The 1987 first edition, edited by renowned scholar Mircea Eliade (d.1986, formerly history of religion, U. of Chicago), is cited in Guide to Reference Books and in Books for College Libraries, 3d ed., which wrote, "it has quickly become the standard work"; the Wilson Library Bulletin noted that "With all its comprehensiveness and sophistication, it is still accessible to high school students doing reports on individual religions." This second edition, edited by Lindsay Jones of Ohio State U., contains some 600 new entries and revision of many others. For each, the author's name is given, along with the date the entry was written and revised. Many entries are divided into several articles, providing a thorough and expansive history of the topic with consideration of the state of research and discussion of the sources of theory and opinion. In all there are about 3,300 entries, each concluding with a bibliography (some annotated). All but the final volume contain an eight-page color section of images and accompanying text devoted to a particular theme. Volume 15 contains a synoptic outline of the contents and the index. This reference is a truly substantial achievement that will not disappoint students embarking on research or general readers seeking discussion of religious issues, places, traditions, and people. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) - (Book News)

Library Journal Reviews

Jones (comparative studies, Ohio State Univ.; Hermeneutics of Sacred Architecture) and her team of 13 associate editors and two dozen consultants have seriously reworked this second edition. Though there are now 15 rather than 16 volumes, the total number of pages has increased by 20 percent, and, according to the preface, the collection now has 1.5 million more words. Roughly two thirds of the 2750 entries from the first edition were retained, some with minor revisions, supplemental articles by other scholars, or added bibliographies. Approximately 300 original articles were jettisoned, though many of the topics and titles remain the same. The 600-odd new entries include more detailed information about medicine and healing; women, sexuality, and gender; ecology; and the study of religion in non-Western cultures. Of particular interest are a totally new composite topic about literary fiction and religion in ten different cultures as well as a new topic called "Transculturation and Religion," with five studies of religion and a look at the formation of modern Canada, Japan, India, Oceania, and the Caribbean. The 14 new "visual essays," grouped around themes of time, space, the structuring of social relations, the shaping of the mind and body, and the imaging of sacred text, are evocative and creative but hard to find because they are missing from the index and list of articles and contributors; however, there is a two-page "rationale" explaining and listing them in Volume 1. Bottom Line This update of the 18-year-old original, which looks to the future with more contemporary and less opinionated articles and gives both scholars and general readers an important reference tool, is an essential resource for all libraries, regardless of whether they have the first edition. [An electronic version of the set is available through Gale Virtual Reference Library.-Ed.]-Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Univ., Farmville, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.