The World of Myth: An Anthology

By David A. Leeming

Book Overview

Since its publication in 1991, The World of Myth has provided thousands of students with a fascinating, wide-ranging introduction to world mythology. Building on the bestselling tradition of the first edition, the long-awaited second edition offers a uniquely comprehensive collection of myths from numerous cultures around the globe. Featuring a thematic organization, it helps students understand world mythology as a metaphor for humanity's search for meaning in a complex world. Author David Leeming presents a sweeping variety of myths whose origins range from ancient Egypt and Greece to the Polynesian islands and modern science. Students will be captivated by stories of great floods from the ancient Babylonians, Hebrews, Chinese, and Mayans; tales of apocalypse from India, the Norse, Christianity, and modern science; myths of the mother goddess from Native American Hopi culture and James Lovelock's Gaia; and much more. One of the most wide-ranging anthologies available, this volume includes myths from African, Australian Aboriginal, Aztec, Celtic, Chinese, Greek, Hittite, Japanese, Muslim, and Persian cultures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199316368
• ISBN13: 9780199316366
• Release Date: November 2013
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.1" x 0.5" x 9.2"

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!