This is a fully annotated edition of selected letters by (and in some cases to) Sir J. G. Frazer (1854-1941), the eminent anthropologist, classicist, and historian of religion. Frazer was read by virtually everyone working in those fields in the first third of the twentieth century. His great work, The Golden Bough, offered a grand vision of humanity's mental and spiritual evolution - from vain attempts to compel the gods to do our bidding (which Frazer called magic) through equally vain attempts to propitiate the gods through prayer and sacrifice (his characterization of religion) to rationality and science. His richly varied correspondence with prominent figures such as Edmund Gosse, A. E. Housman, and Bronislaw Malinowski, among others, offers an unparalleled insight into British intellectual life of the time, and also throws light upon the composition of The Golden Bough itself.

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The enduring importance of his book The Golden Bough keeps J.G. Frazer's name prominent on the list of the most significant figures in modern religious studies. But by no means was Fraser the sole influence on the Cambridge-based school of thought - myth-ritualism - most often associated with him. In this intellectual history of the fellowship of scholars to which Frazer belonged, Robert Ackerman expands our acquaintance with the myth and ritual school to include Jane Harrison, Gilbert Murray, F.M. Cornford, and A.B. Cook. This book examines how all were instrumental in connecting the lines of thought in myth theory, classics, and anthropology that had begun to converge at the turn of the last century.

Genetic Engineering: A Fundamental Moral Approach. Recent discoveries in molecular biology have radically altered the science of genetics, posing new challenges for scientists and moralists alike. This new genetics requires a new model of creation that adequately addresses the weaknesses of two models of creation, the stewardship model and the co-creator model, that have been used to assess the limits and possibilities of genetic manipulation in human beings. Using a retrieved natural law approach, the author specifies a third model of creation that he calls "limited co-creator." As a corrective to the two earlier models, the limited co-creator model steers a middle course between prohibiting or severely limiting genetic manipulation and allowing unlimited genetic manipulation. This analysis will be of value to theologians, scientists, and general readers who are looking for a clearly articulated methodology that can be used to assess the feasibility of conducting genetic engineering in human beings prior to going down the clinical path.