Most people alive today (more than three-quarters of the world's population) belong to one of the great religions. These faiths are built on the foundation-stones of key texts, to which people go for spiritual inspiration and moral guidance.

But what are these texts and what do they mean? Introducing and describing their content and core tenets, and quoting their key passages, The Message and the Book will help believers and unbelievers alike to understand why these sacred texts matter so much to so many people in today's world: the Bible remains the best-selling book world-wide, and other texts from the past are hugely influential in the present - for example, the Analects of Confucius in Asia and the Quran for Muslims. Historically, sacred texts have had a critical impact on the drafting of landmark political documents, such as the Constitution of the United States.

The Message and the Book is an accessible, scholarly and informative guide not only to such well-known texts as the Bible and Quran, but also to more than 400 others. It is essential reading for those who want to understand the influence of religious texts both in the past and in the world of today.