What is the meaning of life? Since the dawn of civilization, humankind has sought to answer the mysteries of existence. Unfortunately this restless search for the divine has, all too often, driven seekers in regrettable directions--toward the comically ridiculous and irrational but also the frighteningly horrific and maniacal. Arm yourself with God's Lunatics (Harper, $16.99) before your next encounter with those who have been blinded by the light. Award-winning author Michael Largo, "the Capote of kaput" ("Atlanta Journal-Constitution"), chronicles history's vast and colorful cast of true believers--from the hidden side of the Bible's eccentric characters to today's street-corner doomsayers, and from extraterrestrial communicators, levitating hermits, and flagellating ascetics to self-serving preachers of overindulgence who believed money, sex, and drugs were the keys to the portal to divine understanding. In addition to the firewalkers, serpent handlers, cultists, terrorists, and alleged time travelers, God's Lunatics also reveals the dubious foundations of the world's major faiths and the many religious customs and laws that continue to influence governments and society, whether you are a believer or not.