Rating: 
Summary: Really enjoyed this look at fundamentalism
Review: Armstrong delivers her theme and sticks to it: Referring to mythos as the mystery, the mysticism of religion, and logos as rationality, she writes, "Fundamentalists have turned the mythos of their religion into logos, either by insisting that their dogmas are scientifically true, or by transforming their complex mythology into a streamlined ideology" (p. 366). Fundamentalist Christians are guilty of the former; fundamentalist Jews and Muslums are guilty of the latter. But Armstrong doesn't point fingers at these fundamentalists and say, "Bad, bad people!" Rather, she looks at the struggles each of the societies she writes about undergoes to modernize, and how each religion adapted, in some people, by turning to fundamentalism. She astutely points out the secularists don't have all the answers, either; all logos and no mythos makes Jack and Jill disillusioned children. Which, of course, leaves them open to fundamentalism, rather than a more balanced approach that leaves reason to reason and mystery to mystery.
Overall, this is a well-researched and well-balanced book. I especially enjoyed the history of Iran leading up to the Iran hostage crisis (which itself gets little ink, as though it were anti-climatic; apparently it turned out to be a much greater venture than the students who took the hostages bargained for!). Some fundamentalists, especially fundamentalist Christians might not like the way they get portrayed; the televangelist scandals of the late 1980s are told a little tongue in cheek. But reading this might help people understand where fundamentalists -- and liberals -- are coming from, and perhaps find ways to bridge the gaps.
Rating: 
Summary: An exceptional writer...
Review: Karen Armstrong is one of the best authors I've found in a 2 year, 30+ books study of fundamentalist Christianity. She has the taut lyricism of a poet and the ability to cover multiple topics without missing a beat. The book has a journalistic feel to it; read in short excerpts it could easily rival the best writing in the New York Times. I enjoyed this book without loving it. The three-in-one approach, alternating examinations of each of the desert religions, is skillful, but I found it distracting. Just when I was involved in one religion, the focus would shift to another, and I would find myself skipping around to see what came next. It might have been better to separate them out. But, that quibble is minor. Armstrong is highly intelligent and lucid writer. I look forward to her other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for a casual reader!
Review: No doubt about the research and effot put in this book, it has a lot of information about the fundamentalism in world's three prominent religions and a lot of hard facts on them. But definitely this book is not suited for a casual reader as the amount of data presented completely fails to keep the interest of a casual reader alive. I would recommend this book only to a serious reader interested in data and hard facts rather than their treatment or analysis.
Rating:
Summary: The Defeat of Religion
Review: This is an excellent work by one of the most dispassionate observers of monotheistic religions in the world today. Where "A History of God" was just that, this is a similar history of the Fundamentalist struggle against Modernism. Following the history of fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the seminal events of the modern world to the end of the 20th century, she brings their remarkably similar stories to the same end: religious ideologies grounded in paranoia, based on narrow and sometimes novel interpretations of scripture, and made manifest through political activism and hatred. Religious values are perverted by paranoia and fear, the sublime and beautiful are twisted into something ugly and distorted, and the sacred qualities of these religions are made corrupt. She describes this as the defeat of religion. She is most sympathetic to the Islamists because of their history of colonial occupation and exploitation by the West, and least sympathetic to the Jewish Fundamentalists. She makes a very good case for both these positions, but don't get me wrong, she does not make these judgements herself, she lets the facts speak for themselves. The only reason I did not give her five stars is that her discussion of Christian Fundamentalism is less energetic than the discussions of Islam and Judaism. It is as if she feels Christian Fundamentalism has been brought to heel by the modern world and does not pose a threat. The thing that struck me the most is how much people like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, the Ayatollah Khomeini, and Meir Kahane all have in common: an inability to come to terms with the world in which they live.
Rating:
Summary: "This is an age of enlightenment but not an enlightened age"
Review: I truly worship Karen Armstrong, not with a smoky little shrine, but as a crystal intellect. She writes about understanding the concept of causality in primitive religions, (Christian, Islam, and Judaism) with remarkable clarity, sympathy and explanation. The retention of ancient beliefs and customs in the face of overwhelming evidence that they are myths, and that a majority of Americans believe in Angels and Miracles, yet also believe that the laws of physics are immutable, all combine to form the basis of the religious superstition that blew down the World Trade Centers. It is indeed a struggle to ennunciate the commonalities of such a convoluted web of irrationality and cognitive dissonance. But she does without offense. She writes well with astounding scholarship. I sense that she, like Demokritus, believe "that all things occur by chance or necessity".
Rating:
Summary: A little hard on some of us religious folk, but good
Review: It is interesting the way Karen Armstrong takes us through the various stages and roles that God has played in our lives throughout the ages. Each evolutionary period seemed to bring out a new definition of God, it is as though we created Him to suit our needs as our needs changed. And perhaps we did indeed. For those hard core religious folks, it brings to mind unsettling questions about God. If God is so changeable, if humans can make Him what they wish at any given time in history, then couldn't He just be what we create and not vice-versa? A definitively thought provoking book that will challenge even the basis of creation, but will just as easily bring you to a new and honorable state of mind about the One whose word we listen to. For non-believers, I think this book strengthens their case, and makes it look as though God has always been whatever we choose Him to be, yet Karen Armstrong does an excellent job of walking the very fine line between believers and non-believers. This is a true historical gem. Unfortunately, there are many times the words get lost because the focus grows dim. This is the case when Karen Armstrong tries to cram way too much history in one chapter. I think it should have maybe been a series, or two books, because too much information can be as bad as too little information at times.
Rating:
Summary: More Important Than Ever!
Review: One issue that 9-11 should have brought more to the forefront is the role that religious fundamentalists play in the affairs of many countries; from that Taliban to Americas own "Religious Right", fundamentalism is a force in much of our current strife. This books looks at how fundamentalism evoloved and how many times it is a denial of the same principles that the fundamentalists are allegedly protecting!
Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: Not a bad book,but its section on Islamic fundamentalism is obsolete now because of the recent events in the world.Jewish and christian fundamentalism sections are well presented.Basically the book compares the fundamentalist movements in all 3 religions and tells the reader about how people kill in the name of their own God because they think it is right.
Rating: 
Summary: One's Thesis Should Not Take Precedence Over Reality
Review: Only a person who has absolutely no knowledge of the Oral Torah and of Jewish Mysticism can claim that the Lurianic Kabbalah contradicts the story of Creation, as stated in Genesis. Moroever, her obvious struggle to prove her thesis that Rabbi Isaac Luria, of saintly memory, "invented" his "doctrine" to save Sefardic Jews from losing faith in traditional Judaism blinds her to the true reality. To demonstrate one such example of this writer's lack of theological knowledge of Judaism, I site the following quote from p. 12: "Some [Jews] have found that, after the tragedy of the Holocaust, they can only see G-d as the suffering, impotent divinity of Zimzum, who is not in control of creation." The belief that G-d, blessed be He, can possibly be "not in control of creation" not only runs contrary to the beliefs of traditional Judaism, but also shows a tremendous ignorance of Lurianic Kabbalah, which actually states the opposite: namely, that although G-d had to perform Tzimtzum to "make room" for Creation (a concept outside the scope of one's intellect), He nevertheless is prevalent in Creation and is the only Force that gives it life AT ALL TIMES. It is not "a remnant of His Light within Creation that was accidentally trapped in matter, which people need to 'restore'" (another assertion this writer makes), but rather it is the potential for G-dliness in practically everything within this universe, with humanity having the job of using the material in a holy manner and thereby fulfilling G-d's Will and proclaiming His Glory.
Rating:
Summary: An Enlightening Read - Totally Engaging
Review: Having not as yet completed the book, I felt compelled for the first time to comment on this informative book. Karen Armstrong has elogantly and clearly detailed the evolution of the three monotheothic religions by masterfully integrating politics, history, technology (modernity) and its impact on logos and mythos in the search for rationalization. This is a must read by all who wish to understand more clearly fundamentalism as we have come to know it today.
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