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57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Know what it is, September 27, 2004
This review is from: In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet (Paperback)
This is a lovely little book tracing the influence and mythology of Zarathustra (Zoroaster) through time. Paul Kriwaczek quickly covers Nietzsche, the Cathars, the Manichees, the Roman cult of Mithras, and Zoroastrianism. More accurate and careful books have been written on each of those subjects, but none more enjoyable; and I'm sure this is the only time they have all been dealt with in a single book.
Kriwaczek is an honest layman, enjoying himself as he travels across Central Asia, the Middle East and England, reading the works of scholars (and a novelist) and drawing his own conclusions, exploring the legacy of Zarathustra. He explores some of the most fascinating issues in the history of religion, and he entertains the reader with his description of modern rituals.
This is not scholarly, academic history, and Kriwaczek admits it. But it's also not the kind of ridiculous stuff you find on the History Channel. Kriwaczek's several speculations are within the bounds of plausibility, and he most of the time he admits when he's speculating.
I highly recommend this book because it is so entertaining and fairly accurate. If you wonder why people study ancient religions that no one believes in today, read this and you will know why.
However, if you want to read a book about Zoroastrians, I highly recommend Mary Boyce's "Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices."
Finally, in case you wondered, this is exactly the same book as Kriwaczek's "In Search of Zarathustra: The First Prophet and the Ideas That Changed the World."
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From Nietzsche to Zarathustra, November 3, 2006
This review is from: In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet (Paperback)
The ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster taught that the world was caught in a struggle between good and evil. He believed in one God, called Ahura Mazda, in a struggle with the forces of darkness. He was a theological monist and an ethical dualist. Human beings had the responsibility of working to bring about the good and eliminate the evil. The good would triumph in the end. Zoroaster was one of the first religious teachers to preach the afterlife. He founded a religion called Zoroastrianism which remains one of the fundamental religions of man and, although it has relatively few adherents, it survives today.
Paul Kriwaczek has written a fine book which is travelog, political commentary, history, and study of Zoroastrianism all rolled into one. Mr. Kriwaczek was trained as a dentist but subsequently joined BBC as a specialist in Central and South Asian affairs. It is good to see a nonspecialist who can write on Zoroaster with enthusiasm and knowledge and convey something of both to his readers.
The book is written in the form of a reverse chronology beginning with the present-day and progressing through successive chapters to the hazy early days (perhaps 1800 B.C.) of Zarathustra himself. We see many interesting figures along the way, and Kriwaczek is full of entertaining stories and digressions. This mostly makes the book a pleasure to read, but there are moments when the organization becomes confusing and the story gets a bit off track.
Kriwaczek spends a great deal of time on Frederich Nietzsche and his famous work "Thus Spake Zarathustra." He explains well the sources of Nietzsche's fascination with the ancient Persian prophet and he discusses the advances in scholarship contemporary with Nietzsche that helped make Zoroaster accessible.
The book continues with a mixture of travel, history, and philosophy through a discussion of the Albegensians, the religion of Mani, Mithraism, Cyrus the Great, and the Jews during the period of the Babylonian Exile and the Second Temple.
There are outstanding color photograhps illustrating the places and sites discussed in the book. Kriwazeck's treatments make no pretense of being scholarly or complete. But they are, on the whole, eloquent and thought-provoking. I enjoyed particularly the discussion of Mani, a reformer of Zorastrianism who gave his name to Manicheanism. Kriwazeck's account is based in part upon a recent novel, "The Gardens of Light" by the Lebanese author, Amin Maalouf.
Kriwazeck concludes that Zoroaster continues to have a great deal to teach. He sees Zoroaster has a predecessor of the "American religion" or "universal religion" (pp. 227-228) which emphasizes ecumenisism and toleration in a large society composed of individuals from diverse backrounds. Kriwazeck writes (p.228) that the Universal religion:
"comprises a belief in good and evil, angels, the devil, heaven and hell, the coming of a Messiah, and an eventual end of the world. These are beliefs with which Jews, Christians and Muslims can all agree-- as well as that majority who do not claim to believe in any particular religion. Every one of these ideas first appeared in Zarathustra's teaching long before the start of recorded history, a message as influential today as it ever was."
Kriwaczek has written a fine popular study of Zoroaster. It may awake interest in the fundamentals of Zoroaster's teaching and move the mind and heart of the reader.
Robin Friedman
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Forgotten Spiritual Ancestor, February 5, 2007
This review is from: In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet (Paperback)
With the eyes of the news media focused on Iran and its undeniable influence in the Middle East, few have questioned the essential differences between Shiah and Sunni Islam and the history that has led the Shiites to consider Iraq holy ground and Iran the center of a new Islamic civilization. When questions are finally asked, one answer rings clearly: Mesopotamia and Persia are the very cradles of western dynastic civilization, Islamic or otherwise. Few human memories or legends are as old as these places. One tradition in particular echoes throughout the works of scribes and cantors: the faith of Zarathustra, the first messenger of the dominion of one Eternal God.
The downfall of the Shah of Iran and rise of fundamentalist Islam was America's first national experience of Middle Eastern theocratic extremism. The taking of American hostages in 1979 not only placed Shiah Islam in the center of world attention, but also affected American internal politics as it doomed the Carter administration to electoral failure.
Many in the West received a crash course on divisions within Islam as journalists, policy makers, and academics struggled to make sense of this new wrinkle in the rich and varied history of Iran. The many cultures, peoples, languages, and belief systems that have crossed the landscape of ancient Persia and modern Iran have come under intensive scrutiny and careful study in the last quarter century. While travel has been restricted across Iran at various times and for various reasons, scholars, tourists, and pilgrims have had opportunities to explore the rich undercurrents of history and faith that lie beneath the thin, but firm veneer of fundamentalist Shiah Islam.
Paul Kriwaczek is one such explorer who has carefully and honestly nurtured a pointed curiosity about an aspect of our global religious heritage of which many are only periferally aware. In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet is Kriwaczek's candid and personal examination of the far-reaching influence of Zoroastrianism, the national and indigenous religion of Ancient Persia.
Kriwaczek, a dentist by trade who provided care in Afghanistan and Africa, has become an award-winning journalist, documentary film producer and director, and a recognized authority on Persian languages. As a naturalized British subject and member of the Royal Society of Arts, Kriwaczek explores many aspects of world culture, exploring faith, politics, and, of course, ancient and modern languages.
In this examination of Zoroastrianism and its global influence, Kriwaczek begins in France with the tragic history of the Cathars, a Christian heresy which declared, with many of its Gnostic predecessors, that all physical material is evil and that God is the only good. Kriwaczek sees links between this stark medieval "spirit-good/flesh-evil" belief system and the dualistic faith of Zarathustra.
The narrative continues through Zoroastrianism's homeland, the ruins of Sassanid Persia, and its imprint on Roman religion, reaching all the way onto the British frontier. The cult of Mithra, an agricultural deity with origins in Zoroastrianism, leaves only the barest artifacts of its popularity after Christianity nearly wipes it off the face of Europe. Kriwaczek digs even deeper than this into annual observances kept by Iranian Shiite Muslims. These rituals are far older than Islam, but the revolutionary government of the Ayatollahs deems their antiquity worthy of a tolerant attitude, or at least a blind eye. What are the endearing and enduring qualities of this faith that is more ancient than Jerusalem and yet nearly extinct except for pockets of adherents in Iran, India, Afghanistan, and the West?
As Kriwaczek cautiously seeks out the true believers in Iran's mountains, he finds the most ancient fire altars, perhaps the most ancient of all altars, as the setting for a serene and happy private wedding. In the footsteps of the world's first prophet, the author finds a dwindling, yet contented collection of the faithful. His compassionate narrative and thorough research breathe new life into a tradition that has fed so many creeds over so many centuries and brings the image of a forgotten spiritual ancestor into clear, bright relief.
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