Rating:  Summary: Great for Pagans and students of Mythology!! Review: A fantastic, east-to-read, and inspiring book concerning Norse Mythology and beliefs and customs of the Northern peoples. This book covers almost all the gods and goddesses of the Norse pantheon, along with comparison of Norse and Greek Mythology and illustrations. I recommend this book to people who follow the Northern pagan path (Asatru), it will introduce you to gods/goddesses, and many pagan customs of our ancestors. Guerber also covers many pagan customs such as the Yule-feast, the Yule-log, and Easter, however, does not go in depth. Trust me, you will not be dissapointed!!
Rating:  Summary: Norse mythology?? Review: Anyone who has more than the briefest aquaintance with Norse mythology will find this book laughable- and a good laugh is all one should expect from it. Flights of fantasy wrapped around the basic myths do not do justice to a rich heritage.Do yourself a favor, and get one of the other, better beginner's collections such as Norse Myths by Crossley-Holland or R.I. Page.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent Book Review: Hail! This is an excellent, easy to read, and fun introduction to Northern Mythology. The main thing that prevented me from giving it five stars is that the author falls into the trap of thinking that the germanic people were somehow "less sophisticated" than the hellenics(if you read any of Edred Thorsson's books on Runes you will see that our ancestors were in fact very articulate in their thought), which is purely of product of colledge induced classical elitism(which has little basis in reality and only leads to flawed and biased conclusions). Helene does however covers a HUGE amount of grounds concerning the folklore and mythology of Northern Europe(not just the Norsemen as the title implies). The illustrations in this book are outstanding. For Frith and Kinfolk, Isenwulf Wodheart
Rating:  Summary: Fairy Tales Review: Having basic knowledge of Norse mythology, I found this book to be an abysmal excercise in disinformation. Not only it provides an overly simplified view of a very complex religion, it also censores many myths, not providing the full picture of characteristics of the gods. It seems like this book is aimed at younger audiences which could not handle adult subject matter, and is used to the iconic perceprion of mythology in general. If you are seriously interested in this subject, I would stay away from this book.
Rating:  Summary: Disjointed but Worthwhile Review: I suppose that a pagan trying to use this book as a catechism might find doctrinal errors, depending on their particular denomination. Whether or not the book provides a proper interpretation of the original sources, it is a good read, a trove of information, and a particularly interesting analysis of the similarities between greco-roman and norse mythology. It is not an engaging read, in the sense that it is not presented as a saga itself, and thus the demarcations between subjects are dramatic. I suppose that this book falls somewhere between "encyclopedia of norse mythology" and "norse mythology for beginners."
Rating:  Summary: Disjointed but Worthwhile Review: I suppose that a pagan trying to use this book as a catechism might find doctrinal errors, depending on their particular denomination. Whether or not the book provides a proper interpretation of the original sources, it is a good read, a trove of information, and a particularly interesting analysis of the similarities between greco-roman and norse mythology. It is not an engaging read, in the sense that it is not presented as a saga itself, and thus the demarcations between subjects are dramatic. I suppose that this book falls somewhere between "encyclopedia of norse mythology" and "norse mythology for beginners."
Rating:  Summary: Enjoyable if inaccurate Review: The original publcation date of 1909 would explain why many of the tales are watered down and a Victorian morality imposed on them. The style is charming and readable, and there's a wealth of information to pursue. Guearber does some editorializing here and there, and the final chapter which attempts to draw parallels to Greco-Roman mythology was a waste of time. One clue that Guerber did not spend much time doing actual research is that she used Roman names for the "Greek" gods in that final chapter. I'm not familiar enough with Norse mythology to point out errors there, but several reviewers here on Amazon were outraged by Guerber's inaccuracy ... I consider this a good book to start a study of Norse mythology; it's an easy read, and if nothing else at least it tells you what to look for as you continue your reading elsewhere. This should NOT be your _only_ book about Norse myth. Definitely further research is needed since Guerber is not a completely reliable source herself.
Rating:  Summary: Almost insulting Review: This book does not provide any sort of accurate depiction of the Northern European mythology and folklore that many of us enjoy reading about. Not only does this book not provide an accurate translation of many of the tales and gods, but the author combines the stories with his own unfounded opinions of the religion. He says numerous times in the book that the ancient Icelanders never actually believed in any of the tales they told, that everything was simply a story, and their pseudo-religion proves that. In addition he refers to them as "Aryans." Considering this term didn't come about until the psychic Madam Blavatsky started using it in the late nineteenth century, and it wasn't even an accurate term, I found it a bit confusing and annoying. I simply could not refer a worse and more inaccurate book to read on this beautiful subject.
Rating:  Summary: A Must and a Classic Review: This book gives you something other books on Norse mythology do not. It contains 64 superb black and while illustrations which, for those who love mythology, are worth the price of the book alone. Also, this volume contains the most dramatic and compelling retelling of Ragnarok I have ever found. In this book, the myths are partly stories and partly explanations of what stories and their characters mean. So it does not feel that you are actually reading tales. For a more "direct" reading of the tales I use Crossley-Holland's "The Norse Myths." Also, I thought that too much was made of similarities between Greek and Northern mythology at the end of this book. Some comparisons feel artificial and strained. But one should keep in mind that this book was originally written in the 1920s, when linguists were very impressed, some would say "scandalized," by the apparent common origin of most European and some Asian languages. These languages, which today include all but three European languages, belong to the so-called Indo-European or Indo-Aryan group. It does appear that a number of characters in the Greek and Northern myths had a common Indo-Aryan prototype, but as already said, some similarities are farfetched and artificially constructed. The book contains a comprehensive index.
Rating:  Summary: Unbelievably vast amount of Norse reference, Astounding! Review: This book has got to be one of the most (if not THE most!) informative books on Norse mythology currently available.Each chapter went into great detail about Odin, Thor, Freya, etc. to the point that if you buy just one Norse mythology book for your library, this should be it. I'm going to read it again shortly just because there is so much excellent information in this tome. The highest recommendation!!
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