Talking with Sartre : conversations and debates

 by John Gerassi. Across almost five years, Sartre's godson Gerassi (a former editor at Newsweek) met with the philosopher monthly to discuss family, politics, theory, identity, and other topics high in the minds of both men. As recorded in this aptly titled volume, the discussions remained personable, intellectual, and well guided. Stories about Sartre's nearly lifetime companion, Simone de Beauvoir, and Gerassi's father, artist and Spanish revolutionary Fernando Gerassi, are interwoven with memoirs of Sartre's earliest childhood as well as his then contemporary travels in the Middle East. In spite of the familiarity between the two discussants, the reader feels included rather than either excluded by lack of context or in the role of eavesdropper. Sartre's wit and warmth are nicely revealed without losing his still-active and engaged theorizing. VERDICT The whole makes for an eminently readable and compelling window on 20th-century intellectual social life, as well as philosophy and politics. Of wide interest not only to scholars but also to more casual readers. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Just Love; Transforming Civic Virtue

 by Ann Mongoven. By engaging John Rawls and other ethicists who prize impartial standpoints in ethics and politics, Mongoven (Michigan State) shows how the work of caring for particular others in activities such as parenting forms individuals to participate in civic life. Proposing a notion of "disciplined vulnerability," this volume argues for citizens who can recognize moral traditions, but employ and translate them as they navigate tensions between autonomy and relatedness and between smaller communities and the general polis. The work of Mothers against Drunk Driving, an organization founded on the passion of parental love, serves as an important exemplar. This book also presents an overlong tour of liberal theory that seems to detract from its carefully constructive case. The appendix contains case studies showing how the book's argument functions in real politics, allowing Mongoven to ground her case in a way that is too rare in contemporary political theory. This interesting but occasionally meandering book makes important contributions to the debates about the tensions between love and justice, particularity, and impartiality. It models engagement across the disciplines of theology, ethics, and political theory. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Maimonides in his world : portrait of a Mediterranean thinker

 by Sarah Stroumsa. This splendid study of Moses Maimonides expands readers' knowledge of the greatest Jewish thinker of the Middle Ages and his relationship to the cultural world in which he found himself. One is used to thinking of Maimonides as a talented Jewish thinker who was well acquainted with Islamic philosophy and who often drew heavily from it. However, Stroumsa (Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) demonstrates that Maimonides' involvement with his own contemporary cultural world was even more extensive than in philosophy alone. Maimonides spent his entire life in the Mediterranean region, from Spain and North Africa in the west to Palestine and Egypt in the east. Stroumsa shows how widely read and deeply immersed in this diverse Mediterranean culture Maimonides was and how he interpreted his own Jewish tradition from what he learned from his participation in the broader culture, not only with regard to philosophy and religion but also in law, ethics, medicine, and science. --Choice (Check Catalog)

The philosophers' quarrel : Rousseau, Hume, and the limits of human understanding

 by Robert Zaretsky and John T. Scott. In a remarkable salvage operation, Zaretsky and Scott rescue from the wreckage of a famous friendship the remains of two contrasting Enlightenment perspectives. Improbable from the start, the friendship of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and David Hume united a Frenchman of passionate sentiment and a Scot of tough-minded skepticism. Even in these unlikely friends' early ardor, the authors discern incipient tensions that rapidly harden into a bitter antagonism involving partisans on both sides of the Channel. The result of more than conflicting personalities, the Rousseau-Hume breakup involves different critiques of the vaunted rationality governing the Age of Reason. Making sincerity of personal feeling his mainstay, Rousseau leveled histrionic accusations against Hume so vehemently that his erstwhile friend feared for his sanity. Relying for his part on communal solidarity, Hume deflected Rousseau's indictments by strengthening his network of social ties. Though the authors favor Hume in this notorious dispute, they highlight lapses in both men's reasoning and actions. An engaging narrative showing how divergent philosophical principles play out in real life. --Booklist. (Check catalog)

World religions and norms of war

 This collection of essays provides an overview of the history of thought concerning war in various religious traditions. With each chapter written by a different author, the book discusses the following traditions: Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, Japanese religion, Judaism, Roman Catholic Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Christianity, Shi'a Islam, and Sunni Islam. Additionally, the editors contribute introductory and concluding essays. The essays generally provide an evenhanded, detailed overview of the traditions. While there are some gaps and oversights (e.g., traditions of Buddhism other than Theravada are not discussed, the historical peace churches within Christianity receive little attention, the depth of critique of war in the thought of Pope John Paul II is not adequately presented), overall this book offers a very valuable look at the history of religious thought on war and peace. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; interested general readers and lower-level undergraduates. --Choice (Check Catalog)

The great oom : the improbable birth of yoga in America

 by Robert Love / Eastern spirituality and Western commercialism fuse in this flamboyant tale of an iconic American guru. Journalist Love tells the story of Pierre Bernard, a yoga adept from Iowa who made a splash at the turn of the 20th century by enduring bloody piercings and lacerations under trance. His Tantrik Order of disciples in San Francisco and New York soon gained notoriety; after police raided his schools, Bernard was accused of seducing girls and conducting sacred orgies. Delighted tabloids dubbed him "The Great Oom." Bernard rehabilitated himself in the 1920s with the Clarkstown Country Club, a yoga-themed resort and rehab center for the rich on the Hudson, financed by a parade of heiresses who fell under his sway. Love makes his hero a quintessentially American character who yoked his mystic bent to a brash entrepreneurialism; with the riches he made from his yoga initiatives, he started a chemical company, an airport, a semipro baseball team with a midget second baseman, and a trained elephant act. Love credits Bernard with changing public perception of yoga from dissolute exoticism to healthful normalcy, but this colorful, frenetic tale reminds us that money is America's true religion. --Publishers Weekly. (Check Catalog)

Bringing up girls : practical advice and encouragement for those shaping the next generation of women

 by James C. Dobson. Summary: Based on extensive research, and handled with Dr. Dobson's trademark down-to-earth approach, "Bringing Up Girls" equips parents to help their daughters to become healthy, happy, and successful women. (Check Catalog)

The principle of the path : how to get from where you are to where you want to be

 by Andy Stanley. Summary: Your Direction, not Your Intention, Determines Your Destination. There is often a tension between where we want to end up in life and the path we choose to get there. We fail to see that having good intentions is never good enough. Like Charlie Brown, we wrongly believe there's something to be said for trying hard. We need to understand why, in spite of our good intentions, we may have ended up at the wrong destination with our finances, our marriages, our careers, or a host of other dreams. So how do we get from where we are to where we truly want to be? The Principle of the Path is a road map to proper direction and discipline. Includes Extensive Study Guide. (Check catalog)

Savor : mindful eating, mindful life

 by Thích Nhát Hạnh, So essential to healthy eating is a healthy perspective that Zen Buddhist master and prolific author Nhat Hanh joins forces with nutritionist Cheung for a truly holistic approach. The duo pairs the latest nutritional information with the age-old Buddhist practice of mindfulness that is, of being fully aware of all that is going on within ourselves and all that is happening around us to draw attention to what and how we eat. Guidance is offered for recognizing what barriers physical, psychological, cultural, and environmental prevent us from controlling our weight, and readers are encouraged to savor food in order to fully nourish both the body and the mind. To that end, Nhat Hanh provides guided meditations on everything from eating an apple to coping with stressful situations, along with advice on selecting and preparing food, staying active, and avoiding self-criticism. Complete with a discussion of why healthy eating is also good for the environment, this is a uniquely insightful and positive program for wellness: a book of tested wisdom; practical action; and intellectual, emotional, and spiritual nutriments. --Booklist. (Check Catalog)

Cox (theology, Harvard Divinity Sch.; The Secular City) poses the question "What does the future hold for religion, and for Christianity in particular?" and answers by exploring how religious history has moved through three phases. The Age of Faith lasted from the time of Jesus until Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion. During the Age of Belief, creeds and doctrinal divisions dominated, but Cox sees an Age of the Spirit underway that is marked by the decline of dogma and the rise of spirituality. In short chapters, he leads readers through the evolution of Christianity as we know it today and speculates on a future where less emphasis is placed on rigid belief systems and more on spiritual experience within the Christian framework. The author of many books that combine scholarship and personal narrative, Cox once again brings a wide range of current scholarship to examine "a profound change in the elemental nature of religiousness." Verdict Accessible and readable, this is highly recommended for all interested readers.-

 by Harvey Gallagher Cox. Cox (theology, Harvard Divinity Sch.; The Secular City) poses the question "What does the future hold for religion, and for Christianity in particular?" and answers by exploring how religious history has moved through three phases. The Age of Faith lasted from the time of Jesus until Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion. During the Age of Belief, creeds and doctrinal divisions dominated, but Cox sees an Age of the Spirit underway that is marked by the decline of dogma and the rise of spirituality. In short chapters, he leads readers through the evolution of Christianity as we know it today and speculates on a future where less emphasis is placed on rigid belief systems and more on spiritual experience within the Christian framework. The author of many books that combine scholarship and personal narrative, Cox once again brings a wide range of current scholarship to examine "a profound change in the elemental nature of religiousness." Verdict Accessible and readable, this is highly recommended for all interested readers. --Library Journal (Check catalog)