Not easy reading, but certainly timely, and as compassionate as it is cerebral.
Thoughts and reflections from an Episcopalian bishop who has drawn the ire of the current Presidential administration for remonstrating with its tone and values.
Boiled down only a little from the most recent edition of Budde’s How We Learn To Be Brave (2023, 2025), this version for younger audiences calls on literary examples like Frodo and Harry Potter, along with biblical and historical ones from Esther and Eleanor Roosevelt to Martin Luther King Jr., to show courage in action, but most of the discourse’s more rarefied intellectual foundations remain intact. While meditating on topics such as the central importance of persistence, of (as a chapter head puts it) “Stepping Up to the Plate,” and of accepting the reality of suffering and failure in the course of our personal “courageous journey,” the author draws insights from not only her own experiences but, to pick a few, Ignatian spirituality, the interracial ministry of Howard Thurman, and womanist theologian Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas. It’s heavy going, but an emphatic foreword from Bliss, himself a theologian, and an eloquent opening plea to honor “the inherent dignity of every human being” in the face of a burgeoning “culture of contempt” may provide enough impetus for serious and concerned readers to stay the course.
Not easy reading, but certainly timely, and as compassionate as it is cerebral. (end notes) (Nonfiction. 11-18)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9798217113811
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
An introduction to Islam as evocative as it is provocative.
A lively and accessible introduction to Islam.
If it accomplished nothing else, Aslan’s first book would be worthwhile for its clear expositions of the basics of Islamic history and Muslim thought. Aslan, a professor (Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies/Univ. of Iowa) and New York Times Middle East consultant, walks through the life of the Prophet, the redaction of the Qur’an, and the Five Pillars that are fundamental to Muslim life and practice. But these helpful expositions are just the starting point for making two arguments. First, Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations—the theory most pundits have gravitated toward since 9/11—is an inadequate description of the current world scene. What we really have, Aslan says, is a clash of monotheisms, competing particularistic, and often exclusive, claims about the nature of God, revelation, and prophecy. Second, there is real possibility for democracy in the Middle East. Aslan paints the Prophet’s teachings in a compelling light: not unlike Jesus (Aslan does make explicit comparisons between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), Aslan’s Muhammad was fiercely concerned with the rights of the oppressed and marginalized; but many Muslim scholars who came after Muhammad were just as fiercely concerned to evade the egalitarian implications of the Prophet’s teaching. (Muhammad emerges here almost as a proto-feminist. It’s the centuries of men who came after him who seem bent on backlash.) Aslan argues that Islam can—indeed must—“be used to establish a genuinely liberal democracy in the Middle East.” But the democracy he envisions is not a colonial democracy, imported from Europe or America. It is an indigenous democracy, with a distinctly Islamic flavor. Readers will gravitate toward No God But God not only because of its stimulating arguments, but also because it’s so well put together as a literary work. Aslan isn’t just a mere scholar and reporter; he also attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and it shows.
An introduction to Islam as evocative as it is provocative.Pub Date: March 22, 2005
ISBN: 1-4000-6213-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2005
Written for today’s urban Muslim boys, this guide to faithful living is wise and understanding. Twenty-eight short chapters are divided into two sections: “Problems” and “Solutions,” in which the authors, both school administrators who understand teen language, acknowledge that modern culture and technology are often at odds with the teachings of the Qu'ran. Peppered with slang, chapters individually address teen problems such as peer pressure, parents, immodest dress, depression and social networking. Through Qu'ran quotes and stories of Islamic prophets and scholars, readers are encouraged to act in ways that are in keeping with their religion but do not promote isolation from modern society. The end of each chapter in the “Problems” section offers life tips that are Qu'ran-focused but often universally applicable, such as “Always be encouraging towards others with fewer blessings…than you.” In the “Solutions” part of the book, chapters end with tips on becoming more involved in the faith. The copyediting, design and binding leave much to be desired, but readers who pick this up will find the man-to-man advice practical and uplifting. (Religion. 14-18)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84774-012-0
Page Count: 183
Publisher: Kube Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
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