Customer Reviews

Brush Up Your Mythology!

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This is one of the best casual-reading mythology books I've picked up. You can open to any page and find something of interest, explained in Macrone's fresh and funny style. This simple, accessible book makes clear how ancient mythology has survived in words, customs, naming systems, and such, and outlines the most famous stories in world mythology. (Ours being a Western culture, Macrone focuses on Greco-Roman mythology, but makes connections to several ancient cultures.) The book's only drawback is its potentially addictive quality: mythology is so interwoven that this book must be also. Expect lots of cross-references, and thus lots of pageturning. Each page will open a new topic to you. Beware an addiction to this wealth of knowledge!

I picked up the book at the Getty Museum as I wandered through the sundry sculptures and paintings drawing blanks at times at the curator's notes. My remedy was this book. While I cannot
verify accuracy of dates and sources of the mythological stories
due to the myriad of versions, I found my interest quickly perked up traveling through the museum. It really helped me familiarize with not only mythology but also etymology.

I have a difficult time concentrating, thus regular mythology is a struggle for me. I've always wanted to read it anyway, and this book made that possible. Never lose the original stuff, but write more books like this one for me! Easy reading, fast reading, and easy to understand.