Alan Jacobs (3) (1929–2020)

This unique and important anthology offers a judicious, manageable and appealing selection from around 50,000 pages of work published originally in approximately 100 books. Alan Jacobs' choice includes the most telling speeches, news articles, letters, state documents and other writings, including autobiography. We gain an intimate picture of Gandhi's education and early life, his controversial marriage, his South African struggle, his deeply held religious and spiritual principles, his show more lively Ashram, and his strong political views. We are also told the story of Gandhi's momentous achievement in liberating India from British rule. The book starts with a full Introduction followed by a Biography giving us the main details of a life packed with significant incident. Part One of the selection, containing fascinating extracts detailing each period of Gandhi's eventful life in chronological order, reads like an enthralling narrative. Part Two assembles an assortment of many of his wise and inspired sayings on a vast range of subjects, from self-rule to self-righteousness, from God to public workers. A generous listing of books for further reading is included among the endmatter. show less

Alan Jacobs has translated several gnostic texts and presented them here with a brief description of the source of each. In doing so, he has done exactly what others have done in choosing for us what belongs in New Testament -- or in books about the gospels. This wasn't what I was expecting, although I did finish the book. I was pleased that, attimes, God was described as both the Mother and the Father, but was disappointed to see familiar references to the imperfections of the female.

A wonderful way to experience these scriptures.

Jacobs has rendered a beautiful translation in the form of poetry, making it flow so beautifully, so coherently.

These Gospels were discovered in 1945, in Nag Hammadi, Egypt.

This is a meditative reading,to be read over and over, over a lifetime.

One word - TORTURE.

I guess I am not into esoteric Christianity. Nothing at all in this book was inspiring or even made sense to me. The best of the lot was the Gospel of Thomas, and even that did not enlighten me at all.

Reading this book was like having pins stuck in my eyes.

I also do not like anything evangelical or fundamentalist.