A worthwhile and readable introduction to Sikhi and a strong testament to peaceful living.
Lessons from the Sikh faith.
Singh provides an accessible work that combines personal testimony of a fascinating and little-understood ethnic and religious minority in America and an introduction to the teachings of Sikhi (the author uses the Punjabi noun as opposed to the colonialized Sikhism). Singh’s life story—and the history of the Sikh community—has been shaped by misunderstanding, racism, and violence. The author recounts a shocking array of racial confrontations with people on public streets, in schools, in airports, and elsewhere. He chronicles the Sikh struggle through numerous periods of oppression and mass murder in India as well as incidents in the U.S., including the post–9/11 murder of a Sikh man and the 2012 massacre of a Sikh congregation in 2012. “They didn’t have to forgive the man who’d tormented them, but they didn’t have to internalize his hate either,” writes Singh. “Rather than calling for blood or revenge, they shared with the world a core Sikh teaching: “No fear, No hate (Nirbhau, Nirvair).” This concept—to “fight hate with love”—has helped the author deal with his own anger. He points to three major components of his faith that shaped his positivity: “chardi kala,” a teaching that imbues life with optimism and gratitude even amid pain and suffering; “ik oankar,” the concept that all people are divine, or have a light of divinity within them, making all people equal and worthy of respect; and “seva,” the practice of expressing love in all things, especially through service. “With each selfless act,” writes Singh, “we become slightly less selfish; with each loving action, we become slightly more loving.” The author calls on readers to seek a life of active empathy, seeing each person, even those who are hurtful, as valuable and worthy of kindness and love.
A worthwhile and readable introduction to Sikhi and a strong testament to peaceful living.Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-08797-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
An incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.
An examination of how the U.S. can revitalize its commitment to freedom.
In this ambitious study, Snyder, author of On Tyranny, The Road to Unfreedom, and other books, explores how American freedom might be reconceived not simply in negative terms—as freedom from coercion, especially by the state—but positive ones: the freedom to develop our human potential within sustaining communal structures. The author blends extensive personal reflections on his own evolving understanding of liberty with definitions of the concept by a range of philosophers, historians, politicians, and social activists. Americans, he explains, often wrongly assume that freedom simply means the removal of some barrier: “An individual is free, we think, when the government is out of the way. Negative freedom is our common sense.” In his careful and impassioned description of the profound implications of this conceptual limitation, Snyder provides a compelling account of the circumstances necessary for the realization of positive freedom, along with a set of detailed recommendations for specific sociopolitical reforms and policy initiatives. “We have to see freedom as positive, as beginning from virtues, as shared among people, and as built into institutions,” he writes. The author argues that it’s absurd to think of government as the enemy of freedom; instead, we ought to reimagine how a strong government might focus on creating the appropriate conditions for human flourishing and genuine liberty. Another essential and overlooked element of freedom is the fostering of a culture of solidarity, in which an awareness of and concern for the disadvantaged becomes a guiding virtue. Particularly striking and persuasive are the sections devoted to eviscerating the false promises of libertarianism, exposing the brutal injustices of the nation’s penitentiaries, and documenting the wide-ranging pathologies that flow from a tax system favoring the ultrawealthy.
An incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9780593728727
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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