A brief, beautiful invitation to the study of religion from a Pulitzer Prize winnerHow did our forebears begin to think about religion as a distinct domain, separate from other activities that were once inseparable from it? Starting at the birth of Christianity—a religion inextricably bound to Western thought—Jack Miles reveals how the West's "common sense" understanding of religion emerged and then changed as insular Europe discovered the rest of the world. Finall...

This long-awaited translation of Confessions, which Stephen Greenblatt describes as central to the legacy of Adam and Eve, enlivens the beguiling world of late antiquity.No modern, well-versed literature lover can call her education complete without having read Augustine’s Confessions. One of the most original works of world literature, it is the first autobiography ever written, influencing writers from Montaigne to Rousseau, Virginia Woolf to Ge...

A compelling question for people of faith today is how to remain committed to one's own religious tradition while being open to the beauty and truth of other religions. For example, some fear that Buddhism is a threat to Western faith traditions and express grave doubts about interreligious and cross-cultural encounters. Yet, many who have actually broadened their experience profess to have developed a deeper understanding of and a deeper commitment to their tradition of origin.Thi...

Knowing which road to take isn't always easy when you're six-years-old and growing up in the fast lane. After crashing and burning while showing off, Wolf Pup, Maverick, learns a valuable lesson in what it means to be strong through accepting the help of others.

"The Call of the Wild, a timeless adventure novel by Jack London, was first published in 1903. This gripping tale takes readers on a journey through the rugged wilderness of the Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush. The story revolves around Buck, a remarkable dog—a crossbreed between a St. Bernard and a Scotch shepherd. Buck's carefree life in Santa Clara County, California is abruptly disrupted when he is stolen and transported northward. His journey leads him to the bustling to...

The superfamily Chalcidoidea (the jewel wasps) are part of the insect order Hymenoptera. The superfamily comprises more than 27,000 known species, with an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, meaning that the vast majority have yet to be discovered and described. Most of the species are parasitoids, attacking the egg, larval stage or pupal stage of their host, though many other life cycles are known including gall associates and fig pollinators. This landmark volume has ...

Who is Allah? What does He ask of those who submit to His teachings? Pulitzer Prize-winner Jacke Miles gives us a deeply probing, revelatory portrait of the world’s second largest, fastest-growing and perhaps most tragically misunderstood religion. In doing so, Miles illuminates what is unique about Allah, His teachings, and His resolutely merciful temperament, and he thereby reveals that which is false, distorted, or simply absent from the popular conception of the heart of Islam....

A brief, beautiful invitation to the study of religion from a Pulitzer Prize winner.How did our forebears begin to think about religion as a distinct domain, separate from other activities that were once inseparable from it? Starting at the birth of Christianity—a religion inextricably bound to Western thought—Jack Miles reveals how the West’s “common sense” understanding of religion emerged and then changed as insular Europe discovered the rest of the world. In a ...

In a time of plague, fundamental questions become immediate and personal. The pandemic, droughts, floods, fire, political violence: the world has been grimly reminded of the proximity and inevitability of death. Jack Miles and Mark C. Taylor—acclaimed public intellectuals and scholars of religion, one a Christian and the other an atheist, close friends for fifty years—have spent their lives grappling with questions of ultimate concern. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, locked down at ...

In a time of plague, fundamental questions become immediate and personal. The pandemic, droughts, floods, fire, political violence: the world has been grimly reminded of the proximity and inevitability of death. Jack Miles and Mark C. Taylor—acclaimed public intellectuals and scholars of religion, one a Christian and the other an atheist, close friends for fifty years—have spent their lives grappling with questions of ultimate concern. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, locked down at ...

"[A] fascinating recasting of the story of Jesus." —Elliot Wolfson, New York UniversityIn July 2008, a front-page story in the New York Times reported on the discovery of an ancient Hebrew tablet, dating from before the birth of Jesus, which predicted a Messiah who would rise from the dead after three days. Commenting on this startling discovery at the time, noted Talmud scholar Daniel Boyarin argued that "some Christians will find it shocking—a challenge ...

Taking California as a window into the diversity of religion in America, Golden States of Grace documents marginalized communities at prayer in their own faith traditions. The collection is thoroughly interfaith, introducing us to the nation's only halfway house for addicts self-identified as Jewish, a transsexual gospel choir, a Buddhist community in San Quentin, a Mormon congregation organized by the deaf for the deaf, Latina sex workers worshipping the female folk deity Santísi...