Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America [Paperback]

John Farina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2002

This wonderful new resource comprised of a broad range of reactions to the attack on America includes the voices of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and others from a variety of religious movements.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 61st chapter of Isaiah speaks of comforting those who mourn "to give them beauty for ashes." John Farina's collection, Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America, features a diverse hodgepodge of responses to September 11, from the Le Monde editorial "Nous Sommes Tous Americains" to ethicist Jean Bethke Elshtain's account of religious leaders meeting with President Bush and Andrew Sullivan's essay "This is a Religious War." Some of the most compelling contributions are from individuals who describe their personal experiences, including a Julliard student who stayed at the Armory late into the night, playing every piece of music he knew from memory for the rescue workers. The collection is somewhat marred by less thoughtful pieces, such as Pat Robertson's simplistic and dangerous "God Almighty Is Lifting His Protection." The anthology is a mixed bag that will succeed more as a historical record of many different responses to the tragedy than as spiritual nourishment in a time of crisis.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824519736
• ISBN-13: 978-0824519735
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,414,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Opengroup.com, March 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America (Paperback)

This wonderful new resource comprised of a broad range of reactions to the attack on America includes the voices of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and others from a variety of religious movements. Provocative and profound.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars out of evil, good, March 18, 2002

By 

Roger Sorrentino (Yonkers, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America (Paperback)

Beauty for Ashes is clearly the most thoughtful, finely textured of the Sept. 11 remembrance books. John Farina, who has also edited the award winning Classics of Western Spirituality Series, has skillfully created a meditation on the Lord's Prayer from the 100 contributions of theologians, political leaders and artists.
Solidarity in suffering,providence, theodicy, forgiveness and healing are the themes presented, along with the practical questions of how religion influences political reactions and what is the future of Islamic-Christian relations.
This collection is not for the simple minded: because its different voices often speak in counterpoint. Hence there is something to both offend and more often enlighten every reader.