Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned (Paperback)

by Kenneth C. Davis (Author)
Key Phrases: mythic legacy, vast pantheon, Native American, Popol Vuh, North America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. What is a myth? How does it differ from legend, fairy tale and allegory? Do myths cross cultures? Davis (Don't Know Much About the Civil War) answers these and many other questions with his characteristic humor and charming storytelling. He examines the myths created by societies ranging from Egypt, Greece and Rome to Africa, India and the Americas, proceeding, as in his other books, by way of question and answer as he surveys each mythmaking culture. A who's who for each culture is also helpful. He shows the connections between myths of various cultures, such as the flood story of Noah in Genesis and that of the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilsh. Among the questions and answers, Davis intersperses "mythic voices" from characters in the stories so readers can virtually hear the heroes of bygone eras. Because Davis ranges widely and with such sparkling wit through a broad sweep of myths, his survey provides a superb starting point for entering the world of mythology.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-An enthusiastic introduction to world mythology. As a child, Davis was enthralled by the tales of gods and heroes, and he makes a compelling case for myth's enduring power to awe, inspire, and entertain. Each chapter focuses on a particular country or cultural group. He has included Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, India, China, Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, the Pacific Islands, the Celts, and the Norse. A list of questions to pique readers' interest, such as Was there really a Trojan war? introduces each chapter. A time line featuring important dates in political, military, religious, and cultural history is accompanied by detailed descriptions of all the major gods. The introductory questions are answered, creation myths are discussed, and fascinating parallels in stories of the destruction of the world by floods are explored. Some of the greatest adventure stories of lesser-known heroes such as Gilgamesh, Finn MacCool, and Sigurd are highlighted. To give readers a taste of the original stories, excerpts of the tales and holy books are included. Using data from recent archaeological finds, Davis shows how our understanding of the past continues to change. Students will find this book useful both as a quick reference source and as a means of gaining greater understanding of complex ancient religions, or learning which events were shaping different countries at the same time.-Kathy Tewell, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060932570
• ISBN-13: 978-0060932572
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,853 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An informative, concise, and delightful introduction to mythic literature , December 6, 2005

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About...) (Hardcover)

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

29 of 34 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

By	Len "notleo" (Abilene, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About...) (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accessible Overview of Mythology, May 14, 2006

By	J. J. Kwashnak "voracious reader" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About...) (Hardcover)

Davis' "Don't Know Much About" series has always been marked by the author's conversational and breezy style as opposed to more dry, pedantic treatment of the subjects. That tone is continued here in his view of world mythology. Instead of aiming at being a comprehensive overview of the subject, he chooses to highlight the "you should know" topics - much like a Cliff Notes for a whole course. Often times the word Mythology only brings up images of Greek and Roman gods in people's minds. What Davis does well is to bring us back into the other myths of the ancient world - from Egypt and Mesopotamia, showing how these myths intermingled with other cultures and influenced, among other things, possibly several stories in the Bible. Davis continues around the world highlighting the stories of the Celts, the Norse, Indians, Chinese and Japanese. He comes up a bit short in his discussion of Sub-Saharan Africa and Native American mythology mainly because it is such a diverse topic involving not one dominant culture, but rather hundreds of individual cultures, each with their own views of the world. So while I would applaud him for including recognition of these areas, Davis set himself up with a task far beyond his current project that may leave the reader unsatisfied in these areas. Overall a good book to get a quick overview and introduction to names, stories and history of various cultures and how stories that are still familiar today came into being.