A solid study of how man has used religion and ritual, from "primitive" to "historical" (i.e. modern) times, to deal with the vagaries of life and the "terror of history". It's always interesting to see the similarities between various people's beliefs and how religions, such as Christianity, absorbed or even perpetuated beliefs and myths that had been around for hundreds of years. Read it if you have any interest in the use/development of religions, or the philosophy of history.