So, a wise man tells me this has become like a "Bible" to him. I take his word for it and we read it for September 11, 2005. It seemed fitting. It's a dense book, a slog of a book. I warned our local spirituality book club it would be. It reminded me of Diana Eck's "Encountering God: From Bozeman to Banarus" in that way. And, like Eck's book, this book contains gems that are great food for thought. Couple this one with Rhodes' book "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and it will make even hawkish folks want to wave a peace flag. It's just sobering to think where the violence of war can take us, and this book offers up alternative solutions. It's a slog, as I said, but worth the wading through. Questions from the book: *"Peace begins, someone has said, when the hungry are fed." p. 353 Do you agree? What about times the hungry are fed and there's still conflict? *What role does tenacity play in spirituality? Any? *What if we aimed at creating a "World Union," instead of a "United States of America" and a "European Union" and an "African Union?" What would that take? What would have to shift? *Schell mentions "soul force." Who has it today? What leaders? p. 126 *What makes for civilizations? What makes us "civilized?" What makes us "uncivilized?" *What do you see of lasting value from civilizations? What lasts?