DD 196-200.999 (Tony) The Big Picture: A Short World History of Religions by John D. Loftin (200.9 LOF)

The interesting thing about this book is that it is more like a book on anthropology and mythology than it is a book on the history of religion. That doesn't mean I hated this book. In fact it was quite good. I enjoy mythology and so it was sort of a pleasant surprise to have those elements in this book.
Being touted as an Introduction into how religions formed from Caveman to the beginnings of Christainity and Islam- this book was a no-brainer to choose as my intro into the 200 levels of the Dewey Decimal System. And despite some earlier fears- this book is not very controversial. (A little misguided maybe- as Islam is considered a Peaceful religion and yet the affects of Islamic Extremism in todays society isn't at least mentioned and the Norse gods aren't even mentioned and the history of Zorastarianism is given a total of 10 words- I kid you not!)
But, the author claims this is an overveiw- not a comprehensive study. And since some of his sources wrote books that equal 10+ volumes- I'm kinda glad for that. The pre-historic and primative tribal religions and taboos are the most interesting part of this book. The myths and/or history of Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Eygpt is 2nd. And strangely enough, the section of China's religous belief's- namely that of Confuscious again bored me to tears (See my review of THE ANALECTS). Appearently, I just don't like that guy or something.
Still- for an introduction- this is really good. It has a lot of hard facts and clear thoughts. For someone wanting a "primer" into world religions or trying to explore Dewey like my wife and I have- this is a great start. And I really reccomend skipping 196-199.999 and starting at 200. It will really help make that transition from Philosophy to Religion easier.