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A Short History of Myth Paperback – October 1, 2006

by Karen Armstrong (Author)

90 customer reviews

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“Human beings have always been mythmakers.” So begins best-selling writer Karen Armstrong’s concise yet compelling investigation into myth: what it is, how it has evolved, and why we still so desperately need it. She takes us from the Paleolithic period and the myths of the hunters right up to the “Great Western Transformation” of the last five hundred years and the discrediting of myth by science. The history of myth is the history of humanity, our stories and beliefs, our curiosity and attempts to understand the world, which link us to our ancestors and each other. Heralding a major series of retellings of international myths by authors from around the world, Armstrong’s characteristically insightful and eloquent book serves as a brilliant and thought-provoking introduction to myth in the broadest sense—and explains why if we dismiss it, we do so at our peril.

A Short History of Myth

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Product Details

Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Canongate U.S.; Reprint edition (October 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 184195800X
ISBN-13: 978-1841958002
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #639 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Folklore & Mythology

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Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		51%
4 star		24%
3 star		16%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Top Customer Reviews

Compelling

By Edward Tsai on October 30, 2005

Format: Hardcover

This book is not an introduction to the mythology ... there are many other books for that. Rather, it is an essay on what role myths (and ultimately religion and spirituality) play in human life and why they remain important. Myths provide a means to connect our finite lives, bonded by our inescapably mortal condition and the fear that inevitably accompanies the knowledge of our ultimate fate, with the infinite beyond us, a connection that we feel in moments of transcendence where we literally lose our individual selves and communion with something greater than ourselves ... be that God, the universe, our antecedents or heroic examples. Myth in short gives our lives meaning and significance in an otherwise frightening and indifferent world. Myths are not to be taken literally, because to do so would take the sacred out of the realm of the sacred and make it profane. Myths inhabit the world of the sacred because they are meant to exist beyond the world of profane explanation.

What Armstrong does very well is to explain how advances in the material and economic condition of human civilization throughout history and prehistory interacted with this basic human need to transcend his immediate condition to create various epochs of myth. She goes beyond myth to explain the competitors to myth, be it ritual without mythology (i.e., Confucianism) or logos (i.e., Greek rationalism) and how they had their roots in myth and why they are linked still. Her explanations are lucid and her prose is clear. For such a short book, she packs a lot of information in and, more importantly, compelling ideas.

The only shortcoming I felt was the last chapter on Armstrong's view of the future in the West, which seems to rely too heavily on literature.Read more ›

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Drives home her themes

By David E. Levine on November 16, 2005

Format: Hardcover

In reading other works by Karen Armstrong, a recurrent theme is the dichotomy between mythos and logos. Mythos implies myth and wonderment. Logos, on the other hand, seeks to make sense of reality through scientific and historic reason. In "A History of God," Armstrong, by examining the development of the three major Western religions, shows the progression from mythos to logos. In that book, it was unclear to me whether Ms. Armstrong, a former nun, believes that this progression is ultimately a good or a bad development. However, here, in "A Short History of Myth," it is clear that Ms. Armstrong decries the disappearance of mythos.

Throughout the ages, myth has developed appropriate to the society of that time, whether it be early hunting societies, later agricultural societies, urban societies or modern society. The early mythology was understood to be mythology. Mythology is a way to get at the truth. I had the opportunity to speak briefly to Ms. Armstrong at a booksigning when I purchased this book. I told her that I believe in God but, I do not view God anthropomorphically. I related to her that God is unimaginable to me but that I nonetheless pray to anthropomorphic mythological images of God because I cannot pray to an abstraction. Ms. Armstrong (to my great pride and delight)heartily endorsed my viewpoint. The tragedy today is that so many people have no appreciation for myth. They either do not believe in any sort of divinity and only accept what can be proven logically, historically, and scientifically or they take an opposite view which also denies myth. This opposite view is that everything in the Bible actually happened and can be proven through reason; that everything is scientifically and historically true and not a myth.Read more ›

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Myth-ing in Action

By mrliteral VINE VOICE on January 22, 2006

Format: Hardcover

Karen Armstrong, an adept writer about religious history, takes a bit of a breather with this short book on the role of myth in society. Not that this book is missing her typically astute writing, just that it's brief, almost more of an extended essay than an in-depth look at the subject.

Armstrong follows the development of myth from prehistoric times to the present. Myth, as she describes it, is a fundamental part of human development, and similar stories can be found from culture to culture. The use of myth is a way for people to connect with the unseen forces of the universe. In the earliest days (the era of the hunter-gatherers), everything seemed to be imbued with this supernatural force: rocks, animals and the sky. With the development of agriculture and civilization, new myths developed and eventually, there would be a rebellion against myth.

In fact the concluding portion of the book revisits the ideas Armstrong presented in greater detail in The Battle for God. Namely, when there is a conflict between myth and reason, a backlash will occur (taking the form of what we would consider fundamentalism).

As with other books of Armstrong's that I have read, this is written with a sophisticated audience in mind and will not be an easy read for everyone. In addition, the more religiously orthodox may be offended by some of her writing, which treats the stories of the monotheistic faiths as mythical as the tales of Zeus or Odin. But with these caveats in mind, this is a good, insightful book that will provide perspective on the role that myth has played in human development.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

An important book for our time

Wonderfully written. A big idee explained in concise and clear language.

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer

Book good but covered marred by seller

The book is fascinating. I am taking a class using it. HOWEVER, I will NEVER buy from that seller again as the whole cover has an ugly non-peel,off sticker plastered all over it. Read more

Published 2 months ago by S. Hershberger

Spiritual history and the need for myth

This was not short. I wrote an outline to follow it better. The part I liked best was the analysis of our current modern need for mythology, Our dependence on Science /technology... Read more

Published 2 months ago by D. Muise

Great read and on point.

I found this book very interesting,insightful and the author was very concise with the subject. I have read Joseph Campbell's book,the Power of Myths and Mrs Armstrong's book was... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Amir K. Akwetee

Short in length, Long in perspective

In a swift 149 pages, Karen Armstrong covers a lot of ground. She communicates the importance of myth. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Abner Rosenweig

excellent book to read

fun to read

Published 6 months ago by JR Crombez, Ph.D.

Four Stars

Contains a good summary of current insight. Perhaps a bit too slanted towards the need for a God mythology.

Published 7 months ago by Sandra Skinner

Karen Armstrong Does it Again

I love everything this woman writes. I think I have read almost all of her works. She has a broad vision of the whole scope of religious history that is just astounding to me. Read more

Published 7 months ago by George T. Chapman

A Catalyst

I have read several of Karen Armstrong's books prior to this book.
One of the reasons I choose this book was Ms Armstrong provides an abridged and simple understanding of a... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Paul G. Downey

Five Stars

Concise and easy to understand history of religion from antiquity

Published 7 months ago by nebre construction company

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