Karen Armstrong





Karen Armstrong

Author profile


born
in Wildmoor, Worcestershire, The United Kingdom
November 14, 1944

gender
female

website

genre


About this author

British author of numerous works on comparative religion.

Elsewhere:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Ar...
http://www.islamfortoday.com/karenarm...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/kar...

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.


Average rating: 3.87 · 36,732 ratings · 3,389 reviews · 50 distinct works · Similar authors
A History of God: The 4,000...
3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 13,090 ratings — published 1994 — 39 editions
The Spiral Staircase: My Cl...
3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 3,147 ratings — published 2003 — 17 editions
The Battle for God: A Histo...
3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 2,930 ratings — published 2000 — 14 editions
Islam: A Short History
3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 2,581 ratings — published 2000 — 29 editions
The Case for God
3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 2,383 ratings — published 2009 — 25 editions
Muhammad
3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 1,807 ratings — published 1991 — 18 editions
Buddha
3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 1,793 ratings16 editions
A Short History of Myth
3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 1,692 ratings — published 2005 — 41 editions
The Great Transformation: T...
4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 1,413 ratings — published 2006 — 28 editions
Through the Narrow Gate, Re...
4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 849 ratings — published 1981 — 12 editions
More books by Karen Armstrong…

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“If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, of self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God's name, it was bad theology. ”
Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness

“Geniuses are not always pleasant people.”
Karen Armstrong

“A God who kept tinkering with the universe was absurd; a God
who interfered with human freedom and creativity was tyrant. If God is
seen as a self in a world of his own, an ego that
relates to a thought, a cause separate from its effect. he becomes a
being, not Being itself. An omnipotent, all‐knowing tyrant is not so
different from earthly dictators who make everything and
everybody mere cogs in the machine which they controlled. An atheism
that rejects such a God is amply justified.”
Karen Armstrong

Polls

55838
Spotlighted Book Discussion Poll I - October 26, 2011

This is a poll that adds other books to our listing of potential non fiction books to discuss and also helps the moderators determine which one or ones are the most popular. Since we have many more group members than when we first started; voting in the polls is very important. There will be a series of polls. Many of these books have been recommended by group members but were either not selected before nor voted upon before.

Vote for the book that you would most like to read and/or is the book that you believe that would appeal to the most group members.

Note:

We have added some of the books nominated thus far but we have more to add to other polls. However, this poll was getting quite large.

However, if you do not see your favorite book on this list; then just comment or pop me a note and I will immediately add it to this poll.

You can always change your vote at any time; so nothing is lost. There are some books which have been nominated by the same author; however, skip over those if the particular author does not suit you and vote for your favorite or for one you or others might want to read.

Before making your selection, please try to look up your choice and make sure it really is a book you are interested in or you think others would be; do not be lured in by the title. Also, check out the author and what others have said about the book before you (reviewers who you trust). Then of course, make your selection.

And if you do not see your favorite, just contact me and I will add it to the poll.

Cleopatra  A Life Stacy SchiffStacy Schiff

Cleopatra: A Life
 
  18 votes, 9.9%

A Country of Vast Designs  James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry

A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent
 
  13 votes, 7.2%

Hero  The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda

Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia
 
  13 votes, 7.2%

Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman

Alexander the Great
 
  13 votes, 7.2%

The Storm of War  A New History of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts

The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War
 
  12 votes, 6.6%

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much  The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover BartlettAllison Hoover Bartlett

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession
 
  12 votes, 6.6%

 
  10 votes, 5.5%

Horse Soldiers  The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers
 
  8 votes, 4.4%

The Clockwork Universe  Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern Worldby Edward Dolnick

The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society and the Birth of the Modern World
 
  6 votes, 3.3%

A History of God  The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Karen ArmstrongKaren Armstrong

A History of God: The 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
 
  6 votes, 3.3%

Newton and the Counterfeiter  The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientistby Thomas Levenson

Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist
 
  5 votes, 2.8%

The Ascent of Money  A Financial History of the World Niall FergusonNiall Ferguson

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World
 
  4 votes, 2.2%

Destiny Disrupted  A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary

Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes
 
  4 votes, 2.2%

The Painter's Chair  George Washington and the Making of American Art by Hugh Howard

The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art
 
  4 votes, 2.2%

The Idea of America  Reflections on the Birth of the United States Gordon S. WoodGordon S. Wood

The Idea of America: Reflections on the Birth of the United States
 
  4 votes, 2.2%

The Birth of Modern Politics  Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828 (Pivotal Moments in American History) by Lynn Hudson Parsons

The Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams and the Election of 1828
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

Decision Points by George W. BushGeorge W. Bush

Decision Points
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

Winston's War  Churchill, 1940-1945 by Max HastingsMax Hastings

Winston's War: Churchill, 1940-1945
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

A History of the American People by Paul  JohnsonPaul Johnson

A History of the American People
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

U. S. Grant  American Hero, American Myth Joan WaughJoan Waugh

U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

Churchill by Paul  JohnsonPaul Johnson

Churchill
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

Civilization  The West and the Rest by Niall FergusonNiall Ferguson

Civilization: The West and the Rest
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

Letters from America Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville

Letters from America
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy by Donald Kagan

Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy
 
  3 votes, 1.7%

The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments by George B. Johnson

The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

Thucydides  The Reinvention of HistoryDonald Kagan

Thucydides: The Reinvention of History
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

 
  2 votes, 1.1%

The Union War by Gary W. Gallagher

The Union War
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

Modern Times  The World from the 20s to the 90s by Paul  JohnsonPaul Johnson

Modern Times: The World from the 20s to the 90s
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

The Age of Wonder  How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard HolmesRichard Holmes

The Age of Wonder
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

The Journey Tony BlairTony Blair

The Journey
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

God's Battalions  The Case for the Crusades Rodney StarkRodney Stark

God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

The Wealth of Nations Adam SmithAdam Smith

The Wealth of Nations
 
  2 votes, 1.1%

Courage and Consequence  My Life as a Conservative in the Fight by Karl RoveKarl Rove

Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight
 
  1 vote, 0.6%

Party over Section  The Rough and Ready Presidential Election of 1848 (American Presidential Elections) by Joel H. Silbey

Party Over Section: The Rough and Ready Presidential Election of 1848
 
  1 vote, 0.6%

A History of the Jews (Perennial Library) Paul  JohnsonPaul Johnson

A History of the Jews
 
  1 vote, 0.6%

Madam Secretary  A Memoir Madeleine AlbrightMadeleine Albright

Madam Secretary: A Memoir
 
  1 vote, 0.6%

The Theory of Moral Sentiments  by Adam SmithAdam Smith

The Theory of Moral Sentiments
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Merchant Kings Stephen R. BownStephen R. Bown

Merchant Kings
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

A History of Christianity Paul  JohnsonPaul Johnson

A History of Christianity
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Jesus  A Biography, from a Believerby Paul  JohnsonPaul Johnson


Jesus: A Biography from a Believer
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

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