Breaking and Entering: A Novel Exploring Issues Of Family, Religion And Politics by Eileen Pollack

On January 20, 2012, in Book Reviews, Fiction, by Editor

Set against the tragic events of the Oklahoma City bombings, Breaking and Entering follows Christian/Jewish couple Louise and Richard Shapiro as they move from California to rural Michigan with their daughter Molly in an attempt to save their marriage.

Europe’s Angry Muslims: The Revolt of The Second Generation by Robert Leiken

On January 20, 2012, in Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, Political, Religious Studies, Social Studies, by Editor

Bombings in London, riots in Paris, terrorists in Germany, fury over mosques, veils and cartoons–such headlines underscore the tensions between Muslims and their European hosts. Did too much immigration, or too little integration, produce Muslim second-generation anger?

Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty by John M. Barry

On January 19, 2012, in Biographies & Memoirs, Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, by Editor

Acclaimed historian John M. Barry explores the development of these fundamental ideas through the story of the man who was the first to link religious freedom to individual liberty, and who created in America the first government and society on earth informed by those beliefs.

The Man in the Middle: An Inside Account of Faith and Politics in the George W. Bush Era by Timothy S. Goeglein

The Man in the Middle is Goeglein’s unique insider account of why he believes most of the 43rd president’s in-office decisions were made for the greater good, and how many of those decisions could serve as a blueprint for the emergence of a thoughtful, confident conservatism.

Kayak Morning: Reflections on Love, Grief, and Small Boats by Roger Rosenblatt

In Making Toast, Roger Rosenblatt shared the story of his family in the days and months after the death of his thirty-eight-year-old daughter, Amy. Now, in Kayak Morning, he offers a personal meditation on grief itself. “Everybody grieves,” he writes. From that terse, melancholy observation emerges a work of art that addresses the universal experience of loss.

American Dervish: A Novel About Religious And Ethnic Identity In America by Ayad Akhtar

On January 5, 2012, in Book Reviews, Fiction, by Editor

American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America.

Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by H.H. Dalai Lama

On December 22, 2011, in Book Reviews, Health, Mind & Body, Nonfiction, Religious Studies, by Editor

Beyond Religion is an essential statement from the Dalai Lama, a blueprint for all those who yearn for a life of spiritual fulfillment as they work for a better world.

Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life by James Martin

On November 26, 2011, in Book Reviews, Health, Mind & Body, Nonfiction, Religious Studies, by Editor

In Between Heaven and Mirth, James Martin, SJ, assures us that God wants us to experience joy, to cultivate a sense of holy humor, and to laugh at life’s absurdities—not to mention our own humanity. Father Martin invites believers to rediscover the importance of humor and laughter in our daily lives and to embrace an essential truth: faith leads to joy.

A Plain And Fancy Christmas – A Novel by Cynthia Keller

On October 4, 2011, in Book Reviews, Fiction, by Editor

Raised in a Pennsylvania Amish community, young mother Rachel Yoder has led a simple life within her close-knit family. Widowed three years ago, she has moved back in with her parents, attempting to raise her daughter, Katie, without further emotional upheaval.

Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age by Robert N. Bellah

On October 1, 2011, in Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, by Editor

Religion in Human Evolution is a work of extraordinary ambition—a wide-ranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have most often imagined were worth living. It offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not exclusively cultural evolution.