Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky: An Encyclopedia of Nature Myths

Andrews, Tamra

ISBN 10: 0874369630 ISBN 13: 9780874369632

Publisher: ABC-CLIO, 1998

Synopsis

A tertiary reference assembling information on ancient myths concerning the physical world. Entries include natural forces, deities, terms relating to the myths, and broad geographical areas. Many of them include summaries of myths and legends, and a few are accompanied by black-and-white illustrations. Andrews, whose primary interest is astronomy, cross-references extensively and indexes cultures as well as subjects. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

About this title

About the Author

Tamra Andrews
Tamra Andrews 's a l'brar'an and profess'onal wr'ter spec'al'z'ng 'n astronom'cal mythology. She has publ'shed numerous magaz'ne art'cles and more than 60 rad'o scr'pts.

Reviews

Gr 7 Up-Scholarship and an underlying intellectual passion shape this volume. Andrews deliberately limits her scope to a discussion of myths based on "nonliving phenomena, such as wind, clouds, meteors, and tides." The entries include "natural forces, gods and goddesses of natural forces, terms relating to the myths of natural forces, and broad geographical areas." Many articles run one or two columns with the geographic ones generally longer. All of the entries are enlivened by a clear understanding of the importance of these myths to primitive cultures. Because of the specificity of this ready-reference resource, the article on the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl, for instance, emphasizes his role as god of the sky rather than of wealth. Well-selected, black-and-white illustrations appear throughout. This volume includes a useful culture index, a lengthy subject index, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, as well as numerous cross-references. For cogent discussions of creation myths, aborigine dreamtime, or ancient calendars, send young people here.-Mary H. Cole, Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, NY

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Andrews, a librarian specializing in "astronomical mythology," has compiled an encyclopedia of nature myths, a broad topic to cover. She admits that most of her entries merely scratch the surface of existing scholarship, but this is, after all, an encyclopedia, and she has cross-referenced her entries and provided citations (though only at the end of each article) to an extensive bibliography. Her sources more than adequately cover the classics of the field but offer little research that is new or original. Innovative and useful indexes give intercultural, subject, and primary-source guides. Weaknesses include a dearth of pictures; the tone of the writing, which is a bit too conversational for an authoritative reference work; and entries (particularly those attempting to cover large areas such as North America, India, or Scandinavia) so general they tend to stereotype regional belief. Still, there are many entries here not easily found elsewhere, especially on minor deities and the myths of cultures not traditionally studied in depth (e.g., Agbe, a sea god of the Nigerian Dahomey; and Tupan, thunder god of the Brazilian Guarani). Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.?Katherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: ABC-CLIO
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0874369630
• ISBN 13: 9780874369632
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336