Customer Reviews

The Raven Steals The Light

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I brought this book on a trip to Vancouver and Victoria and read it in the evenings after returning to my hotels. As a European American, I found it indispensable to understanding much of the art I saw on vacation (especially Totem Poles). This book relates many of the best known Haida stories, including those of the noble, tragic Bear; the intrepid, versatile human fisherman-hunter Nanasigmit and above all the amoral but always fascinating Raven. Almost all the stories are simple, yet strike a deep chord. Add this to "Looking at Totem Poles" and "Kwakuitl Legends", both also reasonably priced, and you'll be well on your way to understanding the basics of First Nations culture.

I grew up in the pacific north-west and experienced many of these stories as a child. This was a wonderful book to bring back most of those memories. It is well written. Simple yet engaging. Once I started I couldn't put it down. I've since used it as a teaching resourse in social studies and will be ordering other copies for fellow teachers I've shown it to and were equally impressed. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in native legends or mythology.