Religion, according to Huston Smith, "calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a projected journey across the jungles, peaks and deserts of the human spirit. The call is to confront reality, to master the self." Smith explores this adventure in The Illustrated World Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions a lavishly designed edition that contains vivid and provocative photographs, paintings, and pictures of sacred art and rituals from Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the primal religions. Given the visual emphasis of the 90s, this approach appropriately amplifies the text and makes it more relevant to a generation raised on images.

The wisdom traditions of the world's major religions offer today's spiritual seekers maps to the territory, guides who can lead the way, and salutary advice on making the most of the journey. Huston Smith proves to be a master at deciphering the best ideas, ideals, and patterns for living from the world's religions.

Hinduism will speak to those who intuit that the eternal is buried within us and that the path of renunciation holds great promise. Buddhism's empirical, scientific, pragmatic, therapeutic, psychological, and egalitarian dimensions have already made it very appealing to many in the West.

Those interested in a path that emphasizes social and civic harmony will be impressed with the ideals of Confucianism. Taoism, on the other hand, with its accent on matter, movement, and the mind, has won the hearts of those on a quest for creative quietude. Smith reveals that awe and respect for God are at the heart of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. They are just expressed differently--for the Muslim, through surrender; for the Jew, through meaning; and for the Christian, through love. In the last chapter of the book, the author covers the primal religions where spirituality includes stories, community, and love of nature.

The Illustrated World's Religions by Huston Smith is one of those books that can be savored again and again for fresh insights. It opens up pathways to the sacred and signals the truth that every step of a spiritual journey can be enhanced by the use of resources from the world's great religions.