Synopses & Reviews
Though people generally do not think of them in such terms, crows are remarkably graceful: from the tip of a crows beak to the end of its tail is a single curve, which changes rhythmically as the crow turns its head or bends toward the ground. Foraging on their long, powerful legs, crows appear to glide over the earth; they take flight almost without effort, flapping their wings easily, ascending into the air like spirits.
Nevertheless, the whiskers around their beaks and an apparent smile make crows, in a scruffy sort of way, endearingly "human". In a vast range of cultures from the Chinese to the Hopi Indians, crows are bearers of prophecy. Because of their courtship dances and monogamous unions, the Greeks invoked crows at weddings as symbols of conjugal love. Crows are among the most ubiquitous of birds, yet, without being in the least exotic, they remain mysterious.
This book is a survey of crows, ravens, magpies and their relatives in myth, literature and life. It ranges from the raven sent out by Noah to the corvid deities of the Eskimo, to Taoist legends, Victorian novels and contemporary films. It will be of interest to all people who have ever been intrigued, puzzled, annoyed or charmed by these wonderfully intelligent birds.
Review
"Boria Sax's Crow takes a broadly chronological approach, with an intriguing digression on scarecrows. There are strong themes in the way different cultures have thought about crows (and ravens)." Independent
Review
"This authoritative and well-researched volume is an ideal source of reference for anyone who has ever been intrigued, annoyed or charmed by these wonderful birds"
Matt Smith
Review
"the sort of mongraph I treasure and seek out, a work that draws together around a totem animal centuries of relevant lore, a richness of iconographic treatments and the best natural history and natural science available to a lay researcher and engaged author"
British Trust for Ornithology
Review
"A fascinating and delightful book... an excellent read for anyone interested in this group of birds."
Cage and Aviary Birds
Synopsis
Though not generally perceived as graceful, crows are remarkably so--a single curve undulates from the tip of the bird's beak to the end of its tail. They take flight almost without effort, flapping their wings easily and ascending into the air like spirits. Crow by Boria Sax is a celebration of the crow and its relatives in myth, literature, and life.
Sax takes readers into the history of crows, detailing how in a range of cultures, from the Chinese to the Hopi Indians, crows are bearers of prophecy. For example, thanks in part to the birds' courtship rituals, Greeks invoked crows as symbols of conjugal love. From the raven sent out by Noah to the corvid deities of the Eskimo, from Taoist legends to Victorian novels and contemporary films, Sax's book ranges across history and culture and will interest anyone who has ever been intrigued, puzzled, annoyed, or charmed by these wonderfully intelligent birds.
Synopsis
The crow is a remarkably graceful bird: a single curve runs from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail, which changes rhythmically as it turns its head or bends toward the ground. It takes flight effortlessly, ascending like a spirit to glide over the earth.
This book considers crows, ravens, magpies, and their relatives in myth, literature, and life. It ranges from Noah's raven through Victorian novels to recent films. It will be of interest to anyone who has ever been intrigued, puzzled, annoyed, or charmed by these wonderfully intelligent birds.
Boria Sax is a lecturer in literature at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and the founder of the organization Nature in Legend and Story (NILAS).
About the Author
Boria Sax teaches in the college program of Sing Sing Prison in upstate New York and online for the University of Illinois Springfield. He is the author of many books, including The Mythical Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Animals in World Myth, Legend, and Literature and Crow, also published by Reaktion Books. He lives in White Plains, New York.
Table of Contents
Introduction1. Mesopotamia2. Egypt, Greece and Rome3. The European Middle Ages and Renaissance4. Asia5. Native American Culture6. The Romantic Era7. Lord of the Crows8. The Twentieth Century and BeyondTimelineReferencesBibliographyWebsitesAssociationsAcknowledgementsPhoto AcknowledgementsIndex
CITATION: "Boria Sax's
Crow takes a broadly chronological approach, with an intriguing digression on scarecrows. There are strong themes in the way different cultures have thought about crows (and ravens)."--
The Independent (The Independent, Feb 25 2004 )
CITATION: "This authoritative and well-researched volume is an ideal source of reference for anyone who has ever been intrigued, annoyed or charmed by these wonderful birds"--Cage and Aviary Birds
(Matt Smith, Cage and Aviary Birds, Feb 7 2004 )
CITATION: "A fascinating and delightful book... an excellent read for anyone interested in this group of birds"--British Trust for Ornithology
(British Trust for Ornithology, May 1 2004 )
CITATION: "the sort of mongraph I treasure and seek out, a work that draws together around a totem animal centuries of relevant lore, a richness of iconographic treatments and the best natural history and natural science available to a lay researcher and engaged author"--David Scofield Wilson, H-Net Reviews
(David Scofield Wilson, H-Net Reviews, Apr 1 2004 )