The Different Paths of Buddhism: A Narrative-Historical Introduction

This is a poorly written and organized book. You could learn more from wikipedia. It makes frequent reference to Buddhist texts with obscure sanskrit or pali titles, without explanation to what those texts are or why they are important. We don't know who follows those texts and who does not. This book gives you little concrete information to base your understanding Buddhism off of and is mostly vague stories and vaguely substantiated claims. The organization is haphazard and opaque. I was very frustrated studying this as a college text and don't feel I learned much.

It's rare to find a book on buddhism that both well written and neutral. This one is both, and also gives you a lot of facts, with footnotes!

The amount of restrictions this publisher has is outrageous. It makes it nearly impossible to locate a place where one can buy the book. The content may be well-written, but the service it not good.

I have always been intrested in Buddhism, read about it and traveled through some East-Asian countries and did meditation retreats there. A friend of mine suggested to me that it is beneficial for a Buddhist to identifiy him/herself with a certain school, because this gives one a clear path to follow. So "The Different Paths of Buddhism" gave me a very useful introduction to all important schools of thought in Buddhism in a very enjoyable and readable mannor. I particularly like the many real life examples and Buddhist legends. I also like the fact that the author draws from a very solid foundation of knowledge and presents Buddhism and its different schools in a neutral, unbiased way and with a high scientific standard. After reading this book I got a clear idea, which branches of Buddhism I particularly like and could move on from there.Because of its readable nature, this book can also serve as an introduction for an enthusiastic newcomer to the subject!