I was expecting this series of lectures to be more scientific, because of William James' background in psychology, but the title should have been more of a clue to me that he focused much more on anecdotal experiences. He was not talking about religion in a broad sense here, but rather spiritual experiences on a personal level. Each of the twenty lectures tackled a different theme--conversion, mysticism, prayer, etc. and provided anecdotes from the writings of people who have actually experienced each type of religious experience. Where I was expecting him to approach, for example, prayer from a psychological standpoint, instead he provided anecdotes from people who had transcendental experiences while praying. His examples were usually the on the extreme end, but he tried to show how in moderation, each type of religious experience held pragmatic value. He placed quite a bit of emphasis on prayer, and suggested that prayer was the ultimate, most meaningful religious experience. In the end, it wasn't what I expected, but I still would highly these lectures to anyone interested in understanding religion (particularly Christianity) on a personal level.