Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236952 in Books
• Published on: 1995-07-07
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .75 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

From Library Journal
This is a compendium of sacred texts of the religions of the world, written as a companion for Huston Smith's classic The Religions of Man. Chapters cover Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Primal religions (e.g., Native American, African, etc.). The intent of the book is clearly to whet the appetite of the first-year college student by offering tidbits from the New Testament, Tao Te Ching, Qur'an, Hebrew Bible, etc., in small, tasty portions, easily consumed without any need for deep reading or reflection. The narratives accompanying the texts are informative but are sometimes woven into the texts, occasionally making it difficult to tell where the narrative leaves off and the texts actually begin. There is a lack of ample citations that would allow the interested student to track down the actual location of an excerpt in the original sacred manuscript. Yet when Novak's book is used jointly with Huston's, it will serve as a good text and supplementary reader for any college introductory class in religious studies. Recommended for undergraduate libraries.
Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

-- Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and Soul Mates
"Phillip Novak's loving and imaginative presentation of key texts from several traditions offers an excellent resource . . ."

-- Thomas Berry, author of The Dream of the Earth
"A superb collection from the most entrancing literature ever to find expression in human language..."