This Hardcover Book item from Verso was reviewed on 6-Nov-2008.
Search ISBN:1859845894 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. God: An Itinerary Reference Book. Classifications : History & Surveys Philosophy Nonfiction Subjects Books Religious Philosophy Nonfiction Subjects Books Comparative Religion Religious Studies Religion & Spirituality Subjects Books History Religious St . Click the following link to view the cover of God: An Itinerary. Related topics: History & Surveys. Philosophy. Nonfiction. Subjects. Books. Religious. Philosophy. Nonfiction. Subjects. Books. requestid: 863e4de8-8539-4c0b-b2da-641565bb9ac6
requestprocessingtime: 0.0693960000000000
salesrank: 1249173
numberofitems: 1
packagedimensions: 105904219766
1) Hardcover Book God: An Itinerary by Verso. This book is not for the fainthearted or the intellectually insecure. It is HARD WORK; every paragraph, every page will require setting aside some time to reflect on what Debray is saying. In minor part this is perhaps due to some difficulties in translation; but in far greater part these required - and rewarding - reflections are the result of contact with the towering genius of the author. Many persons (and certainly this reviewer) may approach Debray with certain reservations, the result of unanswered questions about Debray´s proximity to the murder of Che Guevara; those concerns are simply and quickly forgotten, as they have no relevance to Debray´s subject.
This is not a book of history so much as it is a book of historiography. Persons who have been seduced by that rather arcane field will find themselves in awe of Debray´s remarkable talent for research, exploration, and exposition, but reading and understanding the work requires a firm hold on rationality. Debray´s central question is "How is it possible for God to be younger than His creations?", which, more than a simple question, reflects a startling way to view to the world. More important, however, are the answers...which go a great distance in explaining who we are and how we got to this level of species screwed-up-ness. The bad news is that it takes work to understand; the good news is that it is well worth it. And for the cost-conscious among us, a happy plus: prices for the book have fallen - an indicator of the difficulty of thought, not of value - and one can scarf up on copies at a ridiculously low price. Reading the book may or may not contribute (or detract) from one´s understanding of the nature of deities: but it will most certainly facilitate clarity of thought... and foster a new appreciation of historiography, perhaps the most difficult of the social sciences.¤ 2) Hardcover Book God: An Itinerary by Verso. God, who has changed the lives--and deaths--of men and women, has in turn changed His face and His meaning several times over since His birth three thousand years ago. He may have kept the same name throughout, but God has been addressed in many different ways and cannot be said to have the same characteristics in the year 500 bc as in 400 ad or in the twenty-first century, nor is He the same entity in Jerusalem or Constantinople as in Rome or New York. The omnipotent and punitive God of the Hebrews is not the consoling and intimate God of the Christians, and is certainly not identical with the impersonal cosmic Energy of the New Agers. Regis Debray´s purpose in this major new book is to trace the episodes of the genesis of God, His itinerary and the costs of His survival. Debray shifts the spotlight away from the theological foreground and moves it backstage to the machinery of divine production by going back, from the Law, to the Tablets themselves and by scrutinizing Heaven at its most down-to-earth. Throughout this beautifully illustrated book, he is able to focus his attention not just on what was written, but on how it was written: with what tools, on what surface, for what social purpose and in what physical environment. God: An Itinerary takes the reader from the invention of a God for nomadic cattle herders to a world dominated by God´s own moralizing ´cowboys´. In doing so, it links the history of the Everlasting with the history of the West, illuminating both in the process, and throwing light on contemporary civilisation itself.¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 4-Dec-2008, 18598458949781859845899, 380-550-640-660-021-941-8 
God: An Itinerary, Book, Image © Verso
|
