Book Description
Sarah Conover's collection of traditional Buddhist tales leads us to the kind of implicit understanding of ourselves and others that only stories can provide. Following the Buddha through his various transformations, these clarified and often humorous narrative journeys open the ancient master's profound and gentle teachings to persons of all ages, religions, races, and ideological persuasions. Over and over, this marvelous book tells us, "Let go of your anger, your fear, your greedy desire. Embrace gladness. Follow the path." The stories form a wondrous pageant: of elephants, monkeys, monks, and men working through foolishness toward wisdom and delight.
Customer Reviews:
Beautifully done.......2007-04-20
This book is an excellent book to introduce children to Buddhist (and Taoist) philosophy with simple parables and tales.
Kindness goes a long way.......2007-04-04
First I used this book with my children as we learned about different religions and spiritual views. As they got older we visited it again because these Buddhist stories are applicable to so many situations in life regardless of your views on God, theist, or atheist.
Now as a religious education teacher of younger people at the Unitarian Universalist fellowship I use this book extensively when teaching about buddhism, kindness, compassion and many other concepts. Well written and engaging for all ages, but best for elementary school age children. My middle schoolers still love the stories.
Kindness.......2007-02-18
This is a great book with lessons and values for children. It makes them think. It would be a great and thoughtful gift regardless of your religious tradition.
Beautiful book--great for adults as well as kids.......2007-01-19
This is the second Buddhism-for-kids book my 9 year old and I have read together and it is definitely a keeper. The stories are short and interesting--really well edited so that you don't have to dig for the moral, but at the same time you don't feel like your being bashed over the head with the lesson (hmm, not a very Buddhist analogy there). It is a beautifully designed book as well. We're not yet through it all, but I know this is one we will re-read together.
I thought it was going to be a picture book........2007-01-12
It's a good book to read to your kids. Just the words aren't as simple that children would understand the stories easily. But very good for parents and adults!
Amazon.com
Anyone who has read the Harry Potter books is aware that author J.K. Rowling infuses her stories with references to mythology, literature, history, and legends. Even if you don't know exactly what a manticore or a griffin is, it's likely that many readers have at least a vague sense of the existence of these creatures in ancient lore. Inspired by Rowling's suggestion to a young fan to "go and look it up," author David Colbert did quite a bit of investigation himself. The result is the fun, entertaining, and enlightening Magical Worlds of Harry Potter.
From alchemy to hippogriffs to veela, Colbert explores the fascinating meanings between the lines and buried within the names of characters and places in all the Harry Potter books. Chapter headings include such intriguing questions as "Have Witches Always Flown on Broomsticks?" "Why Would Chocolate Help After Escaping a Dementor?" and "Are Any of the Famous Witches and Wizards Real?" A small purple tab in the margin of the first page of each chapter guides readers looking for specific subjects: Divination, Goblins, McGonogall, Owls, Voldemort, Wands, etc. Curious readers will learn the link between Hagrid's pet dog, Fluffy, and the mythological Greek sentry to Hades, Cerberus. And they'll get a taste of scholar Joseph Campbell's theories on heroism, with Harry as the hero, of course. The true magic of this book is that it will surely inspire Harry Potter fans to delve deeper into the various areas it explores. Readers will soon be clamoring for collections of Greek, Japanese, Indian, and Egyptian mythology, as well as copies of The Sword in the Stone, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Canterbury Tales, and Treasure Island, to discover the sources of their favorite Harry Potter books. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter
Book Description
The ultimate fan's guide to the underlying mythology contained in the multi-million-selling novels and record-breaking film.
"Potter fanatics...can revel in details and hidden mysteries of the series." (Columbus Dispatch)
Customer Reviews:
Very cool book. .......2007-03-28
This is a great Harry Potter companion book. Alot of interesting information and fascinating subjects. Highly recommended for any Harry fan!
8 year old son loved it.......2006-10-13
I bought this for my 8 year old. He is learning more about mythology from Harry Potter and this book than he will ever learn in his public school.
3 stars.......2006-03-20
Pullman's His Dark Materials series has raised many questions and much public interest. Although much of this book will make little sense if you have not read the trilogy, the information contained herein does have something to offer both those who have and have not done so. If you have, then Mr. Colbert's work will give you greater understanding and insight. If you have not, it answers the qualms about reading it that you may have. No Christians will be won over to the idea of supporting the series. The atheistic and Gnostic bents to Dark Materials are clearly stated. However, if you are on the fence, taking a look at this book might help you decide which way to go.
Amanda Killgore
Most Helpful Harry Potter Text Ever.......2005-11-03
I am an aspiring writer, searching for new and fresh topics to work with so I can peddle my wares. This book, the Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, has revealed to me different legends, myths, and historical facts I can use in my writings as many a basis for my characters to come. This book gives an excellent review of links to ancient myths and legends and long since forgotten facts of history from J.K. Rowling's books of a hidden magical world in a universe of "Muggles." It is true what David Colbert says how J.K. Rowling has taken (or has not taken as the case may be) these myths, legends, and facts and compiled them together into something that is considered so incredibly original and fresh. So many things in the stories are considered completely her creation, but they are more the her creation of wonder and magic that bring these mythical things together for a world of witchcraft and wizardry. To this book I give a vote of FIVE STARS and I highly recommend this book to everyone, aspiring writer or not. If you do not wish to write for a living like I do, at the very least, you'll learn something you never thought you would ever learn before.
Literature and Harry Potter.......2005-09-13
This book was a great one for those who find words and the origin of words and ideas fascinating. This book opened up the mind of J. Rowling in terms of where she found references and words and changed them to fit her story. As many of the words or word roots and ideas have corrolations in myths and legends, the words and names that the Harry Potter series uses strikes a chord with adult readers as well as young readers as they are already familiar in oue own history and vocabulary. I greatly enjoyed reading this book!
Book Description
Updated with a new Preface
This collection of ancient images of women as goddesses and heroines brings together legends, rituals, and prayers from China, Celtic Europe, South America, Africa, India, North America, Scandinavia, Japan, and elsewhere.
"Every feminist should have a copy of Ancient Mirrors. . . . These are stories to grow up with."
-Sojourner
Customer Reviews:
A little difficult to understand at times..........2002-10-04
But worth the time spent trying. This is a wonderful resource that enlightens one to the many modern echoes of these ancient voices.
When reading this book as a teen in college, I had a tough time understanding and thus appreciating the poetry and songs. Having passed 30, I have a much different appreciation.
The book's best feature is its focus on ALL the cultures of the ancient world. I don't think a single geographic area is left out. The benefit to this expansive look, besides multi-cultural accessibility, are the easily seen commonalities and relationships of varying goddess images & lore. This book gives one a totally different perspective on where our current culture came from.
As important to us as the bible is to christians!!!.......2002-09-26
this is a beautufil gift that ms. stone has given the Goddess community and i for one will be forever grateful.this is not a history book. it is a holy book. the myth and poetry that ms. stone has birthed touches the soul.the subtitle of this book is "a treasury of goddess and heroine lore from around the world" and it truly is a treasury. the scope of the book is incredible. it brings is the stories of the well known goddesses and the stories of goddesses who we may never had heard of before.another reviewer says that ms. stone is not a good scholar. i am not sure why that person would have read this book. it is clear from the writing that the author is providing histories that are not found in your average history book. she is presenting an alternative. she offers the history that acomapanies each region section as possiblities. history is an art and not a science. if you are satisfied with the so-called "original sources" that were gathered by, translated by, edited by white christian men and believe that they are totally unbiased--then why buy this book. ... but if you are a person who understands that you don't know everything, this book is easy to love. it is not terribly outrageous, and the historical background it provides is just as valid as any other. ms. stone never presents them as the ultimate truth but rather offers us information that has been kept from us, because others found it unimportant.but this is ultimatly not a history book. it is a book of myth. it is beautifully written. if is full of reverence. it takes the goddesses seriously. it is powerful. and i can't recommend it more highly.
long on social politics, short on scholarship.......2000-05-15
Merlin Stone, a good writer, but not such a good scholar I'm afraid. If one wants to feel good about goddesses and about women, by all means read this book. If one wants information about goddesses in specific or citations to other scholarship, don't look to this book. Interpretations can be amusing when one has read the primary sources and knows about the cultures she looks at to a deep degree. Much better for the layperson or someone looking for positive female strokes than for a student or scholar.
This book should be passed from Mother to Daughter!.......1999-12-08
I checked this book out from the library twice. When I couldn't check it out the third time, I bought it! I have used it as a source of inspiration, by just opening it up at any point and reading. Becoming dear friends with the goddesses in this book, if I had to choose three favorite books, this would be one!
I have learned about those goddesses who aren't very popular, like the "Spider Woman" who weaves a web of destiny or Goddess Ma'at "The Eye of Heaven". The section on Ma'at is particularly beautiful and inspiring. There is an understanding of justice, not our twisted backward laws, but true justice in this passage that is not limited by time. In that passage I also came to understand what is meant by "a light heart." One of my favorite sections is about the Australian Lia, woman of the Goanna Tribe. She led the women out of their dull and unforgiving existence to a place of hope. I highly recommend this book! Rich with tales, history and culture that should be passed on from Mother to Daughter.
This book should be passed from mother to daughter..........1999-05-01
Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood
I checked this book out from the library twice. When I couldn't check it out the third time, I bought it! I have used it as a source of inspiration, by just opening it up at any point and reading. Becoming dear friends with the goddesses in this book, if I had to choose three favorite books, this would be one!
I have learned about those goddesses who aren't very popular, like the "Spider Woman" who weaves a web of destiny or Goddess Ma'at "The Eye of Heaven". The section on Ma'at is particularly beautiful and inspiring. There is an understanding of justice, not our twisted backward laws, but true justice in this passage that is not limited by time. In that passage I also came to understand what is meant by "a light heart." One of my favorite sections is about the Australian Lia, woman of the Goanna Tribe. She led the women out of their dull and unforgiving existence to a place of hope. I highly recommend this book! Rich with tales, history and culture that should be passed on from Mother to Daughter.
Customer Reviews:
Description Deception.......2005-06-24
This book is NOT illustrated by the Brothers Hildebrandt (nor is it written by Daniel Grotta). I was looking for Hildebrandt artwork, so I was completely disappointed.
A fun little book.......2005-01-10
There is very little value in the information held in this book, but for Tolkien fans, there's still some interesting quotes and poems to pick through. The artistic work really is spectacular. It's a good gift, it's an attractive volume that is of a high quality. I haven't tried out any of the recipes, but they look interesting enough. If anything, it's a volume that you can give to the Tolkien fan that thinks they've got it all.
W.H. Auden is not the author of this book!.......2002-11-15
An essay of Auden's does appear in the book. It is, in fact, a hodgepodge of Tolkien related material, mostly essays (including a short biography) but also stories set in Middle Earth, songs, poems, word games, and even recipies written by other authors. It is an interseting look at Tolkien fandom. I found the black & white interior illustrations simply breathtaking the first time I saw this book. For me, it is the most important Tolkien related book not actually written by him, and the one that is most worth having. I found it at a library over ten years ago, and recently gave up hope of ever seeing it again, but here it is. Be sure to look at my "So You'd Like to Take a Trip There and Back Again through Tokien's World?" Guide.
It's Ok........2001-06-05
It's a nice little book, that's it. It has some poems about Tolkien and his world with no rhymes (mostly) and some quotes. Some older people or some professors :) might like it, but not me. The only reason I gave it three stars is because it had two funny poems in there.
Customer Reviews:
An entertaining mix.......2007-10-08
A wonderful collection of short stories and novella from around the world. For each story, the editor gives us a well written introduction on the author and also his comparisons to other authors. Some of the stories go back to the 30's and 40's where science fiction began to take off, then on into the 50's and 60's where it really established itself; a few are taken out of the 70's and 80's.
We think of science fiction as flying around in outer-space searching for other life forms. We do have countless books written on this theme; science fiction is much more complicated than that, it is not always what we think it to be, or where we think we might find it. And these 49 short stories in a thick book represent a diverse combination. The ones that stood out for me are from:
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
J. G. Ballard
Theodore Stergeon
Rene Rebetez-Cortes
Gene Wolfe
Alfred Bester
C. M. Kornbluth
Larry Niven
Frederik Pohl
Boris Vian
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Tor Age Bringsvaerd
Philip K. Dick
Stanislaw Lem
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
Wish you well
Scott
huge book makes for good variety.......2004-12-02
With over 50 stories, this collection is sure to give you a good helping of stories you'll like(provided that you are a science fiction fan, of course). No, there's not any order to them, and yes, the introductions to the stories are stale, but how can these possibly detract from the quality of the stories themselves? I've read approximately half of them since I started reading a week or so again, and so far have disliked only three, and only two of those I skipped over(I couldn't stand the Italo Calvino stories).
It's a good deal, that's for sure. Pick this up if you're a scifi fan looking for some fun reading material.
An Exhaustive (and Exhausting) Collection.......2002-02-27
With over 50 stories and over 1050 pages of text, "The World Treasury of Science Fiction" is quite a heavy read. The book contains shorts from almost all of the major science fiction writers of the 20th Century (at least up until 1989, when it was published). Some of the tales are among the best I've ever read, like Phillip K. Dick's chilling military piece "Second Variety," Kurt Vonnegot's angry satire "Harrison Bergeron,' Larry Niven's apocalyptic "Inconstant Moon" and Rene Rebetez-Cortes's evolutionary horror story "The New Prehistory." Others I didn't like so much, but some of that was a matter of taste not quality.
The book is not presented in any kind of recognizable order, but there is a brief introdutory blurb for each author. I would recommend it with the caveat that most readers are likely to skip over some of the less appealing entries.
How can an anthology be so poor?.......2001-08-14
I was extremely disappointed by this SF anthology.
I put the blame on the editor. The introductions to each short story are sterile. For example, "his work was first published in S.F. magazine." Who cares? The general editor touts how "rich" and "ambitious" the book is in his general introduction. Each introduction says something like "the author did most of his work in the 40's and 50's" without mentioning when the _selected_ work was written. You have to thumb through the acknowledgements to figure our whether you're reading a 40's or 70's story.
Besides that, I found most of the stories uninspiring anyway. I do not understand the arrangement of stories. They appear to be in random order. Not alphabetical, chronological, temporal, or even cultural.
If you're new to SF, I recommend starting with Hugo and Nebula winners. If those are exhausted, try "The Year's Best SF" series.
A Wonderful Collection.......2001-08-05
Without a doubt, its title alone (The World Treasury of Science Fiction) does not deceive. Contemporary scifi from tons of cultures are represented in this book. Many of the stories are translated from other languages, and are rare (and wonderful) finds indeed. The commentary before each story is expertly written, with references to similar stories in the same book. The World Treasury covers a wide spectrum: from the traditional appeal of John W. Campbell to the surrealist (and very creepy) mood of French writer Boris Vian.
The World Treasury of Science Fiction is a superior examination of scifi in other cultures; it really suprised me how vastly different eastern European and Asian sf is from our traditional American and British works. This collection is for any devout science fiction fan, especailly if you want to learn the true diversity of modern science fiction.
Book Description
A medieval instruction book for women of all classes—from peasant to princess—it provides a firsthand glimpse into how women of the Middle Ages lived. This is the sequel to the classic Book of the City of Ladies. Introductions, 20 black and white illustrations, glossary, suggested readings.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent introduction to women's chivalry!.......2002-06-11
Medieval French writer Christine de Pizan and her work deserve to be better known. THis book is a translation of one of her great works, and shows clearly medieval women were far from being the simpering ninnies or oppressed victims all too many people seem to think they were. With an excellent introduction, written by a scholar, this is a very good addition to any library on the Middle Ages.
Average customer rating:
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Family Treasury of Myths From Around the World
Viviane Koenig
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
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ASIN: 0810943808 |
Customer Reviews:
GREAT!.......2003-06-15
This book is entitled "A Family Treasury of Myths from Around the World". This book is very exciting for children of young ages. This book contains myths and legends from Greece, Africa, Rome, Japan and Israel. The book is filled completly with colorful illustrations on literaly every page. Some stories from the book are 'Romulus and Remus', 'Ulysses and the Sirens', 'Moses in Egypt', 'The Great Egyptian Ra' and 'The Heart of Afric'. If you want your kids or yourself to enjoy some great folktales i would greatly recomend this colorful book written by Viviane Koening.
Customer Reviews:
Great deal.......2006-10-09
This is a terrific hardbound, leather collection of six classic H.G. Wells novellas: The Time Machine; The Island of Dr. Moreau; The Invisible Man; The First Men in the Moon; The Food of the Gods and The War of the Worlds.
Whether your child is reading Wells for school, or for pleasure--or in case you're a hard core Wells fan yourself--this 666-page book is a greal deal.
Average customer rating:
- Elegant Cultural Princesses...
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A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World
Shirley Climo
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
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The Persian Cinderella
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The Egyptian Cinderella
ASIN: 0060245336 |
Amazon.com
For those of you who can't get enough of beautiful princesses, magic spells, and brave deeds, this lavish, multicultural collection will knock your glass slippers off! Shirley Climo is well known for her retellings of folktales and Cinderella stories from different cultures, such as The Korean Cinderella. In this lovely treasury she spins tales of princesses from China, Russia, South Africa, Germany, Guatemala, and Greece, as well as one story from The Arabian Nights. Each story is enhanced with a lush painting by the noted illustrator Ruth Sanderson and an introduction summarizing other related fairy tales and the origins of the story. The princesses and their tales are all different, but they all have one thing in common: they all live happily ever after, of course! (Ages 6 to 10)
Book Description
From the Mayan people of Central America to the Xhosa people of Southern Africa, from the ancient mythology of China to the legendary Arabian Nights, every culture across the globe has its princesses. The princesses themselves may be as diverse as the lands they represent, but rich or poor, vain or wise, brave or spoiled, they have one thing in common: they all live happily ever after. Selected from world folklore and presented in a richly designed, elegantly illustrated volume, this lavish gift book is the definitive gathering of princess lore.
Customer Reviews:
Elegant Cultural Princesses..........2001-10-27
This is a beautifully written and illustrated book for all ages. Young and old, male and female. My husband bought me this book for my birthday, knowing my love for princess lore. I'm now reading it to my granddaughter and grandson.
Ms. Climo presents seven stories from seven very different cultures. She includes introductions to each story that explain a little of the magic you're about to discover. Each story has a wise and meaningful message.
Down to earth Princesses; a wise Princess; an enchanting Princess and a determined Princess along with the untypical stories of a curious Princess; a stubborn Princess and a spoiled Princess all manage to captivate your heart and sigh as they all "live happily ever after".
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