The written material for this course will be ofinterest and value to all engaged in the study of religion not least for its pedagogical enterprise. The course is divided into six blocks containing thirty-two units which are presented in fourteen booklets. These are designed to be read in conjunction with the Course Reader (Whitfield Foy, ed., Man's Religious Quest, The Open University, 1978) and other components such as films, cassettes, sixteen television programmes, twenty-four radio programmes, a wallet of maps and a pronunciation cassette tape. Very little is left to chance. Interspersed throughout the written texts is a symbol to signal the need to pause for reflection and precise instructions are given as to when an exercise is to be completed. Specimen answers are provided to specific questions. Those who would criticise this apparently overpowering prescription should bear in mind that the course is designed for what is in the main learning at a distance, and it is better to err on the side of over solicitude than to leave unsaid what ought to be said. The more resourceful student will find abundant guidance for further independent exploration in the well chosen lists of recommended books and lists of works of reference.