The Second Millennium is at hand. Aren't you just a wee bit anxious? Cohen claims that, deep down, you probably are but (probably) shouldn't be, since one of the oldest features of Western culture is the recurrent and (so far) always mistaken conviction (or sneaking suspicion) that the end of the world is nigh. The author deftly analyzes the attractions of this belief, amidst a wide-ranging discussion of omens, oracles, millennial movements, natural disasters, plagues (including AIDS), pyramidology, UFOs, mass extinction theories, and a skeptical history of prophecy and prognostication from the ancient sibyls to Jeanne Dixon and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. He barely mentions the Old Testament prophets or Asian practices; devotes an entire chapter to the life and writings of Nostradamus; and closes with a reassuring message to readers, plus a relatively hefty bibliography. Illustrations not seen. (Nonfiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: March 15, 1992
ISBN: 1-56294-068-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This impressive volume on the world’s religions attempts to be simple, interesting, and “not partial to the point of view of one religious tradition or another.” Beginning with the entry Aaron, the brother of Moses, and ending with Zoroastrianism, a religion begun in Iran by the prophet Zarathustra, this encyclopedia aptly presents religions in two ways: from the “outside” (history, teachings, practices, and organization) and “inside” (the feelings of the believers, the way they look at the world, and “the things that are actually important in their religious lives”). Ellwood and Alles’s thorough approach to their vast subject answers the questions that teenagers have about religion. A helpful topical outline follows; it groups the entries according to main headings: “Buddhism,” “Christianity,” “Confucianism,” “Hinduism,” “Judaism,” etc., making even more accessible this informative and comprehensive reference work. (b&w charts, maps, photographs, index, not seen, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 13- 15)
Pub Date: July 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8160-3504-0
Page Count: 382
Publisher: Facts On File
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1998
Insofar as the reading level of the book for adults is on a par with this effort—for the most part, only the substance has...
This distillation of the best-selling Killing Jesus: A History (2013) retains the original’s melodramatic tone and present-tense narration. Also its political agenda.
The conservative pundit’s account of Jesus’ life and, in brutal detail, death begins with a nonsensically altered title, an arguable claim to presenting a “fact-based book” and, tellingly, a list of “Key Players” (inserted presumably to help young readers keep track of all the names). Like its source, its prose is as purple as can be, often word for word: “There is a power to Jesus’s gait and a steely determination to his gaze.” Harping on “taxes extorted from the people of Judea” as the chief cause of continuing local unrest, the author presents Jewish society as governed with equal force by religious ritual and by the Romans, and he thoroughly demonizes Herod Antipas (“he even looks the part of a true villain”). Alterations for young readers include more illustrations, periodic sidebars, far fewer maps and a streamlining of context so that the focus is squarely on Jesus, with less attention on the historical moment—an unfortunate choice. Assorted notes on 16 various side topics, from a look at Roman roads to the rise of the cross as a Christian symbol, follow. A mix of 19th-century images, photos of ancient sites and artifacts supplement frequent new illustrations (not seen) from Low.
Insofar as the reading level of the book for adults is on a par with this effort—for the most part, only the substance has been simplified—it’s hard to see the value of this iteration. (source list, recommended reading) (Biography. 12-15)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9877-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
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