Reviews (21)

Good effort, some disappointment
Although Karen Armstrong has made a good effort and has exhibited a wide range of overall scholarship, "The Great Transformation" was a disappointment when it came to her understanding of Ezekiel's vision. She sees the Merkava (chariot) as a "war chariot", written in response to the Babylonian exile, and as being a "terrifying, confusing vision" (Page 398). Since Ms. Armstrong's book is on the Axial Age, it would have been better for her to approach this vision from the standpoint of a meditative experience that could bring a person into the awareness of oneness. There are elements of this vision that are common to the meditative experience wherever it arises, within whatever religious tradition it takes place. Ezekiel's vision is a description of and a metaphor for this experience, and not a "war chariot." For a scholarly elucidation of this subject, Aryeh Kaplan's book "InnerSpace," Moznaim, 1990, discusses Ezekiel's vision in detail.

Thoroughly educational and fascinating
This is a very enlightening book about the development of religious traditions in China, India, Greece and Judea/Israel (and later on Arabia), from the dawn of history until the time of Mohammed.It centers on a period in each of these cultures that is called the "axial" age, which is when the most profound enlightenments occured.It's fascinating to learn the history of the development of different belief systems - both familiar and unfamiliar.

Excellent, but not for the faint of faith
Karen Armstrong is a prolific author who has gone far beyond the faith that was taught to her as an aspiring nun in the early 1960s.I've enjoyed a few of her earlier works (Through the Narrow Gate and A History of God) and I picked this up with great anticipation. I was intrigued by her assertion that a short span of history (800-200 BCE) marked a dramatic leap in the beliefs of several religions throughout the world at a time when they had limited or no contact with each other.Her writing is both gripping and persuasive and I was very impressed with the book.
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Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Ancient Philosophy    3. History    4. History & Surveys - Ancient & Classical    5. History Of Religion (General)    6. History, Ancient    7. Philosophy, Ancient    8. Religion    9. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    10. Sociology of Religion    11. Religion / History   

Editorial Review

Armstrong, a British journalist and former nun, guides us along one of the most elusive and fascinating quests of all time--the search for God. Like all beloved historians, Armstrong entertains us with deft storytelling, astounding research, and makes us feel a greater appreciation for the present because we better understand our past. Be warned: Read more

Reviews (173)

Excellent History of 'God'
Karen Armstrong is certainly one of the finest writers on religious issues.While not herself a believer in 'God', she speaks from experience (she was a nun for several years in the Roman Catholic Church) and also great understanding and sympathy.
Actually...a history of western religion
While Karen Armstrong admittedly attempted a difficult objective, her errors small and not so small still deserve mention.
Ode to the Mighty One
"A History of God" is Karen Armstrong's opus (in my humble opinion), and is an admirable achievement, for it is both secular and theological, without being sanctimonious. I have taken the time to read several of her books and each is superlative in its own way, but most focus on historical time periods that are only part of the 4000 year saga that is revealed with such power in "A History of God."
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Subjects:  1. Biblical teaching    2. Comparative Religion    3. Comparative studies    4. General    5. God    6. God (Christianity)    7. God (Islam)    8. God (Theology)    9. History    10. History of doctrines    11. History: World    12. Non-Classifiable   

Editorial Review

Karen Armstrong speaks to the troubling years following her decision to leave the life of a Roman Catholic nun and join the secular world in 1969. What makes this memoir especially fascinating is that Armstrong already wrote about this era once---only it was a disastrous book. It was too soon for her to understand how these dark, struggling years influenced her spiritual development, and she was too immature to protect herself from being be bullied by the publishing world. As a result, she agreed to portray herself only in as "positive and lively a light as possible"---a mandate that gave her permission to deny the truth of her pain and falsify her inner experience. The inspiration for this new approach comes from T. S. Eliot's Read more

Reviews (80)

Wonderfully Touching and Powerful
Thank you Karen for recording your experience in such a truthful and therefore powerful way. Your courage and determination in the face of inhumanity is a familiar drumbeat that we would all do well to march to. Your stories of survival with compassion and mercy are a shining-light to those of all faiths and of all languages. Your language of love and hope is universal and you are a true friend. Thank you.

excellent
Karen Armstrong is a great writer, with quite the story to tell.The Spiral Staircase recounts the most powerful and change-filled years of her life--it concentrates mostly on the few years following her departure from life as a Catholic nun.She tells her story so honestly and openly that you really get a feel for Karent Armstrong the person, not just the successful writer.I read The Spiral Staircase before I read any of her other works, but since then I've enjoyed both her biography of Buddha, and "Islam: A Short History."Her memoir is candid and her prose is neither too emotional nor too academic.

Describes temporal lobe epilepsy with Grace
Another reviewer, a nurse who has interest in temporal lobe epilepsy and thought that Armstrong did not adequately explain temporal lobe epilepsy, has obviously never experienced a temporal lobe seizure. Karen Armstrong's descriptions of her temporal lobe seizures were spine-tingling, and nearly brought me to tears with the feeling that "Finally! Someone has put it into words! Someone understands!" Her plight out of the darkness of religious life is inspiring and her experiences with epilepsy make a remarkable backdrop. I recommend this read for people who have never questioned their faith as well as those who have. I also recommend it for families and friends of people with epilepsy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1944-    2. Armstrong, Karen,    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Ex-nuns    8. General    9. History    10. Literary    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Religion (General)    13. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    14. Religious    15. Spirituality - Women's    16. Women    17. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    18. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (79)

Excellent history of Mohammed
It is a sad fact that in these darkened times, the relationships between the world's Abrahamic faiths is at an all-time low.Each day it seems that Jews, Christians and Muslims are only too willing to go to war with each other and claiming God is on their side, when all three faiths profess to believe in the same God.
Mohammed is far from perfect
What I learned from this book is that Muhammed was a prophet who harnassed the spirtual hunger that lay in all Men's hearts to create a coherent and powerful (but far from perfect)religion that is Islam.
Secular Viewpoint
Karen Armstrong writes her biography of Muhammad (pbuh) from a very secular, 20th century point of view (although she tries very hard to see all sides of the story).She is also very confused about certain things, believing that Islam teaches that Satan will be forgiven on the Day of Judgement.Overall, it's an ok biography, but there are better ones available. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Historical - General    3. Islam - General    4. Islam - Mohammad    5. Muhammad,    6. Muòhammad,    7. Prophet    8. Prophet,    9. Religion    10. Religious    11. d. 632    12. Islam    13. Religion / Islam   

Editorial Review

About 40 years ago popular opinion assumed that religion would become a weaker force and people would certainly become less zealous as the world became more modern and morals more relaxed. But the opposite has proven true, according to theologian and author Karen Armstrong (Read more

Reviews (110)

Overly complicated, but interesting
Many new words, few remembered.
The Battle for Good History : Why Armstrong fails as acredible historian
"Battle For God"by Karen Armstrong
Erudite and masterful
Armstrong rates as one of the best, if not the best of the religious writers --- and she well deserves accolades. This book provides a rationale not only for the fundamentalist movements of the three major religions, but explains why, in other frameworks, one can never separate the conscious and unconscious in any permanent way.Her explanation of logos and mythos draws immediate parallels to the real and unreal, the seen and the unseen, the rational and the subconscious, the physical and metaphysical. Western technology induces eastern spirituality much the way the visible requires an analysis of the forces behind the visible.
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Subjects:  1. Christianity - General    2. Comparative Religion    3. Fundamentalism    4. History    5. Islamic fundamentalism    6. Israel    7. Orthodox Judaism    8. Reference    9. Religion    10. Religion - World Religions    11. Religious fundamentalism    12. Religion / General   

Reviews (28)

A compelling story of abuse in the search for Divine Love
I applaud Karen Armstrong for having the guts to write this book. Although I am guessing that it was cathartic for her to review this period in her life, she wrote quite dispassionately about her experiences. It is remarkable to me that she did not play the role of victim. In fact, she showed more love and compassion to those who abused her than those who were supposed to guide her on the path to love.
A harrowing inside look
Karen Armstrong has written a compelling memoir of her time in the convent in formation to become a nun.She wants this life so badly that she will forsake everything, including her own mind, to attain a perfect relationship with God.This is what she was told she must do.She did this despite gut feelings to the contrary, despite physical illness, and despite slowly dying inside.In fact, she believed this was a sign of progress.
Difficult to read at times...
but well worth getting through the gritty parts.
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Subjects:  1. 1944-    2. Armstrong, Karen,    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Ex-nuns    6. Institutions & Organizations    7. Religion    8. Religious    9. Women   

Editorial Review

Books on Buddhism may overflow the shelves, but the life story of the Buddha himself has remained obscure despite over 2,500 years of influence on millions of people around the world. In an attempt to rectify this, and to make the Buddha and Buddhism accessible to Westerners, the beloved scholar and author of such sweeping religious studies as Read more

Reviews (56)

To understand the Buddha be his goal
Karen Armstrong's biography of the Buddha on grounds of history is good. However, her understanding of the Buddha and his percepts is naive. Buddhahood and not the Buddha is the goal. While she amply brings out the essence of this, she pays an equal attention to myths which to my mind are senseless and even detract one trying to understand the Buddha's teachings. A biography of the Buddha is pointless unless the essence of his teachings are brought out. While in all fairness Ms Armstrong does attempt this, she falls short of being able to comprehend the Goal. She brings out the Buddha as a missionary rather than someone that reveals the Truth. In the East the concept of religion is not water tight, the sense of being a Buddhist or a Hindu are not essential for seeking Nirvana or Brahman as is understood in the east. There is no concept of salvation in the East, simply because that implies bondage which implies reality of being. The Buddhist thought as does all eastern thought, speaks of the world as being unreal, therefore even bondage is an illusion therefore by that twist of logic salvation or freedomtoo is illusory, therefore the state of Nirvana or Brahman as spoken of in the east is considered one's natural state which is realised when all that one is not is understood. Ms Armstrong's effort at understanding the Buddha while comendable falls short of understanding what the Buddha teaches and therefore in a sense the Buddha. All said, Ms Armstrong definitely has done justice to placing the Buddha in a historical age and understading him from a point of view of society as it was then.

Good stuff if you're intellectual
Karen Armstrong, an established author, has given us the story of Siddartha Gautama, who eventually became the Buddha, while also delving into Eastern thinking and philosphy and culture.If you're just looking for the story of Buddha's life, this is probably more involved than what you're looking for, but as a scholarly introduction to Buddha AND Buddhism, this is a wonderful book!

What's the point?
The Buddha didn't want to be worshipped and no reliable historical account of him exists. The whole book is speculation. If you want to study buddhism read a book about buddhism not this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Buddhism - General    4. Gautama Buddha    5. Religion - World Religions    6. Religious    7. Religion / Buddhism   

Editorial Review

The picture of Islam as a violent, backward, and insular traditionshould be laid to rest, says Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of Read more

Reviews (117)

You could hardly find a better starting point for learning about Islam and the West
In July of last year I purchased two interesting titles - "A History of God" and "The Battle for God", both by Karen Armstrong. The first is a history of monotheism and how God has been seen by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The second is a study of the modern 'fundamentalist' movement. I started reading both in parallel, and it turned out to be the start of a long series of reads, re-reads, side-tracks, and diversions of various flavors. I've not yet finished either book (though "A History of God" will be done in another day or two), but along the way picked up and read "The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness", Armstrong's memoir of her life after leaving nunnery, and her recently-revised "Islam: A Brief History", her concise history of Islam.
An apologist's history
A book written by an apologist, one whose idealism prevents her recognizing the truth. Perhaps the current "Islamic rage" about the Pope will wake her up.
Whitewashing of Islam
This book is a lie by omission. OK, the basic tenets of it's history are probably correct, but reading this book is like reading a book about National Socialism in Germany and leaving out the oppression of the Jews. Karen Armstrong has obviously spent too much time in and around Muslims and like a good subservient Dhimmi Christian has only laid out the positive of Islam. Reading this book, one might actually believe Muhammad was a decent guy. The only problem is that true history shows otherwise. Only read this if you are an appeaser and apologist. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. Islam    4. Islam - History    5. Islamic Empire    6. Islamic countries    7. Religion    8. Religion - World Religions    9. History / General    10. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

Karen Armstrong makes reading the Bible a smooth and liberating experience.The brilliance of Armstrong's analysis of Genesis lies in her ability to draw together thestory, the contemporaneous situations of the characters and the writers, and the relevanceof themes amid multifarious contradictions, then hold them up for us to contemplate.Edifying and engaging, this short but impressive book comes complete with the entireGenesis text. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

easy read , from Armstrong
I had been meaning to buy Armstrong ever since I saw the docu "History of God". seeing her on c-spn lecture for here book the "Great Transformation" pushed me over and I bought both "Great Transformation" as well as "In the beginning". "In teh beginning is certainly as easier read, it outlines the conflict and imperfection in our relationship with God. She is a wise peot who attacked her subject the expertise, though the reader should be weary she does have her critics. But yeah, it's a good book.

A New Beginning
It is easy to read and understandable.It gives a scholarly view of Genesis

Very readable
This book is a great way to get to know the people of Genesis. I think the author sometimes interjects some opinions needlessly, but it isn't overbearing. Very good read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bible - Commentaries - Old Testament    2. Bible - CriticismInterpretation - General    3. Bible - CriticismInterpretation - Old Testament    4. Bible.    5. Criticism    6. Criticism, interpretation, etc    7. Genesis    8. O.T.    9. Philosophy    10. Religion    11. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    12. Religion / Bible / Criticism, Interpretation / General   

Reviews (12)

I was not impressed
I bought this book because I thought it would give me a more indepth look into this remarkable man's life. Instead, I found myself severly dissapointed. The book does give a good overview of the world around St. Assisi, but really didn't give me any new insight into the facts surrounding the man. Not only that, the author seems to be delving into an almost Jungian religious view. I would not have minded a Catholic view (because St. Assisi was obviously Catholic)or a secular view, but I found the author's choice of religious viewpoint to be completely without rational or support.

Francis was the "Real Deal."
I checked out this book at the library a couple of years ago and was so impressed by it that I had to have a copy of it in order to reread it at my leisure. That's saying something, my friend. Adds more context than insight to Francis' spirit
The strongest parts of this biography are in House's relation of the changing feudal world around Assisi and Perugia to the papal-German battles in Italy and the rise of the mercantile class into which Francis was born. Also, the chapter that looks into the early spirituality of the first friars adds valuable understanding to what must have inspired many to take up the evangelical and mendicant challenge.
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Subjects:  1. 1182-1226    2. Assisi    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Christian saints    8. Francis,    9. History    10. Italy    11. Religious    12. of Assisi, Saint,   

Reviews (1)

A light on the Western mystical tradition
The four medieval mystics discussed here bear witness to the depth and intelligence of English spirituality in the 14th century, and their work may show the way forward for a religion that seems to have become sterile, especially in its Protestant version. Armstrong discusses each of the four mystics in an introduction to selections from their major works that are reproduced here:Read more

Subjects:  1. England    2. History    3. Middle Ages, 600-1500    4. Mysticism    5. Philosophy    6. Religion    7. Religion - Theology    8. Theology    9. Religion / Mysticism   

Editorial Review

Jerusalem is the most famous city on the planet, a place vibrantly imagined even by people who have never been there. Karen Armstrong, author of the best-selling A History of God, shows why it might also be the most interesting, a sacred ground for rival Christians, Jews and Muslims.Much of her book is devoted to 5,000 years of history, but all of it addresses a longstanding and contemporary fascination unmatched by any other urban center. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Highly polished anti-Israeli propaganda
Much of the material tracing the earlier history of Jerusalem is well written and quite interesting. However, when the author approaches the re-emergence of a strong Jewish presence in Jerusalem all of her previous objectivity goes out the window as she argues that the Jews brutalize the Arabs and that things would be so much better if only the Jewish majority were ruled by the Arab minority.
Highly informative, yet entertaining!
This book provides a very balanced view of the factors leading to the present day situation in Jerusalem. Although somewhat heavy on the religious influences, not inappropriately so, since this is what made Jerusalem what it is today. I would have liked to have learned more about the situation with the Armenians in that quarter of the city throughout the turmoil of the last few hundred years. The many maps of the changing city were outstanding. Excellent!

Many misconceptions
One must begin where it started, why is Jerusalem holy?The answer, not found in this book, it is not.Jerusalem was claimed by the Jews to be a place where Isaac was not sacrificed by Abraham.However this was pure revisionism from the beginning, since by the time David founded his city in Jerusalem, no one knew.David did build Jerusalem, and t