A History of God

“Witty, informative, and contemplative. Ms. Armstrong can simplify complex ideas.”—The New York Times Book Review

“An admirable and impressive work of synthesis that will give insight and satisfaction to thousands of lay readers.”—The Washington Post Book World

“A brilliantly lucid, splendidly readable book. [Karen] Armstrong has a dazzling ability: she can take a long and complex subject and reduce it to the fundamentals, without oversimplifying.”—The Sunday Times (London)

“Absorbing . . . A lode of learning.”—Time

“The most fascinating and learned study of the biggest wild goose chase in history—the quest for God. Karen Armstrong is a genius.”—A.N. Wilson, author of Jesus: A Life

“Highly readable and ought to be read . . . . Karen Armstrong has read widely, has missed nothing, and gives us as solid a purview of the God of the past as it would be possible to find in a book.”—Anthony Burgess, The Observer

“Armstrong refreshes the understanding of what one knows, and provides a clear introduction to the unfamiliar. . . . ‘Yearning,’ said Augustine, ‘makes the heart deep.’ That is the theme which runs through this lucid book, and the note of hope on which it ends.”—Robert Runcie, former Archbishop of Canterbury

“An enormously intellectually challenging book. A fascinating way of approaching the subject.”—Rabbi Julia Neuberger

“Magisterial and brilliant . . . An extraordinary survey, [a] superb kaleidoscopic history of religion . . . thorough, intelligent, and highly readable.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Besides providing a great deal of religious history, [Armstrong] discusses the various philosophers, mystics, and reformers associated with these religions. . . . An excellent and informative book.”—Library Journal

“This searching, profound comparative history . . . fearlessly illuminates the sociopolitical ground in which religious ideas take root, blossom and mutate.”—Publishers Weekly