The Golden Bough by Frazer - a question

Tero M Valkonen (tvalkone@klaava.Helsinki.FI)
10 Jan 1995 20:37:51 GMT

I recently bought James Frazer's The Golden Bough, because I'd
known it had influenced some quite important writers (Eliot,
Pound), and because it cost almost nothing. Now, I'm interested
to know how this book is regarded today. Is it completely
invalid, scientifically, is it still appreciated, or what?
The back cover of the book credits Frazer as one of the founders
of modern anthropology, but we all know that only statistics
lie more than back covers of books.

You can either email or post your replies. Email is preferred,
although if this question raises more general discussion, I would
like to see that, too.

I hope this is not a FAQ or idiotic - I know very little about
anthropology as a science myself, being a literature major, but
I am interested in everything.