Click to receive personalized book recommendations daily.
Before you go...
Check Out These
21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
See the List
Best Seller
The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong
Read An Excerpt

Look Inside | Reading Guide

Read An Excerpt
Read An Excerpt
Read An Excerpt

The Great Transformation

The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions

The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions

The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions

The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions

By Karen Armstrong

By Karen Armstrong

By Karen Armstrong

By Karen Armstrong

By Karen Armstrong
Read by Karen Armstrong

By Karen Armstrong
Read by Karen Armstrong

By Karen Armstrong
Read by Karen Armstrong

By Karen Armstrong
Read by Karen Armstrong

Paperback $17.95

Apr 10, 2007 | 592 Pages

Ebook $12.99

Mar 28, 2006 | 496 Pages

Audiobook Download $30.00

Mar 28, 2006 | 1350 Minutes

Audiobook Download $22.48

Mar 28, 2006 | 720 Minutes

All Formats
+
    The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong
    Paperback
    Apr 10, 2007 | 592 Pages
    See All Formats (3) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $17.95

      Apr 10, 2007 | 592 Pages

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook $12.99

      Mar 28, 2006 | 496 Pages

    Audio (2)
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About The Great Transformation

    From Karen Armstrong, the bestselling author of A History of God and The Spiral Staircase, comes this extraordinary investigation of a critical moment in the evolution of religious thought.
         In the ninth century BCE, events in four regions of the civilized world led to the rise of religious traditions that have endured to the present day—development of Confucianism and Daoism in China, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, monotheism in Israel, and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Armstrong, one of our most prominent religious scholars, examines how these traditions began in response to the violence of their time. Studying figures as diverse as the Buddha and Socrates, Confucius and Jeremiah, Armstrong reveals how these still enduring philosophies can help address our contemporary problems.

    About The Great Transformation

    From Karen Armstrong, the bestselling author of A History of God and The Spiral Staircase, comes this extraordinary investigation of a critical moment in the evolution of religious thought.
         In the ninth century BCE, events in four regions of the civilized world led to the rise of religious traditions that have endured to the present day—development of Confucianism and Daoism in China, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, monotheism in Israel, and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Armstrong, one of our most prominent religious scholars, examines how these traditions began in response to the violence of their time. Studying figures as diverse as the Buddha and Socrates, Confucius and Jeremiah, Armstrong reveals how these still enduring philosophies can help address our contemporary problems.

    About The Great Transformation

    From one of the world’s leading writers on religion and the highly acclaimed author of the bestselling A History of God, The Battle for God and The Spiral Staircase, comes a major new work: a chronicle of one of the most important intellectual revolutions in world history and its relevance to our own time.

    In one astonishing, short period – the ninth century BCE – the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilized world created the religious and philosophical traditions that have continued to nourish humanity into the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Historians call this the Axial Age because of its central importance to humanity’s spiritual development. Now, Karen Armstrong traces the rise and development of this
    transformative moment in history, examining the brilliant contributions to these traditions made by such figures as the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius and Ezekiel.

    Armstrong makes clear that despite some differences of emphasis, there was remarkable consensus among these religions and philosophies: each insisted on the primacy of compassion over hatred and violence. She illuminates what this “family” resemblance reveals about the religious impulse and quest of humankind. And she goes beyond spiritual archaeology, delving into the ways in which these Axial Age beliefs can present an instructive and thought-provoking challenge to the ways we think about and practice religion today.

    A revelation of humankind’s early shared imperatives, yearnings and inspired solutions – as salutary as it
    is fascinating.

    Excerpt from The Great Transformation:

    In our global world, we can no longer afford a parochial or exclusive vision. We must learn to live and behave as though people in remote parts of the globe were as important as ourselves. The sages of the Axial Age did not create their compassionate ethic in idyllic circumstances. Each tradition developed in societies like our own that were torn apart by violence and warfare as never before; indeed, the first catalyst of religious change was usually a visceral rejection of the aggression that the sages witnessed all around them. . . .

    All the great traditions that were created at this time are in agreement about the supreme importance of charity and benevolence, and this tells us something important about our humanity.

    About The Great Transformation

    From one of the world’s leading writers on religion and the highly acclaimed author of the bestselling A History of God, The Battle for God and The Spiral Staircase, comes a major new work: a chronicle of one of the most important intellectual revolutions in world history and its relevance to our own time.

    In one astonishing, short period – the ninth century BCE – the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilized world created the religious and philosophical traditions that have continued to nourish humanity into the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Historians call this the Axial Age because of its central importance to humanity’s spiritual development. Now, Karen Armstrong traces the rise and development of this
    transformative moment in history, examining the brilliant contributions to these traditions made by such figures as the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius and Ezekiel.

    Armstrong makes clear that despite some differences of emphasis, there was remarkable consensus among these religions and philosophies: each insisted on the primacy of compassion over hatred and violence. She illuminates what this “family” resemblance reveals about the religious impulse and quest of humankind. And she goes beyond spiritual archaeology, delving into the ways in which these Axial Age beliefs can present an instructive and thought-provoking challenge to the ways we think about and practice religion today.

    A revelation of humankind’s early shared imperatives, yearnings and inspired solutions – as salutary as it
    is fascinating.

    Excerpt from The Great Transformation:

    In our global world, we can no longer afford a parochial or exclusive vision. We must learn to live and behave as though people in remote parts of the globe were as important as ourselves. The sages of the Axial Age did not create their compassionate ethic in idyllic circumstances. Each tradition developed in societies like our own that were torn apart by violence and warfare as never before; indeed, the first catalyst of religious change was usually a visceral rejection of the aggression that the sages witnessed all around them. . . .

    All the great traditions that were created at this time are in agreement about the supreme importance of charity and benevolence, and this tells us something important about our humanity.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also by Karen Armstrong

    The Lost Art of Scripture
    Fields of Blood
    Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
    The Case for God
    The Spiral Staircase
    See all books by Karen Armstrong

    Also by Karen Armstrong

    The Lost Art of Scripture
    Fields of Blood
    Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
    The Case for God
    The Spiral Staircase
    See all books by Karen Armstrong

    Also by Karen Armstrong

    The Lost Art of Scripture
    Fields of Blood
    Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
    The Case for God
    The Spiral Staircase
    See all books by Karen Armstrong

    Also by Karen Armstrong

    The Lost Art of Scripture
    Fields of Blood
    Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
    The Case for God
    The Spiral Staircase
    See all books by Karen Armstrong

    About Karen Armstrong

    Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religion, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha, and Fields of Blood, as well as a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into… More about Karen Armstrong

    About Karen Armstrong

    Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religion, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha, and Fields of Blood, as well as a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into… More about Karen Armstrong

    About Karen Armstrong

    Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religion, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha, and Fields of Blood, as well as a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into… More about Karen Armstrong

    About Karen Armstrong

    Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religion, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha, and Fields of Blood, as well as a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into… More about Karen Armstrong

    Product Details

    Category: Religion | World History

    Paperback | $17.95
    Published by Anchor
    Apr 10, 2007 | 592 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780385721240

    Category: Religion | World History

    Ebook | $12.99
    Published by Anchor
    Mar 28, 2006 | 496 Pages | ISBN 9780307264701

    Category: Religion | World History | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $30.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Mar 28, 2006 | 1350 Minutes | ISBN 9781415932087

    Category: Religion | World History | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $22.48
    Published by Random House Audio
    Mar 28, 2006 | 720 Minutes | ISBN 9780739325339

    People Who Read The Great Transformation Also Read

    ‹ ›
    When Things Fall Apart
    He Leadeth Me
    Render Unto Rome
    The Tao of Physics
    Bodhisattva of Compassion
    Religious Signing
    Render Unto Caesar
    The Third Jesus
    The Cloud of Unknowing
    Vitality, Energy, Spirit
    The Secret Lives of Saints
    The Wisdom Jesus
    Godless
    Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality
    The Dhammapada
    Intelligent Thought
    Awake at Work
    Rabbi Paul
    The Blue Cliff Record
    Radical Acceptance
    Zen Lessons
    Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake
    The Taoist Classics, Volume Three
    The Pocket Dalai Lama
    The Supper of the Lamb
    The Wisdom of the Prophet
    Being Dharma
    Buddhist Wisdom
    Growing Up Catholic: The Millennium Edition
    Catch Me If You Can
    Crooked Cucumber
    Ka
    The Gift of Peace
    The Witch in Every Woman
    Meetings with Mary
    In Search of Mary
    Angels A to Z
    What Do Jews Believe?
    Everyman's Talmud
    Dhammapada
    The Feminine Face of God
    Voices of Silence
    Tales of the Hasidim
    The Social Construction of Reality

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Praise

    “A splendid book. . . . Lucid, highly readable. . . . Relevan[t] to a world still embroiled in military conflict and sectarian hatreds.” —The New York Times

    “Masterful. . . . Stimulating. . . . A tour de force.”—The Christian Science Monitor

    “The Great Transformation is Armstrong at her best—translating and distilling complex history into lucid prose. . . . Her call to rededicate our religious selves to compassion, other-directed love and service is downright rousing.” —The Washington Post

    “Remarkable and persuasive.” —The Independent

    “Perhaps her most ambitious work to date. . . . Thoroughly researched and readable.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    Download our Spring Fiction Sampler Now
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    TASTE img

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    LitFlash

    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

    Read it Forward

    Read it first. Pass it on!
    First to Read

    First to Read

    Early access to Penguin Random House’s hottest new titles