Marc Ladewig 
Orion’s Guiding Stars 

The myth of the hero, the grand motif of folklore, is a three-part story that is found in human cultures across time and terrain, ever since we were hunter-foragers. Here, a veteran teacher shows that the myth of the hero best reveals itself through a jewel of many facets rather than a single clear lens. You have to stand back at the proper distance from the painting in order to see the myth of the hero pop out.He explores the essential features of the myth, where these stories came from and what they are really about and analyzes how regular people see these stories, revealing an unexamined dimension.Combining science, history and literature, this information-packed book presents a wide-ranging tour from the pygmies to the Eskimo to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to explore the roots and the meanings of humanity’s universal myth.The author explores the essential features of the myth and how it aligns with life in traditional societies – and even in baboon tribes, and goes on to speculate about what these stories reveal about humanity.