{"title":"David Adams Leeming","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the works of David Adams Leeming, a biographer known for his insightful explorations of mythology, culture, and the lives of remarkable individuals. Discover compelling narratives and unique perspectives.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"dictionary-of-creation-myths-book-david-adams-leeming-9780195102758","title":"A Dictionary of Creation Myths","description":"\"God made Heaven, and then, after measuring the space underneath with a ball of thread, he began to form the earth. A mole asked to help, and God gave him the thread to hold while he wove the patterns of the earth. Sometimes the mole would let out too much thread, and finally the earth grew too large for the space under heaven. The mole was so upset that he hid under the earth. God sent the bee to look for him; he wanted the mole's advice on what to do about the mistake. The bee found the mole and he just laughed at the idea of advising God. The bee, however, hid in a flower and overheard the mole mumbling to himself about what he would do if he were God. 'Iwould squeeze the earth,' he said. 'That would make mountains and valleys and make it smaller at the same time.' When the bee heard this, he went directly to God and told him. God did what the mole had said, and everything fit fine.\" The myth of Rumanian Creation in which God weaves the earth from a ball of thread is just one the many stories that make up the wonderous world of creation myths. In virtually every culture throughout the ages, creation myths have played a vital role in providing not only explanations of the origins of societies but also specific cultural identities--serving as a \"projection of an aspect of a culture's soul.\"   Covering thousands of years of intricate creation tales, A Dictionary of Creation Myths is the first and most comprehensive work devoted to creation myths from cultures throughout the world. With an easy-to-use A-Z format, this around-the-world tour provides quick access to information on the beliefs (both exotic and ordinary) of ancient civilizations from Sumeria and Babylonia to Egypt, Greece, and ancient Rome, from India and China to Japan and Indonesia, as well as the rich mythological history of Native Americans, the indigenous peoples of Australia, and many other cultures. We read of the creation myth of the Diegueno tribe of southern California in which the creator, Tu-chai-pai, made the earth female and the sky male and then formed mud into people; the Norse creation story of the gods Odin, Vili, and Ve, who made man and woman out of two fallen trees--Odin breathed life into the new pair, Vili's gift to them was intelligence, and Ve gave the gifts of sight and hearing; and the myth of Japanese creation in which Izanagei, and his sister Izanami, watch the first land form from ocean water dripping from Izanagi's spear. Alongside these ancient beliefs are the more modern, such as Darwin's theory of evolution and the big bang theory.   Each entry identifies the culture associated with the myth, and each myth is retold in clear, eloquent prose, with extensive cross-referencing to guide readers to other entries. Throughout, the authors share insightful analyses of the surprisingly intricate relationship of certain myths across cultures, regions, and time. The entry on Maori creation, for example, leads to entries on the Samoan and Tahitian creation stories and on to the motif of \"Creation from Nothing.\" And, in the course of retelling the creation myth of the Medoc Indians, the authors send us to entries on the \"Trickster\" and the \"earth-diver creation\" theme.  From cosmic eggs, frost giants, and the Garden of Eden to Brahma, the Spider Woman, and the Gaia Principle, from myths of the apocalypse and the great world religions to myths of love, re-birth, and science, this unique guide illuminates the phenomenon of creation from all aspects of the human experience. Richly illustrated, A Dictionary of Creation Myths is essential for anyone who has ever wondered how the world was created, where we came from, or why we are here at all.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49542384976145,"sku":"GOR001889178","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49676227641617,"sku":"CIN0195102754G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50012592308497,"sku":"CIN0195102754A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50095727444241,"sku":"CIN0195102754VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51151651897617,"sku":"NIN9780195102758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52488843395345,"sku":"NLS9780195102758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53210008420625,"sku":"GOR007016539","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0195102754.jpg?v=1751290636"},{"product_id":"world-of-myth-book-david-adams-leeming-9780195074758","title":"The World of Myth","description":"Provides a universal context by examining the relevance of the myths of the ancients. Approaches to mythology usually catalogue the least important aspect of the subject. The collection is largely Greek and Roman, but there are also a significant number from other cultures, for example Indian, Native American, Egyptian, Norse, and African.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49581486178577,"sku":"GOR003079249","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49712006562065,"sku":"GOR011453695","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49972575666449,"sku":"CIN0195074750G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50098948309265,"sku":"CIN0195074750VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50345387491601,"sku":"CIN0195074750A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50514596528401,"sku":"GOR002544660","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0195074750.jpg?v=1751227287"},{"product_id":"amazing-grace-book-david-adams-leeming-9780195097849","title":"Amazing Grace","description":"Described by those who knew him best as a Buddha, a Merlin, and \"a cross between Brer Rabbit and St. Francis of Assisi,\" the artist Beauford Delaney was anything but ordinary. James Baldwin, his closest friend, wrote that \"He has been starving and working all of his life - in Tennessee, in Boston, in New York, and now in Paris. He has been menaced more than any other man I know by his social circumstances and also by all the emotional and psychological stratagems he has been forced to use to survive; and, more than any other man I know, he has transcended both the inner and the outer darkness.\" Indeed, these themes - grinding poverty, excruciating psychological torment, and the transcendence of inner and outer darkness through the light of his art - give shape and drama to Beauford Delaney's most extraordinary life. This book tells the story of one of the most important black artists of our time.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49773176848657,"sku":"CIN019509784XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51470650867985,"sku":"GOR005128861","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/019509784X.jpg?v=1751437427"},{"product_id":"mythology-book-david-adams-leeming-9780195119572","title":"Mythology","description":"Third revised edition, previously published in 1973 by Harper Collins, of a collection of texts stressing the universal themes of mythology. They range from the Bible to English literature, to C Jung and others, to illustrate the archetypal aspects of the universal hero.  This edition includes heroine myths and an updated bibliography.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49990918537489,"sku":"CIN0195119576A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50978947039505,"sku":"GOR002215460","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50999813669137,"sku":"NIN9780195119572","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52102865453329,"sku":"CIN0195119576G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52516015210769,"sku":"NLS9780195119572","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53385370304785,"sku":"CIN0195119576VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0195119576.jpg?v=1776938441"},{"product_id":"mythology-book-david-adams-leeming-9780882251356","title":"Mythology","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTwo hot college wrestlers take it off the mat.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll Jeremy Miller can think about is getting away from his abusive home life, making the wrestling team, and finally getting a real boyfriend. He's sick of being used by high-school football players who are too afraid to admit they like guys. What he doesn't count on is losing his heart to the gorgeous, golden-eyed captain of the wrestling team.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOr having to keep their hot, sweaty nights a secret at all costs.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith a wrestling scholarship, a shot at a national title, and a guaranteed spot in an elite sports medicine program, Beck has got it made. Yeah, he's gay and wishing he didn't have to hide it, but there will be plenty of time for dating after graduation. Until then, he doesn't need anything to get in the way of his big plans. Not even the adorable freshman wrestler he can't stop pinning to the mattress every chance he gets.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhy won't the sexy little bastard stop tempting him?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50038991388945,"sku":"CIN088225135XA","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/088225135X.jpg?v=1750883790"},{"product_id":"battle-for-mythic-britain-the-conversion-of-the-ancient-gods-of-england-ireland-book-david-adams-leeming-9780195134797","title":"The Battle for Mythic Britain : The Conversion of the Ancient Gods of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales","description":"The authors explore the sources of Britain's variegated folkloric tradition to discover how this body of seemingly unrelated tales developed. They uncover a virtual battlefield of myths in which Pagan and Judeo-Christian beliefs fought for dominance and classical, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Celtic narrative threads became tangled together. The resulting body of legends became a strange but coherent hybrid, which featured Christian heroes who exhibited distinctively Pagan behaviour. These myths continue to interest a broad range of readers - alternative spiritual groups embrace the Pagan traditions and folklore of the British Isles, while the Arthurian legends inspire countless fictions.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50405510938897,"sku":"CIN0195134796VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51168963887377,"sku":"CIN0195134796G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0195134796.jpg?v=1750875725"},{"product_id":"mythology-book-david-adams-leeming-9780195121537","title":"Mythology","description":"This book offers an unusual yet effective approach to the subject of mythology by stressing the universal rather than national themes. Leeming collects a wide array of narrative texts from the Bible to English literature to interpretations by Joseph Campbell, C.G. Jung and others, which illustrate the stages of the universal hero. The arrangement of texts by themes such as \"Childhood, Initiation and Divine Signs\" and \"The Descent to the Underworld\" help readers strip mythic characters of their many national and cultural \"masks\" to reveal their archetypal aspects. Real figures such as Jesus and Mohammed are also included to underline the text theory that myths are real and can be applied to real life. Changes to the third edition include additional heroine myths (including Navajo, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese and African tales) and an updated bibliography.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50441951379729,"sku":"GOR013952767","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50999803838737,"sku":"NIN9780195121537","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52402901287185,"sku":"NLS9780195121537","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0195121538.jpg?v=1751132553"},{"product_id":"mythology-the-voyage-of-the-hero-book-david-adams-leeming-9780397472765","title":"Mythology; the voyage of the hero","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50466694463761,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50466695151889,"sku":"CIN0397472765G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0397472765.jpg?v=1751358198"},{"product_id":"james-baldwin-book-david-adams-leeming-9780394577081","title":"James Baldwin","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe most revealing and subjectively penetrating assessment of Baldwin's life yet published. --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review. \u003c\/i\u003eThe first Baldwin biography in which one can recognize the human features of this brilliant, troubled, principled, supremely courageous man. \u003ci\u003e--Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJames Baldwin was one of the great writers of the last century. In works that have become part of the American canon--\u003ci\u003eGo Tell It on a Mountain\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGiovanni's Room\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAnother Country\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Fire Next Time\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Evidence of Things Not Seen\u003c\/i\u003e--he explored issues of race and racism in America, class distinction, and sexual difference. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA gay, African American writer who was born in Harlem, he found the freedom to express himself living in exile in Paris. When he returned to America to cover the Civil Rights movement, he became an activist and controversial spokesman for the movement, writing books that became bestsellers and made him a celebrity, landing him on the cover of \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this biography, David Leeming creates an intimate portrait of a complex, troubled, driven, and brilliant man. He plumbs every aspect of Baldwin's life: his relationships with the unknown and the famous, including painter Beauford Delaney, Richard Wright, Lorraine Hansberry, Marlon Brando, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, and childhood friend Richard Avedon; his expatriate years in France and Turkey; his gift for compassion and love; the public pressures that overwhelmed his quest for happiness, and his passionate battle for black identity, racial justice, and to end the racial nightmare and achieve our country.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51415786193169,"sku":"CIN0394577086G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52968581988625,"sku":"CIN0394577086VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53625791217937,"sku":"CIN0394577086A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0394577086.jpg?v=1751134630"},{"product_id":"dictionary-of-asian-mythology-book-david-adams-leeming-9780195120523","title":"A Dictionary of Asian Mythology","description":"This is an A-Z dictionary of mythologies of the Asian continent. Major characters, places and events of Asian mythology are included, as well as certain relevant themes and cultural traditions.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51819398594833,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51819398889745,"sku":"CIN0195120523VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780195120523.jpg?v=1752545648"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-david-adams-leeming.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}