Encyclopedia Of Sacred Places »

Norbert C. Brockman, S.M., Ph.D., is Coordinator of International Relations and Professor at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas. He has taught in various institutions in the United States, Kenya, and Canada; has written numerous articles in history and political science; and is the author of An African Biographical Dictionary.

St. Mary's University, Texas

In the Encyclopedia of Sacred Places author Norbert C. Brockman accompanies the reader on a Grand Pilgrimage to the most significant of these holy places. Readers will travel to the far-flung corners of the world to explore sites sacred to the world's great religions - Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism - as well as the places important to less familiar traditions. They will visit sacred rivers, mountains, and springs; altars where mysterious prehistoric religious rites and sacrifices were performed; sites of miracles; tombs of saints; shrines for holy relics; and memorials to victims of the Holocaust, the atom bomb, and the slave trade. The author not only offers readers an informed historical and cultural perspective, he also provides vivid firsthand descriptions and travel tips - the results of his personal visits to most of the sites listed.

VOYA

Seldom is one tempted to peruse all the entries in an encyclopedia. However, this descriptive compilation of worldwide religious sites makes for fascinating reading. In a conversational and varied style the author packs factual information, history, present-day usage, controversial aspects, and details useful to the prospective visitor. The author did visit most of the places himself and conveys much of the flavor of a site, describing thoroughly the visual features of sites (and even respectfully expressing a little humor). One only wishes that more sites could have been included. Though the preface claims that "all internationally known places" were included, the absence of the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias, and Safed (sacred in the Judeo-Christian tradition) strikes this reader. Interestingly enough, Holocaust sites and slave trade depots are included, and both are movingly described. Coverage of all major religions (including Sikhism, Mormonism, and Bahai) is balanced and unbiased. Ancient and native American sacred places are included, with attention given to New Age attachments to certain sites. Topical articles include information on sacred mountains, wells and springs, Marian apparitions, New Age religions, and pilgrimages. The average length of entries is two columns, though some run to several pages. Several appendices are included, but the one listing sites by religious tradition did not include all the sites in the encyclopedia. This reader detected a few factual errors in the text (for example, according to other sources, the members of Anne Frank's family did not die within days of one another, as Brockman writes; and the Western Wall in Jerusalem does consist of stones dating to Herodian times), which I hope will be corrected in later editions. Black-and-white photos are few and far between and not particularly impressive. Though expensive, this volume is recommended for students of religion, history, and cultural anthropology. Glossary. Index. Photos. Maps. Further Reading. Appendix.