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Book

Magic : a history : from alchemy to witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the present

Call Number

  • 133.43 G6762 (CEN)

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Edition

First American edition.

Publication Information

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020.

Physical Description

xix, 482 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Uniform Title

History of magic

Summary

"An Oxford professor of archaeology explores the unique history of magic, the oldest and most neglected strand of human behavior, and its resurgence today"--

Notes

"Originally published in 2020 by Viking, Great Britain, as The History of Magic: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the present."

Contents

  • What is magic and why is it important?
  • The deep history of magic (c.40,000-6000 BCE)
  • The magic of cities: Mesopotamia and Egypt (c.4000 BCE-present)
  • Shamanism and magic on the Eurasion Steppe
  • Magical traditions in prehistoric Europe (10,000-0 BCE)
  • Jewish, Greek and Roman magic (c.1000 BCE-1000 CE)
  • The magics of Africa, Australia and the Americas
  • Medieval and modern magic in Europe (500- CE-present)
  • Modern and future magic.

Subjects