Stoddard's langtuage and analysis is impecdable. Keep in mind the hear he wrote about these mostly Islamic places. At the turn of the 19th to 20th century, we were not terribly concerned with this area of the world. Our crushing dependence upon their oil production did not exist, and they left our tourists alone for the most part. so the Christians got to see their holy land. I give John Stoddard the full five because the lectures follow his in-person presentation, complete with pictorial represntation of the places and 0people he talks about. The quality of the book production, too, lends to longevity and an ability to long-lasting efficiency. ( )