Harper Academic

God's Lunatics

Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man's Eternal Search for the Divine

by Michael Largo

On Sale: 06/22/2010

Price: $18.99

God's Lunatics

Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man's Eternal Search for the Divine

by Michael Largo

On Sale: 06/22/2010

Format:

Price: $18.99

About the Book

The road to spiritual knowledge is often a difficult one, filled with wrong turns and strange adventures. In God’s Lunatics, Michael Largo pays tribute to those who take this path as he explores the strange and shocking side of history’s religions, cults, and spiritual movements.

Largo, the bestselling author of Final Exits, chronicles history’s prophets, from the most eccentric characters in the Bible to solitary visionaries, and from ascetics to believers in overindulgence. Fire walkers, snake handlers and time travelers are all discussed in God’s Lunatics, which also takes a look at the foundations of religion, as well as ancient customs that influence governments and culture to this day.

Michael Largo is the author of Genius and Heroin, The Portable Obituary, the Bram Stoker Award-winning Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die, and three novels. He is the former editor of New York Poetry and the researcher/archivist for the film company Allied Artists in Atlanta. He lives in Georgia with his family.

“This book is fabulous. I cannot recommend it enough: Michael Largo’s encyclopedia of religious weirdness through the centuries. I loved it.” — ExtraordinaryIntelligence.com

Critical Praise

“An enlightening riot, and one that will steer you away from religion quicker than a pervert priest.” — Miami SunPost

“One man has made it his mission to document and collect stories of religious fanatics, freaks, believers of all sorts just like this woman. That man, Michael Largo, regales the reader with tales of religion gone awry in God’s Lunatics.” — The Daily Beast

“This book is fabulous. I cannot recommend it enough: Michael Largo’s encyclopedia of religious weirdness through the centuries. I loved it.” — ExtraordinaryIntelligence.com

“An A to Z of the fantastic, scandalous and downright bizarre found within the history of religion. While a perfect book for quick-tempo, episodic reading, I actually found myself sucked into reading it for a stretch of some hours.” — Lansing State Journal

“In a cleverly subtle style, Largo reveals the puzzling beliefs and excesses of religions . . . measured and nuanced . . . his smartly written A-Z capsule entries allow readers to come to their own conclusions.” — Los Angeles Times

“Such a great read. . . . What’s here is sometimes scarier than even the most frightening horror film. . . . Will entertain without offending.” — Horror-Web.com

God’s Lunatics takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of faith’s more ridiculous manifestations. The work presents a Victorian freak show of cult leaders, mystics, and crusaders from throughout history.” — San Francisco Bay Guardian

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Product Details

  • ISBN: 9780061732843
  • ISBN 10: 0061732842
  • Imprint: William Morrow Paperbacks
  • On Sale: 06/22/2010
  • Trimsize: 5.500 in (w) x 9.120 in (h) x 1.480 in (d)
  • Pages: 592
  • List Price: $18.99
  • BISAC1 : HUMOR / Topic / Celebrity & Popular Culture
  • BISAC2 : ART / Popular Culture
  • BISAC3 : REFERENCE / Encyclopedias
  • BISAC4 : RELIGION / General
  • BISAC5 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture