<DIV>Groundbreaking scholar ? and award-winning poet ? Patricia Monaghan produced the first dictionary of goddesses ever published in 1980. This work, <I>Book of Goddesses and Heroines</I>, was reissued many times and became a standard text. Her work researched, detailed, and documented the fact that from the beginning of recorded history, goddesses reigned alongside their male counterparts as figures of inspiration and awe. Today, even as phrases like Mother Earth and Mother Nature are mainstream, Monaghan’s vibrant and accessible work adds meaningful insight. Her <I>Encyclopedia</I>, which ranges from Africa, the Mediterranean, and Asia, to Europe and the Americas, and through every world religious tradition, makes clear that the history of goddesses is essential to understanding the historical, cultural, and spiritual histories of all peoples ? and is undeniably meaningful and resonant in contemporary life.</DIV>