03-29-2013, 03:54 PM | #1 |
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Non Fiction - Mythology, recomendations?
Has the title says i'm after recomendations for non fiction books on mythology.
i'm not after any specific culture, reading fantasy books which have mentioned lots of gods and mythical things has given me a thirst to learn more. Thanks Alan |
03-30-2013, 07:54 AM | #2 |
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Bullfinch's Mythology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulfinch's_Mythology The work is in the PD at Gutenberg and elsewhere. Including Mobileread. Edith Hamilton's Mythology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology_(book) Robert Graves: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greek_Myths Time-Life has a very nice set of 20+ Coffee Table books on various mythologies from across the world. High-quality illustrations and all. http://www.goodreads.com/series/49224-myth-and-mankind Last edited by fjtorres; 03-30-2013 at 08:07 AM. |
03-30-2013, 08:03 AM | #3 | |
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On the Fiction side, Robert Graves' HERCULES, MY SHIPMATE is a fabulous read. It is the story of Jason and the Argonauts as historical fiction, not myth or fantasy.
http://www.amazon.com/Hercules-My-Sh.../dp/031320991X Similarly, in HOMER'S DAUGHTER, he reinvents the return of Odysseus from the Odyssey as historical fiction, with a twist: Quote:
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03-30-2013, 10:38 AM | #4 |
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Thanks for the recomendations.
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03-30-2013, 12:39 PM | #5 |
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I read these as a child and loved them. The writing is simple, yet not unenjoyable for an adult.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=Padraic+Colum The Greek myths are wonderful, but I loved Colum's The Children of Odin. That is still the best compilation of Norse myths that I have ever read. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=Padraic+Colum All available at your friendly neighborhood Mobileread Library! Last edited by AlbertaCowboy; 03-30-2013 at 12:42 PM. |
03-30-2013, 06:23 PM | #6 |
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Non-fiction? Joseph Campbell is the man! The Hero With a Thousand Faces is a great place to start.
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03-31-2013, 01:18 AM | #7 | |
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Quote:
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03-31-2013, 03:47 AM | #8 |
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Besides the Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, does anyone have any recommendations for books covering Slavic mythology?
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03-31-2013, 09:27 AM | #9 | |
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Quote:
http://www.amazon.com/Forests-Vampir.../dp/0705436136 Not too deep but not bad. Amazon also points these out: http://www.amazon.com/Slavic-Folklor...5/ref=rec_dp_0 http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Folk-B..._bxgy_b_text_z http://www.amazon.com/Russian-Fairy-...ref=pd_sim_b_1 Not sure how much they might help since many titles I've seen take slav = russian so the rest of the slav cultures may not be properly represented. |
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03-31-2013, 10:23 AM | #10 |
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Nordic: Den enøyde
by Tor Age Bringsvaerd It's been translated to german. Don't know about english |
03-31-2013, 11:15 AM | #11 |
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Robert Graves' particular take on classical mythology has long been discredited by classicists. Morford and Lenardon's Classical Mythology is the classic textbook (it's readable). Graves' myths are a decent compendium but his analyses are flawed.
Mary Renault's novels based on the myths surrounding Theseus are excellent (The King Must Die and The Bull From The Sea), sadly they are not available in retail ebook. |
03-31-2013, 03:24 PM | #12 |
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i sooooo love this site, so many great recomendations.
Thanks all |
04-05-2013, 03:46 AM | #13 |
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I liked Karolyi Kereny works: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1roly_Ker%C3%A9nyi
And also Roberto Calasso's "Le nozze di Cadmo e Armonia": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Calasso but I don't know whether the latter has ever been translated from Italian... |
04-05-2013, 11:12 PM | #14 | |
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I have a nice thick paperback book on mythology, called "World Mythology: The Illustrated Guide", edited by Roy Willis and published by Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-530752-6. It has articles on mythologies from all continents excepting Antarctica. It's not quite encyclopedic in scope but its 307 pages give fairly detailed essays on anywhere from about 5 to 30 myths per country or region, with maps and full colour illustrations. |
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04-06-2013, 12:17 AM | #15 |
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Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is especially handy for looking up allusions to classical myth and literature and more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewer%...rase_and_Fable There is a copy at the internet archive: http://archive.org/details/brewersdictionar000544mbp |
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