The Battle for God » (First Ballantine Books Edition)

Karen Armstrong is one of the foremost commentators on religious affairs in both Britain and the United States. She spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun, took a degree at Oxford University, teaches at Leo Baeck College for the Study of Judaism, and received the 1999 Muslim Public Affairs Council Media Award. Her previous books include the best-selling A History of God: The  4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths; and In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis.

Arguing that fundamentalism is complex and innovative, and yet a failure in religious terms, Armstrong, a commentator and author on religious affairs, examines fundamentalism among American Protestants, Israeli Jews, and Iranian and Egyptian Muslims. She explains how these movements have sprung up in a response to modernism (beginning as early as the 16th century), and suggests that compassion and understanding may help diffuse the conflicts that rage between fundamentalists and the modernity that surrounds them. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Harold Kushner

An impressive achievement. Armstrong has mastered a mountain of material, added somebrilliant insights of her own, and made it accessible.