White Buddhist

<p>Denounced by the <i>New York Times</i> as an unmitigated rascal while simultaneously being lauded as a reincarnation of Gautama Buddha himself Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907) was friend to Madame Blavatsky co-founder of the Theosophical Society and an indefatigable reformer and culture broker between East and West. Olcott helped bring about a new spiritual creation Protestant Buddhism a creative creolization of American Protestantism traditional Theravada Buddhism and other influences. Stephen Prothero's portrait of Olcott is an engaging study of spiritual quest and cross-cultural encounters.</p>