“Only a true master of the field could have prepared this collection, which is at once so useful and so fascinating. Anyone with even the slightest interest in the history of religion, the rise of world religions, cultural relativism in Europe, or globalization, not to mention Buddhism, is going to want to open this chest of treasures. When they do, they will be deeply grateful for the guidance provided to the reader, which makes these sometimes curious stories accessible to the widest possible audience.”

Lynn Hunt, University of California, Los Angeles

“This is an amazing repository of research on Western writings on Buddhism from the earliest times to the mid-nineteenth century. Beautifully written, Strange Tales of an Oriental Idol will be a sourcebook for further research among scholars of Buddhism and of East-West interaction, as well as for those interested in Western intellectual history more generally.”

Judith Snodgrass, Western Sydney University

“Strange Tales of an Oriental Idol presents English translations of a wide variety of early writings produced by travelers, Christian missionaries, soldiers, civil servants, and armchair and professional scholars. These sources are very important indeed, and the work that Lopez has done to assemble them is truly impressive. I can think of nothing that rivals this book.” 

Jacob Kinnard, Iliff School of Theology

"Rather than posit a true Asian vs. false Western dichotomy, Lopez asks, 'whether the Buddha, then and now, here and there, is the product of a more complex and interesting process of influence.' The author allows many texts to nestle and jostle against each other, refusing to rate them. This approach fits into Lopez’ career, spent producing learned works demystifying Buddhist tropes. While the collection of polyglot voices may daunt, he offers cogent introductions for each diverse inclusion."

Spectrum Culture