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This brilliant, readable synthesis of the history of mythology and the function it serves to humanity is the launch title of the groundbreaking publishing event, The Myths. "Human beings have always been mythmakers." So begins 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. Myths help us make sense of the universe. 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.
'Although the book offers no new perspectives or
information on the history of myth, it does provide a functional survey
of mythology's history.' - PW.
Comment: A Short History of Myth is the launch title in UK
publisher Cannongate's new myth series featuring retellings of classic
myths by modern writers - see The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood and Weight
by Jeanette Winterson, also in this issue. It is not surprising that
the reviewer from PW finds that this book offers 'no new perspectives
or information' as its purpose is not to break new ground but rather to
offer an overview of mythology as a whole in order to put the rest of
the series into context.
The series, conceived by Cannongate publisher Jamie Byng, is
being launched by 30 publishers worldwide this Fall. Byng (who
incidentally is the brother of Georgia Byng, author of the Molly Moon
books for children) estimates the series will be completed in 2038!
This information about A Short History of Myth was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joe Pickering
Karen Armstrong, author, scholar, and journalist, is among the world's foremost commentators on religious history and culture.
She is the author of numerous books on religion, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha, and The Great Transformation, as well as a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into forty-five languages. In 2008 she was awarded the TED Prize and began working with TED on the Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public, crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It was launched globally in the fall of 2009. Also in 2008, she was awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal. In 2013, she received the British Academy'...
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