Evening Thoughts [Hardcover]

Thomas Berry (Author), Mary Evelyn Tucker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Among the contemporary voices for the Earth, none resonates like that of noted cultural historian Thomas Berry. His teaching and writings have inspired a generation’s thinking about humankind’s place in the Earth Community and the universe, engendering widespread critical acclaim and a documentary film on his life and work.
This new collection of essays, from various years and occasions, expands and deepens ideas articulated in his earlier writings and also breaks new ground. Berry opens our eyes to the full dimensions of the ecological crisis, framing it as a crisis of spiritual vision. Applying his formidable erudition in cultural history, science, and comparative religions, he forges a compelling narrative of creation and communion that reconciles modern evolutionary thinking and traditional religious insights concerning our integral role in Earth’s society.
While sounding an urgent alarm at our current dilemma, Berry inspires us to reclaim our role as the consciousness of the universe and thereby begin to create a true partnership with the Earth Community. With Evening Thoughts, this wise elder has lit another beacon to lead us home.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas Berry,one of the leading environmental thinkers in North America, was the director of the Riverdale Center for Religious Research and founder of the History of Religions Program at Fordham University. His major publications includeThe Dream of the Earth(1988),The Universe Story,with Brian Swimme (1992), andThe Great Work(1999). He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.Mary Evelyn Tuckeris coordinator of the Forum on Religion and Ecology and a visiting professor at Yale University's Institute for Social and Public Policy. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books; 1 edition (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578051304
• ISBN-13: 978-1578051304
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In comparison, our cultural thinking is dead., October 8, 2006

By 

Annemarie Askwith (Sault Ste. Marie, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Evening Thoughts (Hardcover)

The perspective I have come to is that for most of my life I lived in a human world which has not been able to offer in any comprehensive way, what really matters.

What is going on is that the sources of human survival, imagination, knowledge and emotional balance have been diminished, distanced, ignored and replaced by an enslaving, stale and insulting world views.

Enter Thomas Berry who after a lifetime of scholarship on human cultures has received the gifts of the scientific community and relit our human drama and our personal value. We are fortunate to be born into a community that knows how to survive through amazing trials. We are fortunate to be born into a school that has incomprehensible libraries and teachers to access. We are made with genes already experienced in phenomenal truth, art, music, flexibility and openness to diversity and enhancing possibility. There is nothing in the vast developing universe that is really foreign to us--it is our home and at this time in human history, we have a dinguished role to play. You'll have to read him to see what these remarks mean.

There is no one I have ever met, heard or read who comes close to explaining the grief and chaos of our times and to offering a healing of being and living as does Thomas Berry.

This is what children need to learn. This is the heroic task that young adults yearn to be presented. This is the good news that will bring a sign of contentment to more than our hopes. This is the story that provides a standard for every profession but especially education, economics, religion and government. At last we begin to hear what really matters.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crucial Thoughts for Our Time, January 11, 2007

By 

John E. Killeen (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Evening Thoughts (Hardcover)

Outstanding brief introduction to the thoughts of Thomas Berry, one of the visionary thinkers of our time in terms of ecology, impact of the human on the earth, and providing a promising larger vision of the possibilities for the future. The collection of thoughts will appear a bit repetitive at first glance, but I found the repetition of the key thoughts from different perspectives useful. Highly recommended. Rated 4 star instead of 5 due only to the repetitiveness.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'God' created the entire world, August 23, 2007

By 

Edward J. Lamb (Wandering, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Evening Thoughts (Hardcover)

Fr. Thomas Berry emphasizes that all things and beings have a place in Creation. It is a stimulating relief to have such a well respected scholar support what is my heart's understanding of the world I know. He is calm and accepting of the concept 'inclusiveness'. Science and spirituality are shown to be not only compatible but inseperable. The Universe Story tells us how our world was formed and comes alive. Thomas Berry emphasises appreciation of the beauty and strength found all around us. We are told we are moving into a new geologic time called the 'ecozoic' by the author. This book will help smooth our moves into the next chapter of the Creation.