What do you think?
Rate this book
The Basics
Magic: The Basics
The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to magic in world history and contemporary societies. Presenting magic as a global phenomenon which has manifested in all human cultures, this book takes a thematic approach which explores the historical, social, and cultural aspects of magic.
Key features
attempts to define magic either in universal or more particular terms, and to contrast it with other broad and potentially fluid categories such as religion and science;
an examination of different forms of magical practice and the purposes for which magic has been used;
debates about magic’s effectiveness, its reality, and its morality;
an exploration of magic’s association with certain social factors, such as gender, ethnicity and education, among others.
Offering a global perspective of magic from antiquity through to the modern era and including a glossary of key terms, suggestions for further reading and case studies throughout, The Basics is essential reading for anyone seeking to learn more about the academic study of magic.
Key features
attempts to define magic either in universal or more particular terms, and to contrast it with other broad and potentially fluid categories such as religion and science;
an examination of different forms of magical practice and the purposes for which magic has been used;
debates about magic’s effectiveness, its reality, and its morality;
an exploration of magic’s association with certain social factors, such as gender, ethnicity and education, among others.
Offering a global perspective of magic from antiquity through to the modern era and including a glossary of key terms, suggestions for further reading and case studies throughout, The Basics is essential reading for anyone seeking to learn more about the academic study of magic.
190 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2017
44 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 30, 2023
This book is an academic viewpoint about magic from a humanities perspective. It’s just a basic overview from a historian, but it covers philosophy, psychology, sociology, as well as history. It also discusses magic in Asia, Africa, and South America in addition to the North American and European focus a lot of books take. My favorite part of the whole thing is the resources and further reading section. I can cross off what I’ve already read and stock up on some new stuff I’m not familiar with. I even learned there are academic journals about magic out there… how did I not know this 😂 It’s not my favorite book, but it does give a decent review of magic from various perspectives, which makes it a good book if you want something to give you a springboard into certain topics. I'm happy to have this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a more academic discussion of what magic is and how it's been viewed throughout history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review