Short History of Buddhism [Hardcover]

Edward Conze (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 1980

Traces all the key aspects of 2500 years of Buddhist history -- Hinayana, Mahayana, Tantra, Zen. For all students of Buddhism and inter-religious studies.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (February 21, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0042941091
• ISBN-13: 978-0042941097
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,549,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Book for Understanding Buddhism in a Hurry, October 5, 2000

By 

Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Short History of Buddhism (Paperback)

Conze has not been dethroned as foremost authority on the history of Buddhism, and this book is a good starting point for any study in Buddhism, Buddhist art, or general Asian Studies.

This readable, meaty, short book will clue you in on who Gautama was, but concentrate mainly on how his teachings have spawned several types of Buddhism, mainly the three catagories of Tantric, Mahayana, and Theravada Buddhism. But many small schisms are mentioned, making it a rather complete history of the religion for such a small book. Geographical and scholarly paths are generally traced, showing a good overview of this religion's spread. It's well organized and a good read.

My only dislike is that not enough text is dedicated to an exploration of the life of Gautama (Conze gives about 2 pages only), including his many attempts at enlightenment and the final long confrontation of all his past lives. Possibly this omission is made so as not to bring in too much religious doctrine (this is, after all, a history OF the religion), but I found the lack of coverage annoying and puzzling.