I Need Suggestions

[ChristineES]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.

I am planning on restarting my overview study of various religions. I checked a book out of the library, and I really didn't like it. I thought I would come here and ask about encyclopedia-like books that are about religions. I would like one that clear, concise, and accurate about the various religions. I can't buy new books, since I am on a limited budget, so it will have to be checked out of the library.
I would also like a book teaching about Hinduism. I checked a book out of the library, "Hinduism" by Vasudha Narayanan, it seems OK, so far. But is there one anyone would recommend?

Thanks for any suggestions that would help me.

 

[Madhuri]

Christine, for a general overview, I actually would recommend the Wikipedia page. It's pretty accurate and about as summarised as possible. Even then it is a lot to read. Hinduism is incredibly vast. But here is also a thread I created a while ago with book recommendations:

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/hinduism-dir/84688-hinduism-book-recommendations.html

PS: Try not to read books authored by non-Hindus. They are often heavily biased against it or just ignorant.

 

[HerDotness]

I'd recommend The Illustrated World's Religions by Huston Smith. It covers the major religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism...and so forth.

Any good-sized public library will likely have a copy of this book.

What I especially like about it is that it doesn't just describe the religion but shows you important symbols, images and sacred places as well as believers performing rituals in some cases. In short, you get a view as well as an idea of what the religion is like.

As for difficulty in buying books, I suggest my favorite online used book resource, Abebooks. I checked just now, and you can get a nearly new copy of this book for about $5, shipping included. You can't touch most new paperbacks for that price anymore!

Abebooks' service is excellent. I've bought books from them for over ten years. Generally, their used book prices are far better than Amazon's, and I typically find more copies of a title available from them.

 

[ChristineES]

Thanks to both of you.
And thanks for telling me about Abebooks, too. I usually get my used books from Amazon, but Abebooks looks like a better deal.

 

[McBell]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.

I am planning on restarting my overview study of various religions. I checked a book out of the library, and I really didn't like it. I thought I would come here and ask about encyclopedia-like books that are about religions. I would like one that clear, concise, and accurate about the various religions. I can't buy new books, since I am on a limited budget, so it will have to be checked out of the library.
I would also like a book teaching about Hinduism. I checked a book out of the library, "Hinduism" by Vasudha Narayanan, it seems OK, so far. But is there one anyone would recommend?

Thanks for any suggestions that would help me.

Are you opposed to Ebooks?

I know some people hate them, but there are loads and loads of free ones concerning religion that you might be interested in.
Especially the older books that are now public domain.

For example:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
HolyBooks.com – download free ebooks
http://ebooksgo.org/free-religion-ebooks.html


​

 

[paarsurrey]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.

I am planning on restarting my overview study of various religions. I checked a book out of the library, and I really didn't like it. I thought I would come here and ask about encyclopedia-like books that are about religions. I would like one that clear, concise, and accurate about the various religions. I can't buy new books, since I am on a limited budget, so it will have to be checked out of the library.
I would also like a book teaching about Hinduism. I checked a book out of the library, "Hinduism" by Vasudha Narayanan, it seems OK, so far. But is there one anyone would recommend?

Thanks for any suggestions that would help me.

If you want to make a real search/research on religion; why not start books revealed of different religions.

 

[paarsurrey]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.

I am planning on restarting my overview study of various religions. I checked a book out of the library, and I really didn't like it. I thought I would come here and ask about encyclopedia-like books that are about religions. I would like one that clear, concise, and accurate about the various religions. I can't buy new books, since I am on a limited budget, so it will have to be checked out of the library.
I would also like a book teaching about Hinduism. I checked a book out of the library, "Hinduism" by Vasudha Narayanan, it seems OK, so far. But is there one anyone would recommend?

Thanks for any suggestions that would help me.

A book that will be very useful in making a comparative study of religions; its name is <Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam>; it is available on-line; I give its link:

Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam

 

[Vinayaka]

I would also like a book teaching about Hinduism.
Thanks for any suggestions that would help me.

This is free on-line, and should answer most of your questions: Dancing with Siva, Table of Contents

 

[Sunstone]

I'd recommend The Illustrated World's Religions by Huston Smith. It covers the major religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism...and so forth.

Any good-sized public library will likely have a copy of this book.

Good recommendation. Smith has been a standard intro to the World's religions for at least 30 years now.

 

[Rival]

I liked 'A History of God' by Karen Armstrong, which covers Judaism, Christianity and Basic Islam (mainly Sufism). It, as the title says, looks into the history of the respective religions. All though it may not be quite what you're looking for, you may find it an interesting read.