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
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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.
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