The Lost Art of Scripture

Praise

“[An] unusual, often dazzling, blend of theology, history, and neuroscience”—The New Yorker

“A penetrating look at scriptures . . . She writes with panache . . . There are always surprising bits of history and flashes of insight.”—Booklist

“In her most profound, important book to date . . . Both nonbelievers and believers will find her diagnosis—that most people now read scripture to confirm their own views, rather than to achieve transformation—on the mark . . . This is an instant classic of accessible and relevant religious history.”—Publishers Weekly [starred]
 
“As in Armstrong’s many previous works of popular religious-historical synthesis, the breadth of knowledge on display is formidable.”—Harper’s

“A manifesto . . . A panoramic tour of religious history . . . Armstrong is an exceptional storyteller, and The Lost Art of Scripture is an amazing story. It is, admirably, a compendium of religious philosophy.”—The Washington Post

“In her latest, esteemed religion writer Armstrong . . . once again demonstrates her encyclopedic knowledge of the world’s religions. . . . Armstrong’s grasp of global religious history and thought is beyond impressive . . . For those willing to travel this road with the author, the journey is expansive and worthwhile and will make them reconsider what scripture means to those who admire it. Excellent reading for religious scholars and students.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Formidable . . . serious and inspiring . . . exhilarating, challenging and curiously comforting . . . Written not only with intellectual rigor and an accessible turn of phrase, but also with love.”—Prospect Magazine

“A glorious journey . . . Armstrong is the most articulate and generous-hearted exegete of religion writing in English at the present time.”—The New Statesman

“Armstrong is on good form in The Lost Art of Scripture. It exhibits her well-known and admired characteristics as a writer: an ability to be both authoritative on all the major faiths, and studiedly neutral as to which offers the best solutions/worst failings; a reasoned insistence that religion today is misunderstood, as much by the religious as by their critics; and a passionate appeal to our fractious and fractured world to embrace religion’s core message . . . It makes for a compelling read, impressive in the range of its scholarship, but always cogently expressed for those prepared to commit to the search to understand.”—The Sunday Times
 
“Rich and wide-ranging . . . A fascinating read . . . This is a treasure chest of social and religious history. Armstrong’s lucid prose makes her many-stranded story remarkably straightforward to follow . . . a learned and stimulating book.”—The Tablet