God's Lunatics: Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man's Eternal Search for the Divine Rating :
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Something for Everyone
By E. Kevin
At the used book price, it's a buy. There is some kind of factoid, for every persuasion, on at least every other page. I used this book for bathroom reading since the blurbs are mostly short and the unglazed paper quality is high. The book's presentation of bits and bytes is somewhat chaotic to the text book crowd, but the unevenness keeps the dedicated reader on track and alert. I'm guessing, based on my own knowledge of the various subject matters, that most of the book's "errors" are minor and inconsequential in the long run. One example is that Jehovah's Witnesses frown on the use of aluminum cookware. Well they don't, but there was an article in one of their frequent tracts (Awake) that did call attention to the fact that researchers some time ago thought that there might be a link between cooking in aluminum pots and Alzheimer's Disease. This research theory has long been discarded by the CDC and others. I'm a practicing Roman Catholic and I was not even slightly offended by the crazy catholic saints old-time stunts. Mental health was not understood in the olden days, and any religious activity of the sort described in the book would, today, wind the active participant up in a three day mental assessment facility at the least; probably a little AC/DC and a pail of lithium to boot. The book is a lot of off beat history, and "Oh yea, I remember that"s, and is recommended by me as short, in interval, and sweet reading materiel.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful.Good idea, poorly executed.
By Joseph Fausnight
Michael Largo's book, God's Lunatics, came well recommended by the American Freethought podcast, and sounded like an entertaining read. The basic concept of the book is an alphabetic compilation, like an encyclopedia or anthology, of religious intentions gone wrong, as told in entertaining little summaries.
I was looking forward to reading this book. However, within the first few pages, and throughout the book, I encountered numerous errors, both typographical and in the underlying research, that renders the stories unreliable. I am one who likes to tell anecdotes from the books I read, and there are many interesting stories and historical notes in the book, but if the author cannot get basic facts straight, I don't want to be passing on misinformation. After reading about fifty pages and briefly thumbing through the rest, I put the book aside.
My advice for Mr. Largo is to try again, but get a good editor and a research assistant for the next edition. It has potential.
(By the author of: Going Godless: Rediscovering Spirituality in a Material World )
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Addictive and Fascinating Read
By W. Fleming
Mr. Largo's "God's Lunatics.." is a fantastic A to Z insight of religious practices, odd beliefs, and sometimes hilarious rituals of those who believe in some kind of supreme being. From the completely outrageous to the slick self-proclaimed prophets, Mr. Largo sheds light on just how far people will go for what they believe in. I read through the book once and am ready to give it another go!
Product Description
God’s Lunatics is an eyebrow-raising encyclopedia of the strange and shocking side of history’s religions, cults, and spiritual movements, by Michael Largo, the bestselling author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning Final Exits. A fascinating compendium of “Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man’s Eternal Search for the Divine,” God’s Lunatics contains a wealth of valuable extreme spiritual information—including the number of exorcisms performed each year and the proper method for identifying the Antichrist.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #876749 in Books
- Published on: 2010-06-22
- Released on: 2010-06-22
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.13" h x5.59" w x1.55" l,1.34 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 592 pages
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