- Paperback: 912 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New ed of Abridged ed edition (16 July 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192835416
- ISBN-13: 978-0192835413
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 360,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A classic study of the beliefs and institutions of mankind, and the progress through magic and religion to scientific thought, The Golden Bough has a unique status in modern anthropology and literature. First published in 1890, The Golden Bough was eventually issued in a twelve-volume edition (1906-15) which was abridged in 1922 by the author and his wife. That abridgement has never been reconsidered for a modern audience. In it some of the more controversial passages were dropped, including Frazer's daring speculations on the Crucifixion of Christ. For the first time this one-volume edition restores Frazer's bolder theories and sets them within the framework of a valuable introduction and notes. A seminal work of modern anthropolgy, The Golden Bough also influenced many twentieth-century writers, including D H Lawrence, T S Eliot, and Wyndham Lewis. Its discussion of magical types, the sacrificial killing of kings, the dying god, and the scapegoat is given fresh pertinence in this new edition.
About the Author
Sir J. G. Frazer (1854-1941) was fellow of Trinity, Cambridge, and appointed to the first named Chair of Social Anthropology in Liverpool. Robert Frazer is Directer of Studies in English at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is the author of The Making of `The Golden Bough' and Sir James Frazer and the Literary Imagination, both for MacMillan in 1990)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first came across 'The Golden Bough' in the form of all twelve volumes of the second edition while at the University of Exeter, and promptly ignored my studies to devour the thing, including the supplements to the third edition, a condensation of the second. The wry humour and urbane disinterest of the voice detailing the killing of kings, the role of the scapegoat, and the less travelled areas of ethnography and comparitive religion is both beguiling and compelling, and slowly leads the reader to conclusions which in the face of such a compendium of evidence appear unavoidable. That these conclusions are now questioned is no matter, Frazer always stated that the worth of the work was in compiling the evidence from which others may base their own ideas before the modern age so altered the world as to erase the beliefs he recorded, or worse yet, made them appear ridiculous. For anyone in sympathy with the statement of Nietzsche that 'God is dead, and we killed him.' the chapter of the crucification of Christ is recommened (and unavailable elsewhere), as it is both considered, and reading it is to read the work of an author who is brave enough to follow his own logic into realms that he would rather have not known. It also makes clear that the tragic death of one man to atone for the sins of others is by no means unusual, but no less tragic as a result. A work of genius, but retaining an affectionate regard for humanity in all its foolishness and its efforts to make an unknowing and sometimes unkind world safer by the exercise of faith. Le roi est mort! Viva le roi!.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fascinating book, covering a huge span of history and culture, and makes some remarkable (and at times quite controversial) points in a refreshingly modest and understated way. Indeed, often it is what Frazer doesn't say that makes the greatest impact: on occasion he will furnish all the evidence, even drop little hints and clues, subtly flirt with an idea: as a reader you think you've prematurely guessed the conclusion that he does not, in fact, go on to make. Thus the receptive reader takes onboard profound ideas that Frazer does not even need to articulate. Powerful stuff.
The writing is, at times, beautiful: sheer pleasure to read. At other times, it is somewhat workmanlike - no doubt because there was so much material to get through. It is easy to spot the passages in which Frazer has allowed his natural creativity to flow into his writing, and one gets the impression that they were as enjoyable to write as they are to read.
My only criticism of this abridgement is that for each point made, too many examples are given, and those examples are sometimes very similar. A fairly rigid pattern of 'point followed by examples' is set up and does become rather repetitive, at times reading through Frazer's examples is a real chore, especially when he is not able to offer much in the way of variety, and the edges of some wonderful points and observations are subsequently blunted by the abundance of evidence the reader is required to plough through. Oxford's abridgement is probably perfectly pitched for students and academics, but perhaps a little cumbersome for the general reader. That said, I have not read the other abridgements and for all I know this may well be the best - I did enjoy it (though it took me a while to read it) and I would certainly recommend it without hesitation to anyone with an enquiring mind.
The writing is, at times, beautiful: sheer pleasure to read. At other times, it is somewhat workmanlike - no doubt because there was so much material to get through. It is easy to spot the passages in which Frazer has allowed his natural creativity to flow into his writing, and one gets the impression that they were as enjoyable to write as they are to read.
My only criticism of this abridgement is that for each point made, too many examples are given, and those examples are sometimes very similar. A fairly rigid pattern of 'point followed by examples' is set up and does become rather repetitive, at times reading through Frazer's examples is a real chore, especially when he is not able to offer much in the way of variety, and the edges of some wonderful points and observations are subsequently blunted by the abundance of evidence the reader is required to plough through. Oxford's abridgement is probably perfectly pitched for students and academics, but perhaps a little cumbersome for the general reader. That said, I have not read the other abridgements and for all I know this may well be the best - I did enjoy it (though it took me a while to read it) and I would certainly recommend it without hesitation to anyone with an enquiring mind.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
The real deal
4 July 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'll skip reviewing the content and speak to book's edition. This is the one that was abridged by the author from a multi-volume, earlier edition. In later years, the tome was watered down and censored due to authorial speculation on the nature of Jesus. All the controversial ideas are present in this particular edition, so it is safe to purchase it and not feel cheated.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer
28 Jun 2006
Format:Paperback
This is a wonderful book on the origin of beliefs, culture and
classic ceremonies. For instance, the Native American Indians
regarded a person's name as a part of their personality.
In Bohemia, children carry a straw man out of the village to
cast out death. Aphrodite and Old Paphos constitute one of the
most celebrated shrines in the ancient world. In death and
resurrection, Egyptians celebrated life after death. At Lagos in
Guinea, young women were impaled by custom after spring equinox
in order to secure a good crop that year. Festivities were
prepared in order to coincide with the summer and winter solstices.
The work would be perfect for students of world culture,
fine arts, language and literature.
classic ceremonies. For instance, the Native American Indians
regarded a person's name as a part of their personality.
In Bohemia, children carry a straw man out of the village to
cast out death. Aphrodite and Old Paphos constitute one of the
most celebrated shrines in the ancient world. In death and
resurrection, Egyptians celebrated life after death. At Lagos in
Guinea, young women were impaled by custom after spring equinox
in order to secure a good crop that year. Festivities were
prepared in order to coincide with the summer and winter solstices.
The work would be perfect for students of world culture,
fine arts, language and literature.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
"A" for Ambition, "C" for Conclusions
3 July 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Golden Bough is an extermely ambitious attempt to devise a unified theory of all religion. Frazer uncovers the common magical basis of both "pagan" religions (consisting of multiple gods personifying different aspects of the natural world) and monotheistic ones. His basic thesis is that all religion is based on false beliefs about how nature works. Religious rituals are all geared towards magically strengthening the growth cycle of nature and inhibiting the death cycle. Different religions are simply different manifestations of this fundamental paradigm.
In making his point, Frazer gives an encyclopedic account of religious rituals and myths the world over. Even in this abridged version, he gives far too many examples. I felt a wave of relief every time he stopped giving examples and started actually speculating about their meaning. His speculations are indeed compelling, and his writing is often very eloquent, but this book is simply way too long. Don't feel guilty about skipping certain sections.
Frazer adopts an anthropological view of religion that is now called "intellectualism." It is the idea that religious concepts are the product of people's desire to *understand* how mysterious aspects of the world work. Indeed, Frazer argues that all religious rituals are predicated on implicit theories of how the world works and are attempts to influence that imagined world. His theory is interesting, but it is problematic. As Pascal Boyer points out in Religion Explained, the religious imagination is concerned only with particular mysteries; it is not concerned with other major questions, such as how thought magically produces physical movement (say, of one's arm) in the external world. This phenomenon is arguably far more complex and mysterious than the growth and death of plants. But this issue doesn't fascinate people and it isn't the focus of much religious thought. Why not? If we wish to understand religion, we must fundamentally explain why certain issues are central to the religious imagination while others are not. Intellectualism is hence an intrinsically flawed theory.
The Golden Bough nevertheless has much to offer. It includes provocative and seminal discussions of ritual, magic, animism, paganism, myth, and science. This particular abridgment is good because it includes Frazer's bold attempt to incorporate Christianity into his unified theory, thereby knocking it off its pretentious, fundamentalist pedestal (an attitude that permeated his society and surely agitated him). To debase Christianity was probably Frazer's ulterior motive in writing the Golden Bough, because his theory is actually more applicable to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ than it is to many of the other religious systems he analyzes.
This book is worth reading for its historical significance, its ambition, and its enormous scope, but read it skeptically and be prepared to skip certain parts for the sake of your own sanity.
In making his point, Frazer gives an encyclopedic account of religious rituals and myths the world over. Even in this abridged version, he gives far too many examples. I felt a wave of relief every time he stopped giving examples and started actually speculating about their meaning. His speculations are indeed compelling, and his writing is often very eloquent, but this book is simply way too long. Don't feel guilty about skipping certain sections.
Frazer adopts an anthropological view of religion that is now called "intellectualism." It is the idea that religious concepts are the product of people's desire to *understand* how mysterious aspects of the world work. Indeed, Frazer argues that all religious rituals are predicated on implicit theories of how the world works and are attempts to influence that imagined world. His theory is interesting, but it is problematic. As Pascal Boyer points out in Religion Explained, the religious imagination is concerned only with particular mysteries; it is not concerned with other major questions, such as how thought magically produces physical movement (say, of one's arm) in the external world. This phenomenon is arguably far more complex and mysterious than the growth and death of plants. But this issue doesn't fascinate people and it isn't the focus of much religious thought. Why not? If we wish to understand religion, we must fundamentally explain why certain issues are central to the religious imagination while others are not. Intellectualism is hence an intrinsically flawed theory.
The Golden Bough nevertheless has much to offer. It includes provocative and seminal discussions of ritual, magic, animism, paganism, myth, and science. This particular abridgment is good because it includes Frazer's bold attempt to incorporate Christianity into his unified theory, thereby knocking it off its pretentious, fundamentalist pedestal (an attitude that permeated his society and surely agitated him). To debase Christianity was probably Frazer's ulterior motive in writing the Golden Bough, because his theory is actually more applicable to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ than it is to many of the other religious systems he analyzes.
This book is worth reading for its historical significance, its ambition, and its enormous scope, but read it skeptically and be prepared to skip certain parts for the sake of your own sanity.
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