Rating: 
Summary: Kudos from a casual reader...
Review: I have little background in Buddhism, the study of yoga, or related topics. I read this book because I had lately been reading some of the Dali Lama's thoughts and wanted to understand more about Buddhism. I was surprised to find this book a page-turner! This book about ancient ideas literally kept me up reading for hours, and I don't usually stay up late! Couldn't put it down. Karen Armstrong develops insights about world history and the evolution of human thought through her exploration of the Axial Age and the probable activities of the man, Gotama Siddhatha. She draws upon religious texts, historical knowledge and myth/legend in balanced and creative ways. What I found most exciting was her portrait of the society and times of Siddhatha. She draws cogent parallels between those ancient times and our own time. She explains how yogis and other spiritual seekers were regarded in that society- as respected people and pioneers of the human spirit and potential. This is quite different from Western society, which tends to marginalize and disrespect those who reject the mainstream. It was the vivid contrast of ways of living in society and being human that amazed me. Her description of what yogis were willing to do gave me renewed insight into human potential. The story of the man who dared to do all those things, and question and then reach forward to become a new kind of human avatar- is the focus of a stirring book that helped me understand humanity's potential in a new way!
Rating:
Summary: I must read for the seeker.
Review: It's nice to find an author who's going to give it too you straight. This is a quick read and great overview of the life of the Buddha. It introduces the western mind to new expectations while unlocking paradigms. A great book for that "fundamentalist friend" who spouts off about everything non-Christian.
Rating: 
Summary: Brief and informative
Review: Karen Armstrong's short biography (though longer than most of the other books in the "Penguin Lives" series) is simply the story of the Buddha's life. She does not mean to explain the teachings of Buddhism per se, though by reading about the Buddha's experiences, you can't help but implicitly learn his basic philosophy. As such, I felt that Armstrong's book adequately introduces the reader to the life of Siddhatta Gotama. She explains most unfamiliar concepts with care, and often makes comparisons to other religions with which the intended readers are probably more familiar. She discusses the limitations of the sources she used to piece together Gotama's life, and tries to keep the essence of the story true, even at the expense of historical accuracy or scientific possibility. And for these things, she will invite criticism. But her attempt was noble and even successful, and if you're curious about the Buddha, I recommend her book.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but not great
Review: Armstrong's main contribution in this book is to situate Buddhism in the context of the yoga movement that was in full swing when the Buddha lived. But she is unreliable in discussing the essentials of both Buddhism and yoga - to the extent that only serious practitioners will be able to see through her Western academic filter. Also, several names of cities and different Sanskrit or Pali terms are not correctly mentioned.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but...
Review: Karen Armstrong is by far one of the greatest authors of our time. In "Buddha" she presents an easy to read as well as easily understood biography of the Buddha, as well as a whole lot of insight into Axial Age India (and much of the rest of the world at that time, for that matter) and Buddhist thought. My only problem with the book is that she leaves out us Mahayana Buddhists. I'm guessing that the reason she focused so much on Theravadin Buddhism and the Pali canon is that her sister (to whom the book is dedicated) is a Theravadin Buddhist. Nonetheless, I definitely felt deserted. Two of the things that really got me are her statements that (1) only monks can reach nirvana and (2) that once one has attained nirvana they cannot lead the life of a householder. Both of these greatly contradict mainstream Mahayana thought. I was also bothered by the use of Pali words, instead of the more well known (and easily pronounced) Sanskrit ones, although that does fit in with the Theravada theme of the book. If you want to learn more about the Buddha (and already have a fairly good idea of Buddhist beliefs), this book is for you. If you're looking for a book to learn about Buddhist beliefs, get "Essential Buddhism" by Jack Maguire.
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Summary: Mark Aristos Plus gets it all wrong
Review: The review by Mark completely misses the message of Buddhism; how can he honestly buy into the belief that material gains have erradicated "craving"? People still want things they can't have (a perfect marriage, a perfect job, lost youth, etc.); that is the essence of the human condition. The reason that the Buddha and his followers subsisted on begging was that it was that absolute renunciation and poverty were considered essential components of monastic living in South Asia at the time; otherwise no one would have taken him or his message seriously (don't be such a cultural imperialist)...you would have been better served by starting out with the book "Buddhism, Plain and Simple".
Rating:
Summary: A must read for everyone interested in Buddhism!
Review: I first heard of Karen Armstrong during her interview on NPR (National Public Radio). I was intrigued by how someone with such a heavy Christian background would approach the Buddha and his philosophy. I am a Buddhist and am always eager to learn more about my philosophy of choice, never forgetting one of the main principles of Buddhism: inquire further. Well, I bought the book, read it, and now I must thank Dr. Armstrong for having done such a good job. Forget about petty criticisms concerning indexes (sometimes a decision made by the publisher, not by the author); about lack of bibliography -- it's all in the notes; about guesses as to whether the Buddha would have approved of a bigraphical account. All these are mere excuses from people incapable of doing (and appreciating) what she did: writing a thorough, respectful, enlightening book about him and his teachings. My respect and my thanks to Karen Armstrong!
Rating:
Summary: A very beautiful book whose language flows wonderfully
Review: This books purports to be a biography and loosely is. But it is also a scholarly examination of the sources of the Buddha story. The one thing I really really loved about this book was that it wasn't a dry scholarly tome but rather it brought Buddha's vision to life. You will learn a lot of tender-loving Buddhism by reading this book. One fascinating new thing (for me) was the theory of the Axial Age, which is between 800 and 300 BCE when at least 3 major centers of human civilization saw the rise of a new style of religion. Feminists should really appreciate this book, which spends a great deal of time on some issues of mysogyny and other feminist issues.
Rating: 
Summary: A valiant effort
Review: Buddhist's may or may not appreciate that such a media figure as this has chosen to place her religious expertise on the Buddha. Whereas I looked forwards to the book's delivery, I think the content does not represent a sufficiently incisive account. It will be useful, especially to non Buddhists. I was struck by the lack of any substantial acknowledgements or bibiliography; there are however extensive notes. It is true that the book is written in a style reminicent of pre-modern explorations by westerners who had made a somewhat initial contact with this teaching. It represents a good occidental overview (rational, liberal) and Armstrong thus overlays the narrative with the stamp of her own perceptions. For criticism, a few of her points need improvement, e.g. the statement that Buddhas arise every 32,000 years in the main text is quite wrong. As for Armstrong's interpretation of Buddhism based on feminist principles, I think she is misleading. The Buddha was very good at being stubborn to requests like the one that women should be allowed to ordain (amongst other unrelated requests e.g. please teach the dhamma!). He was merely creating a precedent being traditionally aware that previous Buddhas had had nuns' assemblies. Buddhism was the first main religion to admit women unlike many other religions and the social context in India cannot be filtered in the context of recent western movements (which are a reaction to previous attitudes to women in the West which the East did not necessarily share (assumptions can be loaded)). In fact, a close study of Buddhist texts shows women had a far stronger standing in India at the time, than women of ancient Greece or Rome (and India at a later phase) and in any case the texts abound with the names of famous female disciples and their conversations etc with the Buddha from eminent nuns to queens, courtezans, noble women and servants. Furthermore, the women of Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka and Burma have never really been treated as second class citizens to any extent as in other cultures from ancient times. Armstrong tends to ignore any archaeological evidence supporting the historcity of the Buddha such as the discovery of relics (though the questioning of the existence of a historical personage can be seen as the greatest compliment) and as a final criticism, some of the nuances she applies to the Dhamma such as overcoming the ego can make the issue sound a little simplistic. On the other hand I think the author has been brave to use Pali text rather than the Sanskrit versions and this an innovation. The other reviews pick up further good points of this short, warm and sympathetic account. Armstrong writes as a caring and sensitive person and her character and exploration do shine through. She's obviously put a lot of thought into the book and worked well within the deadline for its issue on top of her educative and media life! For more critical reads which are just as easy consider: The Buddha by Michael Carruthers in the Oxford, A very short introduction series and The Buddha by Michael Pye (Duckworth - sadly out of print a brilliant and critical study as recommended in the Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).
Rating:
Summary: Hey, Gotama was just a guy
Review: I didn't know much about Gotama and Buddhism before I read this book. Armstrong has pretty much satisfied my curiosity, though she seems oblivious to some major flaws in Gotama and his message. Viewing life as a succession of agonies, which was Gotama's starting point, is approximately true in premodern societies, so the Buddhist attack on egotism and desire makes sense as a strategy for managing a bearable existence in such a world. In wealthy societies, by contrast, we are largely sheltered from hunger, disease, exposure, violence, etc., so it seems ludicrous to argue that we are tormented by desires for things that are really no longer scarce. Empirical studies into the nature of happiness reveal that income correlates strongly with happiness among poor people, as in modern India, but that the correlation breaks down once you earn enough to meet your basic needs. You don't relieve suffering by renouncing desires, but by learning how to satisfy them via economic and technological progress. With advances in biotechnology, it's even conceivable that aging and death will no longer threaten us in a few more decades. _Time_ magazine, for example, has recently featured a cover story about how it's likely that cancer will become a manageable chronic disease in a few years, instead of the mandatory death sentence for most people it is now. This kind of progress wouldn't have happened in a society brainwashed by Buddhist resignation and sloth. Buddhism in the modern world is a solution in search of a problem. Moreover, Armstrong, who used to be a Catholic nun, apparently isn't bothered by the fact that Gotama and his cult-followers, down to the present day, depended upon begging for their subsistence. It wouldn't bother me if Gotama had produced his own subsistence through a minimal amount of work, or else lived off of his own wealth. But to preach a liberation from suffering, on the one hand, while on the other hand expecting to be fed by the labor of others, strikes me as hypocritical. In the poor society Buddhism arose in, the burden of supporting a proliferation of thousands of unproductive "holy men" would have greatly increased the suffering of working people who already had no margin of safety to begin with. I don't know why Westerners feel the need to abandon our own culture, which works tolerably well, in favor of non-Western belief systems which are clearly dysfunctional in the modern world. Armstrong writes well, but she could have chosen a biographical subject who has performed the human race a genuine service, instead of Gotama's psychological sleights-of-hand.
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