James George Frazer - The Golden Bough

Pros: Very informative, contains information all in one place not generally found elsewhere
Cons: Very obviously biased, slow in places, not a particularly 'easy' read

I feel that 'The Golden Bough', a scholarly commentary, on the development of religion, magic & myth in diverse societies is misplaced by being placed in the 'Fiction' category, as it is a study of fictional/mythological themes rather than fiction...

Pros: You can use this book to assist you in creating modern day rituals for honoring your ancestors.
Cons: You have to weed through the heathen comments and a lot of commentary information to get what you truly desire within this book, information!

The Golden Bough in it's condensed version is truly lacking, but is a most interesting and thought provoking book to say the least! Frazer takes you on a journey of aboriginal people of all lands and if you can sift through the biased opinion of Frazer,...

Pros: It reminds us that we are not totally original in our beliefs and makes us really think about the development of our existence.
Cons: The book is slightly disorganized but still gets the point.

The golden bough is far one of the best books I have ever read. Frazer starts out with an idea that at first seems insignificant, but eventually turns into an entire book on the development of religion and magic. He analyzes the similarities between what...