Powerful Prayers [Hardcover]

Larry King (Author), Irwin Katsof (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

A collection of funny and refreshing conversations with various well-known people in arts, sports, politics and more, describes how prayer affects the lives of people from all areas of life. Reprint. LJ.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What do sex and prayer have in common? Everybody does it, but nobody talks about it. I used to think it was just sex, but after reading talk-show host Larry King's Powerful Prayers, I found out that everybody's praying. Leave it up to Larry to pry it out of them. Actors Elliott Gould and Steven Seagal, writers Tom Robbins and Anthony Robbins, world leaders Gerald Ford and Margaret Thatcher. We don't normally look to these people for religious advice, but Larry King is obsessed with knowing what prayer is and why people pray. Speaking in his own voice, King, a secular hedonist, blunders through the sage advice of coauthor Rabbi Irwin Katsof, never happy until he hears personal stories of the significance of prayer in daily life. We hear from religious figures as well: Jerry Falwell, Deepak Chopra, the Dalai Lama, and Robert Schuller. But when Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, or billionaire investor John Templeton say that they pray on a daily basis, you sit up and take notice. King learns that prayer has a personal significance unique to each person's own experience. Reading about this variety of opinions on prayer and following along on King's mission, makes Powerful Prayers one powerful experience. --Brian Bruya

From Library Journal

Famed talk-show host King and his guide, Rabbi Katsof, dare to ask bold questions of themselves and cultural figures about prayer. Specifically, they ask such people as Jimmy Carter, Jack Kevorkian, Muhammad Ali, Gerald Ford, Shimon Peres, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Alexander Haig, Willie Nelson, and others if and how they pray. The provocative, often entertaining discussion that results illuminates the roles of faith, hope, and spiritual longing in modern life. The reader will relate personally to these interviews, as both King and Katsof keep the discussion going with sincerity and depth. Interestingly, King himself moves from agnosticism to religious skepticism. All public libraries will do well to stock this informative, insightful, and life-affirming title.
-?Leroy Hommerding, Citrus Cty. Lib. System, Inverness, FL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Renaissance Books; 1st edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580630340
• ISBN-13: 978-1580630344
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,760,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for inspiration, November 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Powerful Prayers (Hardcover)

Unlike most "religious" category books, this book lacks the preachy quality that causes most readers to not absorb the text. This book insightfully breaks down barriers between different religious beliefs and simply brings forth the universal belief in a higher power. The people that Larry King and Rabbi Katsof chose to interview are made more personable and are made more tangible through their everyday prayers, which are similar to ours, and their quest to be closer to God. This book would make a fabulous holiday gift that is sure to please a recipient of any religious background.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Prayer a Must Read, November 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Powerful Prayers (Hardcover)

Powerful Prayers is a Must Read Reading Powerful Prayers provides you amazingly simple examples of commuincating with God through personal everyday prayer. It opens the door to an otherwise complex arena of thought. The discussion between Larry King and Rabbi Katsof is sensitive and thought provoking. The interviews add incredible depth to the discussion. They also legitimize informal prayer, and the many different ways people have found to communicate with their respective spiritual beings. I recommend this book to everyone who is open to exlporing their individual communication with God. It is a must read. It has changed my entire understanding or paradigm in regards to my relationship with God outside of a house of worship.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Powerful, September 23, 2002

By 

Jess Lorenzo (Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Powerful Prayers: Conversations on Faith, Hope, and the Human Spirit with Today's Most Provocative People (Paperback)

Mr. King delved into the foundation of Spirituality and Religion and made simple an otherwise complex and controversial issue. The book focuses on the individual and his or her communication with God, while setting aside religious beliefs. I would like to recommend to friends who are too formal about prayers and to those who maybe agnostic such as Larry King in his book.