"The history of myth is the history of humanity; our stories and beliefs, our curiosity and attempts to understand the world, link us to our ancest...
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Oct 18, 2011
Jamie
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Ms Armstrong has written a brief summary of myth from the Paleothic period to modern day. I found her inclusion and description of different female deities enlightening. I also thought her summary of how science has underminded myth recently accurate. She argues that art in the 20th century has stepped up to fill some of the vacuum which has been created by the undermining of myth.
I include this lengthy quotation as an example:
We have seen that a myth could never appro More...
I include this lengthy quotation as an example:
We have seen that a myth could never appro More...
Aug 29, 2007
Megan
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There are some who are best at showing, and some that are best at telling. Karen Armstrong is best at telling. I really appreciate her lucid, straightforward narrative here, in such a huge, swimming subject. She rarely ever oversimplifies. It's like a little guidebook to western culture, and it often got me thinking about similarities between the role of myth and the role of art; I was a little surprised to see them converge so smartly at the end. The ending is more determined than I'd like it t
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Dec 26, 2011
Brittany
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This book began by making a sweeping, general, unfounded statement, and then irritated the heck out of me.
That's not a great way for a book to start.
In fact, if I'd just been reading it for fun I would have been tempted to stop. But I'm determined to read all the Canongate Myths, and for whatever reason this one is listed first. And it's only 150 pages long so, I figured, how bad can it be?
It starts by stating categorically that humans are the only animals to have More...
That's not a great way for a book to start.
In fact, if I'd just been reading it for fun I would have been tempted to stop. But I'm determined to read all the Canongate Myths, and for whatever reason this one is listed first. And it's only 150 pages long so, I figured, how bad can it be?
It starts by stating categorically that humans are the only animals to have More...
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Jan 27, 2010
Mike
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Read this brief and lucid treatment of mythology; you won't be disappointed. Armstrong carefully maps the importance of mythology in the lives of humans, from paleolithic man to the present day. In a short 155 pages, Armstrong will leave you pondering. Have the science and technology of the 20th century led us to destroy an essential component of our humanity? Will the hybrid lifestyles we create for ourselves in the 21st century lead us to no longer ponder the mystery of our existence?
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Dec 14, 2011
Catherine
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If you think of this as an essay and NOT a history, it`s a very likeable book. It is beautifully written and full of interesting stuff that gets you thinking. I`d recommend it to anyone intererested in myth and the "nature of man" and such stuff.
But not so much to people interested in historical facts, as it makes huge sweeping statements based on a very narrow range of evidence. (What is the deal with social scientists? Are they overcompensating for the difficulty of testin More...
But not so much to people interested in historical facts, as it makes huge sweeping statements based on a very narrow range of evidence. (What is the deal with social scientists? Are they overcompensating for the difficulty of testin More...
Sep 12, 2010
Welwyn
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I should have been warned by the title. It is impossible for someone capable of writing 15 books on topics as diverse as the development of sexism, St. Paul, life in the convent, Islam, the English mystics of the 14th century, and so on, to have had time to study the subject of mythology sufficiently well to understand it, let alone put it together in such a way that others can understand it on any but the most superficial (and European biased) level. And to call it a history in the roughly 27
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Aug 31, 2010
Al
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This short book is an attempt by Armstrong to reinstate a kind of appreciation of selected, mostly Western, myths after what she believes has been their modern discrediting by science. In doing so, Armstrong needs to strip the old myths of any historical relevance to reality to argue that they represent rather a kind of psychological reality and wisdom based on compassion, tolerance and understanding. The book ends with the hope that these virtues will survive through the work of artists, writ
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May 29, 2010
Jon
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Since myth always plays a big part in the faith-versus-scientific-method discussions, this little book clarifies an important aspect of culture appropriated by both sides. Those favoring scientific method say that religion is nothing but myth, and those defending the role of faith say that myth is an important activity in itself and central to our culture.
Karen Armstrong discusses the role of myth from the hunter-gatherer era (starting 20000 BCE), through the agricultural era (start More...
Karen Armstrong discusses the role of myth from the hunter-gatherer era (starting 20000 BCE), through the agricultural era (start More...
Aug 22, 2009
Trevor
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The best of this is where she explains that myths have two lives. There is the myth as it is supposed to have happened once in historical time – Jesus at the last supper sharing his body and blood with his followers – and the myth that is forever present and forever made new – the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist (and to many Christians, particularly those who believe in the literal transubstantiation of the bread and wine, this is the literal presence of Jesus today and always) is the foreve
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Aug 02, 2009
Bob
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Armstrong clearly lays out the key eras of human history - paleolithic, neolithic, the first civilizations, the Axial Age, the post-Axial Period and then modern history (post 1500)- and shows how myth reflects the dominant worldviews of each of these eras (hunters, agriculture, urban communities, etc.). A common theme to all myths is the human relationship to a trans-human world, including any post-life existence. However that relationship manifested itself, humans were integrated with anothe
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Jun 20, 2011
Jessica
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Very readable overview of the history of human mythological development. Of particular interest to me was the final chapter, which talks about the modern era and the death of mythology in the industrialized/industrializing world. I don't know that I agree with all her conclusions 100%, but they're certainly ideas worth thinking about. I do wish there had been footnotes though, simple citations are much less satisfying.
Some quotes from the last chapter that I particularly enjoyed:
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Some quotes from the last chapter that I particularly enjoyed:
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Jan 04, 2011
Mark
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Originally posted: http://marklindner.info/blog/2011/01/04/... [You really should read it at the blog as here you don't get the hyperlinks.]
Sara also read this book recently. I think that helped me as we had already discussed it a fair bit while she was reading it, and I had the benefit of her blog post about it.
Go read Sara’s review, which is excellent; I’ll wait. See. Now perhaps you don’t even need to read mine. Nonetheless, I shall press on.
The help an More...
Sara also read this book recently. I think that helped me as we had already discussed it a fair bit while she was reading it, and I had the benefit of her blog post about it.
Go read Sara’s review, which is excellent; I’ll wait. See. Now perhaps you don’t even need to read mine. Nonetheless, I shall press on.
The help an More...
Jul 13, 2009
DeeDee
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In and out of this one. Mostly out at the moment, but can't leave it down for long.
Its consice, and so perhaps not for everyone, but I'm finding it a cool 'Cliff Notes' type reference and springboard for other reading or research.
Listened to the audio book format (up to the end of the neolithic age) with my boys in the car. This book would make a great film. Needs some beautiful illustrations to compliment the info. I'd love to edit this into a coffee table book. ; )
Its consice, and so perhaps not for everyone, but I'm finding it a cool 'Cliff Notes' type reference and springboard for other reading or research.
Listened to the audio book format (up to the end of the neolithic age) with my boys in the car. This book would make a great film. Needs some beautiful illustrations to compliment the info. I'd love to edit this into a coffee table book. ; )
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Aug 18, 2010
Mohd Nazmi
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“MITOS,” kata Karen Armstrong, “tidak dicipta sebagai sumber sejarah, sebaliknya untuk membantu dalam menerangkan tingkah-laku kita terhadap persekitaran, manusia dan kebudayaan.”
Barangkali inilah sebahagian jawapan kepada tohmahan untuk menolak sebahagian besar hikayat kita yang memang bercampur-aduk antara fakta sejarah dengan mitos.
A Short History of Myth lebih besar daripada itu menyelongkar perkembangan mitos bermula zaman prasejarah yang tidak mempunyai catatan yang kon More...
Barangkali inilah sebahagian jawapan kepada tohmahan untuk menolak sebahagian besar hikayat kita yang memang bercampur-aduk antara fakta sejarah dengan mitos.
A Short History of Myth lebih besar daripada itu menyelongkar perkembangan mitos bermula zaman prasejarah yang tidak mempunyai catatan yang kon More...
Jan 17, 2010
Sandy
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Amazing book - explains the dilemma of Christianity in a way that I can grasp it meaningfully without discarding logic. Here is a memorable quote: "Mythology is an art form. Any powerful work of art invades our being and changes it forever...art, like certain kinds of religious and metaphysical experience, is the most transformative summons available to human experiencing. It is an intrusive, invasive indiscretion that 'queries the last privacies of our existence; an Annunciation that 'b
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Jun 06, 2009
We are treated to the standard litany of leftover Victorian 'thinkers' of dopey primitive people (our ancestors) being awestruck by the night sky, weather, seasons, birth, death, and the miracle of farming, which resulted in, ta da, myth and religion. Maybe.What she does not discuss is the manipulation of the tribe/city/group/country by the cult/religious leaders who create fear and lay down the rules that favor themselves.
However, she does make one interesting comment on religion as pract More...
However, she does make one interesting comment on religion as pract More...
Nov 21, 2011
Ma
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While much of the factual information presented in this book is solid and informative, all of Karen Armstrong's interpretation is based on a strange and misplaced longing for a past paradisical time when myth exerted solely a good influence on humanity, a myth that never existed. This is well illustrated by her claims that it was a disconnect between myth and the necessity of the people that led to Nazi atrocities. She neglects that the hunter gatherer and early farmer people encountered by ea
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May 09, 2010
Sonic
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O.k. First I should say something about books-on-tape, and that is that sometimes the voice actor can make it or break it. For example, I did not enjoy reading any of the Harry Potter books as much as I enjoyed listening to Jim Dales brilliant performance of it. Michael Pollan is a writer whose book "The Botany of Desire" I loved, but when I tried to listen to his "The Age Of Nutritionism" I found the voice actor's know-it-all tone of voice annoying and intolerable. So inste
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Apr 17, 2010
Robert
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A succinct, well-thought out, hell of a good book here. The author takes a logical and reasoned look at how mythology has evolved over time into the modern religions of the past few centuries and how the split in science theory and religious belief may have been formed. The sections focus on major shifts in humanity's worldview, explaining that as we changed from hunter-gatherers to agrarians to city-dwellers, mythology had to adapt and change as well to be relevant.
While Eastern More...
While Eastern More...
Dec 17, 2009
Seth
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This short book is NOT an objective or academic exploration (or summary) of mythology. After racing through several millenia, the author decides to focus only on the West and the rise of the 3 monotheistic religions. Ultimately, it is revealed that the author has an agenda - to preach about how humanity has lost its way by abandoning myth (an assertion that I don't agree with and which this book makes very little convincing argument). The author suggests that the only way we regain what we've lo
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Sep 09, 2009
Chris
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A rather nice overview. Armstrong tells things clearly and doesn't make the reader feel stupid. There is plently about myth connecting to religion, in particular how the age of Enlighment led to a reading of the Bible as truth, which Armstrong points out does a disservice to reliigon and myth. I found her idea about our age doing away with myth except in terms of literature to be interesting. She has a point, but the writers do carrry it. Perhaps we have just changed the nature of our myths
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Jul 28, 2011
Milan/zzz
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Kratka istorija mita je upravo to: kratka. Ali s’obzirom da se Armstrongova (svakako neko ko ima kredibilitet) latila posla nikako nećete ostati uskraćeni ovim kratkim uvodom u pricu o mitu.
Ona kreće od paeolitskog perioda (i mitologije lovaca, 20000 god pne), preko neolita (i mitologije ratara 8000 god pne-4000 god pne), ranih civilizacija sve do naših dana I smrti mitologije (ili bar one kliničke).
Ono š to je bilo posebno zanimljivo je evolucija uloge žene I njenog položaja More...
Ona kreće od paeolitskog perioda (i mitologije lovaca, 20000 god pne), preko neolita (i mitologije ratara 8000 god pne-4000 god pne), ranih civilizacija sve do naših dana I smrti mitologije (ili bar one kliničke).
Ono š to je bilo posebno zanimljivo je evolucija uloge žene I njenog položaja More...
Apr 07, 2011
Fox
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While there was little material that I was not already aware of within the text, the book was a very good refresher on... the history of mythology. Having a relatively short book on the evolution of myth was helpful, and the concise writing allowed for it to potentially be a quick read. The book is divided chronologically, beginning with prehistory myth (the hunter-gatherers) and ending in modern myth (which she views as creative expression, music, creative writing, etc.)
My main re More...
My main re More...
Sep 13, 2009
Clif
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The first third of this book by Karen Armstrong overlaps much of the same material covered by Barbara J. King in her book Evolving God where she discusses the origins of religion from an anthropological point of view.
(link to my review of Evolving God.) King uses the word "religion" where Armstrong is using the word "myth." King used the word "belongingness" where Armstrong uses words such as "meaningfulness" to explain the human drive to create More...
(link to my review of Evolving God.) King uses the word "religion" where Armstrong is using the word "myth." King used the word "belongingness" where Armstrong uses words such as "meaningfulness" to explain the human drive to create More...
May 14, 2009
Shannon
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I think I need to re-read this one. There is a lot of info in this book, even on entitled "A short history." What I did like was the use of previous myths in Christian mythology (like how the Noah's arc story was a copy of a previous myth) and a brief delving into the mythology of Asia. Like linguistics, the mythos of a people can usually trace their heritage and can yield clues into earlier incarnations of a dead culture, which I find fascinating. My biggest problem with this book
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Oct 03, 2010
SaraQT
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First book done! for 12 Books, 12 Months
Full review at http://epist.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/sh...
I started with Short History of Myth because it is the first title in the Canongate Myth Series -- books by different authors, from different countries, retelling a myth from their culture. I heard about this series because Philip Pullman's latest book is the latest addition to the series (The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ).
The book is a nice, short i More...
Jun 07, 2010
Dnicebear
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Theology, like science and technology, is empty without myth. Karen Armstrong draws all religions into this history of myth. Five things she emphasizes about myth are that it is rooted in the experience of death and the fear of extinction, is inseparable from ritual, forces us to go beyond our experience and helps us find the attitude and wherewithal for right action, and also speaks of another plane alongside our own that is stronger and more enduring than our own. I find myself drawn to the
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Feb 14, 2011
Philip
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Definitely recommended, especially for fantasy authors! The book ends with this paragraph:
"If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation that helps us to make a painful rite of passage from one phase of life, one state of mind, to another. A novel, like a myth, teaches us to see the world differently; it shows us how to look into our own hearts and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our o More...
"If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation that helps us to make a painful rite of passage from one phase of life, one state of mind, to another. A novel, like a myth, teaches us to see the world differently; it shows us how to look into our own hearts and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our o More...
Nov 03, 2010
Corinne
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Overall, I was disappointed with this book. I think I had expected some fascinating overarching 'history' of myth, but instead I got Armstrong's view on myth's place in culture starting in the Paleolithic period and then fast forwarding quickly and dwelling on the impact on myth in Abrahamic religions. Then she ends with an attack on logos and how with logical thinking, society doesn't have a way to interpret things in the right context.
Don't get me wrong, a lot of the content was ve More...
Don't get me wrong, a lot of the content was ve More...
Jul 30, 2011
Heather
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This was definitely "short" in the sense that it was brief. It was a bit of a text book format, just sharing information rather than a lot of deeper analysis. A few points I really liked. For example, when myth is examined as if it were fact (using logic) it doesn't work. Also, myth is how humans have historically made peace with the harsh realities of life (mortality, etc.) and, therefore, it allows them to live richer lives that can include all the logic they want or need.
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