Tex and Molly, two aging hippies, die suddenly, granting them an audience with various long-forgotten ancient deities and woodland spirits and giving them an opportunity to reinvent their own realities and save the Great North Woods from corporate mutation. Reprint. LJ.

Product Description: Amid the chaos of work, family, and the myriad responsibilities that dominate our lives, the need for retreat remains ever-present. Calling us to solitude, reflection, and quiet, Philip Zaleski offers his monastic prescription for how to properly and effectively find spiritual refreshment...read more

In his introduction to this volume, President Jimmy Carter writes that The Best American Spiritual Writing “approaches the writing of both poetry and prose as a spiritual discipline, a way to explore the mysteries of the soul and the soul’s relationship with God.” As always, editor Philip Zaleski has assembled a wide-ranging and wonderfully eclectic collection that delves headlong into that spiritual discipline, looking to inspire, provoke, and offer insight into modern spirituality and religion. Here you will find Walter Isaacson’s brilliant and provocative portrait of Einstein’s religious life—a cross between his parents’ secularism, his native Judaism, and his Catholic grade-school education. Drawing from his own experience of trying to inhabit multiple worlds, Noah Feldman examines the difficulties facing faith communities as they adhere to tradition yet also strive to be modern, in “Orthodox Paradox.” When “Meeting the Chinese in St. Paul,” Natalie Goldberg, with the help of a broken rhinoceros fan, grapples with this question: how should I live, knowing the world is a confusing place? Pico Iyer weighs in on his tranquil retreat, the holiest place in Japan; Oliver Sacks gives a moving account of a man with retrograde amnesia, striving for a meaningful life devoid of memory; and Ursula K. Le Guin passionately explains, as only she can, the appeal and subtle morality of A. E. Housman’s “A Shropshire Lad: XXXII.”Committed to literary excellence, this “invaluable collection” (Library Journal) also features poetry from distinguished voices such as Wendell Berry, Maxine Kumin, John Updike, and Charles Wright. As Zaleski writes in his foreword, The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008 proves that the writing in this edition is a stirring “medium for contemplating, via the things of the flesh, the things of the spirit.”

A selection of the finest spiritual writing of the year offers a wide variety of essays, poetry, and articles on faith, spirituality, and the influence of religion on every aspect of modern life, reflecting Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and other diverse perspectives in works by John Updike, Robert Bly, George Packer, Adam Gopnik, Marilynne Robinson, and others. Simultaneous.

Product Description: The set, boxed in a lavish silver metallic, features The Best American Travel Writing 2006, edited by Tim Cahill; The Best American Spiritual Writing 2006, introduced by Peter J. Gomes; and, like the first set, The Best American Short Stories 2006, edited by Ann Patchett.

A selection of the finest spiritual writing of the year offers a wide variety of essays, poetry, and articles on faith, spirituality, and the influence of religion on every aspect of modern life, reflecting Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and other diverse perspectives in works by John Updike, Michael Chabon, Malcolm Gladwell, Mary Gordon, and others. Simultaneous.

Paying homage to prayer traditions from around the world and throughout history, this celebration of prayer covers everything from Pentacostalist revivals to the sacred pipe to the Catholic rosary. Reprint.

Product Description: God. It's such a small word to stand for such an immense mystery. Great theologians and ordinary folks have wrestled with it and lost. But this is just as it should be, according to Irma Zaleski. Any answer to the question "Who is God?" that satisfies our minds will likely be a false one, an idea about a reality that transcends ideas...read more

A selection of the finest spiritual writing of the year offers a wide variety of essays and articles on faith, spirituality, and their influence on politics, creativity, literature, and many other fields, reflecting Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and other diverse perspectives in works by W. S. Merwin, Barbara Kingsolver, Mary Gordon, Charles Johnson, Patricia Hampl, and others. Simultaneous.

In the latest addition to the Best American series, a collection of the finest spiritual writing of the year offers a selection of essays and articles on faith, spirituality, and their influence on politics, creativity, literature, and many other fields, reflecting Christian, Muslim, Jewish secular, Hindu, Buddhist, and other diverse perspectives.

Product Description: Throughout the last 2000 years, the Lord's Prayer has been at the center of every form and rule of prayer among Christians. But many of us recite the Lord's Prayer. We have all heard it countless times, but when have we listened to it? This book will encourage readers to turn towards the words of the Lord's Prayer again, this time with their bodies, minds, hearts, and spirit, to listen rather than to say it...read more

Provides concise biographical sketches by key writers and religious leaders of many of the world's most revered religious figures, including the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, in a volume that features the writings of such contributors as Elie Wiesel, Zora Neale Hurston, and Mother Teresa. Original.

A new edition of a respected yearly anthology offers the finest poetry and prose of 2001 that treats such spiritual topics as prayer, enlightenment, religion, and the nature of the holy, including works by Harvey Cox, Philip Levine, Barry Lopez, Toni Morrison, Bill McKibben, W. S. Merwin, Czeslaw Milosz, and other distinguished authors. Original.

A new edition of a respected yearly anthology offers the finest poetry and prose of 2001 that treats such spiritual topics as prayer, enlightenment, religion, and the nature of the holy, including works by Wendell Berry, Robert Coles, Brett Lott, Mary Gordon, Reynolds Price, Terry Tempest Williams, and other distinguished authors. Original. 30,000 first printing. (view table of contents)

From the desert fathers to Kierkegaard, this sweeping collection of Christian writings covers two thousand years of hope, hardship intellectual discourse, and inspiration as Christians struggle with what it means to be a believer. Reprint.

A new edition of a respected yearly anthology offers the finest poetry and prose of 2000 that treats such spiritual topics as prayer, enlightenment, religion, and the nature of the holy, including works by Annie Dillard, Mary Gordon, William Gass, Pico Iyer, John Updike, and other notable authors. Original. 30,000 first printing. (view table of contents)

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A new edition of a respected yearly anthology offers the finest poetry and prose of 1999 that treats such spiritual topics as prayer, enlightenment, religion, and the nature of the holy, including works by Ursula K. LeGuin and Philip Levine. Original. (view table of contents)

The premier volume in a unique annual series gathers the year's best essays, articles, and poems from a variety of religious and spiritual traditions, including the writing of Anne Lamott, Nancy Mairs, Thomas Moore, and Francine Prose. Original.

A collection of instructional and motivational religious customs and traditions concentrates on everyday life and important events such as birth, marriage, and death, with contributions from Joan Halifax, Robert Thurman, Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man, and others.

Provides suggestions on readings, journaling, insights, exercises, and prayers, for anyone to create a retreat from the hectic existence of everyday life