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Lewis, Jon E., editor. The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Ancient Egypt. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003. Documenting three thousand years of Egyptian history through actual documents and eyewitness accounts of mummification, temple building, and the real Cleopatra.

McCall, Henrietta. Mesopotamian Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Brief overview of the myths of Mesopotamia and their influence on the Greeks and Hebrews.

Macrone, Michael. By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. How the Greek myths live on in the English language through such words and expressions as “Titanic” or “Wheel of Fortune.”

Manguel, Alberto and Gianni Guadalupi. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 2000. An encyclopedic guide to places that never were, including the legendary sites of mythology.

Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World’s Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday, 1994. A somewhat irreverent but very useful guide to the practices of various religions around the world.

Orchard, Andy. Cassell’s Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell, 1997. More than one thousand entries detailing a range of Scandinavian myths, sagas, and legends.

Page, R. I. Norse Myths (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. The influential stories and legends of pagan Scandinavia and Germanic tribes.

Pattanaik, Devdutt. Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals From the Heart of the Subcontinent. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2003. Scholarly and somewhat abstract, this introduction to the streams of Hindu thought and myths is still highly useful.

Powell, Barry B. Classical Mythology (fourth edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. A textbook that breaks the usual textbook mold; well written, entertaining, insightful.

Price, Simon and Emily Kearns, editors. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Drawn from The Oxford Classical Dictionary, third edition (Oxford, 1996), this is an excellent resource focusing on Greek and Roman myths and religion and their relationship to Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman world.

Romann, Chris. A World of Ideas: A Dictionary of Important Theories, Concepts, Beliefs and Thinkers. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999. From “a priori” to “Zoroastrianism,” a useful compendium of philosophy, faith, and the people behind the ideas.

Shaw, Ian, editor. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. A comprehensive single-volume reference covering Egypt’s history from the Stone Age to the Roman period.

Smart, Ninian. The World’s Religions (second edition). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. An academic overview of the great religions, including material on their mythic origins.

Smith, Huston. The Illustrated World’s Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. An overview of world religions and how they have evolved since primal times.

Tarnas, Richard. The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Shaped Our World View. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. An accessible overview of Western philosophical thought from the ancient Greeks to modern times; especially useful for its discussion of the Greek worldview.

Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of the two central cultures of Mexico and Central America.

Teeple, John B. Timelines of World History. London: DK Publishing, 2002. A lively, illustrated timeline of human history, organized by date and geographic regions. An excellent reference.

Urton, Gary. Inca Myths. (The Legendary Past series.) Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Overview of the legends of the great empire based in the Peruvian Andes, which fell to the Spanish conquistadors.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses