Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Voodoo

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I didn't know anything about voodoo before reading this book besides the stereotypes I've been fed through Hollywood.

This book explains the history of a maligned religion thousands of years old, forged by unspeakable human suffering, and practiced in various places today.

The writer has a gift for explaining things clearly, organizing complex content, and writing in an appropriate tone that both respects the religion and knows when to be fun and entertaining.

My personal feeling is that this book is too good to be part of the usually mediocre "Complete Idiot's Guide..." series. It deserves better production and better illustrations.

Those who rail against this book, in my opinion, just have a voodoo ego that causes them to think their personal knowledge is somewhow greater than the author's. If that's so, I dare you to write a better book.

The compelete Idiot's guide to voodoo .... Don't let that name fool you!

When I first got this book from off of my wishlist I thought: if anything it would be good for a laugh or two.
But, I was very wrong.

This book is a must have for new comers to African based Religons.
Shannon R. Turlington explins in depth about the faith of voodoo, the rites, and the lwa (Voodoo sprits/ansters) but most inportantly this book reveals what voodoo really is, and what it's not.
A profound well rounded belief system of beauty and hope and very much missunderstood to outsiders.
Just because you read a few books on the subject dose not mean you know voodoo, I have read a few books and thought I knew enuff, but now that i've read this book I feel like I truly understand voodoo.

Times have been very rough for the people of haiti and this book tells you the true life horrors that people of Haiti have had to endure for hundreds of years, up untill the late 1980's. In a poor contrary, filled with disease and poverty, there's hope, there's honoer,pride and help... With VooDoo being the beacon of comfort and safety for hattie.

Keep in mind- this book explains voodoo in a whole new light.
It also teaches you the difference between new orleans voodoo and voodoo in Hattie.
If you're looking for spells on the subject matter try Voodoo and Hoodoo by jim haskins.

The compelete Idiots guide to voodoo is the best book (and I dont use that turm losely) for anyone willing to expanded thair minds a great deal. Just from reading this boko i've had many questions from people and i've been able to answer them with truth and understanding.
Don't miss out on this wonderfuly writen book.

Reasons why i voted four stars:
Shannon R. Turlington becomes repetitive in some of the chapters, she covers things she's already said. You may get bored with this, but not so much you'll want to stop reading for the time being.
She also talks about Lcumi/Santeria in the book, how its a 2ed rate religion...Yet, the Fon people "adopted" some of the Yourba gods (Shango and Ogun from Ogoo, Orunla and Ehsu make up Papa Legba) being in lucumi, i did not take to kindly to that.

Happy reading!
Ashe!

I have to agree with the first review of this book (the person that actually read it). True, you cannot learn all there is about a religion from a book, however in this book, Shannon Turlington has done an excellent job of mapping it out. I think that anyone who turns to a book as their first stop in researching a new found faith is making an excellent choice. For those who are genuinely interested, I think that this book will do much to fill their head with more questions and curiosity about this religion. Additionally, I think it does an excellent job dispelling myths typically associated with this religion. Please, read the book before you decide its bad, its quite a good book!

This book is not a step-by-step guide to how to do Vodou. Rather, it is a complete reference for people who know nothing about the religion or only know what they have learned from the movies. It begins with a thorough history of the religion's development in Haiti, then goes into Vodou's theology and practice. It also dispels widely held myths about voodoo dolls, magic and zombies. Finally, it points to plenty of resources if you want to learn more. At every point, the book discusses the religion and its practitioners factually and with respect. This is a great introductory resource for anyone who wants to learn the real deal about this fascinating religion.

I really don't see where the complaints about sensationalism come from. This book was just the opposite--informative, going over some of the common stereotypes, and a good basic history of Afro-Caribbean religions. As an occultist with a primarily neopagan/Western magckal background, I found this to be a good introduction to this mixture of magick and religion. And anyone who's actually read the book will realize that the references to zombie movies are all at the very END of the book, after all the other chapters and directly preceded by a chapter on theories of what zombis truly are. The movie listing is meant primarly for entertainment (and to show that they're just that--entertainment). As for those who claim you can only learn Voodoo/Vodou from an initiate, well--what about those of us who don't have access, or just want to get real information about the religion rather than hype and stereotypes? I'd say this is a good reference for that.

For those interested in the practical magickal aspects of Afro-Caribbean religions, I highly recommend Christopher Hyatt's and S. Jason Black's "Urban Voodoo" as a companion to this title.

As far as the Idiot's series goes, this book is one of the better books they have published. Compared to their other titles, this book is actually a reference book where the reader may learn something new and useful. The book has the intellectual feel of an academic text while being a good, entertaining read.

Ms. Turlington has done an excellent job here. I feel her writing voice and her analysis of this religion (which I admit I knew nothing about going into reading the book) were both excellent. I would recommend it if you're looking for either personal research or an interesting gift for a friend.

I had a look at this book today while sitting at my local bookshop. I almost spilled my coffee when I noticed what this book was - 30% of the information are taken from Leah Gordon's "The Book of Vodou", 65% are taken from the webpages of a woman called Mambo Racine (who will sell initiation into Vodou to anyone who has the right amount of money) and the remaining 5% of the book are taken from cheap Hollywood movies. I am a practitioner of Vodou and Media Asiento en Santeria. This book is a cheap rip-off! I just can't believe that some people recommand this book as "Fundamental Basics"!

I was, for the most part, unimpressed with the information offered. A lot of it was really sensationalistic...something that would titilate the horror genre reader, but not for someone really searching the spiritual. I gave the book a 2, but that's probably because it deserves a 1 1/2. The fact that the author brought in all the horror movie stuff was really insulting to the religion. I'm not initiated into Vodou, but I have studied it for well over 20 years and I found this book insulting to a beautiful faith. It was a curiousity buy. I wanted to see how the author presented the topic in this type of format. I should have known better. She tried (and she ad libbed A LOT), but she really failed. I was the Idiot to read it.

got the book for research, not into Voodoo even though i'm from NO. its a begginers guide for those who want to get their good or evil mojo on.

I speak as an initiated Vodoun and not as a curious passer by. To be brief, true Vodoun (Voodoo, but many eschew this spelling because of its pejoritive connotations) cannot be taught through books or through the written word. It is passed from Vodoun to Vodoun, and from personal experiences with deity which in Vodoun is known as the Loa.

There are possibly a few things about the Vodoun faith that might be passed on even in a Complete Idiot's Guide--for instance a simply phrased explanation of "voodoo dolls" and zombies and the history of the development of Vodoun from Dahomean tribal religion to colonial path of magic. But please, don't turn to books to know Vodoun.