How much do you know about world religions and veganism? How much do you know about your OWN religion and love of animals? This book will educate you quickly about most religions and the basic tenet of all which is to treat all life as sacred. Quite an interesting read...

Rynn Berry's Food for the Gods does a remarkable job of tracing the vegetarian link in the major religions of Hindiusm, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam, and Catholicism, but also to the relatively small but intriguing non-violent religions of India's Jainism and the British Order of the Cross. The history of religion will never look the same after reading this book.

Rynn Berry's "Famous Vegetarians and their favorite recipes" presents an overview of famous vegetarians in history. Each biography of the 30 famous vegetarians is about 3-6 pages long. It is by no means a comprehensive nor referenced work (not that I'm questioning his sources, but that being that this book features short pieces of fascinating individuals, it only makes sense to provide a "works cited" list or a reference list for those who are interested to pursue their research). If you are looking for great vegan/vegetarian recipes, you are at the wrong place. Most of the recipes are not too appetizing.

The author has come up with authentic recipes(or reasonable fac-similes thereof) reflecting the tastes of famous vegetarians throughout the ages. Anecdotal sketches give life to each of the 32 celebrities from Plato and Pythagoras to Tolstoi, Gandhi and George Bernard Shaw along with "contemporaries" like Paul McCartney and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Mr.Berry writes gracefully, and the 80 recipes are not only fascinating, but have been kitchen tested tested by the author for "savoriness." Many recipes are unfired. The book is fully referenced with footnotes(in the back). This is a superb book!