Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this captivating volume, folklorist Mayor (The First Fossil Hunters) guides readers through the emerging field of geomythology, which revisits ancient myths for what they reveal of natural history. She examines 53 tales from around the world, showing how they evolved from premodern peoples' need to make sense of natural occurrences, usually ones that were unprecedented and inexplicable, like meteor strikes, disappearing lakes, and frogs and fish falling from the skies. These myths, she writes, provide insight into the ways people have been trying to make rational, proto-scientific sense of the natural world for thousands of years, but also preserve memories of violent catastrophes. These include the volcanic eruption of Budj Bim in Southern Australia a little over 36,000 years ago --Aboriginal tales of the event "convey perceptive observations and understanding of natural evidence" that have "help scientists to understand... geological events in Australia's remote past." In between tales of flaming bodies of water and singing sand dunes, Mayor also includes contemporary geomyths like the Chicago Rat Hole, an impression shaped like a rat's body in a city sidewalk that drew Chicagoans bearing tokens (pennies, flowers, candles, cheese) in early 2024, which help to illustrate that "the human impulse to find meaning... in an extraordinary event... is a strong, timeless, and evolutionarily valuable tendency." Written with wit and erudition, this delights. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
The growing discipline of geomythology explores how prescientific cultures attempted to describe and understand their environment and pass that knowledge to later generations. Mayor (history, Stanford Univ.; Flying Snakes & Griffin Claws) shares her favorite legends and myths, from all over the world, about natural disasters and phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteors, fossils, and quicksand. Organized in 53 brief entries, this book covers everything from the Accursed Mountain Chain to the Rat Hole of Chicago. Each entry includes the stories of the myth, coupled with scientific and historical discoveries that explain the phenomena in the tales. Throughout the book, readers will find examples of the power of geomyths, such as how the residents of Simeulue, an island in Indonesia, survived two tsunamis in 2005 due to lessons learned from a devastating disaster in 1907, which were preserved and passed down in lullabies, nursery rhymes, and folk songs. Michele M. Angel's illustrations help bring the stories alive. VERDICT This engaging and accessible volume is appropriate for laypeople and scholars of interdisciplinary fields connecting anthropology, disaster studies, folklore, science, and history.--Alison Wessel
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Exploring the borderlands between myth, history, and science. Folklorist and historian Mayor, author of the National Book Award finalistThe Poison King, draws on the new field of geomythology to explain the historical background and science behind 53 legends and myths of the earth and "how humans have made sense of their observations of nature over time." The oral legend of the Budj Bim volcano in Australia may go back more than 36,000 years and can help scientists understand seismic, volcanic, and other geological events. The many tales of fountains of flames and perpetually burning fires can help scientists trace the earth's hydrocarbon degassing into the atmosphere. The ancient tales of West Africa's terrible, gigantic Jobar creature, which perished in an ancient flash flood, were confirmed in 1997 by the discovery of a new species of sauropod dinosaurs. The giant lake catfish of Japanese legend, the Namazu, were known for predicting earthquakes and tsunamis; its image now graces Japanese escape route signs. Legends about numerous Paleoburrows in Brazil, formed long ago, were created by giant sloths and massive armadillos, say paleontologists. Contemporary urban myths have sprung up around the Rat Hole of Chicago, an impression of a rat in a concrete sidewalk. It probably escaped from wet concrete. Then there are the legends of Bahrain's 32-foot Shajarat-al-Hayat, or Tree of Life, being part of the Garden of Eden. Scientists now believe it was planted around 1582. Mayor concludes her catalog of worldly wonders with the study of zooseismology--yes, it seems animals do have the ability to sense seismic activity before humans. Other entries cover dry quicksand, raining frogs and fish, killing stones, and windblown strands of spun glass. A fascinating catalog of ancient cultures and unique geological events. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
