Customer Reviews

Heroes and Heroines: Tlingit-Haida Legend

5 star:		(4)
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Just like Beck's "Shamans & Kushtakas" this book is a great reference on Tlingit & Haida mythology. She does an excellent job in both books passing on the legends of old into the 21st century. I am a Haida indian and I think she did a wonderful job

Having grown up in Alaska, I've had much exposure to Native Alaskan culture and have always loved reading or hearing their folklore. This particular book is a great collection of Tlingit-Haida legends, each of which is a sort of "how things came to be this way" story. They explain why a certain clan took a particular crest, or how a legendary hero came to fame, etc. What I found especially interesting is the comparison with folklore from other cultures. Each story is accompanied by a short introduction in which the author shows us the parallels between these tales and similar ones in Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology. The stories are set down in clear, simple language, but are still vivid and engrossing. My one criticism of the book would be that it's too short. There are only nine legends included, and this makes for only a small sampling of Tlingit-Haida lore. I would have loved to see more. However, I will not knock any point off my rating for this. The fact that I wish it had gone on longer only attests to its overall quality. This is a terrific book, easy to read, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in native folklore.

What an amazing book! I picked this up while traveling around Alaska, and I found it compelling enough to develop a class on mythology for the coming semester, using this book as one of the texts. The stories are entertaining and meaningful, and extremely readable. I know that my students are going to learn a great deal, but they will also enjoy every minute of it, for the storytelling within this text is truly beautiful. I wish I could find more books like it!

The illustrations are also beautiful. The book is one of the best folklore explorations I have read in years.

people should be reading this stuff, not the same old boring Plato/Homer stuff. This is the interesting stuff, the trickster who gets tricked and then tricks others. It's so valuable. And beautiful. And underrated.