"Deftly selecting material from a vast tradition, Strong guides the reader through complex topics with precision, clarity, and insight, aided by tables presenting more abstruse information. Particularly cogent are his analyses of long-debated subjects such as karma, non-self, and approaches to enlightenment (practice/study, gradual/sudden). He includes topics related to women in Buddhism throughout.... Readers eager to dive into a rigorous, well-organized investigation of Buddhism's intricate 2500-year-old history will find much to reward them."
—Publishers Weekly
"Strong (religious studies, Bates Coll.) is well qualified to discuss Buddhism, having authored The Buddha and The Experience of Buddhism, among other titles. This substantial study is a near-comprehensive digest of the history of Buddhism in its multiple forms, from its origins in India to its variants in Thailand, Japan, and Tibet. Strong’s exhaustive account is doubtless intended as a textbook, yet it is also gratifying and accessible to all readers as it includes the lives (real and legendary) of Gautama Buddha, also known as Sakyamuni, as well as discussions of early monastic communities and clear expositions of most Buddhist doctrines. The latter part of the title focuses on several variants of Buddhism and contains chronologies of the tradition throughout Asia. VERDICT Exemplary for its organization and writing, this work is likely to become the standard single-volume text on Buddhism for the student, whether within the walls of the academy or without.”
— Starred Review, Library Journal
"Recommended .... Strong’s exhaustive study of Buddhisms is both accessible and informative. The volume’s greatest strength is the vast detail and breadth of Buddhism that it manages to cover while preserving a sense of what makes Buddhism what it is across a variety of geographic and temporal ranges. The breadth of the book notwithstanding, Strong (philosophy and religion, Bates College) does well to express the personal experience of Buddhism, and it is clear that this work is the result of decades of research. He opens with the modern day temple setting before moving to the root story of the experience of Sakyamuni (the Buddha). Having provided this background, the author proceeds to explain the process of institutionalization of the tradition and the various teachings. This serves as a beautiful transition to explaining the varieties of Buddhist expression in later developments in Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions outside the Indian context. By limiting the volume's scope to the Asian context, Strong is able to focus on some key elements of the religious tradition and its development."
—CHOICE Magazine, from the American Library Association
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