Hinduism

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Useful - Rated
I give thanks for the day someone thought up the idea for this wonderful series of books. In beginning to study or understand a subject it is often hard to know where to start and how to get a handle on it. Nowadays the first thing I do is look to see if OUP have printed one of the Very Short Introductions and then buy it! This is another winner for me. I have spoken to Hindus of my acquaintance about what it is to be a Hindu, but it is such a personal and varied set of religious beliefs it is often difficult to find a way in to the topic. This book is a kind of life raft round which I have built all my other findings and studies. It is by no means comprehensive, but it is sensitively written, easy to understand, interesting and gives as much as a cohesive view as I'm likely to find, and that is good enough for me.

A perfect introduction to Hinduism - Rated
Hinduism has a special place among the world's major religions, being of great antiquity and being, until recent times, an ethnic or racial religion, like Judaism, Sikhism or Shinto. In the last century it has spread its teachings to the West and in doing so has fragmented and branched into an even more complex variety, so that, as the author of this book says, we must now talk of 'Hinduisms', in the plural. So the writing of a very short introduction that will do justice to this subject is a tall order. Kim Knott succeeds splendidly.

She does not shirk problematic topics, such as the evils of the caste system or the burning of widows. In fact, she devotes a fair amount of space to the particular difficulties faced by Hindu women.

Knott being a British academic, and a Quaker, this is an outsider's view, a learned, sympathetic and interested outsider's view. It is none the worse for that. Including a map, a timeline, a glossary, excellent illustrations and suggestions for further reading, it is packed with a surprising amount of information in such a small space.

If you have only a passing interest in Hinduism, this book may tell you all you want to know. If you wish to pursue the study, this is the perfect introduction. A good next step would be an annotated edition of the Bhagavad Gita.

Pretty disappointing - Rated
I bought this book to learn about Hinduism, the religion itself is covered quite well but as, for example, special holidays, particular God,Goddesses worshipped were not talked about in any great length,even named,let alone described.These Gods are as important to Hindus as our God is to us, can you imagine writing a book about Christianity and not mentioning God or Jesus for that matter, there would be no book. I realise that it is only meant as a short introduction, and as that, I feel that a short piece on all aspects of Hinduism would have been far better. I feel that I have been quite generous in giving a 3 star and have recently bought a book for £2 which has much more coverage than this, I only wish that I had borrowed it from a library first but alas I buy instead. At least at Amazon, if more people give feed back, we can buy the books that will really cover the imformation that we need to gain. Keep up the good work Amazon!!

Fairly good introduction, with a slight bias - Rated
The book gives a fairly good introduction to religious and social aspects of Hinduism. However, there are two points worth noting:

- The order of discourse seems unnecessarily complex. For instance, the concept of divinity and its many embodiments in the form of Gods and Goddesses, which I would consider a fundamental element, is not explained until late in the book.

- There is a gender bias. Almost throughout the book, a lot of emphasis is given to female figures, views and issues. Understandable given the writer's background, but I think a very short introduction should be more impartial.

Accessible insight into the world of Hinduism. - Rated
This little book provides the reader with both background and indepth information on the vast group of practices and beliefs tied together under the banner of Hinduism. Written for those with no prior knowledge but also offering analysis in some detail on topics such as the position of women and Dalits or 'untouchables', and the Hindu religion in the diaspora, it should be entertaining and informative for a wide variety of people.