The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao

Reads like the work of a pulitzer-winning journalist; this is not praise. There's a kind of middle-brow literariness to the book (the structure is rigid but cute; anecdote is multiplied to the near exclusion of analysis or explanation; everything is shown, and not told; it's as earnest as anything I've ever read). In short, it reminds me of a mid-century American novel, except one that is actually worth reading, because you will glean some information, at least. Johnson doesn't exactly do his authority any favors by claiming that, e.g., Calvinist = Reformed = Puritan; I honestly have no idea how much to trust his claims about 'religions' in China given that he's so willing to simplify the religions that are so much easier to understand show more for an American. show less