Rating: 
Summary: Arduous, complex and erudite.
Review: Here is William James' extraordinarily dispassionate and narrowly empirical and pragmatic examination of a topic that has rarely been treated dispassionately. The reading can be difficult, actually tedious, but James' language is persistently non-colonized (he had little respect for the popular psychobabble buzzwords and delusionally simplistic conclusions of his day [and one expects that this would hold true a century later!]). By standards of 'originality'* (a word that must be qualified) and reputation, he probably remains America's most famed philosopher of mind (which is something of an affliction to his dogmatic detractors, with their -- yes -- arrogantly simplistic 'conclusions'). It seems that he was/is America's most famed psychologist/neurologist as well.
*(James says, "Originality cannot be expected in a field like this, where all the attitudes and tempers that are possible have been exhibited in literature long ago, and where any new writer can immediately be classed under a familiar head." Yet, while no single consideration in this work is strictly 'original', the work in sum remains highly unique.)
A large sampling of varied religious experience and psychological temperament is scrutinized. Many readers will find the sampling too large (this reader did). As is quickly apparent, a large number of cited experiences are 'extreme' -- we might say nutty. One might think the material is becoming a mocking of religious experience per se, but James warns us not to leap to conveniently simplistic conclusions: ". . . it always leads to a better understanding of a thing's significance to consider its exaggerations and perversions, its equivalents and substitutes and nearest relatives elsewhere. Not that we may thereby swamp the thing in the wholesale condemnation which we pass on its inferior congeners, but rather that we may by contrast ascertain the more precisely in what its merits consist, by learning at the same time to what particular dangers of corruption it may also be exposed." James finds what might be called the "religious temperament" to embrace a broad range of opinions:
"'He believes in No-God, and he worships him,' said a colleague of mine of a student who was manifesting a fine atheistic ardor; and the more fervent opponents of Christian doctrine have often enough shown a temper which, psychologically considered, is indistinguishable from religious zeal."
As a scientist, James proceeds in this study as a strict empiricist. As a philosophical pragmatist (practicably and on the whole, "the true is what works well"), he finds that objects, after all, can only be considered and "known" subjectively. To 'experience' a material 'object' or phenomena is to be in an intellectual state that is essentially subjective. Thus, although science is the interrogation of the material world, the "truth" content of a dogmatic materialism is a pretension at best and a delusion at worst. James says, "The further limits of our being plunge, it seems to me, into an altogether other dimension of existence from the sensible and merely 'understandable' world. Name it the mystical region, or the supernatural region, whichever you choose. . . we belong to it in a more intimate sense than that in which we belong to the visible world, for we belong in the most intimate sense wherever our ideals belong." To the extent that "religion" tends strongly to understand this while "science" today tends impulsively to deny it, religion may exhibit the clearer vision of reality (and of psychological 'healthy-mindedness'), regardless of science's impressive inventory of material 'facts'.
As the author instructs, the reader should patiently wade through these lectures. The conclusions toward which he labors are not generally apparent before they are reached. At points throughout the text, both the 'religionist' and the 'anti-religionist' may believe that James is given to championing their respective positions, only to soon understand him differently. While the study is one of empirical psychology, the conclusions are inescapably philosophical (conclusions always are). The author briefly considers the classic theological arguments (cosmological, teleological, etc) and finds them to be logically elegant, yet less than universally compelling. Where [psychological] temperament leads, thought tends to follow. More compelling to James is a theologic / religious / epistemic warrant that seems highly amenable to (perhaps identical to) so-called reformed epistemology. Dogmatic philosophical materialism is inherently an arbitrarily limited window to reality. For the naturalist and the supernaturalist alike, personal experience and 'temperament' are the arbiters of reality. The book is important, in large part, because it has no obvious partisan constituency. Empiricists and mystics alike may find certain aspects of this study to be of merit. Philosophical skeptics won't like it, but of course ultimately they won't like anything.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant; Actually, Beyond Brilliant
Review: I am always surprised when I am cruising around Amazon and take a look at a classic and find just 1 or 2 customer comments on a book such as James's masterful "Varieties". So, I just had to say something. This is one of the greatest and most readable books ever written on the subject of religion. Don't be surprised at what you find. WJ is not making a "case" for belief here, or any case for any particular religious "system". He is studying religious experience, trying to get to the bottom of what brings it about and what it means for human beings. Thus, he pays little attention to what we call "organized religion." He spends his time, rather, with the various ways that people have experienced God or the supernatural or the spiritual. James's style is very subtle, ornate, and powerful. Just let yourself soak in it for awhile and then try to learn. His metaphors are so stunning as to be memorable for the rest of your life. His discussion of the healthy-minded, the sick soul, and the mystic will entrall you and thrill you with his erudition, and they will become touchstones in your own religious experience and your own study of religion for the rest of your life. Religion is a living reality for WJ. He gives a powerful analysis of what it can, should, and does mean to men and women in the modern world. If you wish to understand modern thought on religion, by the way, you must read James, for much of it springs from his thought. Lastly, James is the kindest thinker who ever put pen to paper. For those of in the William james Society, this is why we love him so. He never chides or derides or condemns. He gently disagrees, looks for the best from every idea and every experience and every person, and lavishes praise on what he finds excellent and meaningful. His thought and writing and philosophical depth and style are an inspiration. Spend some time with one of the greatest thinkers ever. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant; Actually, Beyond Brilliant
Review: I am always surprised when I am cruising around Amazon and take a look at a classic and find just 1 or 2 customer comments on a book such as James's masterful "Varieties". So, I just had to say something. This is one of the greatest and most readable books ever written on the subject of religion. Don't be surprised at what you find. WJ is not making a "case" for belief here, or any case for any particular religious "system". He is studying religious experience, trying to get to the bottom of what brings it about and what it means for human beings. Thus, he pays little attention to what we call "organized religion." He spends his time, rather, with the various ways that people have experienced God or the supernatural or the spiritual. James's style is very subtle, ornate, and powerful. Just let yourself soak in it for awhile and then try to learn. His metaphors are so stunning as to be memorable for the rest of your life. His discussion of the healthy-minded, the sick soul, and the mystic will entrall you and thrill you with his erudition, and they will become touchstones in your own religious experience and your own study of religion for the rest of your life. Religion is a living reality for WJ. He gives a powerful analysis of what it can, should, and does mean to men and women in the modern world. If you wish to understand modern thought on religion, by the way, you must read James, for much of it springs from his thought. Lastly, James is the kindest thinker who ever put pen to paper. For those of in the William james Society, this is why we love him so. He never chides or derides or condemns. He gently disagrees, looks for the best from every idea and every experience and every person, and lavishes praise on what he finds excellent and meaningful. His thought and writing and philosophical depth and style are an inspiration. Spend some time with one of the greatest thinkers ever. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: The Professor you wish you had
Review: I am neither a psychologist nor a theologian. I picked up this book because I had insomnia one night, and thought it would put me to sleep. Contrary to my expectations, it was fascinating. While I will not delve into a discussion about the major tenets of the book(other people already have and have done a much better job than I am capable of) I will say, the strength of this book is James' ability to convey complicated ideas in a straightforward way. It is not at all like modern philosophical texts, which tend to be convoluted at best. Because the book is based on Lectures he delivered in Scotland, it has a conversational tone, that makes it almost fun to read. Most importantly, the ideas behind it and the scope of the work, are accessible to anyone who reads it, which, is really the point of writing seminal texts like this. While it is not an especially quick read, the topics he covers, conversion, 'the sick soul', etc are so interesting that you can't help but stay focused. I appreciated the insight into, not only psychology, but also American religious/spiritual/self improvement movements, which make this book still relevant today. I am glad I read it.
Rating:
Summary: You have to take this book in context.
Review: I found this an extremely valuable book, but I don't claim that it's an easy read. First, you have to get through the academic writing style of the late 19th century: paragraph-length sentences with triply nested clauses and extensive quotes from other, equally opaque writers. You'll eventually get used to this style, but it will never flow easily.
Next, you have to contend with James' model of psychology, which is different in many ways from our own. He wrote this book when the notion of the subconscious was a bleeding edge concept, Pavlov had yet to identify learned behavior, and experimental psychology was just starting up. So, although his psychology is sound, you'll have to mentally translate it into the more modern models.
But, if you can get through these barriers, it is a seminal book. James finds it natural to unite the notions of personal psychology and religious revelation without conflict (or at least not much conflict), while honoring both traditions.
Rating: 
Summary: The HitchHiker
Review: I have a degree and some background in psychology, but I couldn't understand a word of what James Joyce was saying or trying to say, it's so "thick", and that's unfortunately the way a lot of the top 100 greatest novels read for me; like Ulysses for example. That book was so thick with aulde Englishe, one would need an interpreter or something. My only thought is, what a bunch of stuffy people, those literary "scholars", who voted many of these books. I am reading all the way through the bible, my objective, but I am also reading and enjoying many of the greatest classic novels as an objective, just to do it. But I don't need to read this book "varieties.." to gain a single grain of wisdom or whatever. I am a born-again God-Man with a most wonderful life experience. Handcuffed in a police car and at the breaking point, I silently cried out from someplace desperately deep inside, "O God... Take me out of this world", and true to my prayer, God answered. One day hitchhiking, I met a household of "brothers" headed by a middle-aged Japanese couple. The Japanese man asked me, "If you could have a treasure chest, that every time you opened it, there was something new and [exciting], would you take it?" When I looked into his eyes, they were shining, not as if he had been weeping, but glistening as with life and joy. I didn't answer; in fact I put up a fighting argument the whole time, but I stepped out to the curb, and whispered, "Lord Jesus Christ! If you are real, get me a ride." Almost instantly, a VW bug pulled over with a young college music student inside and took me home. Another day, I tested again, ".. If you're real, please give me a ride." A car again pulled over, I got in without saying a word, and the lady handed me some christian gospel tracts, "..Here. Hand these out to people you meet. Praise the Lord." Again another day, I tested, "Lord, if you're real.." I got in without saying a word, and the lady exclaimed, "..I just had to pick you up. God told me, 'Pick up my Child'... " After that, no more of those prayers, I just gave thanks and praise to God. My experience of salvation was very special, like nothing I had every thought or felt or [seen] before, and a "brother" in that same house I revisited didn't say a word. He just stood by my bedside [they let me rest on a bunkbed] enjoying and knowing the very same experience he had enjoyed. Everything I saw as black and white became a spectrum of color; and not just one spectrum of gold or silver, and the joy was just like a passage in the bible "..a well of water springing up.." I once repeated over and over "Praise the Holy Spirit of God. Thanks and praise and honor and love to you O Spirit of God.."; an incredible feeling slowly swept over me, starting at my head and moving all the way to the bottom of my feet, a feeling of powerful invincibility, like I was made of solid iron. I rushed out of the room to be with others; And many more remarkable experiences over the years, not all is fun and play; God has "..many things to show you, but you are not yet ready or able." I went through many difficult times, as life just often is; I didn't say a word about God to anybody, not a word or gesture, but I was surprised when a lady stepped outside at work where I was standing and said, "Oh Lord, you are so good, [and we can be so obstinate sometimes]." I would rather read any of Watchman Nee's or Witness Lee's works than this boring book "Varieties.."; specifically , The Economy of God, a most important book, a classic masterpiece; I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have discovered it just once. Some of the principles set forth in that book can only be compared to something like the map to the treasure of Monte Cristo- a hundred fold. My only slight disagreement with Witness Lee is when he gets a little too preachy at times, maybe alluding to things of the spiritual life, ".. the sisters just know [from the inner life], not to buy a certain thing." Sometimes, Mr. Lee may not have explained something as well as I think he should, but the book is a classic nonetheless. A greater read to me than "Varieties.." would be a compilation of born-again or life experiences; How about several volumes at least. "Varieties of Religious Experience" is an extremely boring read and I think a complete waste of time. Only one [thing] is important really, one focus, hinted at again and again thoughout the bible: Strive to enter [The Kingdom of God] at the strait gate. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are there already, Mary chose that better part, and few there be that find it. Christ said "I am the Gate." Witness Lee wrote another "classic", called Christ Versus Religion.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New
Review: i will try not to sound arbitrarily pedantic like many other reviewers on this website. James collected a series of lectures for this famous book but the chapters flow well together so that does not cause any problems. My problem with James is that he dwells on one point for "Varieties" which has been proven in many texts-that experiences are not objectve but subjective to each person. You can start with Protagoras.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad but what about the Scorpions?
Review: It is said that William James influenced every great writer of his time, that his work had a deep influence on psychology and investigative thought in that area. What was to become a literary style without peer in the modern age was the style of stream of consciousness, the flow of words to represent the stream of thought - a style which originated in the work of William James. So when I approached the Varieties of Religious Experience I expected no less than a riveting and compelling study of human and individual experiences of the divine. I was not disappointed. However I did make the assumption that a book about human and religious experience would at least make a scant mention of scorpions and at the very least select crustaceans. When I had finished flicking through this tome to discover no scorpentine mentions whatsoever I really was disappointed - closed the book and snuffed my candle at once. Come on, James, what do you take us for? I have to say that this experience took away from my impression of what could have been an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, gentle and compelling -- all without shouting.
Review: It's often said - sometimes quite colorfully - that everyone has an opinion. Against that backdrop, William James' classic book on religion stands out as a model for letting the facts speak for themselves.James analyzes the life of religion (more than "the religious life") from numerous perspectives. Yet his description of the born-again, or conversion experience is perhaps the most compelling. Instead of merely editorializing, he presents the descriptions of born-again experiences in the language of the people who had them. The reader is then free to distill from those descriptions the elements that comprise the experience, and distinguish those from the many interpretations given to them. James' book is not a polemic for or against religious conversion, but more accurately a description of the experience and a guide for its (many) interpretations. This is not to suggest that the book begins and ends with the matter-of-fact dryness of Sgt. Joe ("Just the facts, ma'am.") Friday. On the contrary, James cared passionately about his work. This topic mattered greatly to him, and in his remarks on it he displayed a clear preference for levelheadedness and reason. He was no supernaturalist. Yet by presenting the data without judging it, he gives us a framework to continue move religious thought forward, beyond the narrow confines of pat dogmas.
Rating:
Summary: Rich and a must for serious, searching 12 Steppers
Review: James gets credit for the 'educational variety' of spiritual experienced described in the original source material for Alcoholics Anonymous. Not an easy read, but worth at least skimming for gems of understanding. As a writer about the 12 Steps I've found this is also an invaluable reference book.
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