hezzann's review against another edition
5.0
I first read this book when I was nine years old. Needless to say I became obsessed with mythology, and that obsession has lasted almost twenty years. Out of all the reference books that I own about mythology (and believe me there are quite a few) this one is still my first and favorite.
colingooding's review against another edition
3.0
I remember a few summers as a kid when I was obsessed with Greek mythology. I had one of those Complete Idiot's Guide books about it that I loved that covered a lot in an interesting way.
This book seems extremely comprehensive, but isn't nearly as interesting. It's pretty studious in the way it presents the tales, often just laying out the "facts" of the story with very little insight added (though I did like how the beginning of a section often outlined the source poems/writings from which the author pulled). I thought this worked really well in some cases, but it made certain sections feel like more of a chore as it read as of some uninteresting stories were just bullet pointed in in order to not be missed.
I bought this on sale for Kindle, but I know there is a beautiful illustrated anniversary edition and I kind of wish I bought that as a coffee table book to occasionally browse instead of reading through this entire thing at once.
This book seems extremely comprehensive, but isn't nearly as interesting. It's pretty studious in the way it presents the tales, often just laying out the "facts" of the story with very little insight added (though I did like how the beginning of a section often outlined the source poems/writings from which the author pulled). I thought this worked really well in some cases, but it made certain sections feel like more of a chore as it read as of some uninteresting stories were just bullet pointed in in order to not be missed.
I bought this on sale for Kindle, but I know there is a beautiful illustrated anniversary edition and I kind of wish I bought that as a coffee table book to occasionally browse instead of reading through this entire thing at once.
faiththompson416's review against another edition
This was so interesting and well-written.
hannahoware's review against another edition
5.0
Now I am not going to lie to you about the level of concentration it will take you to read this book, it took me almost a month to read it fully due to the small font and complexity of language used. However I was able to bypass this as I love mythology and it is one o of my favourite topics to read about in my spare time.
I like the way that this book laid everything out from the start and has little family tree at the back so you can track what you are reading about during the course of the book. It also has an index in case you are only concerned about certain elements of mythology.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who love their myths and legends who just wants to discover a little bit more than what we are exposed to through TV or film for example. It has all the myths we know and love with an extra section dedicated to the lesser known ones too. Also there is a section just about Norse mythology which I love too.
Definitely give this a read if you have the time and the patience.
I like the way that this book laid everything out from the start and has little family tree at the back so you can track what you are reading about during the course of the book. It also has an index in case you are only concerned about certain elements of mythology.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who love their myths and legends who just wants to discover a little bit more than what we are exposed to through TV or film for example. It has all the myths we know and love with an extra section dedicated to the lesser known ones too. Also there is a section just about Norse mythology which I love too.
Definitely give this a read if you have the time and the patience.
davidlz1's review
3.0
I thought this was a nice collection of the various tales from Greek and Roman mythology. I can see why this book is a nice intro for those in high school or college. However, it should not serve as a substitute for the truly epic poems and such where this author derived her information. It does an excellent job of whetting the appetite.
The portion on Norse mythology was brief and left me longing for more to satisfy my curiosity. Maybe I will chance upon some other texts in the future.
The Greek mythology was somewhat comical in the sense that all of man's reactions are attributable to the gods. However, I did find the maturity of the Greek populace intriguing as they migrated from the many gods towards more of a monotheistic culture (i.e. Apollo and his oracles).
This is one to leave on the shelves as a reference manual.
The portion on Norse mythology was brief and left me longing for more to satisfy my curiosity. Maybe I will chance upon some other texts in the future.
The Greek mythology was somewhat comical in the sense that all of man's reactions are attributable to the gods. However, I did find the maturity of the Greek populace intriguing as they migrated from the many gods towards more of a monotheistic culture (i.e. Apollo and his oracles).
This is one to leave on the shelves as a reference manual.
skhola's review against another edition
2.0
Took me almost 2 years to finish this book. Reading this killed some of my excitement towards mythology and I can’t tell if it’s because the stories just aren’t as great as I’ve built them up in my head or if it was the way they were chopped up and glued together here.
musicangel585's review against another edition
5.0
I love Greek mythology and this book has all the stories right at my fingertips. My very favorites are Cupid and Psyche and Persephone and Hades. Oh and I love the Trojan war. I've gone through a copy of this book because it was read so many times. I reccomend this book to everyone.