Montesquieu and the Logic of Liberty: War, Religion, Commerce, Climate, Terrain, Technology, Uneasiness of Mind, the Spirit of Political Vigilance, an

by Paul Anthony Rahe. This fresh examination of the works of Montesquieu seeks to understand the shortcomings of the modern democratic state in light of this great political thinker’s insightful critique of commercial republicanism. The western democracies’ muted response to victory in the Cold War signaled the presence of a pervasive discontent, a sense that despite this victory liberal democracy itself was deeply flawed. Paul A. Rahe argues that to understand this phenomenon we must re-examine—starting with Montesquieu—the nature of liberal democracy, its character, and its propensities. In a brilliant exposition of the works of Montesquieu Rahe identifies the profound sense of uneasiness fostered by the modern republic as a source of weakness and as the principal cause of the present discontents. --Publisher. (Check Catalog)

Love & war : finding the marriage you've dreamed of

by John Eldredge. The Eldredges' newest book has bestseller written all over it. The pair addressed men and women separately in Wild at Heart (John) and Captivating (Stasi) and now put that knowledge together in a book on marriage. Christianity, they say, is a love story set amid war, with marriage "a living, breathing portrait laid out before the eyes of the world so that they might see the story of the ages." For them, marriage is the perfect storm that brings together basic differences in men and women, individual styles of relating, sin, and brokenness. The Eldredges offer sound advice on topics such as the delights of companionship, understanding the enemy is Satan and not your spouse, finding your marriage's mission, taboo topics, and, yes, sex. They are honest and forthright, never skirting a difficult issue; instead, they offer hope, insight, and their own lives as examples of what God can accomplish. Their summation of marriage: "It can be done. And it is worth it." So is this book. --Publisher's Weekly. (Check Catalog)

Transformative yoga : five keys to unlocking inner bliss

by Wade Imre Morissette. Morissette, who has studied yoga for over 17 years and teaches it internationally, focuses on yoga as a spiritual practice. He explains five steps-physicality, energy, meditation, awareness, and inner peace-to lead the practitioner to an inner connection with Atman, God, and truth. Physicality consists of mainstream yoga sequences-beginner, intermediate, and advanced-which are insufficiently illustrated here. The book concludes with an appendix that classifies the yoga postures used in the book. Verdict Yoga has become Westernized as an exercise regimen; readers curious about its philosophical aspects will find much to enjoy here. Those interested in yoga as exercise will benefit more from a better illustrated work such as Martin Kirk's Hatha Yoga Illustrated. --Library Journal. (Check Catalog)

The future church : how ten trends are revolutionizing the Catholic Church

by John L. Allen. There hasn't been much revolutionizing in the Catholic Church since Vatican II. In fact, recent years have witnessed a semi-resurgence of conservative movements both within and outside the confines of the church hierarchy. Veteran Vatican analyst and journalist Allen, however, outlines a set of trends he believes will truly transform the church as we know it. Individual chapters that are devoted to examining these trends in detail include a world church, Evangelical Catholicism, Islam, the new demography, expanding lay roles, the biotech revolution, globalization, ecology, multipolarism, and Pentecostalism. Separately, these trends have little impact; together, they point to the possibility of a radically different future for the Catholic Church. Allen provides reasonable food for thought in this intriguing must-read for all church watchers. --Booklist. (Check catalog)

Reading Jesus : a writer's encounter with the Gospels

by Mary Gordon. Gordon, O. Henry Award winner and best-selling author of novels (e.g., Pearl) and memoirs (e.g., Circling My Mother), has taken on what she deems an impossible project-finding the "real" Jesus as a character of the Gospels read as narratives. Gordon, a skilled writer and thinker, wants to add her voice to the many already spoken, in a tone that neither shouts nor threatens. She is not interested in converting anyone with this book. Gordon, dually influenced by her relationship with Catholicism and the feminist movement, writes well, with passion and candor, exploring those Gospel stories that are part of the fabric of many religious people's psyches. She finds fault with those who read, rewrite, and retell the Gospel words to suit their own agendas. Gordon is a believing skeptic writing of her journey-not a Jefferson trying to clean up the Gospels but a writer mining the rich depths of these sacred texts. Verdict Valuable to the thoughtful scholarly reader, Christian and non-Christian. --Library Journal. (Check Catalog)

A theory of justice

by John Rawls. Rawls's Theory of Justice is widely and justly regarded as this century's most important work of political philosophy. Originally published in 1971, it quickly became the subject of extensive commentary and criticism, which led Rawls to revise some of the arguments he had originally put forward in this work. These revisions were incorporated into the German translation of the work, which first appeared in 1975, and in all subsequent translations (numbering 23 to date). Unfortunately, English speaking readers have not had have access to the revised version until now. This edition will certainly become the definitive one; all scholars will use it, and it will be an essential text for any academic library. It contains a new preface that helpfully outlines the major revisions, and a "conversion table" that correlates the pagination of this edition with the original, which will be useful to students and scholars working with this edition and the extensive secondary literature on Rawls's work. (Check catalog)

Good without God : what a billion nonreligious people do believe

by Greg M. Epstein. The humanist chaplain at Harvard University offers an updated defense of humanism in response to the belligerent attacks on religion put forward by such new atheists as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens. Epstein's approach to religion is respectful, and for the most part, friendly. He sees liberal Christians, Unitarian Universalists, Jews and spiritual self-help gurus, such as Oprah Winfrey, as natural allies of humanists though at times he seems impatient for them to admit they no longer believe in a transcendent God. A student of Sherwin Wine, the late rabbi and founder of Humanistic Judaism, Epstein's humanism is rooted in his mentor's essentially Jewish formulations. His most impassioned argument is with megachurch pastor Rick Warren and other evangelicals who believe secularism is the enemy and a moral society impossible without a belief in God. While such an argument may be needed, Epstein's book is marred by redundancies and a lack of organization that suggests it was hastily put together. --Publisher's Weekly. (Check Catalog)

One simple act

by Debbie Macomber. Macomber, one of today's leading fiction writers with more than 100 million books in print, walks a new path with this nonfiction title. "I've just got to share the news," she says of her book on generosity. "Intentional acts of generosity can open our lives to the very best God has to offer." Macomber builds her book on the biblical story of Jesus' multiplication of five loaves and two fishes, a miracle recorded in all four gospels, using her storytelling prowess to retell the tale. She then takes readers on a journey through the true meaning of generosity (and it's not about cash): encouragement, good deeds, forgiveness and believing the best. She also delves into giving, listening and hospitality, and dips into what generosity means when it comes to Christmas, caregiving and prayer. The theme, Macomber says, is, simply, to offer what you have. She fills out her chapters with real-life stories, suggestions for "Simple Acts" and brief "Discovery" sections. This is a useful, inspiring study of an underpracticed art, written by one who has received, given and witnessed generosity. --Publisher's Weekly. (Check Catalog)

Have a little faith : a true story

by Mitch Albom. In his thirties, Albom's rabbi, after hearing him deliver a speech, asked Albom to deliver the eulogy at his funeral. Not big on faith and married to a Christian woman of Lebanese background, Albom was taken aback. He'd known Rabbi Albert Lewis since he was a child, seeing him as the tall and distant figure somewhere between God and the congregants of the synagogue in a New Jersey suburb. He consented and asked to spend time with Reb to get to know him as a man. In eight years, what began as a reluctant assignment grew into a treasured friendship with a man of unbounded joy, singing everything from show tunes to greetings to his visitors. In his new hometown of Detroit, where he developed a charitable foundation, Albom met Henry Covington, pastor of a dilapidated inner-city church and a humbled former drug dealer and ex-con. Covington's church, with a huge hole in the roof and very few and very poor congregants, obviously needed help. But Albom wasn't sure how much to invest until he began to witness the faith of Covington and his congregation, struggling to overcome poverty, addictions, and hopelessness. Albom parallels time spent with Rabbi Lewis, Pastor Covington, and his own personal spiritual journey as he learned the incredible complexities of faith, finding it, holding on to it, and seeing and appreciating it at work in others. Albom, author of the acclaimed Tuesdays with Morrie (1997), offers another inspirational and heartwarming story about the strength of friendship and power of faith. --Booklist (Check catalog)

Lectures on the history of political philosophy

by John Rawls. After the publication of A Theory of Justice in 1971, Rawls (1921-2002) became the most influential moral and political philosopher in the Western world. As such, the issuing of this posthumous volume, carefully edited by Freeman (philosophy & law, Univ. of Pennsylvania), a former student and teaching assistant from Rawls's courses at Harvard University, is a major event. Rawls discusses Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, J.S. Mill, and Karl Marx (appendixes treat Henry Sidgwick and Joseph Butler as well). He is especially concerned with how each thinker views the fair terms of social cooperation. He distinguishes between being rational (i.e., efficient in pursuit of one's ends) and being reasonable (i.e., willing to cooperate on fair terms with others)-Hobbes did not make this distinction, but it is useful in explaining Locke and Rousseau. Rawls finds in Rousseau the notion of public reason, the key concept of his Political Liberalism. He devotes much attention to the utilitarian tradition, the principal rival of his own approach. An unexpected feature is a sympathetic discussion of Marx. Highly recommended for all philosophy collections. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)