George F. Dole, Harvard Ph.D., has translated and arranged by theme a selection of passages from Swedenborg's works on life, heaven and hell, and the nature of God. This book is an accessible introduction for the reader new to Swedenborg, as well as a concise reference for those familiar with his philosophy. [Swedenborg's] philosophy is about as practical as one could ask. Ascetism is not the way to God. ... A good person can be saved with any religion or with no religion., , "George F. Dole ... has done us a great service in bringing Emanuel Swedenborg back to the attention of our distracted age.", -from the foreword by Huston Smith