The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism

This is the book for anyone wishing a simple, direct, and comprehensive survey of Buddhism. Told from a pragmatic American Buddhist perspective - and with loving speech and frequent drops of humor - emphasis is placed on diverse schools (Vipassana, Zen, Pure Land, Tibetan) within Buddhism as well as on Buddhism within diverse contexts, such as Christianity, Judaism, human relations, work, food, arts, the modern world (war, race, gender, ecology, nihilism, etc.).