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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #382346 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-16
• Format: Abridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1012 pages

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)

Customer Reviews

An anti - bible for the masses?
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 rediculous. 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!.

Fascinating book, would benefit from more concise abridgement
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.