Great works of art leave their audience with some mixture of inspiration, desire to emulate, a deeper understanding of what it is to be human, and, towering over all else — a tremendous sense of pure awe. Salman Rushdie's Ground Beneath Her Feet is such a work, though so incredibly dense and alive that, in the reading, it is sometimes easy to overlook, nay, to become lost in, its grandiosity.
February 2008 Archives
The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Good Reads - Social Networking Around Books
Anyone try out GoodReads.com yet? It is a newish (1 year old) social networking site organized around your reading lists and recommendations. Seems like an interesting way of connecting with people and potentially getting good ideas of where to go with one's reading. I've set up an account and added a few books already. If anyone else is on the site, drop me a comment and maybe we can get connected there.
The Babi and Baha'i Religions: From Messianic Shiism to a World Religion
The Bábí and Bahá’í Religions: From messianic Shi’ism to a world religion is a thoroughly researched, academically rigorous, and yet accessible overview of the development, growth, and dominant motifs of these two religions. Its author, Dr. Peter Smith, is a researcher and professor in sociology and religious studies. Himself a Bahá’í, he takes great care to execute a balanced treatise, particularly with regard to subject matter where no substantial "neutral" sources are available. In this reader’s mind, it is an exemplary introduction for any student of the newest of the "world religions."
URI Global Youth Call for Peace in Gaza
A call for reconciliation in Gaza and Israel from a URI Cooperation Circle of which I am a member:
We, members of the Global Youth Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative, wish to express our concern at the current situation in Gaza. Conflict creates hardship and fear for people on both sides and takes its toll on families, young and old and the livelihood of communities and economies.