This remarkable and beautifully photographed book may inspire you to make a pilgrimage or two. It tours thousands of years of human civilization and belief through the houses monuments and remnants of the world's most sacred religious sites from the Daoist Hanging Monastery clinging like a bird's nest to the rock face of Mount Heng in China to the elegant domed Frauenkirche in Dresden devastated by war but finally rebuilt in the past 20 years. Arranged geographically for ease of use and surprisingly compact (almost 2 1/2 inches thick it can still be held in one hand) it offers a thorough overview of human spirituality with details about the religions gods saints and distinctive features associated with each location.