The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels [Paperback]

Jay Stevenson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: Alpha Books (MacMillan) (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028629418
• ISBN-13: 978-0028629414
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #929,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels, May 3, 2001

By 

Cassandra Barnes "Cassandra" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels (Paperback)

Jay Stevenson, Ph.D., M.A. says that "everyone wants to know if angels are real." His book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels, answers every imaginable question about angels, except whether they're real. He says he isn't psychic nor has he had direct experience with angels--he simply finds angels to be "a fascinating and uplifting subject." He adds that "angel stories and angel theology include some of the most beautiful and profound notions around."

Dr. Stevenson starts with an overview of what people think about angels in general. He then discusses the Jewish angels, citing references from the Old Testament and related writings. From there, he moves to the Christian angels and the angels of Islam. He also discusses the role of angels in many other religions and philosophies. He finishes with "New Age" concepts of angels and their function in contemporary society.

Artists have long portrayed angels in their work. Dr. Stevenson has chosen the angel art of William Blake, Gustave Dore, and Albrecht Durer to illustrate his book.

Appendices include a reading list for those wanting more information, a list of movies about angels, a glossary of angelic terms, and a "Who's Who in Heaven," which provides a brief description of each angel.

As Dr. Stevenson says, "angels have been, and still are, a part of all faiths and cultures." The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels is an excellent reference for readers interested in the origins of angel lore and the interactions between angels and humans, whether historical or contemporary.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Chuckle and despair at the fast-food approach to faith., July 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels (Paperback)

This book is strange. So much work has gone into making such a comical, irreverent guide to religion that nonetheless seems to want to be earnest and informative. I love it. It's better than "The Life of Brian."
My favourite bits have to be the "The Devil Makes You Do It" sections, in which the reader is told not to do quite obviously offensive and blasphemous things. At times one gets the impression that the humour is intended eg. page 198 "When you get to heaven, leave your irritation with your eartly co-workers at the pearly gates before entering. No one wants to hear about it!". Quite. But then you get to page 233 and are warned to "Be careful what you say about the Satanic Verses of the Koran. Novelist Salmon (sic!!) Rushdie wrote a book about them that elicited death threats from fundamentalist Muslims!" It is both shocking and hilarious that the political, cultural and personal crises causes by the fatwah on Salman Rushdie are turned into a little aside about not offending those naughty Muslims. Who is this man writing for?
The false, pathetic "erudition" is also amusing eg. "Don't be fooled by the Biblical subject matter and literary treatment of the early 19th-century angel tales by Byron and the others. In her book "England's Amorous Angels" (Atlanta-Maryland University Press of America, 1990), scholar Gayle Shadduck claims that this literature represents the first "pulp fiction" written in English!" So, this woman is a scholar, hence we should respect her opinion without any evidence for doing so whatsoever and no knowledge of what her arguments were. If this is Stevenson's opinion, too, why does he not just say so instead of trying to fit in a thoroughly needless reference?
I had a good laugh with this book although at the end of the day, it does disturb me a little that it is ultimately so soulless. It reduces religion and mysticism into disconnected, pointless snippets that lose any genuine power or meaning. Surely a belief in or sense of Angels is not anything one should have to swot up for (unless you are doing a theological study, in which case you would hardly need a simplistic book like this).

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, informative introduction and reference., July 5, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Angels (Paperback)

Jay Stevenson, Ph.D., M.A. says that "everyone wants to know if angels are real." His book, The Complete Idiot's Guide To Angels, answers every imaginable question about angels, except whether they're real. He says he isn't psychic nor has he had direct experience with angels--he simply finds angels to be "a fascinating and uplifting subject." He adds that "angel stories and angel theology include some of the most beautiful and profound notions around." Dr. Stevenson starts with an overview of what people think about angels in general. He then discusses the Jewish angels, citing references from the Old Testament and related writings. From there, he moves to the Christian angels and the angels of Islam. He also discusses the role of angels in many other religions and philosophies. He finishes with "New Age" concepts of angels and their function in contemporary society. Artists have long portrayed angels in their work. Dr. Stevenson has chosen the angel art of William Blake, Gustave Dore, and Albrecht Durer to illustrate his book. Appendices include a reading list for those wanting more information, a list of movies about angels, a glossary of angelic terms, and a "Who's Who in Heaven," which provides a brief description of each angel. As Dr. Stevenson says, "angels have been, and still are, a part of all faiths and cultures." The Complete Idiot's Guide To Angels is an excellent reference for readers interested in the origins of angel lore and the interactions between angels and humans, whether historical or contemporary.

Sandra I. Smith Reviewer