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Unexpected Places: Thoughts on God, Faith, and Finding Your Voice
Par Anthony Evans. 2018
Unexpected Places is the personal story of gospel singer Anthony Evans, son of well-known pastor Tony Evans and brother of author…
Priscilla Shirer. In this intimate and moving memoir, Anthony shares the details of his struggles with depression and doubt, and encourages readers with the unique story of his search for purpose and identity. From growing up duty-bound to his name, to his time as a finalist and then talent producer on The Voice, Anthony explores the pressures he experienced as a child and as a young man in Hollywood. He describes the journey to his renewed faith in God and exposes the vast differences between what the world teaches us to value and how God values us. Anthony examines what his parents did right in raising him but also describes how they unknowingly missed his pain. Finally, he reveals how God orchestrated His plan to grow Anthony into a man who is in love with his life, his heritage, and his individual calling.Anthony has learned to embrace the incredible beauty of his unique voice. In Unexpected Places, he invites readers on their own journey to do the same.We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt's Lessons in Love and Disobedience
Par Lyndsey Stonebridge. 2024
A timely guide on how to live—and think—through the challenges of our century drawn from the life and thought of…
political theorist Hannah Arendt, one of the twentieth century&’s foremost opponents of totalitarianism&“We are free to change the world and to start something new in it.&”—Hannah ArendtThe violent unease of today&’s world would have been familiar to Hannah Arendt. Tyranny, occupation, disenchantment, post-truth politics, conspiracy theories, racism, mass migration: She lived through them all.Born in the first decade of the last century, she escaped fascist Europe to make a new life for herself in America, where she became one of its most influential—and controversial—public intellectuals. She wrote about power and terror, exile and love, and above all, about freedom. Questioning—thinking—was her first defense against tyranny. She advocated a politics of action and plurality, courage and, when necessary, disobedience.We Are Free to Change the World is a book about the Arendt we need for the twenty-first century. It tells us how and why Arendt came to think the way she did, and how to think when our own politics goes off the rails. Both a guide to Arendt&’s life and work, and its dialogue with our troubled present, We Are Free to Change the World is an urgent call for us to think, as Hannah Arendt did—unflinchingly, lovingly, and defiantly—through our own unpredictable times.Six Great Ideas
Par Mortimer J. Adler. 1997
This enlightening study is the result of group discussions at Dr. Adler's annual seminar in Aspen, Colorado, and conversations between…
Dr. Adler and Bill moyers filmed for public television.Each summer, Mortimer J. Adler conducts a seminar at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. At the 1981 seminar, leaders from the worlds of business, literature, education, and the arts joined him in an in-depth consideration of the six great ideas that are the subject of this book: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty - the ideas we judge by; and Liberty, Equality and Justice - the ideas we act on. The group discussions and conversations between Dr. Adler and journalist Bill Moyers were filmed for broadcast on public television, and thousands of people followed their exploration of these important ideas. Discarding the out-worn and off-putting jargon of academia, Dr. Adler dispels the myth that philosophy is the exclusive province of the specialist. He argues that "philosophy is everybody's business," and that a better understanding of these fundamental concepts is essential if we are to cope with the political, moral, and social issues that confront us daily.The Monarchy of Fear: A Philosopher Looks at Our Political Crisis
Par Martha C. Nussbaum. 2018
From one of the world&’s most celebrated moral philosophers comes a thorough examination of the current political crisis and recommendations…
for how to mend our divided country.For decades Martha C. Nussbaum has been an acclaimed scholar and humanist, earning dozens of honors for her books and essays. In The Monarchy of Fear she turns her attention to the current political crisis that has polarized American since the 2016 election.Although today&’s atmosphere is marked by partisanship, divisive rhetoric, and the inability of two halves of the country to communicate with one another, Nussbaum focuses on what so many pollsters and pundits have overlooked. She sees a simple truth at the heart of the problem: the political is always emotional. Globalization has produced feelings of powerlessness in millions of people in the West. That sense of powerlessness bubbles into resentment and blame. Blame of immigrants. Blame of Muslims. Blame of other races. Blame of cultural elites. While this politics of blame is exemplified by the election of Donald Trump and the vote for Brexit, Nussbaum argues it can be found on all sides of the political spectrum, left or right.Drawing on a mix of historical and contemporary examples, from classical Athens to the musical Hamilton, The Monarchy of Fear untangles this web of feelings and provides a roadmap of where to go next.Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain
Par Alan Light. 2014
Alan Light, former writer for Rolling Stone, editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin magazines, and author of The Holy or the…
Broken, “gets inside Prince’s mind palace in Let’s Go Crazy—a history of the making of his historic, semi-autobiographical musical masterwork, Purple Rain” (Vanity Fair).Purple Rain is a song, an album, and a film—widely considered to be among the most important albums in music history and often named the best soundtrack of all time. It sold over a million copies in its first week of release in 1984 and blasted to #1 on the charts, where it would remain for a full six months and eventually sell over 20 million copies worldwide. It spun off three huge hit singles, won Grammys and an Oscar, and took Prince from pop star to legend—the first artist ever simultaneously to have the #1 album, single, and movie in the country.In Let’s Go Crazy, acclaimed music journalist Alan Light takes a timely look at the making and incredible popularizing of this once seemingly impossible project. With impeccable research and in-depth interviews with people who witnessed and participated in Prince’s audacious vision becoming a reality, Light reveals how a rising but not yet established artist from the Midwest was able not only to get Purple Rain made, but deliver on his promise to conquer the world.“A must-read for the Prince die-hards who have remained devoted through the musical meanderings of the last three decades” (Kirkus Reviews), Let’s Go Crazy examines how the masterpiece that blurred R&B, pop, dance, and rock sounds altered the recording landscape and became an enduring touchstone for successive generations of fans.The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time
Par Will Durant. 2002
A wise and witty compendium of the greatest thoughts, greatest minds, and greatest books of all time—listed in accessible and…
succinct form—by one of the world's greatest scholars.From the &“Hundred Best Books&” to the &“Ten Greatest Thinkers&” to the &“Ten Greatest Poets,&” here is a concise collection of the world&’s most significant knowledge. For the better part of a century, Will Durant dwelled upon—and wrote about—the most significant eras, individuals, and achievements of human history. His selections have finally been brought together in a single, compact volume. Durant eloquently defends his choices of the greatest minds and ideas, but he also stimulates readers into forming their own opinions, encouraging them to shed their surroundings and biases and enter &“The Country of the Mind,&” a timeless realm where the heroes of our species dwell.From a thinker who always chose to exalt the positive in the human species, The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time stays true to Durant's optimism. This is a book containing the absolute best of our heritage, passed on for the benefit of future generations. Filled with Durant's renowned wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events and ideas in simple and exciting terms, this is a pocket-size liberal arts and humanist curriculum in one volume.The Autobiography of Gucci Mane
Par Gucci Mane, Neil Martinez-Belkin. 2017
The New York Times bestselling memoir from the legendary Gucci Mane spares no detail in this &“cautionary tale that ends…
in triumph&” (GQ). For the first time Gucci Mane tells his extraordinary story in his own words. It is &“as wild, unpredictable, and fascinating as the man himself&” (Complex).The platinum-selling recording artist began writing his remarkable autobiography in a federal maximum security prison. Released in 2016, he emerged radically transformed. He was sober, smiling, focused, and positive—a far cry from the Gucci Mane of years past.A critically acclaimed classic, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane &“provides incredible insight into one of the most influential rappers of the last decade, detailing a volatile and fascinating life...By the end, every reader will have a greater understanding of Gucci Mane, the man and the musician&” (Pitchfork).Big Chief Harrison and the Mardi Gras Indians
Par Al Kennedy. 2010
A biography of the life, work, and legacy of a pivotal figure in New Orleans cultural history. Based on more…
than seventy interviews with the subject and his close friends and family, this biography delves deep into the life of Donald Harrison—a waiter, performer, mentor to musicians, philosopher, devoted family man, and, most notably, the Big Chief of the Guardians of the Flame, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe. The firsthand accounts and anecdotes from those who knew him offer insight into the electrifying existence of a man who enriched the culture of New Orleans, took pride in his African American heritage, and advocated education throughout the city. Beneath a vibrant costume of colorful feathers and intricate beading stood a man of conviction who possessed a great intellect and intense pride. Harrison grew up during the Great Depression and faced discrimination throughout his life but refused to bow down to oppression. Through determination and an insatiable eagerness to learn, he found solace in philosophy, jazz, and art and spiritual meaning in the Mardi Gras Indian tradition. He shared his ideals and discoveries with his family, whom he protected fiercely, until he took his last breath in 1998. Harrison&’s wife, children, and grandchildren continue to carry his legacy by furthering literacy programs for New Orleans&’ youth. From Harrison&’s birth in 1933 to his desire to become a Mardi Gras Indian to the moment he met his beloved wife, author Al Kennedy shares Harrison&’s significant life experiences. He allows Big Chief Donald to take center stage and explain—in his own words—the mysterious world of the Mardi Gras Indians, their customs, and beliefs. Rare personal photographs from family albums depict the Big Chief with his family, parading through the streets on Carnival Day, and performing the timeless rituals of the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans. This well-researched biography presents a side of the Big Chief the public did not see, revealing the rebellious spirit of a man who demanded respect, guarded his family, and guided his tribe with utmost pride. Praise for Big Chief Harrison and the Mardi Gras Indians&“Enormously enjoyable, richly informative, and deeply moving. . . . To meet the Harrisons is to encounter an America you can't help but fall in love with and be inspired by forever, while gaining a glimpse into the powerful and meaningful tradition of the Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. It's a story of strength, passion, survival, and resistance. It&’s a story for today.&” —Jonathan Demme, Academy Award–winning director&“Building on his impressive knowledge of New Orleans culture, Al Kennedy delivers a masterpiece of artistic biography. The world needs to know about Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr. Al Kennedy tells his full story in this wonderful book. . . . A powerful read.&” —Robert Farris Thompson, Col. John Trumbull Professor, History of Art; Master of Timothy Dwight College, Yale University; and author, Tango: The Art History of Love, Face of the Gods, and Aesthetic of the CoolMessengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends
Par Elie Wiesel. 1985
The Nobel winner’s classic look at Job and seven other Biblical characters as they grapple with their relationship with God…
and the question of His justice.“[Elie] Wiesel has never allowed himself to be diverted from the role of witness for the martyred Jews and survivors of the Holocaust, and by extension for all those who through the centuries have asked Job’s question: ‘What is God doing and where is His justice?’ Here in a masterful series of mythic portraits, drawing upon Bible tales and the Midrashim (a body of commentary), Wiesel explores ‘the distant and haunting figures that molded him’: Adam, Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Job. With the dramatic invention of a Father Mapple and the exquisite care of a Talmudic scholar, Wiesel interprets the wellsprings of Jewish religious tradition as the many faces of man’s greatness facing the inexplicable. In an intimate relationship with God it is possible to complain, to demand. Adam and Eve in sinning ‘cried out’ against the injustice of their entrapment; Cain assaulted God rather than his brother; and Abraham’s agreement to sacrifice his son placed the burden of guilt on Him who demanded it. As for Job, Wiesel concludes that he abdicated his defiance as did the confessing Communists of Stalin’s time to ‘underline the implausibility’ of his trial, and thus become the accuser. Wiesel’s concern with the imponderables of fate seems to move from strength to strength.” —Kirkus Reviews“The extraordinary thing that Elie Wiesel has done in this book is to take ancient tales and make them contemporary, in ways that are both dazzling and disturbing. Messengers of God is captivating.” —Robert McAfee Brown, author of Unexpected NewsThe Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time
Par Will Durant. 2002
A wise and witty compendium of the greatest thoughts, greatest minds, and greatest books of all time—listed in accessible and…
succinct form—by one of the world's greatest scholars.From the &“Hundred Best Books&” to the &“Ten Greatest Thinkers&” to the &“Ten Greatest Poets,&” here is a concise collection of the world&’s most significant knowledge. For the better part of a century, Will Durant dwelled upon—and wrote about—the most significant eras, individuals, and achievements of human history. His selections have finally been brought together in a single, compact volume. Durant eloquently defends his choices of the greatest minds and ideas, but he also stimulates readers into forming their own opinions, encouraging them to shed their surroundings and biases and enter &“The Country of the Mind,&” a timeless realm where the heroes of our species dwell.From a thinker who always chose to exalt the positive in the human species, The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time stays true to Durant's optimism. This is a book containing the absolute best of our heritage, passed on for the benefit of future generations. Filled with Durant's renowned wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events and ideas in simple and exciting terms, this is a pocket-size liberal arts and humanist curriculum in one volume.The Autobiography of Gucci Mane
Par Gucci Mane, Neil Martinez-Belkin. 2017
The New York Times bestselling memoir from the legendary Gucci Mane spares no detail in this &“cautionary tale that ends…
in triumph&” (GQ). For the first time Gucci Mane tells his extraordinary story in his own words. It is &“as wild, unpredictable, and fascinating as the man himself&” (Complex).The platinum-selling recording artist began writing his remarkable autobiography in a federal maximum security prison. Released in 2016, he emerged radically transformed. He was sober, smiling, focused, and positive—a far cry from the Gucci Mane of years past.A critically acclaimed classic, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane &“provides incredible insight into one of the most influential rappers of the last decade, detailing a volatile and fascinating life...By the end, every reader will have a greater understanding of Gucci Mane, the man and the musician&” (Pitchfork).The Delusions of Certainty
Par Siri Hustvedt. 2016
&“The Delusions of Certainty is a unique book by an extraordinary author. Siri Hustvedt is a notable novelist, art scholar,…
and a philosopher of science. In this memorable and immensely enjoyable volume, Hustvedt rises above the exhausted debate over the two cultures, to demonstrate not just the possibility but also the advantages of combining the approaches of the arts, humanities, and sciences to illuminate a key aspect of the human condition: the mind-body problem.&”—Antonio Damasio, bestselling author of Descartes&’ Error and Self Comes to Mind &“Siri Hustvedt proves her membership in the highest rank of neuroscientists and philosophers who probe the nature of thought and the workings of consciousness. A novelist and a student of psychoanalysis and neuroscience, Hustvedt can ask questions others cannot ask about imagination, identity, epistemology, gendered power, and mortality. Her authoritative knowledge and her courage to challenge the status quo guide the reader to fresh epiphanies about what counts as human nature. The work is, in the end, a work of freedom.&”—Rita Charon, Columbia University &“The Delusions of Certainty is the best book on the mind-body problem I have ever read. Perhaps only a great novelist and essayist can address what neuroscientists and philosophers fail to question. Siri Hustvedt takes the reader on an inspiring journey into highly relevant and often unanswered questions about what it means to be human.&”—Vittorio Gallese, University of Parma Prizewinning novelist, feminist, and scholar Siri Hustvedt turns her brilliant and critical eye toward the metaphysical issues of neuropsychology in this lauded, standalone volume. Originally published in her &“canonical&” (Publishers Weekly) and &“absorbing&” (Kirkus Reviews) collection A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women, The Delusions of Certainty exposes how the age-old, unresolved mind-body problem has shaped—and often distorted and confused—contemporary thought in neuroscience, psychiatry, genetics, artificial intelligence, and evolutionary psychology.Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain
Par Alan Light. 2014
Alan Light, former writer for Rolling Stone, editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin magazines, and author of The Holy or the…
Broken, “gets inside Prince’s mind palace in Let’s Go Crazy—a history of the making of his historic, semi-autobiographical musical masterwork, Purple Rain” (Vanity Fair).Purple Rain is a song, an album, and a film—widely considered to be among the most important albums in music history and often named the best soundtrack of all time. It sold over a million copies in its first week of release in 1984 and blasted to #1 on the charts, where it would remain for a full six months and eventually sell over 20 million copies worldwide. It spun off three huge hit singles, won Grammys and an Oscar, and took Prince from pop star to legend—the first artist ever simultaneously to have the #1 album, single, and movie in the country.In Let’s Go Crazy, acclaimed music journalist Alan Light takes a timely look at the making and incredible popularizing of this once seemingly impossible project. With impeccable research and in-depth interviews with people who witnessed and participated in Prince’s audacious vision becoming a reality, Light reveals how a rising but not yet established artist from the Midwest was able not only to get Purple Rain made, but deliver on his promise to conquer the world.“A must-read for the Prince die-hards who have remained devoted through the musical meanderings of the last three decades” (Kirkus Reviews), Let’s Go Crazy examines how the masterpiece that blurred R&B, pop, dance, and rock sounds altered the recording landscape and became an enduring touchstone for successive generations of fans.Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith
Par Joe Perry, David Ritz. 2014
Joe Perry’s New York Times bestselling memoir of life in the rock-and-roll band Aerosmith: “An insightful and harrowing roller coaster…
ride through the career of one of rock and roll’s greatest guitarists. Strap yourself in” (Slash).Before the platinum records or the Super Bowl half-time show or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Joe Perry was a boy growing up in small-town Massachusetts. He idolized Jacques Cousteau and built his own diving rig that he used to explore a local lake. He dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. But Perry’s neighbors had teenage sons, and those sons had electric guitars, and the noise he heard when they started playing would change his life.The guitar became his passion, an object of lust, an outlet for his restlessness and his rebellious soul. That passion quickly blossomed into an obsession, and he got a band together. One night after a performance he met a brash young musician named Steven Tyler; before long, Aerosmith was born. What happened over the next forty-five years has become the stuff of legend: the knockdown, drag-out, band-splintering fights; the drugs, the booze, the rehab; the packed arenas and timeless hits; the reconciliations and the comebacks.Rocks is an unusually searching memoir of a life that spans from the top of the world to the bottom of the barrel—several times. It is a study of endurance and brotherhood, with Perry providing remarkable candor about Tyler, as well as new insights into their powerful but troubled relationship. It is an insider’s portrait of the rock and roll family, featuring everyone from Jimmy Page to Alice Cooper, Bette Midler to Chuck Berry, John Belushi to Al Hirschfeld. It takes us behind the scenes at unbelievable moments such as Joe and Steven’s appearance in the movie of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (they act out the murders of Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees).Full of humor, insight, and brutal honesty about life in and out of one of the biggest bands in the world, Rocks is “well-paced, well-plotted…a mini-masterpiece” (The Boston Globe).Tell Me Why: The Story of My Life and My Music
Par Archie Roach. 2019
A powerful memoir of a true Australian legend: stolen child, musical and lyrical genius, and leader. Not many have lived…
as many lives as Archie Roach – stolen child, seeker, teenage alcoholic, lover, father, musical and lyrical genius, and leader – but it took him almost a lifetime to find out who he really was. Roach was only two years old when he was forcibly removed from his family. Brought up by a series of foster parents until his early teens, his world imploded when he received a letter that spoke of a life he had no memory of. In this intimate, moving and often shocking memoir, Archie&’s story is an extraordinary odyssey through love and heartbreak, family and community, survival and renewal – and the healing power of music. Overcoming enormous odds to find his story and his people, Archie voices the joy, pain and hope he found on his path through song to become the legendary singer-songwriter and storyteller that he is today – beloved by fans worldwide.Tell Me Why is a stunning account of resilience and the strength of spirit – and of a great love story.Winner of the 2020 Indie Book of the Year Non-FictionWinner of the 2021 Victorian Premier&’s Literary Award for Indigenous WritingShortlisted for the 2020 ABIA Biography Book of the YearShortlisted for the 2020 Victorian Premier&’s Literary Awards, Non-FictionShortlisted for the Booksellers' Choice 2020 Book of the Year Awards, Non-Fiction Archie Roach was the 2020 VIC Australian of the Year 'Tell Me Why is an extraordinary odyssey and offering. Archie has come through snares, pits and suffering to bring us an inspiring tale of survival, grace and generosity. This book should be in every school.' Paul Kelly &‘Just like his early songs, Tell Me Why was written with empathy as its impetus and that intent shines through on every page. This is a phenomenal work by one of the most articulate and recognisable members of the Stolen Generations. It will be read, studied and discussed for many years to come.&’ The Australian &‘Beautiful, gut-wrenching and compelling memoir&’ Sydney Morning Herald &‘Archie&’s deeply resonant voice sings out – of a broken country and a life renewed. The voice of Australia.&’ Daniel Browning, ABC journalist and producer &‘Roach is honest and humble in his oft-heartbreaking retelling of his search for identity, belonging and purpose&’ Courier Mail &‘Best book of 2019: Tell Me Why by Archie Roach, a beautifully written autobiography that captures one of the most remarkable lives in Australian music&’ Weekend AustraliaThe Golden Atlas: The Greatest Explorations, Quests and Discoveries on Maps
Par Edward Brooke-Hitching. 2018
'Stunning...divine' Stephen Fry &‘A fabulous book, good enough to eat with a spoon! Marvellous&’ John Lloyd, creator of QI &‘Perfect…
for the armchair adventurer historian, this is a rich visual exploration of some of the most beautiful charts ever created&’ National Geographic 'Introduces us to a whole different way of looking at maps. Great illustrations, most engaging - the author is just a mine of information' Simon Mayo's Books of the YearThe Golden Atlas is a spectacular visual history of exploration and cartography, a treasure chest of adventures from the chronicles of global discovery, illustrated with a selection of the most beautiful maps ever created. The book reveals how the world came to be known, featuring a magnificent gallery of exceptionally rare hand-coloured antique maps, paintings and engravings, many of which can only be found in the author's collection. Arranged chronologically, the reader is taken on a breathtaking expedition through Ancient Babylonian geography and Marco Polo's journey to the Mongol Khan on to buccaneers ransacking the Caribbean and the voyages of seafarers such as Captain Cook and fearless African pathfinders. Their stories are told in an engaging and compelling style, bringing vividly to life a motley collection of heroic explorers, treasure-hunters and death-dealing villains - all of them accompanied by eye-grabbing illustrations from rare maps, charts and manuscripts. The Golden Atlas takes you back to a world of darkness and peril, placing you on storm-lashed ships, frozen wastelands and the shores of hostile territories to see how the lines were drawn to form the shape of the modern world. The author's previous book, The Phantom Atlas, was a critically acclaimed international bestseller, described by Jonathan Ross as 'a spectacular, enjoyable and eye-opening read' and this new book is sure to follow suit.The Division of Labor in Society (Contemporary Social Theory Ser.)
Par Emile Durkheim. 2014
Revised for the first time in over thirty years, this edition of Emile Durkheim’s masterful work on the nature and…
scope of sociology is updated with a new introduction and improved translation by leading scholar Steven Lukes that puts Durkheim’s work into context for the twenty-first century reader.When it was originally published, The Division of Labor in Society was an entirely original work on the nature of labor and production as they were being shaped by the industrial revolution. Emile Durkheim’s seminal workstudies the nature of social solidarity and explores the ties that bind one person to the next in order to hold society together.This revised and updated second edition fluently conveys Durkheim’s arguments for contemporary readers. Leading Durkheim scholar Steve Lukes’s new introduction builds upon Lewis Coser’s original—which places the work in its intellectual and historical context and pinpoints its central ideas and arguments. Lukes explains the text’s continued significance as a tool to think about and deal with problems that face us today. The original translation has been revised and reworked in order to make Durkheim’s arguments clearer and easier to read.The Division of Labor in Society is an essential resource for students and scholars hoping to deepen their understanding of one of the pioneering voices in modern sociology and twentieth-century social thought.As a Woman Thinketh: In Her Heart... So Is She
Par Ajax Moon. 2024
Mike Pauro, aka 'Ajax Moon' and his daughter, Morgan Deeble, aka 'Bridey Moon' remake the aphorism examined by James Allen…
for women. In this transposition of Allen's classic, the authors revisit the impact of thought on health, purpose, achievement, ideas, and serenity from the female perspective. The work is accompanied by imagery from early 20th century postcards passed down for generations in their family. The images were selected to be contemporaneous of the era of James Allen (1864-1912).“In a clear, steady style that can also soar [Rabbi Sacks] explains why this disaster-driven thinking denies the beauty and…
strength of Judaism.” —BooklistFor too long, Jews have defined themselves in light of the bad things that have happened to them. And it is true that, many times in the course of history, they have been nearly decimated: when the First and Second Temples were destroyed, when the Jews were expelled from Spain, when Hitler proposed his Final Solution. Astoundingly, the Jewish people have survived catastrophe after catastrophe and remained a thriving and vibrant community. The question Rabbi Jonathan Sacks asks is, quite simply: How? How, in the face of such adversity, has Judaism remained and flourished, making a mark on human history out of all proportion to its numbers?Written originally as a wedding gift to his son and daughter-in-law, A Letter in the Scroll is Rabbi Sacks’s personal answer to that question, a testimony to the enduring strength of his religion. Tracing the revolutionary series of philosophical and theological ideas that Judaism created—from covenant to sabbath to formal education—and showing us how they remain compellingly relevant in our time, Sacks portrays Jewish identity as an honor as well as a duty. Never has a book more eloquently expressed the joys of being a Jew.This is the story of one man’s hope for the future—a future in which the next generation, his children and ours, will happily embrace the beauty of the world’s oldest religion.The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values
Par Sam Harris. 2010
New York Times bestselling author Sam Harris&’s first book, The End of Faith, ignited a worldwide debate about the validity…
of religion. In the aftermath, Harris discovered that most people—from religious fundamentalists to non-believing scientists—agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, our failure to address questions of meaning and morality through science has now become the primary justification for religious faith.In this highly controversial book, Sam Harris seeks to link morality to the rest of human knowledge. Defining morality in terms of human and animal well-being, Harris argues that science can do more than tell how we are; it can, in principle, tell us how we ought to be. In his view, moral relativism is simply false—and comes at an increasing cost to humanity. And the intrusions of religion into the sphere of human values can be finally repelled: for just as there is no such thing as Christian physics or Muslim algebra, there can be no Christian or Muslim morality. Using his expertise in philosophy and neuroscience, along with his experience on the front lines of our “culture wars,” Harris delivers a game-changing book about the future of science and about the real basis of human cooperation.