Eliade, Mircea 1907-1986

The Encyclopedia of religion ( Book )
29 editions published between 1986 and 2005 in English and held by 3,283 libraries worldwide
This second edition, which is intended to reflect both changes in academia and in the world since 1987, includes almost all of the 2,750 original entries -- many heavily updated -- as well as approximately 600 entirely new articles. It emphasizes religion's role within everyday life and as a unique experience from culture to culture.

A history of religious ideas by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
196 editions published between 1976 and 2009 in 17 languages and held by 2,484 libraries worldwide
Examines the religions of ancient China, Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Celtic and German religions, Judaism, and Christianity, and explores each one's philosophical concepts.

Cosmos and history: the myth of the eternal return by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
154 editions published between 1949 and 2009 in 18 languages and held by 2,266 libraries worldwide
"This founding work of the history of religions, first published in English in 1954, secured the North American reputation of the Romanian emigre-scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-1986). Making reference to an astonishing number of cultures and drawing on scholarship published in no less than half a dozen European languages, Eliade's The Myth of the Eternal Return makes both intelligible and compelling the religious expressions and activities of a wide variety of archaic and "primitive" religious cultures. While acknowledging that a return to the "archaic" is no longer possible, Eliade passionately insists on the value of understanding this view in order to enrich our contemporary imagination of what it is to be human. Jonathan Z. Smith's new introduction provides the contextual background to the book and presents a critical outline of Eliade's argument in a way that encourages readers to engage in an informed conversation with this classic text."--BOOK JACKET.

The sacred and the profane : the nature of religion by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
88 editions published between 1957 and 2009 in 13 languages and held by 2,123 libraries worldwide
This is one of my favorite books. Renowned anthropologist and historian of religion Mircea Eliade attempts to describe how religious people experience the sacred. He also gives a fascinating explanation of primitive religions. The popular image of the religion of primitive peoples is pretty unflattering: they worship rocks, animals, and whatnot; their rituals are just attempts to extract favors from imaginary spirits; their myths are laughably bad attempts at scientific explanations, etc. Eliade shows that these are complete misunderstandings. Primitive people don't worship natural objects, but they believe that natural objects can be revelations of the sacred, and that one can worship the gods through them. Primitive men certainly do want help from their gods (who wouldn't?), but they are also driven by what Eliade calls an 'ontological nostalgia', a desire to live in the presence of the gods who are the preeminently real and the source of all being. Nor do their myths seem so silly when one understands the function they serve and the universal symbolism they employ.

Patterns in comparative religion by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
226 editions published between 1939 and 2009 in 17 languages and held by 2,024 libraries worldwide

Shamanism : archaic techniques of ecstasy by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
110 editions published between 1950 and 2009 in 14 languages and held by 1,844 libraries worldwide
Polish translation of "Chamaniisme". An examination of the ideology of shamanism and a discussion of its techniques, symbols and myths.

Myth and reality by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
102 editions published between 1909 and 2009 in 12 languages and held by 1,801 libraries worldwide
Petit livre dense où s'esquissent à la fois un historique et une synthèse philosophique du mythe en tant que signification intelligible du cosmos.

From primitives to Zen; a thematic sourcebook of the history of religions by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
18 editions published between 1967 and 1979 in English and German and held by 1,715 libraries worldwide

Yoga: immortality and freedom by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
108 editions published between 1936 and 2009 in 14 languages and held by 1,621 libraries worldwide

Rites and symbols of initiation : the mysteries of birth and rebirth by Mircea Eliade ( Book )
81 editions published between 1958 and 2009 in 8 languages and held by 1,553 libraries worldwide