I'm going to go "stream of consciousness" on you, for a few of paragraphs, to share with you some concerns that I have about posting this book. There is no extra charge for this. ha. But, if you're not interested, you know how to scroll down to the good stuff.
This book previously has been marked down several times recently. I've passed over this book, for posting purposes, the times when I've seen it.
Why? It's not because of ratings. They're very good (though not outstanding). That's to be expected, though, of a book like this, which is not written by a single author, but instead is made up of contributions by several authors. The quality is going to be inconsistent, it's a given. However, with the ratings of the entire book being so high, some of the chapters are bound to be excellent--of such a high quality that they can "cancel out" and even lift up the chapters that are not as high a quality.
The book is big. I usually consider that part of what makes a book a great value, when it is paired with a low price. So that is a plus.
The price after the markdown is okay, but not great, to this ultra-frugal ebook buyer. I wouldn't have passed over it because of that.
My concerns about the book come down to that of a characteristic shared by all of the authors of the chapters on the different religions--they are written by people who are members of the respective religions that they write about. As human beings, they are going to be biased. As much as they may try to be objective, it is inevitable that their bias will come in the chapters that they have written, to one degree or another. They will present a favorable view of their religion. Too, things that may be at least perceived as "dirt" on their religion may be "swept under the rug." And so on. However, perhaps some of the deficiency is mitigated by the person reading the book being aware of those facts.
However, a book written by a person who is not a member of the religion that he or she writes about may have its own problems. They may have an overly
negative view of the religion (I think especially about Protestants writing about Catholics and Catholics writing about Protestants), instead of being a truly disinterested observer. Too, they will not have the unique perspective of observing the religion close up, as someone who is an adherent of that religion would. And so on.
Maybe by reading one or more of
both of the above types of authors, a person could then extrapolate a balanced view?
Well, those are some of my thoughts. What is most important, however, is what
you think. Your thoughts?
Now, here is the information about the book . . . .
Our Religions: The Seven World Religions Introduced by Preeminent Scholars from Each Tradition. By Arvind Sharma. Rated 4 1/2 stars, but from only 4 reviews at the present moment, at Amazon (at GoodReads, however, is it reated 3.70/5.00, from 63 reviews). Print list price unknown; digital list price $17.00; Kindle price now
$3.79. HarperCollins Publishers, publisher. 564 pages.
http://www.amazon.com/Our-Religions-...Each+Tradition.
Book Description
From Amazon.com:
An essential introduction to the world's living religions by experts from each tradition -- published in conjunction with the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions.
From the Publisher:
Leading experts in the great living religions present their own faith traditions.