The World of Myth: An Anthology

by David A. Leeming

Book Overview

Hercules, Zeus, Thor, Gilgamesh--these are the figures that leap to mind when we think of myth. But to David Leeming, myths are more than stories of deities and fantastic beings from non-Christian cultures. Myth is at once the most particular and the most universal feature of civilization, representing common concerns that each society voices in its own idiom. Whether an Egyptian story of creation or the big-bang theory of modern physics, myth is...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195074750
• ISBN13: 9780195074758
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.2" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Great book for school! and then some...

I loved this book soo much that im reading this after my class is over. :)

What a Wonderful Book

I bought this book for a college class. I thought that I would end up stacking it with all of the rest. As I read the stories to do my homework, I began reading a whole lot more than I was required. The stories are short enough for the occasional reader to enjoy, but transition nicely for someone who wants to read a lot. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn how similar all of our cultures really are. If we could all learn how similar we are, it would be easier for us to overlook our differences and learn to get along... I also recommend this book for any history buffs, like me, who just enjoy reading tales from our ancestors...

Recommended to all!

Thanks for the great service. I receieved my text book super quick and the communication was top notch. So I recommend this seller to everyone who needs text books for college.

The Excellence of Leeming

Leeming is perhaps the premiere authority on comparative mythology today. He is the author and/or editor of numerous titles on the subject. The quality and depth of coverage of "The World of Myth: An Anthology" is no exception to his legacy of excellence. The book is loaded with bibliographies of the finest works ever written on the subject of mythology and religion. It is ideal as a foundation to mythology for anyone who wishes to take a personal journey through history, literature and religion.

Very Readable

Like other reviewers, I would have not given this book a second thought were it not one of my textbooks for English 102. I was pleasantly surprised! It is a very enjoyable introduction to viewing myths from the Jungian perspective. There are stories from all over the world, including the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran. While I am suspicious of a couple of the sources that Leeming uses, most are wonderful, from scholars like Joseph Campbell and Samuel Noah Kramer. I appreciate the most that there are actual translations of important myths like those of Inanna and Pan instead of paraphrasing or summaries: hearing them in their original lyrical form makes a BIG difference! There are few books that I will not sell back at the end of the semester: this is one that I hung on to!