New Age Encyclopedia: A Compendium of Information on the Beliefs, Concepts, Terms, People, and O

by J. Gordon Melton

Book by Melton, J. Gordon, Gordon, J. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810371596
• ISBN13: 9780810371590
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: Gale Cengage
• Length: 586 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

The diverse New Age spectrum- Inner Spiritual Transformation

_This was the first reference book that I obtained on the subject of the "New Age" movement. Personally, it proved to be very useful over the years in explaining beliefs, concepts, terms, people, and organisations. While it is true that it was published in 1990, it still serves to provide the roots and background to all the diverse elements that are usually associated with the "New Age." _There is a wealth of detailed, well-written information here. Most of it comes from the collections of the Institute for the Study of American Religion- which became the American Religions Collection at the University of California- Santa Barbara in 1985. This is the largest collection of publicly accessible New Age books, periodicals, and ephemera in the country. _The introductory essay is accurate and perceptive (and for a change gives proper credit to the Theosophical Society.) The overall tone of this essay, and the majority of the entries, is understanding and sympathetic to the people and ideas involved- this is not a "skeptics" publication. There is an appendix of educational institutions, though this might be rather dated by now. There is also a full index (but it is referenced by both page and article numbers and can be rather confusing.) Still, it is an unique and valuable reference densely packed with information that is both difficult to find and impossible to find in another single volume.