凱倫·阿姆斯特朗，英國著名作傢。1981年齣版瞭處女作《穿過窄門》，記錄瞭自己在羅馬天主教修道院的嚴酷製度下所親曆的七年修女生活。這本書齣版後立即風靡一時。隨後，她創作一係列的暢銷書，如《神話的曆史》、《耶路撒冷》、《萬物初始：重讀<創世記 >》、《伊斯蘭簡史》、《佛陀》等。其中《神的曆史》被譯成三十多種語言，在《紐約時報》暢銷書榜上久居不下，創造瞭一個熱銷奇跡。而《佛陀》一書也成為全球最暢銷的圖書這一。銷售超過三百萬冊。自1982後起，她便成為自由作傢和電颱節目主持人。凱倫·阿姆斯特朗現居倫敦。

This brilliant, readable synthesis of the history of mythology and the function it serves to humanity is the launch title of the groundbreaking publishing event, "The Myths." "Human beings have always been mythmakers." So begins Karen Armstrong's concise yet compelling investigation into myth: what it is, how it has evolved, and why we still so desperately need it. She takes us from the Paleolithic period and the myths of the hunters right up to the "Great Western Transformation" of the last five hundred years and the discrediting of myth by science. The history of myth is the history of humanity, our stories and beliefs, our curiosity and attempts to understand the world, which link us to our ancestors and each other. Myths help us make sense of the universe. Heralding a major series of retellings of international myths by authors from around the world, Armstrong's characteristically insightful and eloquent book serves as a brilliant and thought-provoking introduction to myth in the broadest sense -- and explains why if we dismiss it, we do so at our peril.