Chris Gosden is Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford. Previously he was a curator and lecturer at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, where he encountered many magical objects, displayed in a scientific manner. Chris is a fellow of the British Academy and the Society of Antiquaries, as well as a trustee of the Art Fund, the British Museum and chair of trustees for Oxford Archaeology. He has written or edited eighteen academic books. This is his first trade book.
With his own magic touch, Chris Gosden brilliantly reveals the
place of magic in human societies from the Ice Age to the present
day in all inhabited continents, and shows how the exercise of
magic was an everyday practice that joined the world of the dead to
that of the living
*Professor David Abulafia, author of The Boundless Sea*
Fascinating, original and excellent, written with both narrative
flair and deep scholarship, this is a world history, from the
steppes of Mongolia to the palaces of London and Paris from
prehistory to today, told through the lens of magic, that has
always existed alongside and within religion itself, a gripping
ride of astonishing span, filled with colourful characters, shaman,
witches and kings, esoteric rites and revelatory research. An
important and essential read that also happens to be a highly
entertaining historical treasure-trove
*Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem and The Romanovs*
This is an extraordinary work of learning, written with an
exhilarating lightness of touch. And it's flexible: you can read it
from cover-to-cover, or just dip in - or both. Chris Gosden has
traced the story of magical beliefs from the Old Stone Age to
modern times, across all the continents of the world. But it isn't
just a work of archaeology and history: it has increasing relevance
for our own times, as we witness the growth of extreme cults and
the seditious myths of the post-truth era. It is essential
reading
*Francis Pryor, author of Britain BC, Britain AD and The Fens*
The History of Magic is a major contribution to an important but
neglected subject. It should be read not only by archaeologists and
anthropologists but by everyone interested in the human
condition
*Barry Cunliffe, author of The Scythians*
"To be human is to be connected." Chris Gosden shows how magic
explores the connections between human beings and the universe in
ways different from religion or science, yet deserving of respect.
A magisterial account of the central place of magic in many
cultures both ancient and modern
*Professor John Barton, author of A History of The Bible*
An impressive and much-needed book, Gosden masterfully presents the
history of magic from a global perspective, enabling the reader to
make fascinating connections between traditions in different places
and eras
*Violet Moller, author of the Map of Knowledge*
Breathtaking in scope... For many readers its pages will be full of
fascinating discoveries
*Sunday Times*
Comprehensive and remarkable . . . his book subverts essentially
everything we are meant to believe
*The Telegraph*
Bold, gripping and arrestingly readable ... a path-breaking study
of a pervasive and strangely neglected phenomenon
*New Statesman*
Exceptional
*Telegraph, Books of the Year*
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