Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural [Paperback]

Arthur Lehmann (Author), James Myers (Author), Pamela Moro (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0073122696 | ISBN-13: 978-0073122694 | Publication Date: July 15, 2004 | Edition: 6

This comparative reader takes an anthropological approach to the study of religious beliefs, both strange and familiar. The engaging articles on all key issues related to the anthropology of religion grab the attention of students, while giving them an excellent foundation in contemporary ideas and approaches in the field. The multiple authors included in each chapter represent a range of interests, geographic foci, and ways of looking at each subject. Divided into 10 chapters, this book begins with a broad view of anthropological ways of looking at religion, and moves on to some of the core topics within the subject, such as myth, ritual, and the various types of religious specialists.

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 6 edition (July 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073122696
• ISBN-13: 978-0073122694
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Buy it used, May 20, 2008

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V (Dominican Republic) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Paperback)

I truly believe the book is too expensive for its quality and lenght, and you can find it used at very cheap prices and in extremelly good conditions, the one I bought was really as good as new and I only paid USD12.
I think the description of the book is a little misleading since I was expecting something like MArvin Harris, Diamond or Robert Wright analyzes on the existence of spirituality and it turned out to be a compilation of essays. True, most of them are really interesting and if you are not subscribed to LStore via university it is quite difficult to find these papers by themselves. The selected authors are like the divas of anthropology and I think that the book is nice to have as a consultation tool whenever you feel like wandering into certain topics.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compilation of very educational articles, April 10, 2006

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Valerie V. Seippel "Valerie Feria-Isacks" (Fremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Paperback)

I had to read this for an Anthropology class (Magic Witchcraft and Religion) and got so much out of it. Not only did my perspectives on some things change but I got a deeper understanding of the mechanics behind religion's role in society.

Some of the articles were very funny too especially the one on the Simpson's as social commentary.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little dated, a little hard to get through, but it grows on you, June 5, 2009

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T. Cobbs "T Cobbs" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Paperback)

I also had to read this book for a beginning anthropology class, and at first thought I'd have to drop the class because it was such a miserable book to read. There were a few sprinkled 'interesting' articles, but in retrospect, I did find myself sharing some interesting tidbits of information with friends, and I can look on it now (some three years later) with the fondness we look on past dental visits or childbirth (it wasn't so bad afterall).
Definitely not a book for the casual reader, though.
It was also 'fun' to look up some of the authors on the internet, and find out just how kooky they are. (One of the American Anthropologists who turned shaman, especially.) It gave a bit of perspective on what they wrote.