Runes (Reading the Past, Vol 4)

Rating:
Summary: Informative and Simple
Review: I found Mr. Page's book to be well written with clear and consise information. This book is very good for research material on the subject of runes. I am reluctant to give this book top rating as the information was to simplistic in certain areas. Additionally, I found that I had to supplement this book with other sources. Over all I was very satisfied with the text.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent overview
Review: I tend to agree with previous reviewers that this book is somewhat simplistic and does not deal with all aspects of runic lore. At the same time, come on, it is only 64 pages long, including the Index! That said, it's an excellent introduction to runes. Author R.I. Page has excellent credentials - Elrington and Bosworth Professor Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge - and I have the feeling that he's attempting to make the scholarly aspect of runes a little more accessible to the common reader. Use this book to pique your interest, and to get a broad, GENERAL idea of what runology and runes encompasses. After that, if you're still interested, look for more specific books. Like a nother reviewer, I recommend Stephen Flowers in particular.

Essentially, Page just wants to get us through about millennium and a half of runic history in the whole of Europe, so he cannot possibly dive into major details. Like I said, I think it's a great introduction - its scope is huge and could get you started on an aspect that he doesn't deal with directly - but if you want to know more than the superficial, then it's not going to help you, especially if you already know a lot about runes.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent overview
Review: I tend to agree with previous reviewers that this book is somewhat simplistic and does not deal with all aspects of runic lore. At the same time, come on, it is only 64 pages long, including the Index! That said, it's an excellent introduction to runes. Author R.I. Page has excellent credentials - Elrington and Bosworth Professor Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge - and I have the feeling that he's attempting to make the scholarly aspect of runes a little more accessible to the common reader. Use this book to pique your interest, and to get a broad, GENERAL idea of what runology and runes encompasses. After that, if you're still interested, look for more specific books. Like a nother reviewer, I recommend Stephen Flowers in particular.

Essentially, Page just wants to get us through about millennium and a half of runic history in the whole of Europe, so he cannot possibly dive into major details. Like I said, I think it's a great introduction - its scope is huge and could get you started on an aspect that he doesn't deal with directly - but if you want to know more than the superficial, then it's not going to help you, especially if you already know a lot about runes.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: This is a very good book on runic inscriptions, carvings, and whatnot. However, many of Pages conclusions concerning the Runes are extremely limited, for an example he states that the Runes were not used for magical purposes. This is not so, and there is historical evidence that blows this theory away. I highly suggest obtaining a copy of Runes and Magic by Stephen Flowers, which isn't a "new age" book but simply a PHD dissertation that proves through solid historical data that the Runes were in fact used for magical purposes(sendings, loadings, and castings). The Poetic Edda, Saga of the Volsungs, and Egils Saga also validate Stephen Flowers theories. Another text called the Galdrabok is a historical Icelandic Grimioure which also has runic magical practices in it(Old Norse:Galdra), see Galdrabok(translated by Stephen Flowers). If you are interested in seeing how Stephen Flowers(under the name Edred Thorsson) put this material together into a powerfull magical system, I suggest the following books:Futhark by Edred Thorsson, Runecasters Handbook by Edred Thorsson, Runelore by Edred Thorsson, Rune Song by Edred Thorsson, Nine Doors of Midgard by Edred Thorsson, and Runarmal I by Stephen Flowers. It is all based on solid historical data as well as very thoughtfull insights into the inner meanings of the Runes.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is one of the best books on runes I have read (both in english and in swedish). If you are new to runes this is the book to read, it is short, easy to read but still contains a lot of information. Even if you like me have studied runes for a while, this is a good addition to any library.