Reviews
The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth, by Barbara Mor, Monica Sjöö
sockielady's review against another edition
I got through the first three parts of the book and then decided to leave off before forging into the fourth and last part. For the most part, I did like the book: I thought it was an interesting and informative (if rather biased and uber-feminist) look at ancient Goddess worship and prehistoric matriarchal societies. However, I felt a little uncomfortable with all the male-bashing throughout the book, which is why I decided not to read the final section of the book, which was all about the rise of the patriarchy and how the Father God displaced the Mother Goddess (and, I'm sure, liberally peppered with comments about how evil men are and how the patriarchy is the root of all the problems in the world today.) I have no problem with women reclaiming our history (or her-story, as many feminists call it), but I also see no reason for indiscriminate male bashing while doing so.
hornedserpent's review against another edition
1.0
This book is pretty terrible, making wild claims with no backup, no sense of organization, and a level of dislike for men, in general, that turned me off as a male goddess worshipper.
raehink's review
3.0
A fascinating look at the concept of the mother goddess and her religious following throughout history. Sjoo examines archaeological evidence from the world over...one can't really deny that some sort of idolatry was going on. This is very compelling information, although the author lapses into a bit of feminist whine toward the end.
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