Perspective

"In the Beginning," a collection of creation myths, is written in the third-person narrative. The legends are recounted in a straightforward and unbiased manner as though they are depicting real events even though many are beyond implausible. The author shows absolutely no bias in that she treats each legend as though it was credible.

At the end of the narration of each myth, the author provides a comment about the origin of the legend including the cultures from which they stemmed. An example of this additional commentary is "Traveling to form the World, Old Man the Creator," which is a folk myth of the Blackfoot Indian people.

In these comments, there are a some editorial remarks but they are offered in a measured and kind manner. For example, "The Pea-Pod Man, Raven the Creator," author Hamilton refers to the story as "wonderful, dramatic." The author also points out...