Wright (In the New World, 1987, etc.) takes a poorly planned but intermittently entertaining journey through the American religious landscape. The problem here is that Wright's avowed intention is to ``search for faith,'' to understand religious belief and how it animates people's lives. Yet the six figures he profiles are patently chosen for journalistic sexiness rather than religious profundity. He offers two disgraced preachers (Walker Railey and Jimmy Swaggart), an angry atheist (Madalyn Murray O'Hair), and a Satanist who is either ``a complete fake,'' ``a tortured psychotic,'' or ``the Devil incarnate'' (Anton LaVey) before arriving at the only two subjects who might be thought to exemplify spiritual values (Catholic priest Matthew Fox and Baptist minister William Campbell). The upshot is that Wright's search never dips below the surface, reaching its New Age apotheosis in a sweat-lodge ceremony with Fox and the vague statement that ``something had touched me.'' On the other hand, the author does deliver blood-bright sketches of his motley crew, with the accent on shock (``Jimmy Swaggart stands behind her, pants down, staring at her ass. No doubt he thinks he is staring into hell itself'') rather than insight. Wright explores Swaggart's relation with his cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and sees both as driven by the same demons; records O'Hair's rants against God and LaVey's rage against humanity (``I actually have more respect for vegetables than I do for people,'' says the diabolical dandy); and confronts Railey, a prominent Methodist minister suspected of strangling his wife. Campbell and Fox inspire Wright, the former by his manic social activism, the latter by his loose-knit spirituality. But these offbeat gurus offer too little, too late; many will wonder where the saints of the title can be found. Six slick profiles packed with gritty gossip; but as a religious quest, this never leaves base camp.
Pub Date: March 23, 1993
ISBN: 0-394-57924-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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