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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2007 8:11:53 GMT -1
Had a gray wet sunday afternoon last weekend so visited a local second-hand book store called 'The hard to find book store' and after much haggling I came away with these...
The Art of the Celts by David Sandison.
Magic Arts in Celtic Britain by Lewis Spence.
The Pagan Celts by Anne Ross.
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton.
...and...
Horrible Histories, The Cut-throat Celts by Terry Deary.
So, do these grace the shelfs of anyone else's library?
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Post by megli on Aug 17, 2007 10:57:41 GMT -1
Take the Spence book with a gritting lorry full of salt. Best read as a novel, rather than as accurate history. (Fun though - I was entranced by it, lying on a burial mound in Cornwall in my early teens).
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Post by Sìle on Aug 17, 2007 17:40:43 GMT -1
Magic Arts in Celtic Britain by Lewis Spence. On my bookshelf, but yet to be read. I started reading it one night whilst in a traffic jam, but just couldn't get into it. Saving it for another day. The Pagan Celts by Anne Ross. Currently reading on the way to work. Am only up to Chapter I, so will let you know. What I do know is that I need a dictionary with me whilst reading it. Nearly every page has a word I need to flag.  The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton. Also on the shelf, waiting to be read. So, like you fledgling, I would be interested in comments, too. ;D |
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Post by Craig on Aug 18, 2007 7:00:32 GMT -1
Terry Deary is one of our favourite factual authors. We have got most of his books on our kids' shelves.
Of the others only Anne Ross really impresses me. I'm afraid I am not a great fan of Hutton since I met him in the flesh and have watched him on TV. Smuggery is not an endearing characteristic.
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Post by littleraven on Aug 19, 2007 7:27:41 GMT -1
The Terry Deary book is great, as are all of that series. There is a vast amount of info wrapped up in a humourous package.
Anne Ross is undoubtedly one of the most important 'Celtic' writers and is worth having, although as BB recently mentioned elsewhere she is very much into the 'pan-Celtic' way of thinking.
Lewis Spence is something of a 'classic' and demonstrates a way of thnking that has now pretty much passed, but is still essential to any seious collection.
Ronald Hutton. Hmm, yes, he is again essential but I simply do not like him. He has an underlying agenda to suit his academic career that I find on occasion somewhat disrespectful, particularly evident in 'Triumph of the Moon'. I've already mentioned that his new book has become something of a rallying call for the neo-Druids, validating their need to deny the necessity of understanding the origins of 'Druid'. Whilst you can't deny his research, there is something about him ....
Although I was hugely amused during his talk at the camp whne answering a couple of questions. Ohe was 'what has been the relevance of the Northern Tradition on Druidry?' to whihc he replied along the lines of 'nothing. the Northern tradition is irrelelvent, it's Germanic and Druidry is Celtic' much to the annoyance of the questioner. The other was regarding the ide that BLake was a Druid which he stated was nonsense, destroying the argument for this by poiting out some decidedly dodgly evidence and suggested that the quote on his tombstone was simply poetry. Again, much to the anoyance of the questioner.
Books? Miranda Green.
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Post by megli on Aug 19, 2007 11:48:01 GMT -1
Ronald Hutton. Hmm, yes, he is again essential but I simply do not like him.
He's always been deeply civil to me: I understand how you feel though LR. I once wrote to him to ask for advice about my work, and he wrote back immediately enclosing unpublished research of his, quite gratis and with no expectations, which was immensely helpful both in writing and teaching. I agree that the flounces are off-putting, but he went beyond the call of duty to help me, when he didn't know me from Adam.
' to whihc he replied along the lines of 'nothing. the Northern tradition is irrelelvent, it's Germanic and Druidry is Celtic' much to the annoyance of the questioner.
Oh I'm sorry I missed that ;D
The other was regarding the ide that BLake was a Druid which he stated was nonsense, destroying the argument for this by poiting out some decidedly dodgly evidence and suggested that the quote on his tombstone was simply poetry. Again, much to the anoyance of the questioner.
Pratchett had a line, I think, about the ability to make someone sound stupid merely by hearing them.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2007 8:17:40 GMT -1
Oops, sorry forgot to say thanks for your replys.  (Will let you know how I get on.) |
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Post by Midori on Oct 20, 2007 6:53:55 GMT -1
I find Hutton's style of writing very dry, but as a speaker he is amusing. Had the anne Ross one but it got lost somehow when i moved house, so I need to get hold of it again.
Terry Deary makes me laugh my socks off! My two children were brought up on his books!
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Post by Blackbird on Oct 25, 2007 9:02:49 GMT -1
Yes, I'm afraid I can't stand Anne Ross. Personally, I'm sure she's lovely, but her writing irritates me beyond belief  She's one of those authors (like John Matthews) that sets out with a conclusion then squashes square shaped facts into round holes to prove it. That 'Druid Prince' one about Lindow Man is the worst. She makes huge leaps of logic, which, on subsequent pages are then restated as fact and used as springboards for further speculative rubbish. The exception is 'Pagan Celtic Britain'. While her conclusions are still sometimes dubious, the book still contains very useful decriptions of archaeological finds and great footnotes. (That was quite an early book, I suspect she's got worse with age) I've not read that particular Hutton book, though I'd like to. I like his writing - I think the problem is that some readers are overawed by his historical knowledge and take everything he says as gospel - not realising that historians are selective with facts and have an agenda to push. I do think he was a breath of fresh air for the pagan community and hopefully he'll encourage other academics to take us seriously too. |
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Post by Francis on Nov 5, 2007 11:53:17 GMT -1
I do think he was a breath of fresh air for the pagan community and hopefully he'll encourage other academics to take us seriously too. He's certainly got things and people moving more energetically and rigourously on these topics than before, and I thank him for that. Not sure whether that new movement's due to the invigoration of his "fresh air", or just movement away from some smuggly dropped fart...! But either way many people who were comfortable debating with fantasy-factoids are now motivated to search out evidence based historical truths, and that's a legacy for anyone to be proud of. |
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