Beautifully illustrated, this was the first book on mythology I owned that introduced me to non-European mythologies. Even though it did not really go into enough detail, it was an excellent introduction. ( )

This is an old book (1970s) I inherited from my father. It's rather intense so I only refer to it when one of my 'newer' books can't answer one of my questions. My favourite sections would be the one on Common Mythological Themes (e.g. creation, the hero, the mother goddess etc.) and the Mythology of Animals (e.g. chimera, dragon, phoenix, unicorn etc.).

The layout and the quality of the pictures are a little outdated but other than that it's still a good book. ( )