Insecurity of Freedom [Paperback]

Abraham Heschel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 1987

The Insecurity of Freedom is a collection of essays on Human Existence by one of the foremost Jewish thinkers of our time, Abraham Joshua Heschel.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Schocken (September 27, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805203613
• ISBN-13: 978-0805203615
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,890,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ol' Rabbi Still Bears Studying., July 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Insecurity of Freedom (Paperback)

As I've grown older, I've been less able to stomach theology because of its over- emphasis on and substandard usage of metaphysics. A.J. Heschel's style of theology avoids such errors; thus, I can read him in order to ponder my life's meaning instead of my logic's implication.

The book is a collection of essays, not a few of which found their greatest impact in the late 50's and early 60's. Still, some of his observations on race and nationalism are such that they bear directly on us today. His sort of outside-America view of our problems allows us to see ourselves from a new perspective. This method of seeing a culture from a new (and unexamined) perspective works with individuals as well: this is who you think you are; this is how others have outlined you, but here is what's really at issue.

The great thing about Heschel is that he can usually sniff out the most subtle but important issues in both national cultures and individual lifestyles. He is theologian qua psychologist and theologian qua sociologist. Yet I'm satisfied when he exercises either of these roles. I think you will be as well.

The book is not a heavy hitter. (He has other ones, however, which are as deep as one might want about the meaning of life in a world in which God exists and subtly interacts with humanity.) But it touches on many of the themes most important to Heschel personally. If you've never read any of Heschel, and you want a good sampler of what guided his thinking, this is a fine book with which to start. There's discussion on Maimonides, the founding of the modern nation of Israel, and humanity's position in a God-designed Cosmos. The book is a quick read, and broken into manageable, one-sitting chapters, so it would be easy to read nightly for a month or so, with profit to the soul, or at least to the brain.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perpetually Relevant, September 25, 2002

By 

Valerie Lieber (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Insecurity of Freedom (Paperback)

I found this book used. It is the best find I've made in years. The chapter on Good and Evil is incredibly compelling in our age of boundless evil. The chapter on youth is pitch perfect even 40 years after it was written.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Insecurity of buying used books, March 17, 2010

By 

Wayne Elie Helms (Twin Cities, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: INSECURITY OF FREEDOM PB (Paperback)

the book arrived in excellent like new condition. i was very happy with it and the prompt shipping service.