Defining Magic

"Defining Magic offers an ideal overview of the topic. Like myth, magic connotes everything from falsity/trickery to deepest truth. The editors offer a wonderfully comprehensive presentation of seemingly all possible characterizations of the term and theories of the phenomenon. The selections start with the ancients, both pagan and Christian, and then proceed through the millennia to contemporary views. Both philosophical and social scientific authorities are represented. One of the best source books for studying magic that I have ever seen. A first-rate volume." - Robert Segal, University of Aberdeen "Defining magic is tricky business, but Otto and Stausberg provide valuable guidance through difficult conceptual and theoretical terrain, with judicious introductions complementing well-chosen historical and modern "definers" of the term." - Michael D. Bailey, Iowa State University "The editors do an excellent job of delineating the manifold resonances of magic - the judicious selections reproduced here trace magic from its conceptual debt to ancient Greece to decidedly modern iterations - Recommended." - Choice "'Defining Magic' is a useful addition to the scholarly literature on magic - with or with-out quotes - and will be helpful to undergradu-ate and graduate students as a starting point for inquiry. It is also sufficiently straightfor-ward to appeal to the informed general reader. An added value is the quality - and quantity - of the editorial material." - BASR Book Reviews