The Atlas of Sacred Places: Meeting Points of Heaven and Earth (Henry Holt Reference Book) - Hardcover

Harpur, James

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9780805027754: The Atlas of Sacred Places: Meeting Points of Heaven and Earth (Henry Holt Reference Book)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805027750 ISBN 13: 9780805027754

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, 1994

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Surveys more than thirty sites around the globe, from Mexico to Norway to India, describing the spiritual significance of each temple, shrine, mountain, or place of pilgrimage and discussing its architectural details with photographs and maps. 25,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

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About the Author:

James Harpur was educated at Cambridge University, where he studied classics and English literature. He has taught English as a foreign language in Crete and has also worked as a lexicographer. A writer and editor based in London, he is an enthusiast of religion, mythology, ancient history and archaeology.

From Library Journal:

In this collection of 33 essays about holy or sacred sites in the world, the author, a writer and editor based in London, has chosen wisely. Harpur includes not only the expected sites, such as Mount Sinai and Mecca, but other, more obscure sites, such as the Buddhist temple Wat Phra Keo in Thailand; the Shinto shrines in Ise, Japan; and places such as Olympia in Greece and Ephesus in Turkey that are usually overlooked. To call this book an atlas is a misnomer because it usually offers no more than one map per site, and the maps are used as aids to the narratives. The essays introduce the sites, and the exposition never gets beyond the expected descriptions of place and time, with little or no attempt to compare and contrast sites. Consequently, this text is not meant for the serious scholar of comparative religions but as a sampling, both informative and enjoyable, of places where, as the author states, heaven and earth meet. Recommended as a browsing item for public libraries.
Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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