This is a lecture series about the western Mystical traditions. From Judaism, it discusses Kabballah. From Christianity, it discusses various saints and martyrs, focusing especially on the desert fathers/mothers and the gnostic tradition. From Islam, it discusses the Sufi mystical tradition.
I felt that this was a good starting off point. I got a good vague definition of what the various mystical traditions were all about. I think, however, it was so broad-brushed in the grand sweepings of history as to skip out over some of the important details. Similarly, I would have liked the lecturer to go into the Eastern mystical tradition, for at least one lecture. The East and West has been in constant contact with one another for thousands of years, so not at least mentioning some of the Hindi/Buddhist meditative innovations just seems weird to me.
Would I recommend this? Yes, if you are interested about the topic. This would probably be a good jumping-off point, but you would need to look elsewhere to find details.
STARS: 3 OUT OF 5 STARS (5 stars=perfect, 4 Stars=Great, 3 Stars=Good, 2 Stars=Fun but Flawed, 1 Star=Not Recommended)
Overall Rating: Recommended with Reservations (How I Rate Books)
Genres/Tagwords: Nonfiction, Lecture Series, The Great Courses, Religions, History, Philosophy, Religious History
Previous books by the author/in the series I’ve reviewed:
John Mendez- Book Reviews and More 