by Carol Rose
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Product Description
A fabulously entertaining work with over 100 delightful illustrations--Library Journal calls Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins its "favorite work of 1996." In more than 2,000 alphabetically arranged entries, readers will meet angels, demons, elves, encantados, fairies, familiars, keremets, nats, nymphs, and many other strange beings from around the world. Carol Rose introduces the reader to the little--and not so little--folk, delightfully various and, at the same time, strikingly similar from country to country. Wherever humans have lived, the supernatural beings have dwelt alongside us. People serve to explain the unexplainable--the strange disappearance of a traveler in a dark wood, that odd thumping in the attic, the fresh cream turned sour overnight. Often they reveal the stoic humor with which human societies have faced their difficulties. But whatever their source, our guilts, fears, dreams, or imaginations, the spirits have fascinated and enchanted us through the millennia. Chosen by Library Journal as a Best Reference Source.
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Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Reference to the Other World, 2007-12-02
Carol Rose's 'Spirit, Fairies, Leprechauns and Goblins' is exactly what it claims to be - an encyclopediac guide to all manner of spirits, ghosts, djinn, goblins, angels, demons, fairies, dwarves, gods and other denizens of folklore and myth. And while no such volume could ever be complete, given how rich (and often contradcitory) the world's folkelore really is, this volume is still quite good. No doubt those reading this book will have heard of, say, the Green Man, La Llorona, brownies, nagas, trolls and elves, but what about more obscure tales such as Pahuanuiapitaaiterai, the each usige, hantu ayer or leshii? Each spirit, goblin or deity is given a seperate, dictionary style entry, along with references and related articles. Entries may refer to individual beings (Coyote, Lilith, the Jersey Devil) or types of spirits (black dogs, ohdowas, pitris, roane). Furthermore, she also gives a series of appendices at the end, breaking down entries by type of spirit (Demon, Nat, Nymph, Keremet, etc), associations (spirits of water, spirits of nature, spirits of fate, spirits of disease, etc), and country or culture (Welsh, Gypsy, Middle Eastern, Brazilian, Vietnamese, Norse, etc).
One of the big strengths here is that Rose was so thorough in including often overlooked non-western beings, like Indian gandharvas, Malay langsuir, Afro-Brazilian Exu or the Penobscot wanagemeswak. In addition, she does make notes on regional variations on particular beings, such as the different role of Daevas in Hinduism and Persian Zoroastrianism, or how dwarves change in German, Scnadinavian and other folklores. And yet, as previous reviewers noted, she also sometimes displays very obvious western biases. For instance, saying Durga is 'evil' completely misunderstands her role in Hinduism. Far from being evil, Durga is a demon-slayer and one of the most beloved aspects of the Goddess (Devi) in all of India! Even in her more destructive aspect of Kali, she is still not 'evil.' Still, one cannot be an expert on everything, and excepting these cultural biases, this work is a good reference for looking up various spirit beliefs. More detailed research you can find elsewhere.
So while there are indeed a couple of shortcomings, this is still an excellent resource for looking up different types of goblins, bogies, phantoms, demons and other denizens of the invisible worlds. Couple this with a half-way decent library of folklore, mythology and legends and your set to do some serious research here. Students of folklore will get good use out of this book, especially with regards to the more obscure beings, so definately give this book a look. As for myself, I saw she has a companion volume, 'Giants, Monsters and Dragons,' which I am going to pick up soon.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Outstanding Reference Book, 2007-11-21
What a wealth of information! It goes from A to Z and is cross-referenced both by type of creature and geographic location. We learn the history, the stories, the mythologies, and the similarities of the "small folk" as we go from culture to culture. Rose's information is comprehensive and detailed. It's fun to just pick up and read as well as valuable to use as a reference. It's definitely a must for lovers of the magical fairy world.
The black and white illustrations, many of which are from Carol Rose's personal collection, add a wonderful touch.
Denise Hillman Moynahan
The Great Cavern of the Winds:Tales from Backbone Mountain
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"Great Refference on the Smaller Deities of Mythology", 2007-10-13
This compilation of Mythic beings and creatures of legend is both informative and interesting. The pure amount of entries and the variety from which cultures they came makes this encyclopedia a must have for any reference seeker. I often find myself looking through the pages and reading at random but I also often find it quite useful when I am looking for a certain important thing. The encyclopedia is very well written and includes an immense amount of connection between alike sources making it very interesting to see how different cultures and people used a diety for the same purpose. A great source of enjoyment and informative reference that any conosieur of myth or folklore should own and share with others.
I would reccomend also reading Carol Rose's other encylopedia "Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth"
0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
 Humm. Thought it could have been more positive., 2007-02-07
A smart purchase, indeed. It was a good book if you consider it a compendium of historical mythical accounts. But, I think today's readers want current thinking and experience. I also got Dr. Christian von Lahr's "If You Could Only See .. A Gnome's Story" where he channels modern day communications that correct many of the old myths. Co-author Christopher Valentine adds that special warmth that keeps the subject enchanting. I still consider the Encyclopedia a great reference, but would like to see an update that accounts for the many wonderous New Age encounters. As well, we need more and more books on this subject as the world is beginning to understand that this realm is of a parallel nature and exists for those who can see.
Sue
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Just what the title indicates, 2002-09-24
This is an amazingly comprehensive volume cataloguing spirits--supernatural beings less powerful than deities--from cultures around the world.A book like this is hard to summarize in a review, but it suffices to say that this is a wonderfully broad overview of the subject, covering every culture and every spirit you can think of, with only a little bit of oversimplification. (Durga, for example, is referred to as evil, which is somewhat less than accurate.) Spirits, demons, djinns, faeries, and their kin are all present and accounted for. Use this as a first reference, then make sure to look more deeply into whatever interests you most.
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