Legends Of The Earth: How The New Science Of Geomythology Explains Them
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
Long before modern science could articulate the mechanics of volcanic eruptions, floods, and earthquakes, human cultures around the world wove these terrifying natural phenomena into myth — and Legends of the Earth is the landmark work that systematically decodes them. Dorothy B. Vitaliano, a pioneering geologist who coined the term geomythology, argues that many of humanity's most enduring legends — from the great flood narratives shared across dozens of civilisations to the fiery underworlds of ancient religion — are not mere fantasy, but cultural memories of genuine geological events, passed down through generations of oral tradition. Vitaliano's methodology is as rigorous as it is revelatory, cross-referencing the geological record with folklore, mythology, and archaeology to reconstruct catastrophes that shook the ancient world. Her writing bridges the gap between hard science and humanistic inquiry with rare authority, making complex earth sciences accessible without sacrificing intellectual depth. A seminal text that forever changes how one reads a myth, Legends of the Earth leaves the reader wondering which other stories, long dismissed as fantasy, are in fact the echoes of a trembling, erupting, inundated past.
Author: Dorothy B. Vitaliano
Format: Paperback
Published: 1976, The Citadel Press, NJ
Genre: Myths & legends
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
Long before modern science could articulate the mechanics of volcanic eruptions, floods, and earthquakes, human cultures around the world wove these terrifying natural phenomena into myth — and Legends of the Earth is the landmark work that systematically decodes them. Dorothy B. Vitaliano, a pioneering geologist who coined the term geomythology, argues that many of humanity's most enduring legends — from the great flood narratives shared across dozens of civilisations to the fiery underworlds of ancient religion — are not mere fantasy, but cultural memories of genuine geological events, passed down through generations of oral tradition. Vitaliano's methodology is as rigorous as it is revelatory, cross-referencing the geological record with folklore, mythology, and archaeology to reconstruct catastrophes that shook the ancient world. Her writing bridges the gap between hard science and humanistic inquiry with rare authority, making complex earth sciences accessible without sacrificing intellectual depth. A seminal text that forever changes how one reads a myth, Legends of the Earth leaves the reader wondering which other stories, long dismissed as fantasy, are in fact the echoes of a trembling, erupting, inundated past.