Customer Reviews

On the Trail of the Women Warriors: The Amazons in Myth and History

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There is a fine line between erudite scholarship and the conjuring up of ancient Goddesses,and I think Wilde has crossed it, but the book is marvelous. A must read for any Amazon wannabe. I'm going to give it five stars and hope that she writes more.It was a wickedly delicious romp into Woman Warrior-hood.

I've read alot of books about the Amazons and this is definately a first. It is definately the most realistic approach to the subject and I applaud the author's goals - finding the evidence of what could be the original inspiration for the stories of the Amazons. The book does not, like others, write off Amazons as a fantasy from the beginning and use them only to espouse various feminist ideas. It also doesn't have a stubborn faith that the Amazons existed EXACTLY as told in myth and stretch little amounts of evidence to the breaking point trying to "prove" their existence. And even though it does eventually HAVE to leave the subject of the mythical Greek Amazons and dig further and further back in time in many different cultures it is far from an "encyclopedia" of EVERY single woman in HISTORY that has ever been assertive.

Because it was so realistic, though, it does come off very dry and researchy.

I really don't know what to say about this book. It wasn't one of my favorites on the subject although it probably is the most useful and informative. If you have a big interest in the subject of Amazons and ancient history and archaeology then you'll appreciate this (maybe not like, but appreciate). But if you are looking for something that really invokes the fantasy and passion and obsession with the Amazons and what they have come to stand for then you definately have to look elsewhere.

I'm so glad I found this book! Well-researched, and with (perhaps more importantly) much of the content based on actual personal experiences in the places so many history books mention, this book is a welcome departure from the often wishful-sounding writing about Amazons that I've often found in my searches for reliable (and believeable) information about the great enigma of historical warrior women.

From personal experiences in Britain, to visits to archaeological sites, to insight from historical readings, this book fills in many gaps left by others, yet it leaves much to individual interpretation, as well. It's a great read!

Kudos to LWW!

This wonderful book takes the reader along on the author's journey to discover the truth, if any, about the Amazons, that mythical race of warrior women. I won't spoil the book for you by telling you of her conclusions, but I will say that the path she travels is a fascinating one, and well worth the read. Although she makes it clear in the introduction that she approaches the topic more as a journalist than as an academic, Webster Wilde is a true scholar--she has taken a subject rife with conjecture and fantasy, and examined it with care and rigor to produce a work that everyone interested in gender roles and female archetypes should read.

I need to give a response to Laurel MD who accuses me of gender-stereotyping in my book - she is in fact mis-reading me. There should be a clear distinction in the book between the symbolic qualities assigned women (whether we like them or not) and the actual qualities of actual women. Of course I don't believe that women are less 'reasonable' than men, or that men have no connection with instinct. But, in the world of classical Greece (and maybe still in many places now) women were seen as dangerous carriers of all that is to to with untrammelled instinct. Which is why the Amazons had always to be seen to be beaten! Laurel MD has read the book in the one-dimensional literal way, which I feel is her fault not the book's, and I would be so sorry if people were put off reading it because they think I am some kind of simple-minded gender-reactionary! Political correctness is the bugbear of intelligent thinking - the book is much much more subtle than this lady has recognised.

This is a stunning book, about the origins of warrior women, and in particular the myth of the amazons. It has obviously been meticulously researched, and is based on historic sources. Lyn is a wonderful writer, telling her story with flair, and keeping the reader fascinated and curious right up to the end. For me, it has been as much a discovery of the religious significance of women, and of the Goddess, as an interesting historical book. It follows the story, as far as we can tell, of warrior women, across time and space. I would recommend it to any reader.

This book tells the story of the amazons, a mystical tribe of women warriors that might have existed in Anatolia, the Ukraine, and North Africa 4,000 years ago. The Amazon myth expresses the switch from matriarchy to patriarchy in a tremendously interesting time in human development. For the first time I was able to get an overview of the time, when Greek heros clashed with goddess-worshipers. A very well researched book that can be read just like a thriller from the first to the last page!

The major part of this book is a celebration of Amazon spirit and Female (Shaki) Power. Encyclopedic in her scope and exhausting in her travels, the author portrays her subject with sensitivity and devotion. She really does visit the "land of the Amazons" in search of their warrior graves and their fabled city. The author writes: "...I have satisfied myself that all the components of the myth have existed in different times and places, and if you piece all these fragments together they make an image close to the Amazon archetype." And of Shakti power, she writes: "...the old elation began to rise in me: this was the secret we always forget, that women have the power, we have it inside us, ANYWAY...!" But, when the celebration stops, the condemnation begins, and portrayal turns to betrayal. The author's point of view remains firmly with the Classical Greeks, NOT the Amazons. Here is a series of quotes: "...we saw how, in order for civilisation to advance, the male side of human nature had to organise and order the wild chaotic energies of the female side..." "The struggle to tame the 'wild female' power continued, until finally in Classical Greece the battle was won and we had the dazzling beginnings of democracy....Reason conquers mystery, male conquers female..." "The hero HAD to crush this monster-" And, finally: "Therefore they had to be destroyed. But before they ride off into the long night of the losers of history, let us finally find out exactly who they were." This last quote is from the introduction, and refers to the Amazons as the "losers of history". I will always be grateful to the author for the treasure of information that is this book, but I think it would have been better if she had kept the celebration of female power going to the last page and trusted each reader to form his or her own conclusions.

I don't know how many years I've waited to read a book like this one - that doesn't automatically dismiss Amazons as some psychological hang-up of the Greeks, but seriously searches for the roots of these legends and finds connections to real 'amazons' at long last. I had been hearing about archaeological digs for a little while, so it was great to read the author's account of her visits to those sites. Give this book to teenage girls. They need to be reminded that there are other options than the limiting, stereotypical female roles that our culture imposes on us.

This is a historical book but don't let that fact scare you from reading about this fascinating subject that looks closely at "Warrior Women" through the ages with an emphasis on the myth (or not a myth?) of the Amazon Women. Did they exist as a people or were they representative of different women scattered across the globe throughout the centuries? Lyn Webster Wilde tries to answer this and her book is both colourful and informative, piquing the reader's interest as she talks us through a little known history, that of the "Warrior Woman." It would be a shame if this book did not come out in paperback as it would then be available to everyone, rather than scholars and people with an interest in women's history.