This revised and updated second edition (1st ed., CH, Sep'05, 43-0259) should prove useful in the undergraduate classroom. The mostly British board of contributors is distinguished. Each contributor is responsible for a short article in his or her specialty, and each religion is examined from several different angles, such as history, sacred writings, or worship and festivals. The scholarly contributions are balanced by short essays written by practitioners of various modern religions (several of them recent immigrants to Western countries). These essays provide a more intimate view of what religious faiths mean to individuals, and should help faculty talk about studying religion from both insider and outsider perspectives. Like Mary Pat Fisher's popular textbook Living Religions (9th ed., 2014), this text includes sections on the academic study of religion and on indigenous religions. However, it includes as well treatment of ancient religions, such as those of Greece, Egypt, and Scandinavia. The book also features time lines, festival charts, and a rapid fact-finder. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates, general readers, and faculty. C. C. Stayer Strayer University