A short, rather superficial look at Shinto. This provides only the barest of introductions, but that makes it a good starting place for someone interested in learning about the religion. It gives the basic overview of what Shinto is, when, where, and how it is practiced, and the role it played in Japanese live during the period that it was the state religion. The author is objective, but presents a mostly positive overview of the religion, other than the excesses of the time when it was tied to the state. Not a particularly scholarly work, that makes it accessible to people who don't want to spend a lot of time with jargon, they just want a quick view. ( )

Very interesting and readable book about the development and major aspects of Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan. During this terrible period of the destruction of our planet, the tenets of Shinto, a deeply nature-based religion, strike a chord in me and, doubtless, many other non-Japanese people.