Customer Reviews

The Forest in Folklore and Mythology

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

 

 

This title is a new edition reprinted from the original, published in the late 19th century. As is common in books of its time, Porteous' is more a compilation of facts about trees in folklore, gleaned from a myriad of other sources. The Forest is less a book to be read from cover to cover than a reference. Well indexed, it is relatively easy to find information on just about any mythological association to trees and other woodsy denizens. Europe, Asia, North and South Americas, the Pacific Islands... there is hardly a region of the world not represented here. I did notice that much of the data in this volume can also be researched on the internet (although I have not googled for Asian/Eurasian/Middle Eastern material, I must admit.) Nevertheless, The Forest is handy for quick, all in one place fact finding.

Part of studying ethnobotany is understanding the mythology and folklore surrounding plants. I was recommended to buy this book for an ethnobotany class, and I found it to be very informative and useful. It explains a great deal of things, it really stays on track, and it has a ton of facts and information that really keeps your attention. This is really a great book, and if you are already interested enough to click on it, I'm sure you would love it!

All kinds of stuff on forests and trees from various folklore, religion and mythology sources from cultures all over the world. Read this and go for a long walk in the woods alone at night and I doubt you won't believe there is something magic and spiritually alive in the forest.

I have a love for trees and forests, so I thought I would love this book as well, but it's so dry that it puts me to sleep everytime I try to read it. It does have a lot of information, but it reads more like a laundry list than a narrative. If you're looking for information, this is your book. If you're looking for an interesting read, look elsewhere.

I loved this book, it's the 3rd time I'm reading it and it's such a wonderful book. I have a deep love for forests and trees in general (more than I have for society :P) and this book was what I needed to increase my wonder in nature's respects ... it's wonderfully written, the amount of facts that are packed in the book is amazing. It's a book I would reccommend to everyone!!!!

keltica, the celtic fire

A wonderful book! So many facts and meanderings are to be found within. It's a reprint of the 1928 copy. Not to be missed if you adore forests and feel an awe-inspiring hush and stirring when you are enveloped in it's arms....listening to the leaves talk.

If you enjoy the myths and folk-tales ,surrounding the lore of trees,then i would like to recommend this arboral classic to you.The problem that some readers may have with the book is the erudite and dated style of the book.Yet,that's the type of book ,i like.There's another difficulty with the book,in a global context.It being written some eighty years ago,it leaves out Native-american,Latin-american,Asian and African myths and tree legends .Completely catering to a European-american audience only.So,keeping that in mind,is really helpful before hand.Nevertheless,it's a wealth of 'enthnodendrography' ,that will entertain and educate all scholars of the 'Dendro-Mythos'.

love the book!My daughter is a folklorist. I gave it as a present to her. She loves its information! Thrilled to add it to her folklore library!

I picked this book for research purposes and was greatly looking forward to reading it. What a disappointment. It lists a vast amount of information with little to no structure. A tough and rambling read, to say the least. More often than not it appears the author has simply copy/pasted information from a multitude of other sources. If you're looking for mythically captivating read, this is definitely not it.

wow, this is an old book, just re-released. it is written in old english. Very odd and seems to ramble