Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide [Hardcover]

Malcolm South (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 1987

"This serious, scholarly treatment of 20 imaginary beings, from dragon and phoenix to giants and fairies, discusses the origin of each as an idea, its symbolism and lore, and its appearances in art, literature, or film. . . . Extensive bibliographies follow the generally ambitious and erudite essays while a final catch-all article and selective bibliography cover still more ground, at a gallop. . . . [There] are a number of thoughtful and well-written interpretive investigations into the nature and history of some persistent types. Entries on the Basilisk, Harpies, Medusa, and the Sphinx are particularly fine: here one feels that the mystery and power of these imaginative creatures is not vitiated by scholarly taxidermy." Library Journal "[This] book provides thorough documentation of the best-known creatures of fantasy with a breadth of coverage that is both impressive and delightful. Recommended for all libraries supporting research in mythology, fantasy, folklore, or popular culture." Choice

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This serious, scholarly treatment of 20 imaginary beings, from dragon and phoenix to giants and fairies, discusses the origin of each as an idea, its symbolism and lore, and its appearances in art, literature, or film. Extensive bibliographies follow the generally ambitious and erudite essays, while a final catch-all article and selective bibliography cover still more ground, at a gallop. Although much of the book is concentrated and heavy goinguseful, as the subtitle suggests, mainly for referencethere are a number of thoughtful and well-written interpretive investigations into the nature and history of some persistent types. Entries on the Basilisk, Harpies, Medusa, and the Sphinx are particularly fine: here one feels that the mystery and power of these imaginative creations is not vitiated by scholarly taxidermy. Patricia Dooley, formerly with English Dept., Drexel Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Essays by 18 contributors about 20 imaginary creatures provide information on their probable origins, symbolism, legends, and appearances in history, literature, and art. All the creatures, including those mentioned in a catchall essay for lesser-known beings, are accessible through a meticulous index, which also includes literary references in the text. Excellent bibliographies follow each essay, and a glossary and a taxonomy of creatures are appended. Most of the material is drawn from Indo-European sources, with occasional references to the Far East, North America, and Africa. `Literature' begins with the most ancient texts and continues to current fantasy novels, while `art' includes painting, sculpture, jewelry, movies, and T.V. This makes for wonderfully serendipitous bibliographies ... [this] book provides thorough documentation of the best-known creatures of fantasy with a breadth of coverage that is both impressive and delightful. Recommended for all libraries supporting research in mythology, fantasy, folklore, or popular culture.”–Choice

“This serious, scholarly treatment of 20 imaginary beings, from dragon and phoenix to giants and fairies, discusses the origin of each as an idea, its symbolism and lore, and its appearances in art, literature, or film.... Extensive bibliographies follow the generally ambitious and erudite essays, while a final catch-all article and selective bibliography cover still more ground, at a gallop.... [There] are a number of thoughtful and well-written interpretive investigations into the nature and history of some persistent types. Entries on the Basilisk, Harpies, Medusa, and the Sphinx are particularly fine: here one feels that the mystery and power of these imaginative creations is not vitiated by scholary taxidermy.”–Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 422 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (March 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313243387
• ISBN-13: 978-0313243387
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,573,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot you'd never find out without reading this book, March 27, 2000

By 

"sailorkitty" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide (Paperback)

This book has so much information on mythical creatures.I was looking for information on mythical creatures and I couldn't find much of anything besides books about unicorns and dragons.This book doesn't have it all but it's got an awful lot.Go order this book,even though it's out of print it's still worth the wait.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly and Fun, December 24, 2008

By 

Theseus "theseus" (US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide (Paperback)

That's it. A 3 word review: scholarly and fun.

(Over 40 pages of biblographic information.)

4.0 out of 5 stars Learned some things, February 15, 2012

By 

Samuel + Girlfriend (Kitty) (A Better Place) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide (Paperback)

My boyfriend bought this for me because I enjoy writing and reading about mythical creatures. I thought it would serve as inspiration for my own writing, and though I didn't come across any creatures that were unknown to me, the book offered information about popular myths that I was unaware of. So it wasn't a complete waste of time. This book would have been greatly improved by including more rare, not-as-heard-of creatures.