Firewalking and Religious Healing

Rating:
Summary: interesting study of cross-cultural religious practice
Review: I was sorry to see only one, rather negative, review for this book. I have used it in college classes for several years, and most students enjoy reading it. It is a good example of how studying the same activity (firewalking) in two different contexts (Greece and the U.S.) can shed light on the practice in both cultures. The author is respectful about both Greek Christian and American New Age firewalkers, and reveals how the ritual is transformative for both groups... but, as you might expect, in very different ways! It will also tell you something about how rituals heal, and about medical anthropology.

Rating:
Summary: Alternately interesting and tedious
Review: This is an occasionally interesting study of the interplay among culture, religion, medicine, and kinship in Greece and the United States. I can't help thinking that Danforth could have made his point in 200 pages rather than 300. Also, I dislike a tendency towards legitimization of stigma toward mental illness and it's pharmaceutical treatments.