With more than 2,500 entries, this volume covers a great deal of time and space, and it is not confined to European and Near Eastern mythology, either. African traditions get their due, so do those of ancient South America, and even the myths of the Australian aborigines are included. The author, who died last year, apparently wrote over 80 books, including many drama adaptations; his scholarship, however, must be open to some retrospective doubt. The references to old Irish myths and heroes contain various slips, particularly in the spelling of names (King Cormac, for instance, was the son of Art, not "Airt", which is the genitive case). B.F.