Synopses & Reviews
It seems that ever since mankind was kicked out of the Garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit, weve been trying to get back in. Or at least, weve been wondering where the Garden might have been. St. Augustine had a theory, and so did medieval monks, John Calvin, and Christopher Columbus. But when Darwins theory of evolution permanently altered our understanding of human origins, shouldnt the search for a literal Eden have faded away? Not so fast.
In Paradise Lust, Brook Wilensky-Lanford introduces readers to the enduring modern quest to locate the Garden of Eden on Earth. It is an obsession that has consumed Mesopotamian archaeologists, German Baptist ministers, British irrigation engineers, and the first president of Boston University, among many others. These quixotic Eden seekers all started with the same brief Bible verses, but each ended up at a different spot on the globe: Florida, the North Pole, Ohio, China, and, of course, Iraq. Evocative of Tony Horwitz and Sarah Vowell, Wilensky-Lanford writes of these unusual characters and their search with sympathy and wit. Charming, enlightening, and utterly unique, Paradise Lust is a century-spanning history that will take you to places you never imagined.
Review
Praise for Paradise LustParadise Lust takes us on a fascinating journey - and one that sheds much light on the meaning of biblical literalism. I won't tell you whether or not she finds Eden, but she did find a great topic.” A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
Part adventure story, part historical narrative, Wilensky-Lanford spins the history of explorers who searched for the Gardens precise earthly coordinates. With adept, well-researched prose, she traces how, from four verses in Genesis
scientists and pseudo-scientists, preachers and theologians, have claimed scientific proof of Paradises locationin Iraq, Sri Lanka, the Seychelles, Florida, Ohio, the North Pole, and elsewhere
. Quick-witted and quirky
Wilensky-Lanford isn't satisfied with asking only "where," she also deftly explores "why?"... meditating not so much on the Garden, but on humanity's first steps from it.” Publishers Weekly
A spirited chase through history, geography and religion
Wilensky-Lanford has certainly done her homework
A lively journey.”Kirkus Reviews
Adam and Eve most definitely lived in Ohio. Or China. Or the North Pole, or Mesopotamia. Actually, the real location of the Garden of Eden (if indeed there was a Garden of Eden) is something of a mystery. In the thought-provoking Paradise Lust, author Brook Wilensky-Lanford explores why this Biblical paradise still fascinates so many.
A sly and entertaining account.” BookPage
[A] smart social history which covers theories both crackpot and credible.” More Magazine
"A bright, bouncy, vastly entertaining account; the perfect guidebook to a fascinating land that may be anywhere or nowhere." Philip Zaleski, editor of The Best Spiritual Writing series
In seeking out the seekers for the biblical Paradise, Brook Wilensky-Lanford has created a paradisaical oasis of a book. Read for information, curiosity, or edification, and receive its pleasures in good faith. But beware: there are bitter roots in the milk and honey.” Andrei Codrescu, author of The Poetry Lesson
"Where was the Garden of Eden? God only knows. But among us mortals, no one knows more than Brook Wilensky-Lanford about the adventurers, scholars, and wing nuts who have told us, verily, that it was in China, or at the North Pole, or--. This is their story, and it is as charming and sly as the serpent who instigated the original Trouble in Paradise." Patricia O'Toole, author of The Five of Hearts and When Trumpets Call
"Scholarly and smart, yet accessible and fun with just the right amount of wit, Paradise Lust is original, impressively researched, and hard to put down." David Farley, author of An Irreverent Curiosity
Wilensky-Lanford writes with charm and erudition about a pursuit we take either all too seriously or not seriously enough: that peculiar but utterly human longing for a lost Eden.” Paul Collins, author of Banvards Folly
"There is great pleasure to be taken from Brook Wilensky-Lanford's affectionate, witty, and carefully-researched survey of crackpot Biblical archaeology, past and present. But the real prize is in the wisdom: including the point that modern science, despite its fancy track suit and pneumatic shoes, chases just as desperately as did the naked and barefoot ancients after their always-elusive quarry, Truth." Les Standiford, author of Bringing Adam Home
Be wary, reader, of this tempting fresh fig of a book. If you bite you shall perhaps acquire more knowledge than you counted on and experience an undue degree of bliss.
The search for a literal Eden is a more American story than you might think. Wilensky-Lanford delivers her comprehensive survey with a wit and levity that serves as perfect fulcrum to the doomed gravity of her subjects.” J.C. Hallman, author of In Utopia and The Hospital for Bad Poets
A fascinating book on a little-discussed topic: the centuries-old quest to locate the Garden of Eden.” Ronald Numbers, author of The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design
Review
Praise for Paradise Lust "A pleasure. Wilensky-Lanford tackles her subject with an appealing mix of serious research and tongue-in-cheek humor. Neither too academic nor too whimsical, the storytelling in Paradise Lust is often irresistible." The New York Times
"Dense, absorbing
[Wilensky-Lanford's] interest in her subject is deep, her narrative is expertly layered, and her interpretations of the seekers motives are more than convincing." Wall Street Journal
"An entertaining history
a thoroughly researched and engaging examination of faith's role in our lives. This is Wilensky-Lanford's first book, and it bodes well for her of-this-world future." Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Paradise Lust takes us on a fascinating journey - and one that sheds much light on the meaning of biblical literalism. I won't tell you whether or not she finds Eden, but she did find a great topic." A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
"A gloriously researched, pluckily written historical and anecdotal assay of humankinds age-old quixotic quest for the exact location of the Biblical garden." Elle
"Witty and exhaustively researched” Associated Press
"Succeeds in doing what the best one-subject historical studies do, which is to reframe history, freshening up long-familiar events
a celebration of the surprisingly peaceful co-existence of
radically different theories." -San Francisco Chronicle
"Edens dream fades, theories are debunked, but new ones sprout as this most original of stories remains timeless." The New York Journal of Books
"If you want dramatic pronouncements about the latitude and longitude of the Garden of Eden, youll have to look elsewhere
But if youre looking for a sly and entertaining account of the ongoing search for paradise, Paradise Lust is it." Bookpage.com
"[A] smart social history which covers theories both crackpot and credible.” More Magazine
"Part adventure story, part historical narrative, Wilensky-Lanford spins the history of explorers who searched for the Gardens precise earthly coordinates
Quick-witted and quirky
Wilensky-Lanford isn't satisfied with asking only "where," she also deftly explores "why?"
meditating not so much on the Garden, but on humanity's first steps from it.” Publishers Weekly
"A spirited chase through history, geography and religion
Wilensky-Lanford has certainly done her homework
A lively journey." Kirkus Reviews
"In the thought-provoking Paradise Lust, author Brook Wilensky-Lanford explores why this Biblical paradise still fascinates so many
A sly and entertaining account." BookPage.com
"Scholarly and smart, yet accessible and fun with just the right amount of wit, Paradise Lust is original, impressively researched, and hard to put down." David Farley, author of An Irreverent Curiosity
"Humorous, meticulously researched and detailed.
an all-around good read." RagMag
"This charming exploration of the enduring place in the Western imagination held by the story of our Edenic origins is all about the searchers, not the search."Macleans
"One of the most enduring and mysterious places in the Bible, the Garden of Eden has fascinated people around the world since ancient times. Those who believe that it is a real place are
a diverse and prominent group of personalities that Brook Wilensky-Lanford describes in her lively new book.
The desire to put Eden on the map is a timeless quest to discover our origins, all told in charming detail." The Daily Beast, a Daily Beast Must Read”
A charming, century-spanning journey about the search for the Garden of Eden
This is truly a fascinating read.”Carol Ann Strahl, Buffalo Rising
About the Author
Brook Wilensky-Lanford grew up on Mount Desert Island, Maine, studied religion at Wesleyan University, and is a graduate of Columbia Universitys M.F.A. program in nonfiction. She has written for The Huffington Post, Salon,
Triple Canopy,
Killing the Buddha, Laphams Quarterly, and
The Exquisite Corpse. She lives in the Garden State.