Melanie Clegg

Japanese Myths: Heroes, Gods, Demons and Legends by Melanie Clegg is a very attractive and informative overview of Japanese mythology.

Clegg does a wonderful job of being informative without becoming academic. There is enough detail to make both the myths and their roles in society and culture understandable while still remaining accessible to even the most casual reader. If you want to dive deeper there is a short bibliography but the terms and names mentioned in whatever section interests you will pull up plenty of resources online and in libraries.

I was particularly pleased to see the role of myth brought into contemporary times, with references to popular culture and urban legends. So whether your curiosity is inspired by ancient myths or more recent media, there is something for you here.

While academics who study this topic may not learn anything new here, most of the rest of us will be taken on a wonderfully guided tour, so I highly recommend it for readers with little to no knowledge of Japanese mythology.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)

Japan: Land of the Rising Sun by Melanie Clegg is an excellent introduction to Japan for those who haven't been and a great reminder of its beauty and culture for those who have.

I spent some time the past couple of days reading several coffee table books. I use them as decoration but with an eye toward being conversation starters. So while attractiveness is important, for me, the information offered is just as important. I usually want a nice mix of illustrations and either good captions or short sections of text that only refer to one or two pictures. In other words, I want to put the pictures and the information together easily, unlike, say, a history book that may have a number of illustrations but they may not even be on the same page as the part of the chapter that refers to them. So…

This book, like many of Amber Books' titles, is set up perfect for my taste. A brief introduction for each chapter about the region covered, then informative captions for each photograph telling the reader what they are looking at as well as some background. The history and the culture of sacred places, the juxtaposition of the ancient with the ultra modern and of nature with contemporary amenities are some of the things we learn. Plus just seeing some of the photographs makes you feel you're there.

I would definitely recommend this for those with an interest in Japan as well as those who simply enjoy nice photography. As for gift giving, I think coffee table books make wonderful gifts, but I usually pick books on topics I know the person likes rather than guessing whether they might be interested. I don’t want them to feel like they have to set a book out because I might be dropping by. For the right person, this would make an excellent gift.

Some of the books in the Visual Explorer Guide series are smaller, roughly the size of the old large postcards one bought on vacation. I like those as end table, rather than coffee table, books. This one, however, is full size, roughly the size of standard printer paper (8.5”x11”) turned landscape.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)