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The Giant Book of Myths and Legends
A well-researched collection of Myths and Legends passed down through the ages by more than 20 cultures. Includes Celtic, Bengali, Ancient Greece, Blackfoot Indian, Persian, Japanese, scandinavian, Swahili and many more. Also includes stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Kingsley, Adrew Lang, William Morris Charles Leland and Lafcadi Hearn as well as new stories from Peter Tremayne and Jessica Amanda Salmonson
564 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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142 people want to read
About the author
Mike Ashley
278 books130 followersMichael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 5, 2012
Book 6 in my quest to read 50 books in 2012.
I'm seriously torn about this book. I've read various myths and legends from around the world before - and well.... some I have read before - in much better versions. It is a decent primer of some of the stories from other cultures, but there is much left out as they - by and large - are approached from a more western view and written with that sort of bias. Whenever possible, I would suggest reading the original - or as close to it as one can get.
That being said - the Japanese stories were interesting and those of the Celts were like old friends. Some of the Native American stories were new - and a few were retellings of stories I had read years ago.
I'm seriously torn about this book. I've read various myths and legends from around the world before - and well.... some I have read before - in much better versions. It is a decent primer of some of the stories from other cultures, but there is much left out as they - by and large - are approached from a more western view and written with that sort of bias. Whenever possible, I would suggest reading the original - or as close to it as one can get.
That being said - the Japanese stories were interesting and those of the Celts were like old friends. Some of the Native American stories were new - and a few were retellings of stories I had read years ago.
January 11, 2022
Legends & Myths
544 pages
Mysterious, imaginative, and delightful.
A fun read.
544 pages
Mysterious, imaginative, and delightful.
A fun read.
September 12, 2011
A really nice collection. It has a lot of classic tales, and some lesser known ones.
We used it and a couple others for a myths and fairy tales class in highschool, and this is the only one I felt the need to keep.
We used it and a couple others for a myths and fairy tales class in highschool, and this is the only one I felt the need to keep.
January 9, 2012
A superb collection of myths and legends from around the world, including a number of more familiar tales written by authors including Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Kingsley. Very readable and thoroughly enjoying.
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July 26, 2010If you like mythology this is a great one with good classic tales.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews