Customer Reviews

The Mammoth Dictionary of Symbols (The Mammoth Book Series)

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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.