Much internet buzz had been made about Carl McColman's conversion from Paganism to Catholicism in the last few years. I admit I was fascinated to review a book about Pagan basics from such a person.

Personally, I don't mind if he's a Pagan, Catholic, or bows to the shrine of a three-legged, one-eyed dog named Harold, I would review the book on its own merit. I only bring up the subject of his conversion in the interest of full disclosure since some readers may use that as a basis to read his work or not.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism is not Pagan 101. Rather, it is somewhere between Pagan 099 and 100. The target audience is people who know nothing about Paganism except what they've seen or heard in the media or from friends and family.

In this work, Mr. McColman introduces the three most popular forms of Paganism, that of Wicca, Druidry, and shamanism. If you are undecided about which path you want to take, this book covers the very basic principles of each of those three mentioned.

The Idiot's Guides generally have small information boxes on nearly every page filled with juicy tidbits. The author doesn't disappoint in this regard and gives the reader interesting points to ponder.

His writing style is very friendly and upbeat throughout the book. He discusses topics from the basics of ritual to ethics and sexuality with candor and humor. He handles the task of explaining Paganism to the masses with sensitivity.

My one caveat is the book pushes a couple of hot buttons for me. First, he defines Pagan with the anagram People Adoring Goddess and Nature. That's fair enough keeping in mind the majority of Pagans might define themselves as such. I would only ask readers to be aware that not all Pagans believe the goddess supersedes the god, and this is the tone set throughout the book.

He also has a tendency to be repetitive with the "an it harm none" rule of the Wiccan Rede almost making it seem to be universally Pagan. To be fair, he does very briefly mention alternatives to the rede and that not all Pagans follow it.

These are personal pet peeves however. Others may be perfectly comfortable with his descriptions. I suggest that if you are giving this book to a loved one in order to explain your beliefs to read it first to make sure that he truly is representing what you believe.

For those completely new to Paganism, Mr. McColman does succeed in explaining basic concepts such as the wheel of the year, reincarnation, ritual, magic, healing, meditation, the goddess and the god, and many other aspects of our faith.

This is not a spell book, but he does provide a basic ritual format for those who want to begin their practice. There is also an appendix of recommended reading to further explore each of the three paths.