Killing the Buddha
A Heretic's Bible
By Peter Manseau; Jeff Sharlet
(Free Press, Paperback, 9780743232777, 304pp.)
Publication Date: September 28, 2004
Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover
Categories: Comparative Religion, Philosophy
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Now in paperback -- the book that caused a religious and critically acclaimed stir. Publishers Weekly called it "the most original and insightful spiritual writing to come out of America since Jack Kerouac first hit the road." The Buffalo News hailed it as "one of the most eccentric and fascinating books of the year." O, The Oprah Magazine said "This collection proves that fear and trembling are human, but a sense of humor is divine."
Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet have created a work of calling that is as odd, moving, and inspiring as the people and the scriptures they encountered. Whether it is Manseau and Sharlet telling their "psalms" from outposts as unexpected as a strip club or a cattle-auction barn, Peter Trachtenberg unraveling the Gordian logic of Job via the Borscht Belt, Rick Moody finding a modern-day Jonah in Queens, or Haven Kimmel shocking and thrilling us with her Revelation, what emerges is not an attack on religion, but a quizzical, fascinating look at it from the inside. Killing the Buddha is a positively riveting look at the facets of true belief.
Peter Manseau is the author of Vows and coauthor of Killing the Buddha. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. A founding editor of the award-winning webzine KillingTheBuddha.com, he is now the editor of Search, The Magazine of Science, Religion, and Culture. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Washington, D.C., where he studies religion and teaches writing at Georgetown University.
Publishers Weekly The editors manage to pull off a work of staggering genius. This is perhaps the most original and insightful spiritual writing to come out of America since Jack Kerouac first hit the road.
Thomas Frank author of One Market Under God Get your praise up for this work of extreme testifying and blessed blaspheming. Like a Michelin guide to the American soul, Killing the Buddha is written by a prophecy dream team.
Emma Donoghue author of Slammerkin A profound, peculiar, and fascinating collection.











