One Tarot Book [to rule them all!]

Eeviee

So many posts are written asking about which Tarot Books are the best for a reader's library... but if you could only choose/pack/purchase/recommend ONE TAROT BOOK TITLE for yourself or anyone else... what would it be? Non-deck specific, non-system specific, non-level specific. One Tarot Book for a reader in general... which would you be forced to chooseand why?
 

agent199

The 'little white book' that comes with the Rider Waite Smith deck in the box :)

Seriously, because then I wouldn't have to decide :)

(I actually like Rachel Pollack's "The New Tarot Handbook" a lot because it has a bit of everything in it at 280 pages, and it is just the right size in your hands when reading it or packing it around)
 

Richard

There is no such book, as there are compatibility issues between different Tarot traditions. Robert Wang's Qabalistic Tarot comes close to covering all the bases, but it ain't about fortune telling as such.
 

Zephyros

I agree, there is no such book, although if there was I believe it would be the Book of Thoth, biased as I am towards it. Although deck-specific on the face of it, I know of no other books that sum up almost all relevant topics with that level of scope and breadth. It is more than simply a book explaining a deck, it is a complete treatise on Tarot.
 

Ace of Stars

Tarot for Your Self by Mary K. Greer

It is not so much about the specific meanings of the cards as one's relationship with the cards and the myriad ways you can use them. It's kept me enraptured for a good 3 years now and I get new meaning and understanding out of the exercises every time I do them.

There is a great index of meanings in the back too.
 

Eeviee

The 'little white book' that comes with the Rider Waite Smith deck in the box :)

My immediate reaction to this was "CHEATER!!!", but the more I thought about it... the more I liked the idea of it. haha!

Creative! I like it! x]
 

Eeviee

I agree, there is no such book, although if there was I believe it would be the Book of Thoth, biased as I am towards it. Although deck-specific on the face of it, I know of no other books that sum up almost all relevant topics with that level of scope and breadth. It is more than simply a book explaining a deck, it is a complete treatise on Tarot.

I've always been drawn to the Thoth, but am not very far into studying it yet... but I like that you mentioned BoT. I would have to agree that it is quite broad for being a companion book to one particular deck.
 

tarotbear

My first and gut reaction is 'Sorry! there is no such book.' In fact, because I did not care for most of what was out there as being too erudite or plain worthless - that I turned around and wrote & published two tarot books myself.

I would not say either of my two books would fill the bill of One Tarot Book to Rule Them All, for one or both might help some one but still confound another...in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie ...
 

Carla

I don't say there is one book to rule them all, but I do really like Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees and the later Tarot Wisdom. However, I'm glad I came to them after years of playing with tarot myself. I'm not sure what I'd have made of them on my first day, with my shiny new first deck just out of the box. I'm glad I had something easy to digest, which was Sarah Bartlett's Tarot Bible.

I haven't answered the question. There is no One Tarot Book to Rule Them All. :)