First published in 1890, The Golden Bough is a seminal work of modern anthropology. A classic study of the beliefs and institutions of mankind that traces the development and confluence of thought from magic and ritual to modern scientific theory, it has been a source of great influence upon such...

First published in 1890, The Golden Bough is a seminal work of modern anthropology. A classic study of the beliefs and institutions of mankind that traces the development and confluence of thought from magic and ritual to modern scientific theory, it has been a source of great influence upon such diverse writers as T.S. Eliot, Wyndham Lewis, and D.H. Lawrence. This edition restores many of the controversial passages expurgated in the 1922 edition that elucidate Frazer's bolder theories, and sets them within the framework of a valuable introduction and notes.

Throughout history, magic has been as widely and passionately practiced as religion. But while religion continues to flourish, magic stumbles towards extinction. What is magic? What does it do? Why do people believe in magic? Ariel Glucklich finds the answers to these questions in the streets of...

Throughout history, magic has been as widely and passionately practiced as religion. But while religion continues to flourish, magic stumbles towards extinction. What is magic? What does it do? Why do people believe in magic? Ariel Glucklich finds the answers to these questions in the streets of Banaras, India's most sacred city, where hundreds of magicians still practice ancient traditions, treating thousands of Hindu and Muslim patients of every caste and sect. Through study and interpretation of the Banarsi magical rites and those who partake in them, the author presents fascinating living examples of magical practice, and contrasts his findings with the major theories that have explained (or explained away) magic over the last century. These theories, he argues, ignore an essential sensory phenomenon which he calls "magical experience": an extraordinary, though perfectly natural, state of awareness through which magicians and their clients perceive the effects of magic rituals.

Herman Melville's reputation as a great writer has gradually developed throughout the past century. Tempered by studies which emphasized the Western literary tradition, literary appreciation for Melville's use of folklore has been slow in developing. This groundbreaking study brings to the forefront...

Herman Melville's reputation as a great writer has gradually developed throughout the past century. Tempered by studies which emphasized the Western literary tradition, literary appreciation for Melville's use of folklore has been slow in developing. This groundbreaking study brings to the forefront the depth of Melville's immersion with and borrowing from oral traditions, both music and narrative; talltale humor; nautical folklore; superstition; and legend.

Though intended as a survey of Melville's use of folklore, this book also is important as a general introduction to his work. Unencumbered by critical jargon and narrated in an engaging manner, this book will appeal to general readers as well as seasoned scholars of Melville.