Pre-order Releases Mar 30, 2027
Traveling Light: The Shared Wandering Way of Jesus and Other Spiritual Pioneers
From $17.70 / copy at 25+ copies; lower per-copy prices at higher quantities (see Volume pricing) As low as $14.70 at 1,000+
Volume pricing
The more copies, the less each one costs
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About the book
Traveling Light
The New York Times bestselling author and renowned religious studies scholar Stephen Prothero asks: What might it mean to reclaim the practice of wandering—its trust in strangers, its rejection of materialism, its intimacy with nature—as a bedrock principle of the world's religions?
In the spirit of Sapiens and other "big think, big picture" books, Traveling Light uncovers a fascinating commonality among Christianity, Buddhism, Daoism, and other religions: their founders were all wanderers who left their hometowns to pursue a new way of life on the road. Prothero, the author of eleven acclaimed books including the equally expansive God Is Not One and Religious Literacy, brings his deep knowledge of world civilizations to this big history of spiritual innovation and religious betrayal amid the rise of empires.
Reaching from the emergence of sedentary agriculture around 8000 BCE, to the lives of Jesus, the Buddha, and Laozi, Traveling Light reveals how:
- the lives of these holy wanderers were both anti-imperial critiques and affirmations of the lifeways and values of our hunter-gatherer ancestors
- over time, later followers betrayed these revolutionary founders by shifting the focus of their stories from lifeways to beliefs, and by replacing their radical witness with rigid, power-driven institutions we now refer to as religions.
This eye-opening perspective on religious evolution will appeal to readers disillusioned with organized religions but eager to deepen their connections with the spiritual entrepreneurs who inspired them, and to big history enthusiasts keen on examining the role spiritual and religious impulses have played from the beginning of human civilization. Along the way, Traveling Light commends to its readers a way of being human that is somehow both ancient and revolutionary.
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Details
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Author
- Stephen Prothero
- Format
- Hardcover
- Release date
- Mar 30, 2027
- ISBN-13
- 9780062463982
- ISBN-10
- 0062463985
- Pages
- 304
- Carton quantity
- 28 copies
Who it's for
Made for groups that grow together
Pre-order copies for everyone on your list, and they ship on release.
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Before release day
Need them before Mar 30?
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Traveling Light for groups: pricing
Volume pricing applies automatically in your cart. No codes, no account needed.
| Copies | Price per copy | You save |
|---|---|---|
| 25 – 99 | $17.70 | 41% off list |
| 100 – 249 | $16.80 | 44% off list |
| 250 – 499 | $15.90 | 47% off list |
| 500 – 999 | $15.30 | 49% off list |
| 1,000+ | $14.70 | 51% off list |
Where can I buy 100 copies of Traveling Light?
BookPal sells Traveling Light in quantity. At 100 copies the price is $16.80 a copy, against a list price of $30.00, and the cart applies the volume tier automatically. Free shipping on most orders over $95 in the contiguous US. A specialist can quote a larger or mixed order.
- New books only, straight from the publisher
- Volume prices apply automatically in the cart, with no code needed
- Order at least 10 business days before you need the books (11 from mid-November through December)
What does Traveling Light cost when I buy for a group?
Volume pricing applies automatically in your cart, with no code needed. Price per copy: 25 to 99 copies, $17.70 (41% off list); 100 to 249 copies, $16.80 (44% off list); 250 to 499 copies, $15.90 (47% off list); 500 to 999 copies, $15.30 (49% off list); 1,000+ copies, $14.70 (51% off list). Need a different quantity, or a quote to forward for approval? Ask a specialist and we will confirm pricing before you pay.
How fast can I get copies of Traveling Light?
This title is not released yet. Pre-orders ship when it is, currently scheduled for March 30, 2027. Need them by a specific date? Request a quote and we'll confirm timing before you pay.
Can you ship to several locations or people's homes?
Yes. We ship group orders to one address, to multiple sites, or to individual recipients, in the US and internationally. See fulfillment options.
Can I get a formal quote for approval before ordering?
Yes. Request a quote and we'll send a PDF you can forward for approval.
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Yes. We accept purchase orders upon approval, as well as cards, PayPal, ACH, wire transfers and checks. BookPal is a tax-exempt supplier in all 50 states. See purchase orders and sales tax exemption.
What if I find a lower price?
Send us the link. We match prices from other booksellers and distributors on a new copy in the same edition, available to ship in the quantity you need. Clearance sales and pricing errors are the exception, and we'll tell you quickly if that's the case. Start a price match.
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Traveling Light: The Shared Wandering Way of Jesus and Other Spiritual Pioneers
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