The World’s Religions, by beloved author and pioneering professor Huston Smith (Tales of Wonder), is the definitive classic for introducing the essential elements and teachings of the world’s predominant faiths. This essential guide to comparative religion covers Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as regional native traditions.This revised and updated edition provides sympathetic descriptions of the various traditions, ...

"A welcome addition to the literature on Islam . . . Reading through the many entries, one gets a feeling for the beauty and deep wisdom of the Sufis." — Library JournalThe definitive compendium of Sufi wisdom, Essential Sufism presents more than three hundred beautiful and inspirational works from all eras of Sufism. From thousand-year-old prayers to contemporary Sufi poetry, this beautiful collection embraces the full diversity of a rich traditio...

The birth of the new year brought hope to many, but nothing prepared Abigail Bennett, a small-town West Michigan educator, for the odyssey that laid ahead. Still recovering from personal trauma, she is unjustly fired from a career she loves and manipulated into playing the pawn in a dangerous game of intrigue by a coworker living a double life. As her Panglossian outlook is put to the ultimate test, she finds herself an ill-equipped instrument of reform in a world she never knew existed—wh...

The Spiritual Traveler’s Travel Guide“A must read before a trip.” ―Escape“One of the greatest travel books I have ever read.” ―Peter Feibleman, author of Lilly: Reminiscences of Lillian Hellman#1 Bestseller in Atlases & MapsThe classic guide to making travel meaningful. The Art of Pilgrimage is a travel guide full of inspiration for the spiritual traveler...

"A genius … a writer who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine." — The New YorkerBrave New World author Aldous Huxley on enlightenment and the "ultimate reality."In this anthology of twenty-six landmark spiritual essays and other writings, Aldous Huxley discusses the nature of God, enlightenment, being, good and evil, religion, eternity, and the divine. Huxley consistently examined the spiritual basis of ...

“In this delightful autobiography, Smith tells us how he became the dean of world religion experts. Along the way we meet the people who shaped him and shared his journey—a Who’s Who of 20th century spiritual America: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, T.S. Eliot, Thomas Merton and Pete Seeger.... A valuable master class on faith and life.”— San Francisco Chronicle Book ReviewAs Stephen Hawking is to science; as Peter Drucker is t...

In a world where one in five people is a Muslim, understanding the Islamic faith is more important than ever.Yet, as acclaimed author and scholar of world religions Huston Smith notes, no religion is more misunderstood by the West. This book, drawn from his seminal work The World’s Religions, is a direct response to the urgent need for a clear and concise introduction to Islam.Huston Smith provides the essential background for anyone seeking to com...

Unlock the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries: A deep exploration of secret rites, psychedelic sacraments, and spiritual revelations that captivated ancient Greek society for nearly two millennia.Uncover the evocative history of The Road to Eleusis. Once held in hushed whispers, the Eleusinian Mysteries were a series of secret rituals and initiations in honor of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. They stood as an enigmatic cornerstone ...

For more than sixty years, Huston Smith has not only written and taught about the world’s religions, he has lived them. This Reader presents a rich selection of Smith’s writings, covering six decades of inquiry and exploration, and ranging from scholarship to memoir. Over his long academic career, Smith’s tireless enthusiasm for religious ideas has offered readers both in and outside the academy a fresh understanding of what religion is and what makes it meaningful. The Huston...