The Mammoth Dictionary of Symbols (The Mammoth Book Series) [Paperback]

Nadia Julien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996 | Series: The Mammoth Book Series

This amazing and essential work brings together all the symbolic systems of the world. Highly regarded educator Nadia Julien deciphers the shapes, signs and images in which mankind has expressed thoughts, feelings and eternal truths. Cataloged, classified and clarified here are the multitude of coded meanings invested in objects, plants and animals by the world's cultures throughout history. Illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Paperback: 524 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786703016
• ISBN-13: 978-0786703012
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars extremely useful reference tome, October 26, 2004

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Chalice & Codice "silverpoint" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mammoth Dictionary of Symbols (The Mammoth Book Series) (Paperback)

While the Mammoth Dictionary of Symbols probably isn't the most complete resource for the various symbolisms of different cultures and the significance of everything from an apple to the zodiac, it's definitely the best overview. Writing is clear, concise, and interesting, and I love to open my copy and simply peruse a bit, learning new things about shapes and numbers that I see every day.

If you're in to fiction in a major way, this can be an extremely useful reference. While reading Dorothy Dunnett this past summer, I found it very helpful to keep my Dictionary of Symbols nearby, so I could look up some of her more obscure references and reoccuring symbols. This book is the perfect size, too- thick but light, small enough to be comfortable carrying around but large enough not to seem terribly abridged. The paperback format is reasonably sturdy (for paperback), and my pages haven't creased or dogeared yet. Simple black-and-white illustrations in clean, concise lines provide visual references that makes a lovely addition. Not the choice if you're looking to write a 5000 word research paper on the history of the chimera, but if you simply want to know what one is, where it came from, and the significance of it in one short paragraph, this is the book for you.