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Summary: Enter to the realm of Satan!
Review: A beautifully illustrated work of witty, perceptive and wide-ranging scholarship, Turner presents a multi-faceted Hell that one can't help but be drawn to. The chapters are fairly short and readable--this is no heavy, dry academic tome, although you'd have to be a complete bore to make this subject anything less than fascinating--at least for me. There's not much of hell at all in the Bible; most of our perceptions of hell were indeed formed by Milton and Dante and other works outside the Christian biblical canon. Turner concentrates on how images of the infernal place have changed over centuries, and how our philosophies of what is human, what is good, etc. change and adapt. She's a sharp, insightful writer, although I suspect her sometimes irreverent, agnostic tone may turn off some readers. I could be wrong though! I recommend this along with Jeffrey Burton Russell's "Prince of Darkness" (perhaps the single best book on the Devil himself, from 1988); Paul Carus' "The Devil"; and Lauren Paine's "The Hierarchy of Hell." Together these books are a long gaze into the abyss....
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Summary: Slick Yet Informative History of the Infernal
Review: Alice Turner's "History of Hell", while a seemingly glossy coffetable book, turns out, in fact, to be a well written introduction to the history and mythology of the Underworld as it appears throughout many cultures and religions over the past 5000 years. The book begins with the earliest recorded tradtions of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians and their ideas of the afterlife and the Underworld and how these notions greatly influenced later cultures and religions like Ancient Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christiantiy, and Islam. She relates the traditions of the Greco-Roman Underworld and all the attendant gods and goddesses and how it is with Greek and Roman literature that the Infernal regions begin to grow in prominence. It is however in Chritianity that the notion of an Infernal Underworld of pain, torture, and enternal suffering for sinners and evil-doers comes to the real forefront. Christianity is the only religion that seems to place such heavy emphasis on the existence of a place of eternal damnation, where demons torture the souls of the deceased and the Devil presides over all. Turner examines the literature of St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Milton, and others, as the myths of Hell grow and change over time to become the popular notion we still hold today of Hell as a place of fire, brimstone, and torment, as well as the effect of art in the common perceptions of Hell. It is quite an intersting fact that while we should aspire to the paradise of Heaven, it is the Inferno that continues, after all this time, to fascinate and captivate our imaginations.
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Summary: One-Stop Shopping for all your Eternal Damnation needs.
Review: All kidding aside, Turner's book really is a fine exploration of the ways in which hell--or, more properly, the underworld--has been viewed by various civilizations throughout history. Her account is scholarly enough to satisfy academics, but remains sufficiently fluid and compelling for the lay reader's tastes. Highly recommended for anyone interested in death rituals, the afterlife, or the formation of Christian doctrine.
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Summary: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...
Review: And this book sets out to prove it. While very informative about our society's beliefs and attitudes towards Hell, the author doesn't seem capable of stopping there. From taking potshots at Agnostics to rewriting the Christian book of Revelation, she relentlessly attacks every form of organized religion on the planet. She takes postmodern thinking and promotes it as fact. She can't get past the first two pages without presenting what she believes is the average Christian: an impossibly confused lacky of Christian dogma who can't possibly understand what their religion dictates. While her venom towards her nemesis is understandable, (being involved in the porn business tends to put one at odds with the Christian Right)it is unbecoming, and diminishes what could have been a truly exceptional book.
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Summary: Excellent and Recommended
Review: Fasinating overall perspective on the history of the spiritual as well as geographical implications of Hell. Lacks footnotes, which is understandable because it is a layman's book. Well written, insightful. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very well written
Review: For someone who is looking to learn about a strange phenomenon that has interested many people including myself, then this is the book. The author gives a very complete factual account of how the different cultures have embraced the idea of the after life. My favorite aspect of the book is how the author brings together the fact that the religious establishments have used the notion of hell as a very influential tool throughout history. Overall, the book is great and I would recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: A wonderful book about the netherworld
Review: I am still reading this book. I love it so far. I have been looking for something that went deep into ancient cultures beliefs on the afterlife and how they compare to that of Christianity. She does a great job of showing how the different ancient cultures borowed and mixed their mythology and how it has affected Christianity. I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not having to look differently at their faith. There are so many similarities between these ancient "myths" and our Christian "truths". I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Great book about the origin of hell
Review: I've just finished reading this book, and it turned out better than I thought, when I checked it out from the library. I was really looking for a history of heaven, but this one looked a lot more interesting, and it surly was. In this book you get the origin of hell, and its precence in books thru the ages. Read it!
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Summary: Writing style left something to be desired
Review: Let me start by saying that the book is very informative. She's obviously done her research and the details prove it. Unfortunatly, it seems as though her job at PLAYBOY didn't instantly qualify her to write a nonfiction book about hell. The book is rambling at best. It's like when you talk to a civil war historian or something and they cannot keep their thoughts on course. "And then Jackson moved to outflank the union lines.... funny thing about Jackson..." She does this often. Now you may say to yourself: "self, 2 stars seems a little low for just that one flaw"; to which i would respond that it is really, REALLY annoying to read.
If incoherent writing and frequent tangents dont bother you, bump that rating on up to 5 stars.
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Summary: Ever wonder where the hell hell came from?
Review: One of the greatest and superb books that I have read dealing with mythology and religions that go into detail throughout the history of hell and the roles that it played while early, middle-age, and modern man viewed it as. Alice K. Turner must have done a lot of research in order to put this one together.
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