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FYW: The Mythology of Life and Death in the Works of Neil Gaiman: Neil's Library
Neil Gaiman's Library
Several articles and blog posts have been created surrounding Neil's personal library. The people at Shelfari were given access to his home, and you can see pictures of the library(up until 2009). It is a truly incredible collection.
On Neil's website, he published a list of works he consulted while writing American Gods. We have been adding these volumes to our collection, and these are linked on the right. Not only can you do research related to his work, you can use the same books the author used. Some are silly, like the guides to roadside America, and some are more on the scholarly side.
Books Consulted While Writing American Gods
Without permission, I have not posted Neil's comments on each book, but you can find this content on his website. Neil wrote his list in a narrative, and I have maintained his order, which is neither alphabetical by author or title (but might be more logically grouped). For books that are questionable because of age, click through to the record and explore other books in our collection by clicking on subject headings.
Newgate CalendarCall Number: Online resourcePublication Date: October 17, 1750Containing three lists of prisoners, two of which are also cross-indexed as alphabetical grids.
Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers by Call Number: GR110.M6 D6ISBN: 0674076656Publication Date: 1952-01-01Richard Dorson, living for five months among the Indians, Finns, Canadiens, Cornishmen, lumberjacks, sailors, miners, and sagamen of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, has listened to their tales, which this book reproduces with all their native thunder and salt.
American Folklore by Call Number: GR105 .D5ISBN: 0226158594Publication Date: 1961-01-15Here, grounded firmly in American history, is a skilled folklorist's survey of the entire field of America's folklore;from colonization to mass culture.
Buying the Wind by Call Number: GR105 .D66ISBN: 0226158624Publication Date: 1972-08-15The collection explores rich and distinctive lore of Maine Down-Easters, Pennsylvania Dutchmen, Southern mountaineers, Louisiana Cajuns, Illinois Egyptians, Southwest Mexicans, and Utah Mormons.
New Roadside America by Call Number: E158.K56 1992ISBN: 0671769316Publication Date: 1992-06-01Planning to see Graceland? Why not let this delightful volume direct you on the complete Elvis tour, including a miniature "Elvis City" in Roanoke, Virginia; the Elvis-theme McDonald's in Elvis's birthplace of Tupelo, Mississippi; and the Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Learn about the Curse of the Pyramids, and see the many unfinished pyramids that litter America's heartland. Jump into the debate about which town has the largest ball of string, the biggest tree stump, or America's true weather-forecasting groundhog. The locations of giant statues of the Jolly Green Giant, an "African village" in South Carolina claiming to be an independent kingdom, and the mysterious "Thing" of the Sonoran Desert are all found here.
America Bizarro by Call Number: GT3930 .T39 2000ISBN: 0312262868Publication Date: 2000-08-05It's a weird place, America. Organized state-by-state, and illustrated with some pretty funny pictures, America Bizarro is an hysterical armchair read which doubles as a practical guide.
Who's Who in Non-Classical Mythology by Call Number: BL303 .S9 2002ISBN: 041526040XPublication Date: 2001-11-09In fascinating detail it covers characters from cultures and religions throughout the world, covering the Near East, Europe (including the legends of the Celts, Teutons, Slavs and Basques), India, the Americas, Australasia, Indonesia, China, Japan and Africa.
A Dictionary of World Mythology by Call Number: BL303 .C66 1986ISBN: 0192177478Publication Date: 1990-04-19Arthur Cotterell sets out clearly the chief myths of the world and explains why different mythologies arose in different lands.
Encyclopedia of Gods by Call Number: Ref BL473 .J67 1993ISBN: 9780816029099Publication Date: 1993-06-01Encyclopedia of Gods offers concise information on more than 2,500 deities worshipped around the world and throughout history, from the most ancient gods of polytheistic societies -- to the most contemporary gods of the major monotheistic religions. Each entry details the relevant culture, the role of the god or goddess, and the characteristics and symbols by which they are identified.
Myths and Legends of All Nations by Call Number: BL310 .R6 1976ISBN: 9780822603191Publication Date: 1976-01-01A treasury of the world's most famous and fascinating myths and legends.- A Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Call Number: Ref BL850 .S5613 1993ISBN: 0859913694Publication Date: 1996-09-01
The Norse Myths by Call Number: BL860 .C76 1980ISBN: 0394748468Publication Date: 1981-07-12The mythic legacy of the Scandinavians includes a cycle of stories filled with magnificent images from pre-Christian Europe. Gods, humans, and monstrous beasts engage in prodigious drinking bouts, contests of strength, greedy schemes for gold, and lusty encounters. The Norse pantheon includes Odin, the wisest and most fearsome of the gods; Thor, the thundering powerhouse; and the exquisite, magic-wielding Freyja. Their loves, wars, and adventures take us through worlds both mortal and divine, culminating in a blazing doomsday for gods and humans alike.
The Sagas of Icelanders by Call Number: PT7262.E5 S34 2000ISBN: 0670889903Publication Date: 2000-04-03Set around the turn of the last millennium, these stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives and deeds of the Norse men and women who first settled Iceland and of their descendants, who ventured farther west - to Greenland and, ultimately, the coast of North America itself.- An Encyclopedia of Fairies by Call Number: Ref GR549 .B74 1976bISBN: 0394409183Publication Date: 1978-08-01This alphabetically arranged resource for British fairy tales covers subjects such as names of fairies and their stories as well as concepts and customs related to fairy tales.
Cryptozoology A to Z by Call Number: Sci Lib QL88.3 .C65 1999ISBN: 0684856026Publication Date: 1999-08-05Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals. Cryptozoology A to Z,the first encyclopedia of its kind, contains nearly two hundred entries, including cryptids (the name given to these unusual beasts), new animal finds, and the explorers and scientists who search for them.
Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong by Call Number: E159 .L64 1999ISBN: 1565843444Publication Date: 1999-11-01The fabulous sequel to the bestselling, award-winning Lies My Teacher Told Me. Also available as an eBook.
God Is Red by Call Number: BL2776 .D44 1992ISBN: 1555919049Publication Date: 1993-02-19Deloria, author of Custer Died for Your Sins, has updated his classic work on Native religion asking new questions about our ultimate fate as we look toward the 21st century.- The Religions of the American Indians by Call Number: E59.R38 H813ISBN: 0520026535Publication Date: 1979-01-01This book presents a comprehensive survey of the complex indigenous religions of the Americas, both North and South, as they were in the past and as they still exist in some societies.
American Indian Myths and Legends by Call Number: E98.F6 A47 1984ISBN: 0394740181Publication Date: 1985-08-12More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups gives us a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices. With black-and-white illustrations throughout Selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library
The Mythology of North America by Call Number: E98.R3 B54 2002ISBN: 0195146239Publication Date: 2002-08-22In this wide-ranging volume, John Bierhorst carefully delineates eleven mythological regions--from the Arctic to the Southwest and from California to the East Coast--presenting the gods, heroes, and primary myths of each area. First published in 1985, this indispensable guide has been updated to reflect the latest scholarship in Native studies.
On the Rez by Call Number: E99.O3 F73 2000ISBN: 0374226385Publication Date: 2000-01-10A great writer's journey of exploration in an American place that is both strange and deeply familiar. In On the Rez, Frazier focuses on a place at their center-the Pine Ridge Reservation in the prairie and badlands of South Dakota, home of the Oglala Sioux. Frazier drives around "the rez" with Le War Lance and other Oglalas as they tell stories, visit relatives, go to powwows and rodeos and package stores, and try to find parts to fix one or another of their on-the-verge-of-working cars. On the Rez considers Indian ideas of freedom and community and equality that are basic to how we view ourselves. Most of all, he examines the Indian idea of heroism-its suffering and its pulse-quickening, public-spirited glory.
Confederates in the Attic by Call Number: E468.9 .H78 1998ISBN: 0679439781Publication Date: 1998-03-03An adventure into the soul of the unvanquished South, where the ghosts of the Lost Cause are resurrected through ritual and remembrance.- The Day of the Dead by Call Number: R726.8 .G68 1993ISBN: 9780151811922Publication Date: 1993-11-01A visit to an embalmer apropos of a television documentary gives rise to a spirited discussion of the rather extraordinary "postmortem careers" of John Dillinger and Evita Peron, the latter rendered nearly indestructible by the embalmer's art. In the essay entitled "Of Skulls in a Heap and Soft Parts in Glass Jars," Gonzalez-Crussi visits a hospital in his native Mexico for the singularly vivacious celebration of the Day of the Dead - November 2 - and an exploration of the Mexican Way of Death. But it is in the essay "Lights, Camera, Stillness! Death and the Visual Arts" that the author gives perhaps freest play to his imagination, taking the reader across time, continents, and media to reflect evocatively on the intersection of art and death. That essay is an appropriately breathtaking conclusion to this provocative and entertaining volume."
- A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore by Call Number: GR103 .T73 1976ISBN: 0517523485Publication Date: 1981-04-22
The African Slave Trade by Call Number: DT476 .D32 1980ISBN: 0852557981Publication Date: 1961-01-01Basil Davidson states that by examining three important areas of Africa in the history of slavery 'against a general background of their time and circumstance' he was taking 'a fresh look at the oversea slave trade, the steady year-by-year export of African labor to the West Indies and the Americas that marked the greatest and most fateful migration - forced migration - in the history of man.'
The Slave Trade by Call Number: HT985 .T47 1997ISBN: 0684810638Publication Date: 1997-11-26Every aspect of the slave trade is covered from the early 16th century to its abolition in the early 20th century, with particular attention to the economics & politics of slavery & its worldwide social acceptance & the widespread involvement of governments & people everywhere.
Bullwhip Days by Call Number: E444 .B95 1988ISBN: 0802138683Publication Date: 2001-12-12In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration commissioned an oral history of the remaining former slaves. Bullwhip Days is a remarkable compendium of selections from these extraordinary interviews.
Voodoo in New Orleans by Call Number: BL2490 .T3 1983ISBN: 088289336XPublication Date: 1984-03-01Voodoo in New Orleans examines the origins of the cult voodooism. The lives of New Orleans's most infamous witch doctors and voodoo queens have been re-created in this well-researched account of New Orleans's dark underworld.
Gumbo Ya-Ya by Call Number: GR110.L5 G85 1987ISBN: 0882896458Publication Date: 1987-05-31Long considered the finest collection of Louisiana folktales and customs, this book chronicles the stories and legends that have emerged from the bayou country.
Voodoo in Haiti by Call Number: BL2490 .M453 1972ISBN: 0805208941Publication Date: 1989-04-29A master work of observation and description about the lives and rituals of the Haitian mambos and adepts, and of the history and origins of their religion.
Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America by Call Number: GR105 .M94 1999ISBN: 0195117832Publication Date: 1999-01-28David Leeming and Jake Page have gathered together the great myths and legends of America, ranging from the creation stories of the first inhabitants, to the tall-tales of the Western frontier, to the legendary outlaws of the 1920s.- American Folklore: An EncyclopediaCall Number: Ref GR101 .A54 1996ISBN: 0815307519Publication Date: 1996-03-01Ranging over foodways and folksongs, quiltmaking and computer lore, Pecos Bill, Butch Cassidy, and Elvis sightings, more than 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, and crafts; sports and holidays; tall tales and legendary figures, genres and forms; scholarly approaches and theories; regions and ethnic groups; performers and collectors; writers and scholars; religious beliefs and practices. Some 150 illustrations illuminate the material. Also available as an eBook
Hathor Rising: The Power of the Goddess in Ancient Egypt by Call Number: BL2450.H3 R63 1997ISBN: 089281621XPublication Date: 1997-06-01Drawing from temple art, myths, rituals, and poetry, Dr. Roberts examines the female aspect of the complex Egyptian pantheon, particularly the goddess Hathor-Sekhmet, providing a powerful new perspective on women's theology.
