Armstrong, Karen. The great transformation; the beginning of our religious traditions.

ARMSTRONG, Karen. The great transformation; the beginning of our religious traditions. Random House, Anchor. 565p. notes. bibliog, index, c2006. 0-385-72124-0. $15.95. A

The work of Karen Armstrong has a place in high school libraries. I do understand that her books will have a limited readership at that level: read only by academic-minded young people and their teachers who have an interest in comparative religions. Her importance as a resource on the world's religions (especially with the cur rent conflicts in the Middle East and our lack of understanding of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) is evidenced by her best-selling books and frequent appearances on serious TV and radio shows. This title discusses the evolution of religion from warrior gods representing ethnic interests to the Golden Rule of showing compassion to others, not just to people in our own family and tribal group. Armstrong tracks the parallels in China, India, Israel, and Greece as Buddhism, Daoism, Judaism, and Greek philosophy evolved in times of terrible cultural upheavals in the 1st millennium BCE. At the end of the masterwork, she tells how Islam and Christianity grew out of these transformations and traditions.

The sections on Greek religion and philosophy, as revealed to us via the works of Homer, the dramatists, and the philosophers, are especially riveting. High school students studying these subjects could make good use of Armstrong's work. The Greeks represent her thesis so clearly: the endless struggle in our cultures between those who want absolute truths and those who embrace the search for truth, trying to live a life of compassion as part of that search.

Consider this work and any of her others. The History of God and Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths and her works of individual biography, Buddha and Muhammad, perhaps are the first choices for librarians. The Great Transformation is a stunning example of her knowledge of religious history and her wonderful ability to write about complicated ideas in a way that is clear. Claire Rosser KLIATT

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.