Month: April 2009

Book Review – Earth, Air, Fire and Water

Anyone who dares to delve into the condition of 20th century American life is most probably doing it to earn a doctorate. Not so author Alexander Eliot, 43, an out-of-place, out-of-sorts, self-styled recluse who, on the pine-clad slopes of Mount Pentelikon, near Athens, pondered the question, put down his answer in the dozen meditations of this new book.

Book Review of Earth Air Fire and Water in Time Magazine, December 4, 1962:

Earth Air Fire Water
Anyone who dares to delve into the condition of 20th century American life is most probably doing it to earn a doctorate. Not so author Alexander Eliot, 43, an out-of-place, out-of-sorts, self-styled recluse who, on the pine-clad slopes of Mount Pentelikon, near Athens, pondered the question, put down his answer in the dozen meditations of this new book. Continue reading “Book Review – Earth, Air, Fire and Water”

Three Hundred Years of American Painting

Three Hundred Years of American Painting
(New York: Time, Inc., 1957)

300 Years of American Painting
“American art matters,” declared Eliot in his pitch to write the definitive history of American painting. His compelling anecdotes about the artists, as well as over 1,000 superb color plates, proves that it does. In 1962 John F. Kennedy selected Eliot’s extraordinary and complete history of American painting as one of his favorite books of the year. Continue reading “Three Hundred Years of American Painting”

Eliot’s Books

Timeless Myths (front cover)
Most famous for his books on myths:
The Universal Myths: Heroes, Gods, Tricksters, and Others (New American Library, 1990)
Introduced by Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade
The Timeless Myths: How Ancient Legends Influence the Modern World, New York: Truman Talley Books/Meridian, 1997
The Global Myths: Exploring Primitive, Pagan, Sacred, and Scientific
Mythologies (New York: Continuum, 1993)
Myths (New York : McGraw-Hill International, 1976) (published in 5 languages) Continue reading “Eliot’s Books”

Alexander Eliot

At the Acopolis
“Life is a fatal adventure. It can only have one end. So why not make it as far-ranging and free as possible?” Alexander Eliot

Born April 28, 1919, in Northampton, Massachusetts, Alexander Eliot has published eighteen books – including books on art, mythology, history, and novels. He is also the author of hundreds of published essays in magazines as varied as The Eastern Buddhist and England’s Systematics. Continue reading “Alexander Eliot”

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

What Does It Mean to Be Human?
By Frederick Franck
In an inspirational act of faith and hope, nearly one hundred contributors–social activists, thinkers, artists and spiritual leaders–reflect with poignant candor on our shared human condition and attempt to define a core set of human values in our rapidly changing socity.

Contributors include:

  • The Dalai Lama
  • Wilma Mankiller
  • Oscar Arias
  • Jimmy Carter
  • Alexander Eliot
  • Cornel West
  • Jack Miles
  • Mother Teresa
  • Nancy Willard
  • Elie Wiesel
  • James Earl Jones
  • Joan Chittister
  • Mary Evelyn Tucker
  • Vaclav Havel
  • Archbishop Desmund Tutu
What Does It Mean To Be Human? is a vital meditation on the endless possibilities of our humanity.
Compiled by Frederick Franck, Janis Roze, Richard Connolly
Edition: reprint, revised
Published by Macmillan, 2001
ISBN 0312271018, 9780312271015

Alexander Eliot ALEXANDER ELIOT is a pilgrim mythologist, contemplative traveler, and author of The Timeless Myths, The Global Myths, and The Universal Myths…

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