A Catalogue of Angels: The Heavenly, the Fallen, and the Holy Ones Among Us [Paperback]

Vinita Hampton Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

We often think of angels as winged creatures with supernatural powers that assist us when we are in danger. Where did that image of wings come from? Popular novelist, Vinita Hampton Wright, answers this and other questions in this illuminating and richly informative guide to angels in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

 

In this intriguing book, you will explore the origin and nature of angels, where they dwell, what they do, and how they relate to humanity. You will discover what the three Abrahamic faiths have to say about fallen angels (or, demons), and also see how doctrine and theology sometimes merge with legend and superstition. A short encyclopedia of terms and names is included at book’s end which will enlighten the study of angelic beings in the religions of the world for years to come.

 

“This is the best book available on angels – a wildly popular topic that has long deserved the attention of a thoughtful and talented writer like Vinita Hampton Wright. She brings a poet’s skill, a scholar’s care, and a believer’s heart to the heavenly companions whose presence we might sense, but may know little about.”

-          James Martin, SJ, author of My Life with the Saints

 

“Vinita Hampton Wright has done a wonderful job with a very complex issue: trying to bring Jews, Christians, and Muslims together.”

-          Laleh Bakhitar, Ph.D.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Whether they stare austerely from stained-glass windows in churches or sit among the collectibles in Hallmark stores, angels are a ubiquitous part of American popular culture. In this combination of angelic history and encyclopedia, acclaimed novelist Wright (Dwelling Places), who describes herself as a believer in angels, investigates their manifestations in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the book's first section, she examines scripture, tradition, mysticism and (occasionally) occult materials to explore such topics as where angels are said to dwell, what caused some of them to "fall," how they interact with humankind, and what the angelic hierarchies are in the Abrahamic traditions. Angel narratives, she observes, help connect us to "a universe we will never understand yet in which we hold a position of great esteem, as those loved by God and ministered to by God's many angels." The other half of the book is an alphabetical angelology, spanning Abaddon (an angel of devastation and hell) to Zohar (the major text of the mystical Jewish tradition of the Kabbalah, which tradition states was transmitted through angels). The narrative portion of the book's opening section ends abruptly, and it is not entirely clear whether the book's overall purpose is scholarly or devotional. However, the encyclopedia is a useful tool for those who wish to pursue more advanced studies. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

A book editor, novelist, and believer in angels, Wright focuses on the angels of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, traditions that have in common, she notes, the Jewish prophets and scriptures and that also have similar worldviews. Drawing largely on legend and oral sources, she constructed what "could be considered a primer on angels but certainly not a theological discourse on them." Besides the angels of the three monotheisms, she discusses the nature of angels, recent teachings of the Catholic Church on angels, the hierarchies of angels, how angels fell from grace, and the various types of demons in her three target religions; and she appends a short encyclopedia of angels. Wright clearly knows her stuff but wears her erudition lightly. Anyone interested in angels should appreciate her entertaining and enlightening book. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557254214
• ISBN-13: 978-1557254214
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,202,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

To see what Vinita is doing currently, you can find her posting regularly on her own blog (http://vinitawright.typepad.com)and on Days of Deepening Friendship: An Online Spiritual Journey (http://deepeningfriendship.loyolapress.com). These days she is editing, blogging, giving workshops and retreats, and working on a new novel (yet to be named and too young and fragile to be exposed to the outside world). She's also on Facebook and Twitter, although "I tweet only sporadically, which probably defeats the purpose entirely--sorry about that, Tweetlings!" She's begun building a book shelf on Shelfari and hopes to connect with like minds through the books people are reading.

Vinita Hampton Wright has been a book editor for nearly two decades, currently senior editor at Loyola Press in Chicago. She leads workshops around the country on the creative-spiritual process--The Soul Tells a Story grew out of this work. Of her full-length novels, Velma Still Cooks in Leeway won a Logos Book-of-the-Year award, and Dwelling Places was selected by Christianity Today as Best Fiction of 2007.

Wright recently published an updated edition of Simple Acts of Moving Forward, and her most recent nonfiction, Days of Deepening Friendship, focuses on the spiritual experience of women. She now leads retreats on this topic (contact her at [e-mail]).

Vinita loves to cook, walk the city of Chicago, and watch movies. She and photographer/designer Jim Wright have been married 18 years. They share a bungalow on the far South Side with 2 cats and 2 dogs, all of them rescues, all spoiled, and--depending on the day--helpful or not to Vinita's creative process. Vinita is finally learning to garden and now adds homegrown tomatoes, peppers, and herbs to her little feasts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A very bad Dictionary of Angels, May 17, 2010

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E. Bradley (Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Catalogue of Angels: The Heavenly, the Fallen, and the Holy Ones Among Us (Paperback)

There are several books claiming to be dictionaries and encyclopedias of Angelic beings
This is not such a book, there is must reading to find the most basic information on only a few Angels