World Mythology : An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics

Rating:
Summary: Flawed Myth
Review: First off, for a paperback this book is extremely overpriced. Why did I get it? I was required to purchase it for a college mythology course. I was hoping it would be a great source of world myth, but I was quickly disappointed. Rosenberg waters down and CENSORS the mythology.
For example: In the story of Osiris and Isis, Rosenberg's version said that all of Osiris' parts were recovered. This is not true to the myth as any casual mythology student can tell you. A fish ate one part that was never recovered. Another omission was from Gilgamesh when Enkidu is tamed. Rosenberg leaves out the fact that the "priestess"was actually a temple harlot and she tamed him through six days of sex. These are only the first two stories I have read and I am sure there will be more the further I get into it. It is almost as if Rosenberg is afraid to tackle the adult issues presented in a lot of mythology.
Now normally I would not have a problem with leaving a little out here or there. But when students are required to fully analyze the meaning of a myth or epic we need the whole story. For the price and lack of cartoony illustrations this book is obviously not aimed at children. Give us the unedited, un-PC, correct, original versions of the myths.I don't want to assume things that should be in the stories to begin with.

Rating:
Summary: The world is alive with magic and myth in World Mythology.
Review: From Egypt to Greece and the sufferings of Gilgamesh, no book I have ever read has given me as thurough yet concise retelling of the great ancient myths of humanity. I find it a pitty that so many of my brothers and sisters in the world have not been exposed to the magnificence of myth. This would be the perfect book to get them started.

Rating:
Summary: Best collection of myths you could ever read
Review: I got this book from my home schooler and I'm glad she gave it to me. I have not read all of it yet, but I have read enough to say you will never get bored reading this book. If you do not know what book I'm talking about, the book is called World Mythology, An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics

Rating:
Summary: An "interesting" reEd.
Review: I think a number of the other reviews missed the point in this volume. This book offers an amazingly diverse sampling of the world's mythologies, preceding each myth with an introduction that attempts to provide some cultural context. These are NOT the original myths, as people have noted, but that is done intentionally. Had each of these stories been included in its original form the result would have been a cyclopean tome that likely would have to be broken into numerous volumes. But why do that? There are already countless disparate sources available for one to find the original stories -- this book offers more of a "world mythology digest" that tries to hit on the key themes and events of each story it relates, and does a decent enough job doing so.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Textbook for High School Mythology
Review: Put Bullfinch aside and hide Hamilton...Donna Rosenberg's "World Mythology" tells it all in captivating storytelling to bring myths from all over the world alive. This is the ideal textbook for a survey of mythology course in high school and college. Creation myths of a broad range of cultures convey the remarkable links to mankind's beginnings, while great epics reveal the heroes and dreams of diverse worlds.

Rosenberg's writing style makes all the stories accessible and entertaining. Who says textbooks have to be boring? Add this to your literature shelves and bring mythology to life for your students.

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Textbook for High School Mythology
Review: Put Bullfinch aside and hide Hamilton...Donna Rosenberg's "World Mythology" tells it all in captivating storytelling to bring myths from all over the world alive. This is the ideal textbook for a survey of mythology course in high school and college. Creation myths of a broad range of cultures convey the remarkable links to mankind's beginnings, while great epics reveal the heroes and dreams of diverse worlds.

Rosenberg's writing style makes all the stories accessible and entertaining. Who says textbooks have to be boring? Add this to your literature shelves and bring mythology to life for your students.

Rating:
Summary: Fine Collection, But Incomplete
Review: The title is something of a misnomer. This is a fine collection of ancient myths found throughout world history. However, it is intellectually dishonest because the author fails to recognize some of the most powerful myths in human history --namely those found in the Bible and Koran. Sure the book would have been huge, but at leasty a treatise or an explaination for exclusioon would have been appropriate. Furthermore, exclusion of modern myth is suggestively written off as just being repetitive or not existent in our far more sophisticated and complex world. I'll admit that modern myth is scarce, but it exists and is just as important.

Myth is an important mirror for humans to see their own reflection and learn about their journey through metaphor. This book does a fine job covering ancient myth from various cultures; however, exclusion of the most influential myths and a nod to some modern classics was a serious oversight.

Rating:
Summary: Fine Collection, But Incomplete
Review: The title is something of a misnomer. This is a fine collection of ancient myths found throughout world history. However, it is intellectually dishonest because the author fails to recognize some of the most powerful myths in human history --namely those found in the Bible and Koran. Sure the book would have been huge, but at leasty a treatise or an explaination for exclusioon would have been appropriate. Furthermore, exclusion of modern myth is suggestively written off as just being repetitive or not existent in our far more sophisticated and complex world. I'll admit that modern myth is scarce, but it exists and is just as important.

Myth is an important mirror for humans to see their own reflection and learn about their journey through metaphor. This book does a fine job covering ancient myth from various cultures; however, exclusion of the most influential myths and a nod to some modern classics was a serious oversight.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocer mythology book
Review: Though this book contains many interesting and memorable pieces, these pieces are not in their original form. The story of Beowulf is a story. not its original poem format. Changing the format of these masterpieces is a big set back for this book.