I found a copy of Druid Magic by Maya Magee Sutton in a used bookstore for a couple of dollars. I leafed through it, it looked like it might be fun to read and there was a section on Druid history. Since Druid history is a highly debated subject I thought it might be interesting to get this author's take on it so I bought it. I admit I also felt bad for it all alone on an entire wall of Christian writings and one book by Edgar Cayce. It obviously needed a home.
I looked it up on Amazon and found reviews all over the place. By far the majority liked it. Some liked it with reservations and a few really tore it to bits. The best I could tell, the main criticism wasn't so much what was written but rather that it wasn't scholarly enough. At least two critics who really hated it suggested that readers stick to authors like Ellis.
Hmmmmm..... I have The Celts: A History and Celtic Myths and Legends by Peter Beresford Ellis. He is the acknowledged authority in the field and I have manage to plow through these books and probably will read his books on the Druids. BUT, his writing is academic and can be pedantic. It is not for light reading with some education thrown in. Druid Magic, from what I can tell just leafing through it and reading the first few pages, is not intended as a serious scholarly work, but rather as an informative and relatively easy read.
If everything about the Druids is supposed to be written in the most arch and academic style possible in order to be worth reading.......then it isn't going to be very interesting. Even I know that real information on the Druids is sketchy at best and therefore some writers go to extreme lengths to defend their hypotheses.
I also know that reconstructionists believe that the Druids were the scholars and record holders of their day....but does that mean that everything has to be on the far side of serious? I learned more history from the history professor who thought that history was a hoot than from the one that droned on and on about it.
I'm just starting to find things to read about the Druids and already questioning the wisdom of the self identified high mucky-mucks of the tradition. Oh wait, don't tell me.... Wiccans aren't the only ones who go online with preposterous titles and awe inspiring resumes and wait for the masses to swoon at their feet.
It's a great book. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMary
I will, thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right! I'm a history teacher and I've been a book editor of historical matters . . . and it should be interesting and accessible. History will never get passed down if it's dry and boring (i.e., scholarly). Yes, it should be grounded in good scholarship but the more fluid and interesting the author makes it, the better!! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI read the reviews on Amazon ... what the "High mucks of the tradition" wrote about this book. Amazing how they throw their credentials around like so much faerie dust (seemingly to impress the masses!) LOL
ReplyDeleteHAVE FUN READING ... May much of what you read fully resonate with you!