Beyond the North Wind

The Fall and Rise of the Mystic North

By: Christopher McIntosh, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson - foreword

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

"The North" is simultaneously a location, a direction, and a mystical concept. Although this concept has ancient roots in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales, it continues to resonate today within modern culture. McIntosh leads listeners, chapter by chapter, through the magical and spiritual history of the North, as well as its modern manifestations, as documented through physical records, such as runestones and megaliths, but also through mythology and lore.

This mythic conception of a unique, powerful, and mysterious Northern civilization was known to the Greeks as "Hyberborea" - the "Land Beyond the North Wind" - which they considered to be the true origin place of their god, Apollo, bringer of civilization. Through the Greeks, this concept of the mythic North would spread throughout Western civilization.

In addition, McIntosh discusses Russian Hyperboreanism, which he describes as among "the most influential of the new religions and quasi-religious movements that have sprung up in Russia since the fall of Communism" and which is currently almost unknown in the West.

©2019 Christopher McIntosh (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

heathens, history, occult, and...pop culture?

McIntosh does a killer job exploring "The Mystic North!"
Folklore, myths, legends, facts, geography, culture, spiritualilty, from past to present day- he does a really great job summing up the birth, death and revival of all things "viking"

Interesting, Needs More Careful Review of East Asian Elements

While I have no real background in Hyperborea or Norse Paganism, what I paid attention to while knitting seemed to be at least logically presented and intriguing. However, the chapter on the Vikings as Samurai needs further review.

Should one decide to compare the Vikings with the samurai, why not further compare how the two came to rise as a warrior class that grew to include not only warfare, but also things like philosophy and poetry? Additionally, if one is going to compare death poetry, I would think that using a comparative example from when the samurai were an actual class in Japan would make a more compelling argument than an anachronistic use of the poetry of Kuribayashi Tadamichi, general of the Imperial Army at Iwo Jima during World War 2. There were no samurai in the 1900’s, the class being more or less eradicated by the Meiji Restoration in the late 1860’s and the Japanese government’s subsequent legislation regarding swords, among other things. While some samurai survived the change to become one of the significantly economically powerful zaibatsu groups, most did not. Any person looking at a Japanese history textbook (and not an American movie by a similar name) can easily find that the person consider by many to be the last samurai is Saigo Takamori. He died in 1877.

My review for this story is three stars due to my lack of background in the main topics of this book and the fact that it was overall quite enjoyable. However, it seems incredibly short-sighted and ill-advised to be so, if not careless, then unconcerned with the specifics of comparisons to other cultures in the East. This is particularly true when the central argument of a book focuses on the spread of people, language, and culture and the similarities that linger.

Beyond the north wind

I listen to the book twice now and I absolutely love it best book I've listened to in a long time

Excellent, Scholarly, Engaging, Comprehensive.

This is an intriguing listen. Firstly, let me draw attention to the fact that Christopher MacIntosh is a respected and accredited scholar with decades of research under his belt. He is widely appreciated and is a thorough and comprehensive evaluator of the subjects which he explores. This book is no exception to that statement.

The performance of the narrator, Simon Vance, is exceptional. He is a true professional. His voice is pleasant, his annunciation and diction are just right, and his pacing is easy to follow. I wish that he were the narrator on most of the books I listen to on Audible.

This is an engrossing and deep survey of the spiritual impulses originating in the north - both spiritual and material. He leaves no stone unturned, examining connections between various historical cultures and the textual and forensic evidence of the northern influence on the world, His touch ranges from Antarctica to Greece, from Russia to the Hebrides, and more. He explicates myth and magic, religion and history, yet his writing remains accessible and friendly, with occasional anecdotal material which only serves to weave the narrative in a relatable fashion. He tolerates no biases or prejudices, yet refuses to ignore the virtues of flawed human beings who still made valuable contributions to history. Something which I particularly appreciate is his impartial and intelligent evaluation of political realities such as Nationalism without devolving into biased tirades as so many do in this day and age. It is so refreshing to engage with a seasoned scholar who holds high the virtues of impartiality and clear mindedness in the face of history.

Yet another wonderful aspect of this book is how MacIntosh peppers the text with tantalizing elements of spiritual practices and ideas which could be practically investigated by people who have spiritual aspirations. It's been a long while since I have enjoyed a book of this kind this much, and it only makes me eager for more from him.

Finally, I strongly recommend that the interested parties disregard the very few negative reviews here. They seem to be written by people who are gripped by fear, and suffering from gross misapprehensions perhaps originating in mental imbalances. There is no way that someone actively listening to this fantastic contribution could possibly come to anything other than a positive evaluation of its contents. If I were teaching a course on this subject, this would be required reading. Bravo, Mr. Mackintosh.

Entertaining!

I found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable, I feel like I made a ton of fascinating connections modernity and antiquity!

different and interesting

this story has simply opened my mind in a vastly way than before. thank you.

meh

moderately informative, but super full of itself! the last 5 minutes felt like HOURS. Skip this one. Narrator is great

Enjoyable.

This was very enjoyable to listen to and learn about. It's always interesting to get different perspectives on topics and this was a very good book to do just that.

Magic

Odin is back and this time its ragnarok or bust but not if Boniface can stop him. See whose hanging from the great measuring tree and more!

If nothing else, an interesting listening experience

Some of the things mentioned in this listen seem to make sense and explain certain phenomena. I’d like to perform my own research though after seeing some of the other reviews.