Hardy is not the smoothest lecturer you'll see in the Great Courses, but he is immensely likable and shows a deep knowledge and cultural understanding that allows him to present these sacred texts in a highly informative and open manner, looking for common threads and things we can learn from each of them. A Mormon himself, he has a B.A. in Ancient Greek and a Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Literature. His descriptions of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism in particular, are very informative, and throughout the course, the lectures are well-organized and coherent. In fact, all the sacred texts are well described, including providing some sense of the core Hindu sacred texts (there are so many texts in the entire Hindu canon.) His treatment of the Quran is also well done. Some may think he devotes too little time to the Christian Bible (there are separate lectures on the Hebrew Bible), and certainly more could have been said, but there are so many other Great Courses that cover the New Testament in great depth. Toward the end of the course, Professor Hardy looks at the US Constitution as a sacred text, and this very interesting lecture helps him draw together various ways of identifying and defining sacred texts. Within the course of these 36 lectures, he succeeds in covering an immense amount of material in a clear manner, and he often provides recommendations for further reading, both texts and websites. Hardy, for instance, introduced me to Robert Alter's translations of the Hebrew Bible. In the concluding episode, he makes the case for why we should study various religions, even if we have a strong belief in our own religion (or no religion) and recommends starting points for most of the sacred writings covered in this courses. This episode could almost stand by itself for those who don't have a lot of time--but if you have time to actually start exploring these texts, you should have time for the 18 or so hours needed to listen to Dr. Hardy's lectures. Highly, highly recommended. ( )

We found this course to be engaging, informative, balanced and well worth the time investment. -- Jennifer K.