Mapping History World Religions

by Peter Barnes

Over 150 maps trace the history of the worls's faiths, including all the major religions - extensively illustrated with photos and drawings.

Genres: Religion

Paperback

Published January 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. This entry is for the English playwright and screenwriter.

Reviews

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The full title of the book with a similar that I read was called "Mapping History: World Religions - Over 150 Maps Trace the History of The World's Faiths, Including All the Major Religions" by Dr. Ian Barnes, ISBN: 978-1-84573-325-4, written in 2007 and published by Cartographica Press in London, England but printed in 2008 by Star Standard Industries Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.

I found this edition to be vary well written with a large assortment of colourful maps making it a delight to read! I would recommend it to anyone who has ever had questions about the origins of their faith.

[Aliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this yesterday morning, and finished it this morning. Great book! Having said that, I do think that this book is best read with foreknowledge of world history, including religious history. Religion is an extremely complex subject and hence one cannot expect to grasp it in totality with a mapping of world religious history. But if you know the history of major world religions, you would find this book to be a treat, as a picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures and maps in this case, are a great addition to the repertoire of knowledge of a student of religion.

As another reviewer already stated, this book is biased towards Christianity. Infact this book is written from a Biblical perspective, as is usually the case with western writers. Civilizations find space in this space to the extent that they collided with the western (read Christian) world. Islam finds the most space, followed by Judaism.

The author has subverted certain facts about Islam, which made me subtract a star. In the intro on the section of Islam, it states that Muslim belief is about faith in God, and acknowledging Muhammad (pbuh) as His prophet. This needs to be qualified as the "last" prophet. Islam began with Adam and it incudes Noah, Moses and Jesus in the loop. It is not a cult of Muhammad (pbuh) as the book's statement implied. The impact of Islam upon India has also been downplayed, when Timurlane's raids find more space than the accomplishments of Mughal rulers; they built the Taj Mahal after all.

Still a worthwhile read.