Customer Reviews

The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions: Second Edition (Penguin Reference Books)

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Most books these days have a pretty short shelf-life. (Excluding literary classics, of course). If you want a thorough, no-nonsense compendium of information about World Religions - this is the Book. There simply isn't anything else (In English) like it on the market. So, do your bit for humanity, tolerance and education by buying this book and getting your friends to buy it also! Perhaps we can get enough people to buy it so Penguin will have at least a token financial interest in keeping this book on the market!
Here's why we need to keep it in print:
Each religion is summarized and analyzed by an expert in the scholarship of that religion. While this could result in a great unevenness in both style and/or content delivered...the beauty of this work is its consistency. Each religion is reated fairly, and there is more content - fascinating and informative - between the covers of this paperback than in the major textbooks on Religions that retail for 4 times the price!
First issued in 1984...this is the updated version. Changing what was already a really good reference work is a mixed blessing: most of the new material (almost 1/3 of the book!) is extremely well done, but owners of the previous version will miss some of what needed to be left out of the 1984 ed. in order to keep this book down to a manageable size. Overall, the changes since 1984 are great improvements to what already was the standard reference one volume work for lay persons. Kudos to Hinnell for sticking with the project.
As someone who teaches world religions at the college level, I can think of no substitute for this work...it is affordable and belongs on the bookshelf of any well-informed reader (college graduate or not) who wants a ready and accurate guided tour of both the beliefs and practices of religion world-wide.
I can't promise you good karma, less time in purgatory, or more stars in your crown...if you buy this - but you will be doing yourself an enormous service and your fair share to keep the best of scholarship in religion alive! Enjoy!

This Handbook is an invaluable resource in the studies of World Religion, sociology, and anthropology, either academic or individual. A comprehensive, easy to follow reference for anyone interested in learning more about the living religions/worldviews/traditions of the world for the purpose of creating a more harmonious coexistence. Think World Peace, folks. The Handbook covers all of Ninian Smart's Worldview Dimensions: Experiential, Ritual, Doctrinal, Mythic, Ethical and Social. A must-have for students of Comparative Religion.