Presents the American philosopher and experimental psychologist's study of such spiritual phenomena as conversion, repentance, mysticism, saintliness, the hope for reward, and the fear of punishment.

Airline captain Rayford Steele goes in search of his family and answers to how billions of people just disappeared off the face of the Earth.

After a deadly ship explosion, nine people, adrift in a raft, struggle to survive at sea and pull a strange man from the sea who claims to be the Lord.

"We congratulate ourselves when we resist the donut in the office breakroom. We celebrate our restraint when we hold back from sending an email in anger. We feel virtuous when we wake up at dawn to get a jump on the day. We put others' needs ahead of our own and believe this makes us exemplary. In On Our Best Behavior, journalist Elise Loehnen explains that these impulses - often lauded as unselfish, distinctly feminine instincts - are actually ingrained...

First published in 1896, Charles Monroe Sheldon's "In His Steps" is a classic of Christian literature whose premise centers on the idea of emulating Christ in one's everyday life. The story concerns the lives of the residents of the fictional railroad town of Raymond, located somewhere in the Northeastern United States. When an out of work man, Jack Manning, appeals for help from Reverend Henry Maxwell, pastor of the first church of Raymond, and later...

“We understand what we want to understand.”

Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with convention and her family’s expectations by choosing a state college over Stanford and earning her own income over accepting her ample monthly allowance. She takes a part-time job from 83-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles, who asks Lauren to transcribe the journal entries of her ancestor...

Book summary by Loudly, this is an abridged version of the original title. "The Power of Positive Thinking" offers a transformative perspective on self-help and personal development, emphasizing optimism, faith, and resilience. It delves into practical strategies for overcoming challenges, cultivating inner strength, and achieving success. This motivational guide encourages readers to harness the power of positive thought to improve their lives,...

Jon Krakauer's literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. He now shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders, taking readers inside isolated American communities where some 40,000 Mormon Fundamentalists still practice polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like...

Anthony Grafton is the Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University. Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) was a Dutch humanist, scholar, and social critic, and one of the most important figures of the Renaissance. The Praise of Folly is perhaps his best-known work. Originally written to amuse his friend Sir Thomas More, this satiric celebration of pleasure, youth, and intoxication irreverently pokes fun at the pieties of theologians...

While accompanying eight high–spirited Jewish delegates to Dharamsala, India, for a historic Buddhist–Jewish dialogue with the Dalai Lama, poet Rodger Kamenetz comes to understand the convergence of Buddhist and Jewish thought. Along the way he encounters Ram Dass and Richard Gere, and dialogues with leading rabbis and Jewish thinkers, including Zalman Schacter, Yitz and Blue Greenberg, and a host of religious and disaffected Jews and Jewish Buddhists....