
Huston Smith Books
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Books number: 12
Explore all available books and works by Huston Smith , including popular novels, complete collections, and translated titles. This page is regularly updated with new releases and featured works.
Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was an influential scholar of religious studies in the United States, He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book about comparative religion, The World's Religions (originally titled The Religions of Man) sold over three million copies as of 2017.
Born and raised in Suzhou, China in a Methodist missionary family, Smith moved back to the United States at the age of 17 and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1945 with a PhD in philosophy. He spent the majority of his academic career as a professor at Washington University in St. Louis (1947-1958), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1958–1973) and Syracuse University (1973–1983). In 1983, he retired from Syracuse and moved to Berkeley, California, where he was a visiting professor of religious studies at the University of California, Berkeley until his death.
Early life : On May 31, 1919, Huston Cummings Smith was born in Dzang Zok, Suzhou, China to Methodist missionaries and spent his first 17 years there. His first language was Mandarin Chinese, spoken with Suzhou dialect.
Upon coming to the United States to complete his education, he received a BA from Central Methodist University in 1940 and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1945.
While at Chicago, he married Eleanor Wieman, the daughter of Henry Nelson Wieman, a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She later changed her name to Kendra.They had three daughters, Karen, Gael, and Kimberly Smith.
Academic career : Smith taught at the University of Denver from 1945 to 1947, and then at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri for the next 10 years.
In 1958, Smith was appointed professor of philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he remained until 1973.While there, he participated in experiments with psychedelics that professors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert conducted at Harvard University. In 1964, during a trip to India, Smith stayed in a Gyuto Tibetan Buddhist monastery. During his visit he heard the monks chanting and realized that each individual was producing a chord, composed of a fundamental note and overtones. He returned to record the chanting in 1967 and asked acoustic engineers at MIT to analyze the sound. They confirmed the finding, which is an example of overtone singing. Smith has called this the singular empirical discovery of his career. The recording was released as Music of Tibet (1967). Royalties from the album continue to support the Gyuto Tantric University. Because of his belief in religion, however, Smith was mistrusted by his colleagues, leading MIT to prohibit him from teaching graduate students.
Buddhism: A Concise Introduction
Huston Smith.
Religions comparison
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1189
English
Buddhism: A Concise Introduction
Huston Smith
Religions comparison
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Islam: A Concise Introduction
Huston Smith.
Religions comparison
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1176
English
Islam: A Concise Introduction
Huston Smith
Religions comparison
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Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals
Huston Smith.
Religions comparison
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1056
English
Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals
Huston Smith
Religions comparison
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Forgotten Truth: The Common Vision of the World's Religions
Huston Smith.
Religions comparison
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1016
English
Forgotten Truth: The Common Vision of the World's Religions
Huston Smith
Religions comparison
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Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology
Huston Smith.
Religions comparison
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1005
English
Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology
Huston Smith
Religions comparison
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Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine, an Autobiography
Huston Smith.
biography
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957
English
Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine, an Autobiography
Huston Smith
biography
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The Soul of Christianity: Restoring the Great Tradition
Huston Smith.
Religions comparison
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874
English
The Soul of Christianity: Restoring the Great Tradition
Huston Smith
Religions comparison
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The Way Things Are: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life
Huston Smith.
Religions philosophy
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873
English
The Way Things Are: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life
Huston Smith
Religions philosophy
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Beyond the Postmodern Mind: The Place of Meaning in a Global Civilization
Huston Smith.
Religions philosophy
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872
English
Beyond the Postmodern Mind: The Place of Meaning in a Global Civilization
Huston Smith
Religions philosophy
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Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief
Huston Smith.
Religions comparison
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808
English
Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief
Huston Smith
Religions comparison
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