Synopses & Reviews
“Provocative . . . the book brims with splendid insights.” —
Los Angeles TimesJerusalem: the ancient City on a Hill, a place central to three major religions, a transcendent fantasy that ignites religious fervor unlike anywhere else on earth. James Carrolls urgent, masterly Jerusalem, Jerusalem uncovers the history of the city and explores how it came to define culture in both the Middle East and America.
Carroll shows how the New World was shaped by obsessions with Jerusalem, from Christopher Columbuss search for a westward route to the city, to the fascination felt by American presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan. Heavenly Jerusalem defines the American imagination — and always the earthly city smolders. Jerusalem fever, inextricably tied to Christian fervor, is the deadly — unnamed — third party to the Israeli-Palestinian wars. Understanding this fever is the key that unlocks world history, and the diagnosis that gives us our best chance to reimagine peace.
“I dare you to read this book and see Jerusalem, or yourself, the same way.” — Bernard Avishai, author of The Hebrew Republic
"So provocative and illuminating that it should not be overlooked by anyone who cares about the future of Jerusalem." — Jewish Journal
Review
"A masterful look at the paradoxical city on a hill...a meditation unlike any book published this season, indeed a meditation for all seasons." - Boston Globe "Provocative" - San Francisco Chronicle "Jerusalem, Jerusalem [is] James Carroll's timely contribution to richer understanding of the conflict over this city....If you want to follow the twists and turns between Israelis and Palestinians over who may end up controlling what in the holy city and why, reading Carroll's book is a helpful place to begin." -St. Louis Today "[Jerusalem, Jerusalem brings a fresh interpretation of the city as well as the spiritual impetus of three monotheisitic religions' toehold in its long, bloody past....By reading this landmark book, those who think they know all there is to know about Jerusalem or the three religions that have coalesced around it will discover how much they didn't know." -Oklahoman the compelling follow-up to [Carroll's] best-selling Constantines Sword...his use of Jerusalem as a prism to examine the development of monotheism, and his prescription for what he believes might be a more positive future path, provide a powerful and provocative intellectual journey." - BookPage "one of the broadest and most balanced accounts of the city of King David in recent years...Conceptually profound, richly detailed, and wonderfully realized, this book brings to life the dynamic story of the Divided City." - STARRED, Publishers Weekly "Carrolls writing is so compelling, so beautifully constructed, that, ironically, the book can be a very slow read. There is something on almost every page that makes the reader want to stop and contemplate. For those meeting Jerusalem for the first time, this volume makes a stunning introduction. For others, who have struggled with the citys conundrums, either its symbolic meaning in the history of civilization or its place in the modern world, Carrolls reflections will add clarity if not closure." - STARRED, Booklist "A sound, deeply felt study of Jerusalem as the 'cockpit of violence' for the three Abrahamic religions....Another winner from a skillful writer and thinker of the first rank." - Kirkus "Carroll here explores not Jerusalem but the idea of Jerusalem—how, from the Crusades to Christopher Columbuss Jerusalem-centric view to the founding of Israel, the city has inspired passionate idealism and hence conflict....one of my nonfiction favorites." - Library Journal
Synopsis
From a National Book Award-winning and bestselling author, James Carroll's examination and explaination of why he is till a practicing catholic, set against the history of the Catholic Church in America and the sometimes glorious, sometimes discouraging actions of its leaders.
Practicing Catholic is a personal history of the American Catholic Church during James Carrolls lifetime. It traces the transformation of a medieval institution suspicious of American ideas of freedom and democracy into a church that has begun to embrace basic American principles of pluralism and respect for conscience. The book tells the story of heroes (Pope John xxiii, Thomas Merton, Cardinal Richard Cushing, William Sloane Coffin), and great events (Vatican ii, the Kennedys, the end of the Cold War). Considering the new meaning of belief in a secular world, it stands against the fundamentalisms of “neo-athetists” as well as of born again Christians. The book shows how and why the world needs a renewed, rational, vital Catholic Church. All of this is centered in the life-long journey of its author, who embraced the priesthood in his youth, but who finds in the writing life a renewal of religious belief. For James Carroll faith is a practice-- like all practice, it aims at getting better.
Synopsis
"Offers controversial insights on modern American Catholicism. A captivating look at the Church and a call for change from within its numbers." -- Kirkus Reviews
A clear-eyed and personal examination of the Catholic faith, its leaders, and its complicated history by National Book Award-winner James Carroll
James Carroll turns to the notion of practice--both as a way to learn and a means of improvement--as a lens for this thoughtful and frank look at what it means to be Catholic. He acknowledges the slow and steady transformation of the Church from its darker, medieval roots to a more pluralist and inclusive institution, charting along the way stories of powerful Catholic leaders (Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton, John F. Kennedy) and historical milestones like Vatican II. These individuals and events represent progress for Carroll, a former priest, and as he considers the new meaning of belief in a world that is increasingly as secular as it is fundamentalist, he shows why the world needs a Church that is committed to faith and renewal.
Synopsis
At a time when millions of Catholics are questioning the deepest aspects of their faith, James Carroll delivers a tour de force, a searching book about what it means to be a Catholic today. Brilliantly wresting meaning from the historical, social, and religious strands of his personal story, Carroll delivers a loving critique of the Church and offers an incisive vision for renewal. He vividly brings to life the people and events that have shaped American Catholicismfrom JFK and Cardinal Richard Cushing to the Second Vatican Council and the ascendancy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy. Catholics and lapsed Catholics alike will recognize their own stories in Carrolls reflections on his religious upbringing and his journey to discover a new Catholic identity. Practicing Catholic creates space for the millions of practicing, questioning, or doubting Catholics who are looking for a way to reconcile the acts of Church leaders with the faith and the Church they still want to claim as their own.
Synopsis
A clear-eyed and personal examination of the Catholic faith, its leaders, and its complicated history by National Book Award-winner James Carroll
James Carroll turns to the notion of practice—both as a way to learn and a means of improvement—as a lens for this thoughtful and frank look at what it means to be Catholic. He acknowledges the slow and steady transformation of the Church from its darker, medieval roots to a more pluralist and inclusive institution, charting along the way stories of powerful Catholic leaders (Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton, John F. Kennedy) and historical milestones like Vatican II. These individuals and events represent progress for Carroll, a former priest, and as he considers the new meaning of belief in a world that is increasingly as secular as it is fundamentalist, he shows why the world needs a Church that is committed to faith and renewal.
Synopsis
From the author of the New York Times best-selling Constantine's Sword comes a richly layered history, fueled by powerful insight, of the ancient city at the epicenter of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim experience.
About the Author
James Carroll was raised in Washington, D.C., and ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1969. He served as a chaplain at Boston University from 1969 to 1974, then left the priesthood to become a writer. A distinguished scholar-
in-residence at Suffolk University, he is a columnist for the Boston Globe and a
regular contributor to the Daily Beast.
His critically admired books include Practicing Catholic, the National Book Award-winning An American Requiem, House of War, which won the first PEN/Galbraith Award, and the New York Times bestseller Constantines Sword, now an acclaimed documentary.
Table of Contents
Contents
One: Introduction: Two Jerusalems • 1
1. Heat 1
2. Jerusalem Today 5
3. Hic 13
4. A Personal Note 17
Two: Deep Violence • 24
1. The Clock of the Past 24
2. Mark Makers 28
3. Enter Jerusalem 32
4. Sacrifi ce 36
Three: The Bible Resists • 44
1. Wartime Literature 44
2. Wars That Did Not Happen 46
3. Gods Ambivalence 50
4. Conceived in Jerusalem,
Born in Exile from Jerusalem 56
5. The Empty Temple 64
6. Abrahams Kill 70
7. Apocalypse Then 72
Four: The Cross Against Itself • 77
1. Jesus to Jerusalem 77
2. Romes War and Its Consequences 81
3. The New Temple 89
4. Scapegoat Mechanism 95
5. The Violence of Christians 99
6. Apocalypse Now 106
Five: The Rock of Islam • 113
1. No god but God 113
2. Al Quds 121
3. The Masterpiece Relic 126
4. Jerusalem Agonistes 132
5. 1099 136
6. Knights Templar 139
7. Christopher the Christ Bearer 151
Six: City on a Hill • 155
1. Reformation Wars 155
2. Separatists 166
3. The God of Peace 173
4. Return to Jerusalem 181
5. Temple Roots 185
6. Jerusalem Marchers 189
Seven: Messiah Nation • 194
1. Jerusalem and Exile 194
2. The Printing Press and Ottoman Jerusalem 199
3. The Peaceful Crusade 205
4. Restorationism 209
5. Abrahams Altar 211
6. Gods Right Arm 221
7. Apostolic Succession 225
Eight: Jerusalem Builded Here • 231
1. The Last Crusader 231
2. Diasporas End 240
3. Waiting to Baptize You 243
4. Grand Muft i 248
5. Eichmann in Jerusalem 255
6. Nakba 262
7. Soap 267
8. Twins in Trauma 275
Nine: Millennium • 278
1. The Temple Weapons 278
2. Sacrifi ce Operatives 286
3. Crusade 292
Ten: Conclusion: Good Religion • 296
1. Neither Secular Nor Sacred 296
2. Not Gods Way, But Mans 301
3. Learning from History 307
Notes • 319
Bibliography • 382
Acknowledgments • 394
Index • 397