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annamg77's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
4.0
An impressively deep survey of the history of religion and violence. I'm amazed at how much detail Armstrong was able to include in such a relatively short book. Fields of Blood left me reevaluating my own opinion about the role of religion in violence and in daily life; I've begun to see how the secular society that I've taken as the default is, in fact, a brand-new concept in human history.
jdintr's review against another edition
3.0
Armstrong presents a very thorough, very comprehensive history of the world's religions, branching out beyond the "Big Three" monotheistic religions to provide insight on Zoroastrianism, the range of religions known as Hindu, and even far-eastern religions like Confucianism.
In this respect, her book is very insightful.
But I felt that her intent, which was to cast doubt on the idea of religion as the source of violence in the world today, was not well supported. Yes, she delves into the secular forces (not religious ones) that led to Armenian genocide in Turkey, and the Holocaust, but she oversimplifies the great religions themselves by trying to point out that, at one point, Jesus, Mohammed, Confucius and Buddha, expressed some form of the "Golden Rule," i.e. do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
The group dynamics in which religions (and burgeoning political movements of all stripes) thrive are completely separate from governing dynamics, through which diverse groups seek to get along (or exploit one another) within a broader context. The two are oil and water.
I think this fact takes more of a political science background to elucidate, rather than the thoroughly researched religious one on which Armstrong draws in this book.
In this respect, her book is very insightful.
But I felt that her intent, which was to cast doubt on the idea of religion as the source of violence in the world today, was not well supported. Yes, she delves into the secular forces (not religious ones) that led to Armenian genocide in Turkey, and the Holocaust, but she oversimplifies the great religions themselves by trying to point out that, at one point, Jesus, Mohammed, Confucius and Buddha, expressed some form of the "Golden Rule," i.e. do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
The group dynamics in which religions (and burgeoning political movements of all stripes) thrive are completely separate from governing dynamics, through which diverse groups seek to get along (or exploit one another) within a broader context. The two are oil and water.
I think this fact takes more of a political science background to elucidate, rather than the thoroughly researched religious one on which Armstrong draws in this book.
varepsilon's review against another edition
4.0
Well-written and exhaustive in detail, I had to be patient with this book to absorb all that the writer was claiming. Yet it was totally worth it.
kipahni's review against another edition
4.0
Damn farmers started it all. Agrarians always stirring up shit.
gillothen's review against another edition
4.0
A good survey of religion's interaction with warfare and nation-states. Some bits were a little rushed, and in the areas where I had some knowledge I detected inaccuracies (the Industrial Revolution did not begin after the development of the steam engine, but at least half a century earlier with the exploitation of water power. Trivial, you might say, but she uses it to explain certain popular responses to religion, and her timing is badly out.)
Inevitably events in the five or so years since publication have made some bts outdated, but a lot still works and helps to bring together certain global philosophical threads.
Inevitably events in the five or so years since publication have made some bts outdated, but a lot still works and helps to bring together certain global philosophical threads.
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
5.0
So I started out by listening to this book and then realized I should probably read it and then put that off until this period of time where I couldn't read books with situations mirroring some of our current issues so I went back to reading it and that seemed to work better.
A lot of fascinating stuff in here. A must for any student of belief systems or world history.
Torn between 4 and 5 stars because sometimes the narrative seemed to drag but other times I felt, 'damn, I need to mark this in the book because I'm going to want to share that with my students!'
I think she does a better job with the Abrahamic faiths, but still has some interesting insights into some of the other ones too.
A lot of fascinating stuff in here. A must for any student of belief systems or world history.
Torn between 4 and 5 stars because sometimes the narrative seemed to drag but other times I felt, 'damn, I need to mark this in the book because I'm going to want to share that with my students!'
I think she does a better job with the Abrahamic faiths, but still has some interesting insights into some of the other ones too.
girlfrombookland's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
snowbenton's review against another edition
4.0
Armstrong's thesis is that religion is not the cause of the world's violence now and throughout history, because up until the American and French revolutions there was no such thing as a secular society. She goes to painstaking lengths to discuss in detail the histories of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, the list goes on -- and how it is not religion, but humanity and society and political motivations that are the true causes of war and hatred and terrorism. It is a fascinating study of history and religion and I learned so many incredible facts about history without feeling like I was reading a textbook. The book is very long, but it has to be to cover so much ground, and Armstrong does a great job of backing up her statements with facts and keeping the tone neutral. It was fascinating to see how religion was interwoven into the public lifestyles of people for millennia.