The History of Magic
Book description
A Telegraph Book of the Year
A remarkable, unprecedented account of the role of magic in cultures both ancient and modern -- from the first known horoscope to the power of tattoos.
'Fascinating, original, excellent' Simon Sebag Montefiore
______________________
Three great strands of practice and belief run through human history:…
Why read it?
1 author picked The History of Magic as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I am awed by the ambition of this book, which really does cover everything suggested by the title.
The author is a Professor of Archaeology at Oxford and as his bio says he also worked as a curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum there, so his expertise is clear.
He writes with a very broad sweep, and his arguments that key elements of magic can be traced across wide spans of time and space might be controversial – but this book is a huge and fascinating treasure trove of information.
For anyone who wants to know about the history of…
From Anne's list on Merlin and magic.
Want books like The History of Magic?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 92 books like The History of Magic.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,171
readers submitted
so far, will you?
