The Golden Bough is James George Frazer’s landmark study of magic, myth, and religion, one of the most influential works in the history of anthropology. Beginning with the puzzle of the priest-king at Nemi, Frazer ranges across the world’s cultures to trace the dying-and-reviving god, fertility rites, taboo, and the supposed evolution from magic through religion to science.
Vast in scope and elegant in style, the book shaped modern thinking about ritual and influenced writers from T. S. Eliot to Joseph Campbell. Though later anthropologists challenged its comparative method, its sweep and erudition remain unmatched. This edition makes Frazer’s classic available as a free EPUB download for students of mythology, religion, and the comparative study of human culture.