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peregrineace 's review for:
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
by Karen Armstrong
I really want to give this 5 stars because anything with this depth of scholarship and analysis deserves it for the sheer amount of work. It's a bit frustrating because this is a high quality book that many, many more people should read but the structure renders it unpalatable to most readers.
I learned a lot from this book, some history, some philosophy, and some about how firm I am in my own spiritual convictions.
Armstrong essentially traces the development of the world's three major monotheistic religions from their tribal origins through the modern era, focusing narrowly and almost exclusively on their conception of God. She shies away from teaching any history directly, so it helps to come at this with some world history knowledge, as there are only vague references to major events. (I suspect I would have benefited even more from this book if I had a working knowledge of Middle Eastern history in particular.)
The strength of Armstrong's narrative lies in tying different eras and religions together by the commonalities in their philosophies while being careful to point out important differences, no matter how minute. Her tone is largely non-judgmental, making it easier to process the large quantity of information she's imparting. She acknowledges religion's shortcomings but that is not what this book is about; readers looking for common ground between religions or deeper spiritual traditions will find much to consider here.
I dropped it one star for two major reasons. The first is the formatting of the book itself. The dry, scholarly tone of the writing and the massive amounts of information mean that it's difficult to read a chapter in a single setting. The book would benefit greatly from interspersed maps and section breaks so that there were natural places to put it down and think awhile. The second is Armstrong's inability to separate her knowledge from that of the reader. She name drops quite frequently with little to no context of who she's discussing (I Googled a lot). She also tends toward a voice that makes it hard to distinguish when she, the analyzer, is commenting versus when she is summarizing the philosophies of the great thinkers she is profiling.
This book is a one-of-a-kind read. For someone with a background in the topic, you're likely to get a great read. It's still worthwhile for the lay person but it will only reward a patient reader who is willing to slowly progress through the excellent information that Armstrong presents. Highly recommended for persons interested in the history of religion and philosophic thought, with the sad understanding that few are likely to make it through a read this dense.
I learned a lot from this book, some history, some philosophy, and some about how firm I am in my own spiritual convictions.
Armstrong essentially traces the development of the world's three major monotheistic religions from their tribal origins through the modern era, focusing narrowly and almost exclusively on their conception of God. She shies away from teaching any history directly, so it helps to come at this with some world history knowledge, as there are only vague references to major events. (I suspect I would have benefited even more from this book if I had a working knowledge of Middle Eastern history in particular.)
The strength of Armstrong's narrative lies in tying different eras and religions together by the commonalities in their philosophies while being careful to point out important differences, no matter how minute. Her tone is largely non-judgmental, making it easier to process the large quantity of information she's imparting. She acknowledges religion's shortcomings but that is not what this book is about; readers looking for common ground between religions or deeper spiritual traditions will find much to consider here.
I dropped it one star for two major reasons. The first is the formatting of the book itself. The dry, scholarly tone of the writing and the massive amounts of information mean that it's difficult to read a chapter in a single setting. The book would benefit greatly from interspersed maps and section breaks so that there were natural places to put it down and think awhile. The second is Armstrong's inability to separate her knowledge from that of the reader. She name drops quite frequently with little to no context of who she's discussing (I Googled a lot). She also tends toward a voice that makes it hard to distinguish when she, the analyzer, is commenting versus when she is summarizing the philosophies of the great thinkers she is profiling.
This book is a one-of-a-kind read. For someone with a background in the topic, you're likely to get a great read. It's still worthwhile for the lay person but it will only reward a patient reader who is willing to slowly progress through the excellent information that Armstrong presents. Highly recommended for persons interested in the history of religion and philosophic thought, with the sad understanding that few are likely to make it through a read this dense.