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Rating: 
Summary: I love this book
Review: Lots of good reasons to read, including the fact that it's well-written and highly entertaining and very informative. I guarantee you'll learn a lot of things you didn't know and you'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Know what it is
Review: This is a lovely little book tracing the influence and mythology of Zarathustra (Zoroaster) through time. Paul Kriwaczek quickly covers Nietzsche, the Cathars, the Manichees, the Roman cult of Mithras, and Zoroastrianism. More accurate and careful books have been written on each of those subjects, but none more enjoyable; and I'm sure this is the only time they have all been dealt with in a single book.
Kriwaczek is an honest layman, enjoying himself as he travels across Central Asia, the Middle East and England, reading the works of scholars (and a novelist) and drawing his own conclusions, exploring the legacy of Zarathustra. He explores some of the most fascinating issues in the history of religion, and he entertains the reader with his description of modern rituals.
This is not scholarly, academic history, and Kriwaczek admits it. But it's also not the kind of ridiculous stuff you find on the History Channel. Kriwaczek's several speculations are within the bounds of plausibility, and he most of the time he admits when he's speculating.
I highly recommend this book because it is so entertaining and fairly accurate. If you wonder why people study ancient religions that no one believes in today, read this and you will know why.
However, if you want to read a book about Zoroastrians, I highly recommend Mary Boyce's "Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices."
Finally, in case you wondered, this is exactly the same book as Kriwaczek's "In Search of Zarathustra: The First Prophet and the Ideas That Changed the World."
Rating:
Summary: A great new book
Review: This wonderful book tells the story of the elusive search for the Zoroastrians, the mystic monotheistic sec that arrived in Iran long ago prior to Islam and Christianity. This interesting faith is explored in this fascinating new book, a must read in today's world where religion has become so central to politics and debate and terrorism. Seth J. Frantzman
Rating:
Summary: A great new book
Review: This wonderful book tells the story of the elusive search for the Zoroastrians, the mystic monotheistic sec that arrived in Iran long ago prior to Islam and Christianity. This interesting faith is explored in this fascinating new book, a must read in today's world where religion has become so central to politics and debate and terrorism. Seth J. Frantzman
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Reading
Review: Very well-written. Truly enjoyable and uplifting. Particularly welcome in this age of "cultural clashes." It shows the deep relationship and interchange of ideas amongst the major traditions of the world and indirectly demonstrates the fallacy of the arguments behind the folks believing in the "clash of civilizations". Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: While this book is well written, the arrogance of the author and lack of substantive information are major minuses. I hoped this volume would shed some light on who Zarathustra may have been and how Zoroastrianism fits into Indo-Iranian/Indo-European mythology, but that is decidedly not what it provides. If you're looking for real scholarship, you'll be far more satisfied reading Mary Boyce.
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