Under the apt editorship of Frank Mead, 12,000 Inspirational Quotations is a superbly presented compendium of thought- provoking quotations derived from 2500 sources and includes a spectrum of history's most respected secular and religious thinkers and writers. This outstanding collection of practical wisdom, insight and inspirational guidance is an invaluable reference for speeches, reports, presentations, and productive living. Highly recommended for personal, professional, school, and community library reference collections, 12,000 Inspirational Quotations is usefully indexed by both topic and author.

This book came highly recommended to me. You see, I wanted to understand why there are so many Christian denominations out there, who they are, and what sets them apart. This book goes some way in that direction. It lists what must be all the denominations and gives a little information on them. There isn't any depth here, which means that you can read it, and never really get what the groups believe. For example, I have talked to people, and found out that Christians often use the same words, but when you get down into it, they mean something completely different when they use those words.

Oh well, perhaps I was asking too much. If you want a book that is broad enough to list every denomination, but don't want any depth, then get this book. 3 stars.

Our church pulled out of the United Church of Christ last year, and our denomination search committee needed a resource to get more information. We were very happy to find this book. At your finger tips are brief sketches of practically every major religious group in the United States. Some of the essays are very brief in nature, while others are pages long. Still, it is an excellent starting point, and for most people who just want the basic facts, it is all the information a person could want on the religious movements in the country. And one of the other things I like about the book is that as far as it it is possible, the authors take a very objective position. No trace of bias or sectarian coloring mars the book, as far as I can tell. There is no way of discerning which denominational perspective the authors write from, and that's the way I like it.

This wonderful book is one that clearly lives up to its title. In a small, easy-to-digest format, it lists all of the major (and quite a few minor) religious groups found within the United States. While focusing primarily on Christian denominations, it does cover such non-Christian organizations as the Bahai, Muslims, spiritualists, and a few others. The text, ranging from half a page for certain small groups, to 25 pages for the Baptists (a large and varied collection of churches), tries to give a history of the denomination and a brief introduction to their theology.

For my own purposes, I found this book to be a most excellent resource. While it is too small to go into any depth on any one denomination, it's breadth does mean that you can quickly and easily look up just about any denomination and get useful information on it. Plus, I must say that I appreciate that the authors have gone to great pains to present each denomination in an objective manner, which allows me to place great confidence in their book.

So, if you are looking for a book that will give you a quick introduction to just about *any* denomination, then I can't recommend any book more highly than this one!