Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Angels

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I ordered this item, I didn't quite know what to expect - but I was absolutely blown away by this book. Of all the books on angels I've ever read, it's the most comprehensive, the most objective, and the most beautiful. The author covers just about anything and everything that has come from any tradition that embraces them, and the book is copiously illustrated with appropriate paintings, manuscript illuminations, statues, and any other form of visual depiction of these intriguing but elusive beings. I strongly recommend this book not only for angel enthusiasts, but for serious scholars as well.

I must start off by saying that normally I find books of this nature to be quite disappointing. Normally, they offer only a brief description of a limited number of topics and I soon find myself looking elsewhere for research material. This was not the case with Rosemary Ellen Guiley's book and I was pleasantly surprised. Guiley has provided a very thorough (not to mention useful) tome that covers a multitude of entries regarding angels and similar spirits. Additionally, she covers many other resources, such as films and books, that deal with the subject matter of angels (as well as spirits and angel-like beings). I consider this particular aspect useful because it provides "jumping points" for readers to locate other sources of material or ideas. Most importantly, the revised second edition of this book provides a wealth of information related to apocryphal texts such as 1 Enoch and the story of the Watchers and the Nephilim -- topics that I have found extremely interesting and thought-provoking. While conducting the research for my own book, I often found myself referring back to Guiley's work for more information or to look up references to other texts. It was truly indispensable and probably the best book that I can recommend not only as a general reference for readers interested in angels, but for anyone conducting more scholarly research as well.

In general, I was pleased with "The Encyclopedia of Angels." I became interested in angelic lore through playing a video game (the game in question was "Persona 4"), and immediately became interested in having a more thorough description of many of the angelic beings found in that game. In that sense, this book does not disappoint.

However, the book is not nearly as thorough on individual angels as, say, an internet search would be. While each entry is nice and complete, a quick google check gives me 10x the info found in this book. I know this is an unfair criticism, but it is worth noting nonetheless - if your interest is deeper, you should do more thorough research. Moreover, I was disappointed in some of her references - I don't really care about angelic references in film. But this is merely personal preference, and while I dock the review a star for this, I understand if others take me to task for it.

Nonetheless, having the information ready at hand, in a nice form, with illustrations and artwork, cannot be overlooked. All in all, I would recommend this to anyone who would like to begin to understand the vast panoply of angelic beings and lore out there. However, for a deeper study, one should go elsewhere.

Not only is this book about angels, it also has brief biographies about people like Edgar Cayce, and others whose work touches on the topic of angels. She lists all kinds of angels, good, bad, or neutral (there really are some that are listed as both!). I like to just pick up this book sometimes and just read through it, it is fascinating and comprehensive on the subject of angels. If you are at all interested in angels, you'll like this book...

I really enjoy this book. I bought it primarily as reference material (I'm a novelist, though not yet published). It turns out, though, that I just enjoy looking at the book even when I'm not looking through it for specific information. It's well-written; a very important feature of any book, but particularly books like this, which deal with touchy subjects. It is difficult to strike the right tone since angels are part of some people's religious beliefs and fantasy for others. I thought the author did a great job at being respectful and informative without painting angels as either fact or fiction. (I personally believe in them.)

I was slightly disappointed that none of the illustrations were colored: they are all black-and-white. They are still very interesting but I do think an occasional splash of color would have really enhanced the book quite nicely. Other then that, it's excellent. If you are interested in angels as fiction, fact, or any other reason, I think you'll be glad you bought this fairly comprehensive book.

This book is a fantastic resourced for anyone interested in Angle lore, or Angel healing. IF you are using angels in heaing , like Reiki, you need to know who are you are asking . I love the history,too.

I bought this book for my dad and he absolutely is loving it!
The history of where we get some terms and names is amazing.
It came in great shape and very quickly too.

Very useful when reading other works on Angels of Light and on Fallen Angels. I have found everything I have needed so far. Thank you.

Yolanda Galo

I haven't had a chance to really go through the book as of yet, but what little I did seemed interesting.