I came into this book hoping it would be a great overall tour guide but it is very intensive and requires a fair amount of previous knowledge. Eliade covers topics in a very fast paced and sweeping sort of way and does not explain things he thinks you should be familiar with. The focus is more on the peoples and the key psychological components of religion interpreted through his own framework. Admittedly I had hoped for more of a vivid description of each god and a focus on stories and mythologies, although this does still certainly play a part in the book. He does provide a great bibliography with further reading. This is a deep book but a bit less approachable than I would have liked. Depending on your level of knowledge this book could be perfect, and even for it being more intensive than I had assumed it is still readable and engaging for someone without much previous experience with these topics.

Despite his reductionism -such as "Adam was a hermaphrodite"-, Mircea Eliade can be very systematic and this is helpful when studying religious systems one is not familiar with, such as that of Hinduism or Zoroastrianism.

I've heard this kind of stuff helps agnostics to realize there is an inner logic to religion, but to stay just here, for me, is kind of stepping on a thresold and never entering.

It could be a good beginning so as long as it doesn't lead to a rationalization such as "there are similar myths and ideas everywhere, I just worship one god less than you" that are commonly heard in the mouths of New Atheists.