Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Lucid, compelling, informative

Batchelor hits a home run with this text. The narrative device of contrasting Asian and Western personalities who were key to the interplay between Buddhism and European cultures makes this book easy to get hooked into. It almost reads like an adventure novel in places, and the doctrinal and historical perspectives are well written and balanced. This book starts with the ancient Greeks of Alexander's empire and traces the seemingly willy-nilly encounters through the millennia. Batchelor's best, most inspiring book, it did not get the attention it deserved when it was issued.