Customer Reviews

Mythology for Dummies

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mythology fans and scholars who want more than your usual Greek and Roman mythology will enjoy MYTHOLOGY FOR DUMMIES by Christopher Blackwell et al. This book also delves into the Arthurian legend, Norse myths, Beowulf, as well as world mythology in general (Chinese, Jewish, Hindu, etc). At over 300 pages, it does a good job of covering the various myths around the world.

However, those who are interested mainly in classical mythology (e.g. Jupiter/Zeus, Juno/Hera, the Trojan War, Odysseus, Perseus, Hercules) will likely prefer THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY by Kevin Osborn. This book gets more into the history and backgrounds of the Greek and Roman gods/goddesses and heroes/heroines. For instance, an entire chapter is devoted to the Trojan War hero Achilles while the "Dummies" book only has a few paragraphs, at the most.

We're not idiots or dummies, of course, and these books are excellent reference guides to the world of mythology. At over 350 pages, both books are meaty and informative, interesting and engrossing. Your choice as a reader solely depends on where your interests lie.

I would recommend the "Dummies" book to those who are interested in world mythology and the "Idiot's Guide" to those who strictly want Greek and Roman mythology. I would also recommend Edith Hamilton's various mythology books. Her books actually give a "cliff's notes" version of the various stories and tales - ranging from the Arthurian legends, to the Trojan War, to the Aeneid and beyond.

Written in the friendly Dummies style, illustrated with many pictures, drawings, maps, charts, humorous icon guides and even hilarious cartoons, this book presents the best collection of explained myths, legends, traditions and folktales available today in a single volume.
Through simple, yet detailed, and clear explanations, this reference covers in less than 350 pages the gods, divinities, heroes, monsters and places that are part of our world's vast collection of mythologies. Organized according to their provenance, the selection discussed includes the Greek, Roman, Northern European, Mesopotamian, Hebrew, Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Latin American and Northern American Indian mythologies. It also explores the everyday connection between them and the societies that created them, and their relevance in the religion, literature, art, politics and even the social organization of the civilizations from which they came. As a bonus, the book contains two sections, Ten Mythological Monsters and Ten Mythological Places, which give detailed and engrossing descriptions of the most fabulous monsters and fantastic places that are a direct product of mythology. Since this book is fully cross-referenced comparisons between mythologies are very easy to make, and its very thorough index is great for quick check-ups and specific consultations.
Although this book could have been edited better, since it has a more than just a few typographical errors and repeated paragraphs, it is a very well researched, informative and entertaining reference, even presented with a dash of humor, that makes learning about world mythologies fun.
The information and the literary and historical references in this book are well worth its price, and make it the most entertaining place to start your mythological studies and an extraordinary resource to launch you into a deeper study of mythology.
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar

I like so many others studied classical and Norse mythology in junior high school. What I had forgotten of course besides the wonderful stories were the stories of the gods and goddesses themselves, along with the cultures that spawned these stories. And each culture reflects the mood of the stories. Greece and Rome had stories that at times could be harsh, but could also be fun and cheerful. Norse myths on the other hand definitely had a dark tone to most of them. The book also touches on other myths, including the epic battle of Beowulf versus Grendel, King Arthur and Camelot, and other cultures' myths (among them Egyptian, Indian, Chinese and Japanese, and also Latin America)

What this book does besides describing various gods, goddesses and heroes of each culture, is to also discuss each culture's societies, be them Greek, Roman, Egyptian, etc. I liked refreshing my mind about Greek and Roman deities, but also learning about the deities of numerous other countries that I'd never had the chance to read about before.

This book brought back memories of myths I studied long ago, as well as learning about other cultures and their myths that I never knew existed.

This book has a lot of information about greek and roman mythology, and is a good introduction to the other mythologies of the world.

I was happy with the sections on Norse mythology, Beowulf, and the Arthurian legends. I was also happy with the section of Gilgamesh and the Emuna Elish.

However, it kind of dumps everything else into a single chapter, trying to squeeze a lot of information into as little space as possible.

I was a little disappointed with how it skips over the central american mythologies (Aztec, Maya, etc.), only lightly touching on them. I think this is an interesting subject that deserves more attention. I could say the same for the rest of the fifth part of the book, especially Egypt and India.

A little less attention could be paid to the Greek and Romans and a little more to the others.

Also, it doesn't mention anything about African mythology. This is probably because of a lack of records, but a nod could have been given, at least.

'Mythology for Dummies' is part of the widely-read 'Dummies' series, and lives up to most of the expectations one might have of a volume in that series. It has the requisite cartoons, the various side-bar items throughout the text, and the the top-ten lists at the end - in this case, the Top Ten Places (which includes Vahalla, Elysium, Atlantis, even Brigadoon) and the Top Ten Monsters (Gorgons, Unicorns, the Sphinx, dragons, etc.).

This is a volume of mythology is not just classical Greek and Roman mythology (that which most people think of when they think of mythology). It does include these in good measure, but also goes further afield to include an overview of the main characters, stories and ideas of mythological constructs in cultures all over the world. These include some that are familiar and related to the Greco-Roman traditions - Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia, Celtic and Nordic mythologies. There are also those that are quite removed from this collection of pantheons - the Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Native American traditions of mythology are also included here.

The first section gives a brief overview of what mythology is and isn't. It doesn't go too deeply into the debate over religion (after all, one person's mythology might be another person's religion). It does give some insight into the purpose of such stories for the cultures that maintained them, and how we have come to regard such tales in more modern times. Mythology is not just about gods, goddesses and monsters, after all. Often there is a very strong human component in the myths, which can serve for ethical and moral instruction as well as inspiration. These are written in the witty style typical of the series - 'How to spot a myth a mile away' is one section title. Mythology is also shown to be not something exclusively of the ancient world - American myths such as Johnny Appleseed and Br'er Rabbit are highlighted as examples.

Some of the stories included here fall more under the category of 'legend' than 'mythology' in popular definition - the stories of King Arthur, for example, do fall under the category of mythology, although it is rarely assigned such categorisation for a host of reasons. However, the Arthurian legends are contained here (one section is entitled 'Sex, Lies, and Good Jousting'). The text also ventures into the delicate area of the parallels between ancient Mesopotamian legends and early Biblical stories - tales such as the Tower of Babel and the Great Flood bear striking similarity to many extra-canonical tales in the ancient region.

The prose is good and accessible, like most of the Dummies books. There are some graphics and line-art drawings, and the chapters are short enough for the typical reader to finish easily in one sitting. This is a fun way to learn the old stories, and relate them to modern times. I would recommend this book for adults with a general interest, and also for undergraduate students and even high school students who want a survey of the material.

I got this book because I wanted a quick overview of mythology. The authors preface it by assuring their readers they take mythology very seriously. I shrugged when I read that, but as I began reading the content of their book, I understood why they felt the need to start off with such a defensive statement. While I don't doubt they meant what they said and do indeed take mythology seriously, little of that comes through in the book. I have no problem with the idea of presenting the subject matter with humor, but throughout the reading I found myself cringing at headings like, "Pharaohs: Nifty Church and State Combo", "Goddess Gangs: A Motley Crew", "Ea in the House", "Some Sunblock, a Sacrifice, a Monster, and Thou: Non-European Mythology", "Tao- Wow!", etc, etc. The text is so slangy and hip, riddled with so many off-hand references to pop culture, that it leaves me with the sensation their target market are pre-teens and the authors are trying to render their subject matter as relevant to them as Grand Theft Auto and Emo music. Although the book did cover many subjects, it left me feeling unsatisfied. I don't think I have a much better grasp on mythology than when I picked it up. What the book did do, however, is give me enough of a taste to realize which categories of mythology attract me and which do not. I now have a clearer idea what I want so I can choose my next books on this subject better.

Edit: Since I wrote this review, I read another big anthology: World Mythology, The Illustrated Guide by Roy Willis. In many ways, I like the Illustrated Guide better for tone and the beautiful images of ancient art, but in retrospect, I have to say, Mythology for Dummies does do one thing much better... It actually tells more of the stories in blow by blow fashion, rather than skimming and summarizing. In reading the same myths in the two different books, I realize that Mythology For Dummies included more detail for more of the actual tales.

In other words, given a book that announces its intention to appeal to those of limited intelligence proudly and plainly in the title, you can't expect the scholarship of a Robert Graves or a Joseph Campbell. *Mythology for Dummies* is exactly what it advertises itself to be; it's a loose and wide-ranging summary of world mythology that's easy to read, even if sometimes so much so that its dopiness sets one's teeth on edge. There's a fine line between simplifying a subject so that even the stupid will get it--and merely stupefying your readers with tedium and this book hops back and forth across that line quite freely.

The authors adopt an "entertaining," at times annoying chattiness, but, for the most part, come through on providing a sampling, albeit superficial, of the major mythological systems, focusing mainly on the Greek myths for approximately the first half of the book and then pulling back to offer a more panoramic and less-detailed view of Norse, Egyptian, Chinese, Mesoamerican, and Native American mythology. This book is probably best suited for kids and adults who want a quick refresher of stories they've forgotten--or confused--over the years. Who was Perseus married to, what were the 7 labors of Hercules? It's the kind of book that might fire your interest to read deeper into the subject, and, indeed, that's one of the stated intentions of the authors. A book of this size, covering a subject the size of world mythology, can't help but be the most basic of outlines. And this is exactly that.

Although there's no reason for me to doubt the accuracy of the information provided in *Mythology for Dummies,* the inexplicable number of careless typographical and grammatical errors in the text sure don't inspire much confidence. I mean, I'm far from a stickler for detail or one of those kooks who writes letters to publishers when a semi-colon is misused on page 159--but when the running heads on an entire chapter about Mesoamerican mythology reads: Latin America: It'll Tear Your Hear Out" when it's meant to read "Heart," you've really got to wonder. Did anyone give this book more than a cursory look before publishing it? It's a good idea to write a book "for" dummies; not such a good idea for it to be written "by" dummies. Perhaps they ought to come out with a volume called "Copyediting for Dummies" and read it themselves.

Anyway, these caveats aside, I give *Mythology for Dummies* a qualified four stars--3.5 would be more accurate, but the usefulness of this book, particularly for kids, kicks it up half-a-star, and Ive just consumed a satisfying lunch.

This book might not be suitable for children under twelve. But it's still a good book because I like mythology. Some people will say it's a bad book, and will not like the pictures, but ignore them. My favorite chapter is the one about the ten mythological creatures, although I counted only eight. I like the details about the dragons, the phoenix, the sphinx, griffons, and Cerberus the Hound of Hell.

This book is good for studying mythology.

This is probably one of the best Dummies books I have seen. It takes subject matter that can be very boring at times and makes it very approachable for the average person.
It has very little depth and is a sampler of mythology. The author does instruct about the various periods and provides enough of the more popular fables, tales, and such.

The author did a great job of including Native American and other folklore which most people have never read.

It is a very entertaining read and it is not too clever for its own good.

I bought this for my daughter, since mythology has all but disappeared as part of high school cirriculum. And I did buy it for myself as well.

This is not a study guide, as other reviewers have noted, and it is not the authors intention..

I like mythology. A lot. This book actually helped me get a few facts straight and helped me understand where a few of the stories came from, all in a nice, funny, logical way. Just what you expect from a Dummies book.