"This excellent abridgement captures all the important features of the original in a length suitable for classroom use and includes a solid introduction that situates the text in terms of James's life, his psychology and pragmatism, as well as the intellectual and cultural history of the period."
— Daniel Wickberg,
University of Texas at Dallas "Abzug's excellent introduction effectively shows the relationship between a subtle work of religious analysis and a man who managed to hold disparate ideas and commitments in balance. The late nineteenth century was a period of profound intellectual transition, and Abzug establishes clear connections between James's book and this broader context. He has a gift for choosing a word, phrase, or anecdote to crystallize a personal quality or historical trend."
— Anne C. Rose,
Pennsylvania State University "Abzug's abridgement of William James's
Varieties of Religious Experience is well done and will cast new light on an important text by a figure who may count, still today, as the United States' greatest contributor to the western philosophical tradition."
— Michael Wakeford, University of North Carolina School of the Arts