75 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An informative, concise, and delightful introduction to mythic literature, December 6, 2005
HarperCollins's Don't Know Much About series is the slightly more attractive younger sibling of Alpha Book's Idiot's Guide series. If Alpha's famous orange-and-white dressed reference books have spawned a whole new generation of readers whose quest for a maximum amount of facts are sated by prose any "idiot" could read, the Don't Know Much About series offers the same promise with a bit more elegance and charm. The text for DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY is provided by Kenneth C. Davis, a journalist and National Public Radio commentator whose encyclopedic knowledge of world history and culture enables him to construct prose that is as breezy as it is informative, as witty as it is delightful. He has an impressive ability to synthesize great quantities of texts and facts into a concise and coherent digest that, well, just about any idiot can read.
Organized into nine chapters that explore first the earliest civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia, then the later civilizations of Greece, Northern Europe, the Far East and the African continent, and finally the Americas, DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY follows the same sequence that countless mythology texts have used before. And like those texts, the bulk of Davis's book is comprised of well-written prose paraphrases of ancient literatures. In terms of form and function, it doesn't break any new ground; instead, it offers another alternative to speedy referencing.
Bracketing each chapter are lists that frame important events in a sequential time table called "Mythic Milestones." When read side by side, they constitute a concise timeline of world history. Of perhaps more pedagogical interest are a series of "key questions" that introduce each new section. While I personally found such canned questions inane, others might refer young readers to them as a way of guiding their experience with the material.
If there is little doubt of this book's usefulness --- you may want, for example, to spot-check a classical reference as you work your way through Pope's DUNCIAD --- I wonder about the sheer volume of books about mythology on the market these days. Whereas Davis's crystal-clear prose is proof of his years of reading primary texts in the field, the average reader of his text may never go any further than here. Naturally, Davis is aware of the importance of the original sources in the myths he retells. This is why so many of his summaries are accompanied by brief passages from primary source material. This, however, is not enough, nor is it the concern of the Don't Know Much About series.
As a teacher of comparative mythology at the college level, I am aware that students would benefit from reading Davis's summaries as a prelude to reading the original epics, hymns, chants, prayers, and folktales from which such stories come. But how many are reading about the myths beyond this point? How many, for example, have accessed a respectable verse translation of THE ILIAD in order to capture the pitch, as well as the plot, of Homer's epic tale?
If Davis's DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY fails to correct a growing trend towards summary and paraphrase, at least it does what countless other texts do well: it offers a starting point for further research and a lifelong love affair with the great mythic literatures of the world. The question is, how many are game?
--- Reviewed by Tony Leuzzi
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36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Works as a Good Intro and Quick Reference to Mythology, December 14, 2005
I liked how Davis introduces each civilization's mythology with basic history and possible connections to the gods they have. He also provides a quick "Who's Who" of the various pantheons of gods. Unfortunately, that's about as far as it goes.
In his first chapter, Davis makes a distinction between mythology and myth. I didn't realize how true he would hold to the title of the book. This is a book about various mythologies (the study of myths) as opposed to actual myths (the stories of gods and men). As such it does a decent job. If you're expecting a book containing popular myths from each culture, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a book to introduce you to the major players in each culture's myths so that you can look smart and know who Ra really is when watching Stargate or who Homer Simpson is talking about when he makes fun of "the many arms of Vishnu," then this is the book for you.
One pet peeve though. He tries really hard to remain "religiously tolerant", which to me means "all religions are myth." He relates ancient myths to our modern times, in particular to various Judeo-Christian beliefs. He's largely successful and knowing his reader base, tries to respect Jewish and Christian beliefs, but there were times where I felt he just wanted to call Judeo-Christian beliefs myths. Because of this, I'm hesitant to read his Don't Know Much about the Bible book. He also has no problems including Hindu, Confucian, Tao, and tribal "myths," despite their common modern practice. As an added insult, he has no problem laying on the guilt of Christian interference in either altering ancient myths or completely destroying tribal religions, but he has few problems with the Aryan influence on the Greeks and Indians.
The first half of the book (Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Greeks) were very good but felt rushed for the remaining cultures. Part of this is the shear number of tribes and gods involved, as well as the repitition that comes from many similar and shared gods. So I felt cheated especially with the American and eastern myths. Though, like I said before, this is a quick overview. And in that regard, he succeeded in teaching me a little about everything, but more importantly, piqueing my curiosity and making me want to read his sources. So when I do start reading up on ancient myths, I'll probably have Davis's book right there to help me decipher all those gods and myths.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent overview, . . but don't treat too seriously, February 27, 2006
For anyone looking for a quick and easy way to learn about world myths, I doubt that there is a better source. It's well written and very comprehensive, although occasionally a little repetititve.
BUT
this is no scholarly work. First many of the quotes are from other popular secondary sources, such as Thomas Cahill's books. Also, wherever possible the author tries to be politically correct. This descends to the point of self-parody where he is disussing native americans. I seem to remember this tendency was also there in his civil war book and it's stopped me ever reading his "Don't know much about history."
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