From Library Journal
As this is the first reference book to bring together information about the major sacred texts of the world in one volume, it would be nice to offer a hearty recommendation. Snodgrass (coauthor, A Multicultural Dictionary of Literary Terms) presents introductions to and summaries of 27 works or collections of works accepted by various religious traditions as normative or authoritative, including the Bible, Black Elk Speaks, the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, Zen koans, and the Koran. Though much here can be read profitably, significant weaknesses affect the book's usefulness. There are obviously inaccurate statements, such as "Jesus urges the disciple to...feed him fish and honeycomb" and "Readers and theologians revere the finished work [the Authorized Version of the English Bible] into current times as the King James Bible (or KJB)." In fact, there is no mention of honeycomb in the last chapter of Luke (to which the author refers), and the Authorized Version is also known as the King James Version (KJV). A "Time Line of World Scriptures" near the end of the volume contains questionable entries, e.g., the canonization of the Pentateuch in 400 B.C.E. and the Apostle Paul as the author of Hebrews. In addition, the glossary omits several possible "crucial and recurrent terms," including Torah, gospel, epistle, and Sadducee (though Essene and Pharisee are listed). Thus, the best one can do is offer a qualified recommendation and urge a revision. Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
The award-winning encyclopedist Mary Ellen Snodgrass lives and writes in Hickory, North Carolina. Her recent works include A Multicultural Dictionary of Literary Terms (with Gary Carey, 1999, $29.50, "highly recommended"-Library Journal) and Who's Who in the Middle Ages (2001, $75).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From the time of human beginnings, holy words, chants, liturgy and narratives have enabled people to communicate the mysteries of the universe. Because of their great cultural significance, many bodies of liturgical composition survived oral transmission for centuries until calligraphers could write them on stone, parchment, or paper. The world's most sacred and influential writings are covered in this compendium. Entries are arranged alphabetically, from Adi Granth to Zand-Avesta, and include holy law (The White Roots of Peace), funeral prescriptions (the Tibetan Book of the Dead), ceremonies (the Lakota Black Elk Speaks), literature (Homeric hymns), hero stories (the Japanese Kojiki), word puzzles (the koans of Zen), Christ lore (the Apocrypha and the New Testament), matrices (I Ching and Tantra), and numerology (the Jewish Kabbala). Significant people and places are also covered, and a map locates the germ of sacred revelation and writing in sites all over the globe. A timeline of dateable events from the history of world scriptures names events in chronological order, from the beginnings of the I Ching in 2800 B.C.E. to the publication of a child's version of the Popul Vuh in C.E. 1999. The encyclopedia is comprehensively indexed with ample cross-referencing to assist researchers toward further study.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

As this is the first reference book to bring together information about the major sacred texts of the world in one volume, it would be nice to offer a hearty recommendation. Snodgrass (coauthor, A Multicultural Dictionary of Literary Terms) presents introductions to and summaries of 27 works or collections of works accepted by various religious traditions as normative or authoritative, including the Bible, Black Elk Speaks, the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, Zen koans, and the Koran. Though much here can be read profitably, significant weaknesses affect the book's usefulness. There are obviously inaccurate statements, such as "Jesus urges the disciple to...feed him fish and honeycomb" and "Readers and theologians revere the finished work [the Authorized Version of the English Bible] into current times as the King James Bible (or KJB)." In fact, there is no mention of honeycomb in the last chapter of Luke (to which the author refers), and the Authorized Version is also known as the King James Version (KJV). A "Time Line of World Scriptures" near the end of the volume contains questionable entries, e.g., the canonization of the Pentateuch in 400 B.C.E. and the Apostle Paul as the author of Hebrews. In addition, the glossary omits several possible "crucial and recurrent terms," including Torah, gospel, epistle, and Sadducee (though Essene and Pharisee are listed). Thus, the best one can do is offer a qualified recommendation and urge a revision. Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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