More than any other book of the last fifty years (and perhaps ever), the Harry Potter novels have captured the imagination of children and adults around the world. Yet no one has ever been able to unlock the secret of Harry's wild popularity . . . until now. Updated and expanded since its original publication as Looking for God in Harry Potter (and now containing final conclusions based on the entire series), How Harry Cast His Spell explains why the books meet our longing to experience the truths of life, love, and death; help us better understand life and our role in the universe; and encourage us to discover and develop our own gifts and abilities.
How Harry Cast His Spell
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More About the Author
John Granger is an author, speaker, and professor. A graduate of the University of Chicago, where he studied classical languages and literature, he uses Harry Potter to teach English literature online at HogwartsProfessor.com. He is a frequent speaker at academic and fan conferences and has been interviewed as a "Harry Potter expert" in the "Wall Street Journal," the "New York Times," CNN, and the DVD of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." He and his wife, Mary, have seven children.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read many of John Granger's books and am completely enamored with The Deathly Hallows Lectures. I did not think that I would that this book supplant it as my favorite of Granger's writing, but it might be. Where the Lectures are a strong academic analysis after the completion of series, this book is written in a more straight forward manner and is the book that I will recommend to my friends and family who are more casual fans of the series. It should be noted that this is the third edition of the book previously titled Looking for God in Harry Potter, so if you think Christians are trying to force their world view into the Harry Potter series, then this isn't the book for you. Although you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy this book. J.K. Rowling has called the Christian symbolism in the books, "obvious," and she's writing in a tradition of British literature that is very Christian. Rowling is writing about her faith and you don't have to be religious to see how the final book in the series is a story to symbolize her personal faith and the struggle that ensues to even have faith. John Granger successfully synthesizes this and much more into this book to show how "a children's story" has become the most popular epic book in the last hundred years. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see the mechanics of why the Harry Potter series entralls millions of people worldwide.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books
June 10, 2009
By RebelReader
Format:Paperback
Harry Potter has captured the imaginations of millions of children and adults from every walk of life. The series has possibly experienced more popularity than any other book of the last fifty years having sold millions of copies around the world. With this in mind many have asked "Why is Harry Potter is so insanely popular?" As a fan of the Harry Potter series I already knew the answer, but this book has wrought to light many of the Christian aspects of series which I over looked. How Harry Potter casts his spells is an interesting look in to the Christian aspects of the Harry Potter Book series.
Below is the Table of Contents taken from the book. I like the way the Author wrote an explanation of each chapter in such a informative and humorous way. Through this book the Author adds a touch of humor to his writing.
Acknowledgments Publisher's Preface Introduction
1: Magic, Fantasy, and Transcendence
The magic in Harry Potter is traditional literary spellwork that acts as a counterspell to the materialism of our times.
2: Cosmic White Hats and Black Hats
The Harry Potter Novels revolve around the central conflict of good and evil
3: The Hero's Journey
Harry's adventures take him through life, death and resurrection
4: The Alchemy of Spiritual Growth
The story of cycles are built on the stages of transformation
5: One Person, Two Natures
Doppelgangers point to the struggle of dual natures- and their resolution in the God-Man.
6:Don't Judge, Lest You Be Judged
Surprise endings suggest a remedy for the evils of prejudice
7: The Triumph of Love over Death
The mystery of death meets the ultimate answer
8: The Question of Identity
Harry defines himself through choices, change, and destiny
9: Evidence of Things Unseen
The symbols in Potterdom are powerful pointers to spiritual realities
10: Fun with Names
The character names are delightful puzzles with hidden spiritual meanings
11: The Purification of the Soul
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
12: Dangerous Books and Edifying Books
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
13: Despair and Delivery
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban
14: Girded with Virtue
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
15: Dark night of the Soul
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the the Order of the Phoenix
16: Baptism into a Sacrificial Death
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
17: Choosing to Believe
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the stuggle with faith in story form
18: Christian Birth through Baptism
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the alchemical adventures of a Christian Everyman
19: Victory Over Death
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the Passion gospel of Christian Everyman
20: FAQs
The other big questions on the minds of Harry Potter reader's
Notes
My Personal Opinion
"How Harry Cast His Spell:The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books"
is an interesting read for any Christian fan of Harry Potter, this book shows that Christian symbolism is easily found in the Harry Potter series for those willing to search for it.
Below is the Table of Contents taken from the book. I like the way the Author wrote an explanation of each chapter in such a informative and humorous way. Through this book the Author adds a touch of humor to his writing.
Acknowledgments Publisher's Preface Introduction
1: Magic, Fantasy, and Transcendence
The magic in Harry Potter is traditional literary spellwork that acts as a counterspell to the materialism of our times.
2: Cosmic White Hats and Black Hats
The Harry Potter Novels revolve around the central conflict of good and evil
3: The Hero's Journey
Harry's adventures take him through life, death and resurrection
4: The Alchemy of Spiritual Growth
The story of cycles are built on the stages of transformation
5: One Person, Two Natures
Doppelgangers point to the struggle of dual natures- and their resolution in the God-Man.
6:Don't Judge, Lest You Be Judged
Surprise endings suggest a remedy for the evils of prejudice
7: The Triumph of Love over Death
The mystery of death meets the ultimate answer
8: The Question of Identity
Harry defines himself through choices, change, and destiny
9: Evidence of Things Unseen
The symbols in Potterdom are powerful pointers to spiritual realities
10: Fun with Names
The character names are delightful puzzles with hidden spiritual meanings
11: The Purification of the Soul
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
12: Dangerous Books and Edifying Books
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
13: Despair and Delivery
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban
14: Girded with Virtue
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
15: Dark night of the Soul
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the the Order of the Phoenix
16: Baptism into a Sacrificial Death
Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
17: Choosing to Believe
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the stuggle with faith in story form
18: Christian Birth through Baptism
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the alchemical adventures of a Christian Everyman
19: Victory Over Death
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the Passion gospel of Christian Everyman
20: FAQs
The other big questions on the minds of Harry Potter reader's
Notes
My Personal Opinion
"How Harry Cast His Spell:The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books"
is an interesting read for any Christian fan of Harry Potter, this book shows that Christian symbolism is easily found in the Harry Potter series for those willing to search for it.
19 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"How Harry Cast His Spell" by John Granger (Any relation to Hermione?) initially captures the reader's attention with the lovely cover. Inside, the beautiful font, wonderful graphics and page header designs tickle the eyes. This is a humorously written look at why the Harry Potter franchise is such a phenomenon. The author points out the Christian concepts that are prominent in the immensely popular boy wizard stories, which only seems to prove that you can find the good in something if you go looking for it. Sadly, I find that the same is true if you go looking for the bad.
I don't consider this a must read unless you're severely anti-Harry Potter, in which case, you probably wouldn't read the book anyway. However, I must applaud the author for the amount of thought he put into this book. His research and the conclusions he's drawn are fascinating. This takes Harry Potter to a whole new level of enjoyment for me, personally.
I don't consider this a must read unless you're severely anti-Harry Potter, in which case, you probably wouldn't read the book anyway. However, I must applaud the author for the amount of thought he put into this book. His research and the conclusions he's drawn are fascinating. This takes Harry Potter to a whole new level of enjoyment for me, personally.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harry Potter Books Are Not Evil !
Somehow, some way a few Christians jumped the gun on the Harry Potter books and a few churches ran with their misinformed evaluation. Read more
Published 2 months ago by S. Morrison
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Meaning Behind the Mania of Harry Potter
Thirteen years ago I was confronted by our then extreme, right wing, homeschooling neighbor with accusations that "Harry Potter is evil, he is the antichrist. Read more
Published 3 months ago by K. Alphs
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harry illustrated
If you would like to know the Christianity behind the Harry Potter books, this is the book to read. I really enjoyed knowing more about the thoughts being presented throughout the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Peggy Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book was mind boggling
This book woke me up to the use of Alchemy in literature. Where was I? How did I not see it? Alchemy is everywhere especially in Harry Potter. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Virginia Porter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Showing you a way
This book just shows how well you can be to notice things others do not.Looking at the details closly and carefully.I have always been a Harry Potter fan my self.J.K. Read more
Published 14 months ago by eduardo salazar
2.0 out of 5 stars
Christianity at its worst
Based on the concept of the "ugly American", this guy is an ugly Christian. He's so in love with his own theory that he goes way out of his way to ignore any (considerable)... Read more
Published on February 22, 2011 by mizlee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literary Alchemy
Recently finished "How Harry Cast His Spell".
I recieved an autographed copy as a gift at Christmas.
This is an excellent book. Read more
I recieved an autographed copy as a gift at Christmas.
This is an excellent book. Read more
Published on January 22, 2011 by Joe Da Bear
4.0 out of 5 stars
Historically and Biblically backed up + inspiring
I liked learning about the symbolism and the name meanings (such as how Latin translations go into place). Read more
Published on November 9, 2010 by Justice Pirate
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful
This book provides and insightful and compelling argument for the Harry Potter fan to understand some of the deeper themes and symbols used in the series. Read more
Published on November 30, 2009 by Ryan Osullivan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't judge a book by it's title!
John Granger is a good writer and this is an "ok" book. HOWEVER... I had no idea there would be so many Biblical/Christian references in this book! Read more
Published on August 30, 2009 by K. Zainea
