Collected in this book are some of the oldest and most exciting stories ever told: the stories of Perseus, Hercales, Jason, Odysseus, Moses, Samson, Beowolf, King Arthur, Roland, El Cid, and more. Beautifully illustrated with dramatic full-color paintings.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up-- Saxby retells the stories of 15 superheroes from Western literature in uniformly short chapters. In some cases, such as in Heracles's tale, he relates events in great detail; in telling the story of Arthur, he gives an outline and elaborates on parts. There is a brief overview of historical background to every geographical group of tales--ancient Greece, Sumeria and Babylon, Old Scandinavia, The Old Testament, Old England, and medieval France and Spain. A family tree is included for some heroes; it usually covers three or four generations. There is a good index and a bibliography of 30 titles, 26 of which are British; all are for adults. The full-color oil paintings are technically accomplished but static; even the most exciting, such as Cuchulain cutting off the head of the giant, are not as interesting as the subject warrants. Many look like posed portraits, and the figures are so idealized that, barring different clothing and hairstyles, they all look alike. The only inaccuracy occurs in the story of Odysseus: Cyclops's head is shown as a statue, with two blank eyeballs and a third open eye in the middle of his forehead, rather than as the traditional one-eyed giant. Saxby's writing style is spare, with little dialogue. He mentions the near absence of women in these stories, but no explanation is given for the fact that all the heroes (excepting Gilgamesh) come from the northern European tradition. Hopefully, readers will be inspired to find other, more complete books about these heroic figures, but no other source contains such a wide range of mythological and legendary heroes in one volume. --JoAnn Rees, Sunnyvale Public Library, CA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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