Customer Reviews

The Book of Goddesses

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This book contains stunning watercolor pictures of goddesses derived from different cultures and eras...an absolute must-read. After taking a Greek Goddesses religion class in college, I decided to buy this book out of curiosity. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this book encompasses Goddess mythology from all over the world...as opposed to a sole "Greek" focus, Japanese, Chinese, Roman, Norse, Welsh, Egyptian, Indian, African, Hawaiian, Mexican, Slavic, Cuban, and Celtic goddesses are all contained in this book. Kris Waldherr displays immense talent through her detailed and well-researched stories and imaginative portrayals of each Goddess. This book is very inspiring...a great read for any child's collection, and a definite 'keeper' in my own collection.

I've never been much of a mythology fan, but after bringing this book home from the library to do research on Aphrodite/Venus for a school project, I found myself reading every godess's story over and over again. The paintings are gorgeous and the written part is actually interesting. I never thought Diana, Athena, and Chang O could actually capture my imagination, but they did. Each godess is beautiful and unique in her own way. Kris Waldherr makes them each become the perfect role model for every type of girl. :-) -Willow

This book is a lovely work of art! A perfect "coffee table" book or as an introduction for young people to different cultures and ways of seeing the world, The Book of Goddesses will open your mind and expand your consciousness. "My house is full of many mansions," and "many roads, one journey," come to mind as a way to describe the concepts that unfold as the beautiful artwork and simple text in two pages describes each goddess, where she is from, and what she represents. We cannot understand the world we live in if we continue to dismiss or minimize the cultures in which it is rooted. This may be a "radical" concept, but it is an important concept to understand.

This book would make a great gift.

This book is so beautiful! It increases pride and knowledge of past times when women were revered. The illustrations are stunning.

This beautiful book is a joy. It reminds us of the beauty and power of being a woman. This is the first children's book to join my permanent library. I love it!

If you haven't seen the revised and expanded anniversary edition of Waldherr's renowned Book of Goddesses, this is a book you do not want to miss! The new version is packed with gorgeous artwork and informative, empowering text. Waldherr includes both familiar and unusual goddesses within a beautiful framework of multicultural mythos. The book includes both full color portraits as well as halftone illustrations--with additional border illustrations lending to the narratives.

It is well researched and put together. Another particular strong point is the fact that Waldherr includes "related goddesses" at the end of each section. The addition of comparative mythology helps to exemplify the universal nature of the feminine divine and makes this book seem unique in its presentation. The pricepoint almost seems low for this visual masterpiece--as it is a timeless creation that is sure to please generations to come!

Prepare to be beguiled. This is not an ordinary book.

Finding it was a happy accident while I was researching artistic responses to the myth of Persephone and Demeter. I knew Kris Waldherr had written a children's book about Persephone ('Persephone and the Pomegranate'), but it was out of print and had become a hard-to-find collector's item. So I turned to this more recent book of hers instead, and was captivated by it.

The book is designed as a complete whole, from its richly coloured endpapers with their jewel-like illustrations through to the lovely organic patterns of flowers, leaves, shells, rocks, birds and trees that run along the outer border of every page. Open it anywhere, and you'll see straight away that each double-page spread has been arranged with great care and sensitivity. Pictures are creatively balanced with text in a deeply satisfying way, from the evocative little vignettes inserted among the letterpress that give the words space to breathe, to the large richly coloured full-page illustrations. It doesn't matter if you think you're not interested in goddesses, and you don't have to be a woman to enjoy it; the book is so lovely that it will entice you in. Before you know where you are, you'll be immersed in the world of divine feminine archetypes that Kris Waldherr has laid before you.

This book is a wonderful demonstration of what can be achieved when an author/artist/designer has the inspiration, talent and vision to understand the potential of modern book production techniques, and take full advantage of them. 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful', advised William Morris. The Book of Goddesses fits both criteria, and here's the wonder: anyone can afford to buy one.

Love everything Kris Waldherr does! Her artistic abilities shine in this loveliest of presentations. A dramatic and heartfelt sense of timing from those whose stories have deeply touched all of our lives through the mediums. It has become my first favorite deck, the second being the Goddesses.

I bought this book after my toddler destroyed my copy of the shorter version of this book, which was appropriate for young children, thinking this book was also as appropriate. It is a beautifully illustrated cross-cultural survey of goddesses, and for the most part seems to be true to the religions/cultures from which these goddesses originate (although she does put a more pagan and less objectively historical spin on some of the goddesses, as with Diana/Artemis and Freya). However, because of the brief references to sexuality in this book, I would not recommend it as an equal substitute for the older abridged version if you plan on reading it to your young children.

Kris Waldherr is a skilled artist, and her talent shows in this gorgeous volume that features 26 goddesses (one for each letter of the alphabet) with a myth each goddess is associated with. The stories are informative, but the illustrations are what make the book.