Customer Reviews

Angels A to Z

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is good but I find another book "A Dictionary of Angels : Including the Fallen Angels" by Gustav Davidson much better and complete.

I found this to be the most comprehensive book on the subject of angels and related topics that I have ever seen. Whether you are approaching this subject from a biblical, historical, cross cultural, or esoteric viewpoint you should find most everything that you are looking for. Indeed, you will find much that you were not originally looking for. It is easy to find yourself absorbed for hours reading from subject to subject, seeing associations and connections that never occured to you before. I couldn't really see where the author was promoting any particular agenda or viewpoint- it all seemed pretty objective to me. Yet, the writing isn't in dry-as-dust academic style either.

The book itself is hefty 485 plus pages and laid out in dictionary form (though there is a well written introduction on the overall subject.) The illustrations are in black and white, but they are well-chosen, crisp, and plentiful.

Both informative and readable, this book is a wonderful guide to the world of angels. It covers the topic from all angles and viewpoints, and is superbly cross-referenced. Great book!

The one thing I liked about this book was it was quite easy to find what you were looking for. Hence the A to Z bit in the title. Also, I adored the fact they showed you the sources used under each section and in the back so I could look further in my research.

Yes, this book did hold a lot of information, but I felt like half of it was unnecessary such as popular people who wrote about angels or learning about angel stamps. Sorry, but why do I care about Billy Graham? I want to know more about the angels themselves and some of the stories about them, even classic literary pieces like Paradise Lost. I'd rather not have to skip half the book for crap like Angel Times or whatnot.

Besides the overload of useless information, it wasn't terribly bad. As stated, it did make it easy to find your section, but considering it is a dictionary, it should have been. A lot of the information was repeated, but that is only irritating when you plan on reading the entire book like I did. I enjoyed the fact that they brought in other religions like Zoroastrianism and Islam, though I wish they had more on the former. It definitely peaked my interest.

Another thing I disliked was all the faeries in here. I know the fey are considered angels of sorts by the Irish and Scottish, but no one in the book did it explain that. It never explained why all the faerie types were in there like the brownies, trolls, etc. I do have a slight interest in the fey realm, but I don't think they should be in the ANGEL book.

I also would have liked to have seen more information on the fallen angels. They had a decent amount (for a dictionary) on the fallen Grigori, but even most of that was on repeat. Would have definitely liked to have seen more of Lucifer/Satan. There are a lot of different versions/theories on him, and they pretty much only shared one.

In short, half the book held decent information. The other half is utter crap or has almost nothing to do with the subject, but at least it is easy to find things in.

The book seems well-organized but the entries are incomplete. It is not difficult to find some well-known angels are not listed in this book.

Looking for a dictionary of angels? Look elsewhere.

Angels are of great interest to many a Christian, and "Angels A to Z" is a complete and comprehensive look at all of them throughout history, covering their history, origins, and more - and it's not just limited to the angels of Christianity, touching on Islamic and Nordic angels as well. Also discussing angels' relevance in common pop culture - books, movies, TV, and more - "Angels A to Z" is a top pick for angel lovers and highly recommended for community library religion collections.

This book is well-written, informative, and entertaining. I enjoyed reading it, adding it to my reference shelf, and giving a copy to my mother for Christmas!

I have just begun reading this book. It is very interesting; however, it is not biblically acurate. On page xiii the author refers to "the protection and encouragement of human beings." He uses the scripture of Ps. 91:10-11: "He will give his angels charge of you, To guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone." This indeed is a wonderful scipture; but, it is not refering to people. It is refering to Jesus Christ out Lord and savior. Don't take my word for it read Luke:4 9-13. If you are going to qoute scipture try and use it in the context that it was intended and written. Thank you very much.

The angel of air (Chasan or some books spell as "Chassan") is not listed in this book. This angel is mentioned in some books on evocation of angels.

I do not think that this book is good enough to be called an encyclopedia on angels. Perhaps just the name "Encyclopedia" to make it sell better??