In the Valley of the Shadow, James L. Kugel
In the Valley of the Shadow, James L. Kugel
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In the Valley of the Shadow
On the Foundations of Religious Belief

Author: James L. Kugel

Narrator: George K. Wilson

Unabridged: 8 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/23/2011


Synopsis

When James L. Kugel, one of the world's leading biblical scholars, was diagnosed with an aggressive, likely fatal form of cancer, he said, "I was, of course, disturbed and worried. But the main change in my state of mind was that the background music suddenly stopped. Now I was just down to myself, one little person, sitting in the late summer sun, with only a few things left to do." He recognized that same feeling of smallness expressed in many early religious writings, and in the months that followed, he began a journey of discovery, reexamining the most basic questions about the origins of religion and its universality, which had taken on immediate and vital importance for him.

Weaving reflections on his own struggle—the love of his family became "as tangible as bread"—with the writings of anthropologists, neuroscientists, and poets, he leads listeners from prehistoric religious practices to the religious doubts of modern times via an amazing array of topics: the eerie starkness of medieval cathedral architecture; the "looming Outside" revealed in African witchcraft; biblical encounters with angels; gospel album covers; and—through it all—the peculiar "sense of smallness" that, he argues, characterizes how all humans used to conceive of themselves.

Kugel's look at the whole phenomenon of religion is rigorously honest, often funny, sometimes skeptical, but ultimately a deeply moving affirmation of faith in God. Believers and doubters alike will be struck by its combination of objective scholarship and poetic insight—a beautifully crafted consideration of life's greatest mystery.

About James L. Kugel

James L. Kugel is the Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University and a regular visiting professor of biblical studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He is the author of a number of books on biblical scholarship, including How to Read the Bible, for which he won the National Jewish Book Award for best book; The Great Poems of the Bible; and The Bible As It Was. In 2001, Kugel was awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer Prize in Religion. He lives in Jerusalem, Israel, and in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Edward on July 11, 2013

A friend said to me recently, only half jokingly, "You've got to stop reading those religious books, they're messing up your mind." He could be right, but what's more important than considering speculations about man's place in the universe a lasting concern of all societies, both ancient and moder......more

Goodreads review by David on September 27, 2012

Have you ever had somebody tell you they can do magic tricks, which at the time sounds intriguing because people rarely boast about their magic capabilities? As the time goes by they talk more and more about their awesome magic abilities so much that your interest is piqued. At this point expectatio......more

Goodreads review by Renee on May 30, 2011

James Kugel is a genuine and highly respected Biblical scholar whose previous books are written in a lucid, accessible style that can't be taken for granted in the writing of scholars. Ten years before the writing of this book he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and this volume shares his persona......more

Goodreads review by Brent on October 21, 2015

As a big fan of Kugel's Bible scolarship, I was eager to hear his personal witness of living through cancer. This book was personal, but also deeply scholarly and informed by poetry, philosophy, and literary scholarship - at times to a point where I lost a bit of the personal. Great read if you have......more

Goodreads review by Eliezer on October 23, 2019

The book is its best when the author is sharing his personal struggles with illness.......more