Campany (Asian studies and religious studies, Vanderbilt U.) presents an annotated translation of a collection of Buddhist miracle tales, Mingxiang ji (Records of Signs from the Unseen Realm) written at the end of the fifth century CE by the scholar-official Wang Yan. He introduces the work and its author and explores the nature and genre of the text and its religious themes, narrative tropes, and social and religious contexts. Such texts are important not for describing actual events, he says, but for revealing ways of thinking and tensions among believers. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)