Books : World's Religions w/CD: Worldviews and Contemporary Issues, A Prentice Hall Portfolio Edition (2nd Edition) (Prentice Hall Portfolio Edition)

Rating: - Not bad for half the price of the best intros...
Young's book works well if you are teaching a class on a budget, as it sells for half the price of the most-often-used scholarly intros to world religions used in the colleges and universities. For the price, it is a good deal. The very few pictures and complete absence of color plates is a money-saver. The basic info is usually sound, but there are exceptions. For instance, Young says Yin is the dragon and Yang is the tiger. I don't mind supplementing a textbook, but I dislike having to correct it. The structure is not optimum. For instance, splitting Theravada and Mahayana Buddhisms (with chapters on Jainism, Daoism, and Confucianism in-between) is not the most logical conceptual framework for an intro student. Dealing with Shinto after Mahayana is also not optimum. And so on... However, price is key for many, and in this case the price is right. All in all, this text works well for a teacher who can use the text as a launching point, supplement the info extensively, and at times, correct it.

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Rating: - Great!
This book is very excellent. It is very well written and explains everything completly. And, I can say from personal experience that Dr. Young knows what he is talking about, he is my professor.

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Rating: - Informative
This book was purchased for my Introduction to Religion Class. It is informative.