A History of Pagan Europe

Rating:
Summary: A skippy survey
Review: This is an interesting survey describing the various pagan religions; the process of their merger/supplantation by Christianity, their perseverance as "folk religion" and even their modern re-emergence. Nothing really heavy, but nice scholarship buttressed by a nice bibliography. On the bad side, it seemed a bit too much of a sell job for "goddess" worship and the section of Hungarian aboriginal religion was weak and, I believe, mildly inaccurate. Since Hungarians believe they spring from the Sumerians, there may have been more interesting connections. Nevertheless, the authors do a lot in a compact space.

Rating:
Summary: A skippy survey
Review: This is an interesting survey describing the various pagan religions; the process of their merger/supplantation by Christianity, their perseverance as "folk religion" and even their modern re-emergence. Nothing really heavy, but nice scholarship buttressed by a nice bibliography. On the bad side, it seemed a bit too much of a sell job for "goddess" worship and the section of Hungarian aboriginal religion was weak and, I believe, mildly inaccurate. Since Hungarians believe they spring from the Sumerians, there may have been more interesting connections. Nevertheless, the authors do a lot in a compact space.

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for All Pagans
Review: This is hands down the best book on paganism that I've ever seen!
-The first thing that drew me to it was the fact that it had information about pagan cultures from ALL of europe, not just the Celtic lands. (I like the Celts alot, but those of us who want look into our Germanic or Slavic ancestry get the short end of the stick most of the time.)
-Second, it presents a view that is very balanced: this is not one of those books about the mean 'ol Christians bullying peaceful fluffy pagans any more than it is about peaceful fluffy Christians converting barbaric pagans.
-It is also very well researched. It was in agreement with most of what I've studied in college courses and other academic works and as an archaeology buff, this impressed me greatly. Others have mentioned this book's lack of revisionist history or conspiracy theory b.s. that make up alot of pagan histories. This gives us much more mainstream credibility.
-Finally, this book has alot of useful, authentic(!!) stuff, such as photos, firsthand accounts, and folk prayers that will enrich your knowledge and worship (if you're a Pagan.)
I also reccomend this book to Christians interested in history and learning "the rest of the story" about medieval Europe.

Rating:
Summary: Making Pseudo Science Look Good.
Review: This work is a mockery of serious scholarship. A rag-bag tissue of semi-plagiarisms from the distinguished Cambridge History volumes, and quotations from Classical and early vernacular authorities serve only to frame a work of unabashed poselytism. Objective historiography is nowhere to be seen. Were that not enough, manifest errors in well documented matters of fact, combined with non sequitur arguments and others which simply fade amidst the general mumbo-jumbo tone of this shoddy attempt by two writers trying to appear more learned than they really are, should be more than enough to discourage anyone from bothering to read this worthless book. This is a work without any redeeming merit. If you have read the works of M. Gimbutas, or J.P. Mallory, or those of the Chadwicks, this book has nothing to offer you other than a good laugh. As an aside, I'd like to mention that this book is promoted by White supremists because of the swastikas on many of the artifacts represented.