In Search of Myths and Heroes: Exploring Four Epic Legends of the World

A good accompaniment to the TV series with the same title. In four 1-hour programmes Michael Wood explores the human need for stories that contain magical elements, set in the past, 'once upon a time'; stories that at the same time appear to contain episodes from the earliest history of the peoples concerned. Wood is a great explorer and each film takes us (the viewers) into marvellous parts of the world: the Himalayas (Shangri La); the Black Sea (Jason and the Argonauts); Bronze Age Britain (King Arthur); and the ancient Middle East (the Queen of Sheba). The series has neither the depth nor the breadth of earlier 'In Search of . . . ' series and books, and I regretted the lack of a detailed list of Further Reading. But it was a most enjoyable series, very well backed up by this book.