"How to Be a Perfect Stranger" is the ultimate reference on how to act and what to expect when attending a religious service at any of the most common religions in America. Would you know what to do if a Hindu invited you to their infant's naming ceremony? What if a Christian Scientist family had a death in the family and you were invited to the funeral? Or what if you were invited to a Latter Day Saint, African American Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran, or Mennonite service, would you know the appropriate dress and order of service? All these questions and more are answered in this book.

The section on each faith has a short history of the faith, appropriate dress for service, ritual objects used in the service, parts of the sanctuary, appropriate conduct during the service, what to expect after the service, a section on dogma and ideology, celebrated holy days and festivals, various ceremonies related to the life cycle (births, marriage, initiation, funerals, mourning) and what to expect at those ceremonies. If you are seeking understanding of others of a different faith then this is an important place to start.

Faiths examined include African American Methodist Churches, Assemblies of God, Baha'i, Baptist, Buddhist, Christian Church, Christian Science, Churches of Christ, Episcopalian and Anglican, Hindu, Islam, Jehovah's Witness, Jewish, Lutheran, Mennonite/Amish, Methodist, Mormon (Latter Day Saints), Native American/First Nations, Orthodox Churches, Pentecostal Church of God, Presbyterian, Quaker (Religious Society of Friends), Reformed Church in America/Canada, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist, United Church of Canada, and United Church of Christ.

Filled with clear information that will allow anyone to feel perfectly comfortable visiting any one of these faiths whether for curiosity, courtesy, or whatever reason, it is a very highly recommended read that should be on the shelf of anyone sensitive to the faiths of others.

As someone who has majored in religion, and a long time seeker, this book has been sooo incedibly wonderful. This book, as well as Volume 2, explains what you can and can not do, what you should and should not do. For example, when it is respectful leave a ceremony, what you should wear, is photography permitted. It even briefly explains the ceremony. I found a few errors, however. The Hindu customs for an infant are a little mixed up, but 98% of the book is fabulous!

. . .of every member of the clergy in America. (As well as on a lot of other desks and bookshelves).

In the America of the 21st century, all of us have friends, relatives, etc. who practice their faith in different manners. Most of us will have occasion to attend services in houses of worship other than our own. This book is a guide on proper behavior under these circumstances.

As a Christian clergyman, I have personally have had occasion to attend service in almost every major American Christian denomination, as well as Jewish temple services. Most members of the clergy that I know are in similar positions. All of us are passionate about our own faith -- but none of us want to be accidentally offensive to others.

Some might ask, "Why should I be concerned about how to behave at someone else's religious service? I never expect to go. They don't worship the way I do. They don't believe in the same God that I believe in, etc." For persons with these attitudes, here are some points to consider:

1) You may be surprised at the type of service you find yourself. A wedding. A funeral. A christening. A Bar-Mitzpah. The list goes on.

2) There are certain situations in which NOT attending can cause MORE offense.

3) Put yourself in the shoes of another. Would you want your Jewish or Muslim co-worker to support YOU if YOU lost a loved one?

4) Showing respect to another, WITHOUT compromising your own beliefs is an excellent way to share your own faith.

The list goes on.

This book does not suggest in any way that anyone compromise their own beliefs. It does not attempt to convert or sway anyone to a different way of thinking. What it DOES do, and does very well, is provide, to an increasingly discourteous society, the minimal rules of courtesy that persons today are no longer routinely taught.

Courtesy is the oil that lubricates all social interactions. This book helps provide this service.

I am purchasing this book after making use of it first as a library choice.It is a book I would suggest srongly to all age groups (8 to 80) for information which makes it possible to be respectful of relgious services other than the ones we ourselves know best and to do so in a relaxed and comfortable manner.

Arthur Magida has done a fantastic job of bringing the details and motivations behind a shocking crime to light. Far more than a journalist's recounting of events, the author sheds valuable insight on the meaning of faith, congregation, community, and spiritual leadership. He skillfully weaves the facts of the crime and investigation with the disturbing details of the Rabbi's narcissistic, sociopathic personality traits. The reader is taken inside the congregation and made to understand how Rabbi Neulander captivated an entire congregation, seduced several of its members, and came to believe he was above the laws of man. A captivating story from beginning to end that forces us to look inside and to question those in whom we place our faith and trust.

This book should come with a disclaimer: Read only on a weekend when you don't have early morning plans.
Magida effectively portrays Fred Neulander as the rabbi from hell: a sociopath who breaks every possible commandment while abusing the trust of his congregation and community, not to mention his profession. That Neulander meets up with Janoff, the hitman, is tragic karma for Janoff, the classic loser, who is easily manipulated by this evil man. Had the two not met, Neulander would have found some other mechanism through which to kill Carol.
This book demonstrates Magida's journalistic skill. He does not moralize but rather salts his narrative with quotes from Jewish sources that leading the reader to conclude that Neulander's lifelong behavior and choices represent an inversion of normative Jewish values and ethics.
I hope that Magida sells the film rights to this book to a foreign director. I don't know if an American could capture the sense of "film noir" that the story demands.

Jewish Bulletin of Northern California -- 6/13/03

"Magida's cast seems to have been recruited from the dank, smoke-filled and, invariably, black-and-white alleyways and barrooms more commonly conjured by Philip Marlowe or Raymond Chandler.... Yet this is not make-believe, but horribly, vividly and even nauseatingly real.... The result is a dense yet tightly paced retelling that reads like a top-notch crime novel and has more angles than a dodecahedron....
"... a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying read... Magida's writing demonstrates his backbreaking research and is spiced with just enough emotion and personality to avoid the banal tone of daily newspaper reporting but not dip over the top into a morality play."

In my opinion, since 1 Star is the lowest Rating that can be given, then I find a 1 Star Rating appropriate, because I personally find the introduction by Julian Bond to be demeaning to the principles of the Nation of Isalm because the Nation believes in PURE BLACK BLOOD. From the appearance of Julian Bond, in my opinion, it sure be a looking like a he be a having "some crackers in there somewhere".

As his title suggests, Magida structures his account around the biography of Farrakhan, telling about his growing up in Boston, succeeding as an entertainer, joining the NOI, competing with Malcolm X, involving himself in Malcolm's murder, and, to his disappointment, not succeeding to the leadership of the NOI upon Elijah Muhammad's death in February 1975. Farrakhan then felt increasingly alienated as the movement moved rapidly toward Sunni Islam; in November 1977, he finally announced the resurrection of the NOI. Since then, he has been the organization's top theologian, administrator, and spokesman. Magida reviews some of Farrakhan's record over the subsequent years (for example, his efforts to court mainstream black leaders), but focuses mostly on his complex relations with Jews. In addition to the well-known anti-Semitic comments (Judaism is a "dirty religion"), Farrakhan also shows the typical anti-Semite's fascination with things Jewish (for example, structuring the Million Man March along the lines of a Yom Kippur atonement).

Middle East Quarterly, March 1997

Prophet Of Rage by Arthur J. Magida, Julian Bond presents as rare and exclusive into the life and leadership of Louis Farrakhan. Louis Muhammed Farrakhan, was born in New York, to a West Indian mother. His birth name was Louis Euegene Walcott. As a child and an young man he was a track star, musician, and college student in North Carolina.

Arthur J. magida, and Julian Bond tells the readers how Farrakhan went from being "The Charmer" to being the National represenative of Elijah Muhammed's Nation Of Islam. After the bitter split between Malcolm X and Mr. Muhammed, Louis Farrakhan became Elijah's biggest supporter. Farrakhan charged with being a hypocrite. He is noted for saying in his speeches that Malcolm X was "A triator worthy of death, and would have meet his death if it was not for the Honorable Elijah Muhammed".

From Malcolm death (Febuary 21, 1965) and before the death of Elijah Muhammed in 1975, Farrakhan became the National represenative of the NOI. Mr. Muhammed praised Farrakhan for his faithfulness, and appointed him as the New York Minister. Louis Farrakhan in a sense was the "new Malcolm", and there is no doubt the he patterned his talking style to his former mentor.

The death of Elijah Muhammed lead Farrakhan to evaluate his direction and purpose, then build a new nation based on the teachings of Elijah Muhammed. On Febuary 26, 1975 the Nation of Islam celebrated it's Savior's Day Celebration. "Master" Farad Muhammed birthday ( Febuary 26) is celebrated as Saviors Day. On Savior's Day 1975, the Nation of Islam announced Wallace D. Muhammed as it's new leader. Farrakhan vowed his loyality to the new Leader. Inspite of his plague of devotion to Wallace, the new leader made far to many changes for Farrakhan to handle. Wallace Muhammed had rapidly moved the Nation of Islam to Orthodox Islam. Wallace also denounced his father, and refuse to reconize Farad as "G-d in person". Wallace also destroyed the Nations race based policy. He changed the organizations name twice first it was the "World Community of Al-Islam in the West", and the "American Muslim Mission". It is clear that Wallace's decision proved to be heavy for Farrakhan. Farrakhan left Wallace's leadership to seek his own platform.

Louis Farrakhan with fellow Muslims who also left Wallace Muhammed, built the "Nation of Islam". The Nation of Islam, headed by Farrakhan was based on the old mystical teaching of Elijah Muhammed. Farrakhan brought back the Fruit of Islam army, the Muslim girls trianing, dress code, and everything that was first created by his Mr. Muhammed.

The wild, crasy, and unorthodox speeches and positions of Louis Farrakhan made him the controversal leader that he is today. In the late 1980's Farrakhan began to attack the Jewish community. He charged them as the "Most powerful people in the World". He has even denounced fellow black leaders as cowards, who are always bowing down the the white man. He has also called himself the "only freed Black man in America". He is also one of the most complex, and has proven to be the most complex.

The arthurs have done an excellent job in there presenation of Louis Farrakhan. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand him, and the Nation of Islam.