and shape our lives – they explore our desires, our fears, our longings and provide narratives that remind us what it means to be human.”[1] What are the meaning of the words myth and mythology, and why are they necessary for the study of a culture or …
The New Comparative Mythology: An Anthropological Assessment of the Theories of George Dumézil By C. Scott Littleton
This edition of the book was printed in 1982 so it is considerably older than most of the books I have read on the theories of myth. It is mainly concerned with George Dumézil’s theories and the author tells us that he is not an Indo-Europeanist and is looking at these theories from the point …
A Short History of Myth (Canongate Myths Series) by Karen Armstrong
A friend of mine recommended A Short History of Myth to me when I asked her opinion on books that I could read to help me with an essay that I wanted to write. The name sounded familiar so I went looking for it in my library and ended up buying a new copy because …
Myth (The New Critical Idiom Series) by Laurence Coupe
This book is part of the series The New Critical Idiom edited by John Drakakis. It is written by Laurence Coupe who is a Senior Lecturer in English at Manchester Metropolitan University. Myth was written with the students of literature in mind. It gives them a comprehensive overview of the development of myth, showing how …
Myth – A Very Short Introduction by Robert A. Segal
Myth: A Very Short Introduction is an overview of the major nineteenth and twentieth century theories of myth. It is clear, very well organized and surprisingly comprehensive. This is a book for people who want a helpful orientation to the field of mythological studies. The author uses the myth of Adonis to illustrate the different …
Malachy McCourt’s History of Ireland
This book was a gift from a relative in ireland, I had said the last time I was there that I wish I could take him back to Kuwait with me so that I could listen to him tell me the history of Ireland. So in 2005 he sent me this book with a little …
The Modern Construction of Myth by Andrew Von Hendy
The Modern Construction of Myth is a book that gives a critical account of how myth came to be seen in modernity. It starts in the eighteenth century with the reinvention of the concept of myth and then follows the major branches of the theories, of which the author tells us there are three, as …
The Power of Myth By Joseph Campbell
As I started to read this book I decided that it would have been much better to get the audio version. The book is a conversation between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell that took place between 1985 and 1986 at George Lucus’ Skywalker Ranch and the Museum of Natural History in New York. The book …
The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World (Oxford Linguistics) by J.P. Mallory
The first thing I want to say about this book is if you don’t want a detailed discussion of Language as opposed to history then this book is not for you. However, since this was one of the things I was looking to study it was perfect for me. The book covers the following main …
In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology, and Myth by J.P. Mallory
This is the third time that I read this book since I bought it last year. Every time I read it I discover something new. Its an amazing book for anyone interested in the Indo-Europeans. The book is written from the point of view of an archeologist who has knowledge of historical linguistic methods. For …
