Reviews

Many people prefer the mysterious over the reasonable, and the Tarot satisfies this urge for some. Decker, a curator of the collections at the U.S. Playing Card Co., Michael Summet, formerly a professor of logic at Oxford, and Thierry Depaulis, a writer of books on cards, don't completely blast these expectations. But they clearly show the historical background, indicating that the Tarot has been used for divination only since the 18th century. Before that, since the 16th century, it was a popular card game in Italy and France. Their scholarly effort to present facts and the personalities of those involved in creating the popular mythology of the cards is rather dull reading but a worthy addition for large public libraries.‘Jeanne S. Bagby, formerly Tucson P.L., Ariz.