Best Spiritual Books of 1999
The Spirituality & Health Awards
Selected by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
It's holiday time again. For your gift-giving pleasure, we offer our choices for the best spiritual books of 1999. These inspiring and insightful volumes reveal the diversity of practices and depth of ideas in today's spiritual renaissance.
BEING PRESENT
Contentment: A Way to True Happiness by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover, $18.00, ISBN 0-06-251592-6)
BUDDHISM
Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Spiritual Life from Scratch by Lama Surya Das (Broadway Books, hardcover, $26.00, ISBN 0-7679-0274-2)
CHILDREN
For Heaven's Sake by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (Jewish Lights, hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 1-58023-054-7)
CHRISTIANITY
The Ladder: Parable Stories of Ascension and Descension by Edward Hays (Forest of Peace, paperback, $13.95, ISBN 0-939516-46-2)
COMMUNITY
Welcoming Spirit Home: African Teachings to Celebrate Children and Community by Sobonfu E. Some (New World Library, hardcover, $16.00, ISBN 1-57731-009-8)
COMPUTERS
Zen Computer: Mindfulness and the Machine by Philip Toshio Sudo (Simon and Schuster, hardcover, $22.00, ISBN 0-684-85409-0)
CONSCIOUS AGING
The Force of Character and the Lasting Life by James Hillman (Random House, hardcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-375-50120-7)
DEATH AND DYING
The Wisdom of Dying: Practices for Living by N. Michael Murphy (Element, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 1-86204-579-8)
DEVOTION
Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer by Richard Rohr (Crossroad, paperback, $14.95, ISBN 0-8245-1652-4)
ETHICS
Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama (Riverhead Books, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 1-57322-025-6)
EVIL
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Lessons for Transforming Evil in Soul and Society by Matthew Fox (Harmony Books, hardcover, $25.00, ISBN 0-609-60087-7)
FAITH
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Pantheon, hardcover, $23.00, ISBN 0-679-44240-5)
HEALTH AND HEALING
Radical Healing: Integrating the World's Great Therapeutic Traditions to Create a New Transformative Medicine by Rudolph Ballentine (Harmony Books, hardcover, $26.00, ISBN 0-609-60137-7)
HEALTH AND HEALING
Reinventing Medicine: Beyond Mind-Body to a New Era of Healing by Larry Dossey (HarperSanFrancisco, har dcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-06-251622-1)
HINDUISM
Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion by Stephen P. Huyler (Yale University Press, hardcover, $35.00, ISBN 0-300-07938-4)
INCARNATION
The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser (Doubleday, hardcover, $21.95, ISBN 0-385-49418-1)
JESUS
Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh (Riverhead Books, hardcover, $22.00, ISBN 1-57322-145-7)
JUDAISM
Yiddishe Kop: Creative Problem Solving in Jewish Learning, Lore and Humor by Rabbi Nilton Bonder (Shambhala, paperback, $12.00, ISBN 1-57062-448-8)
LIVES
Path Without Destination: The Long Walk of a Gentle Hero by Satish Kumar (Eagle Brook/William Morrow, hardcover, $22.00, ISBN 0-688-16402-1)
LOVE
Love Is Stronger than Death: The Mystical Union of Two Souls by Cynthia Bourgeault (Bell Tower, hardcover, $21.00, ISBN 0-609-60473-2)
MEANING
Finding Your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up with Has Lost Its Meaning by Scotty McLennan (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-06-065347-7)
MUSIC
Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound by Robert Gass and Kathleen Brehony (Broadway Books, hardcover, $20.00, ISBN 0-7679-0322-6)
MYSTICISM
The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions by Wayne Teasdale (New World Library, har dcover, $23.95, ISBN 1-57731-102-7)
NATURE
Little Stone: Your Friend for Life by James Wanless (Element Books, hardcover, $10.95, ISBN 1-86204-537-2)
NURTURING
Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller (Bantam, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 0-553-10672-4)
PILGRIMAGE
Sacred America: The Emerging Spirit of the People by Roger Housden (Simon and Schuster, hardcover, $23.00, ISBN 0-684-84838-4)
PLAY
Deep Play by Diane Ackerman (Random House, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 0-679-44879-9)
POETRY
The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master translated by Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin/Arkana, paperback, $13.95, ISBN 0-14-019581-5)
POLITICS
Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time by Paul Rogat Loeb (St. Martin's Griffin, paperback, $15.95, ISBN 0-312-20435-3)
PRACTICE
Heaven Begins Within You: Wisdom from the Desert Fathers by Anselm Gruen (Crossroad, paperback, $14.95, ISBN 0-8245-1818-7)
PSYCHOLOGY
Where the Roots Reach for Water: A Personal and Natural History of Melancholia by Jeffrey Smith (North Point Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, hardcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-86547-542-3)
QUESTING
Living in the Question: Meditations in the Style of Lectio Divina by M. Basil Pennington (Continuum, paperback, $14.95, ISBN 0-8264-1206-8)
RELATIONSHIPS
The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient Teachings in the Ways of Relationships by Sobonfu Some (William Morrow, hardcover, $19.95, ISBN 0-688-16450-1)
RELIGION
Working on God by Winifred Gallagher (Random House, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 0-679-44794-6)
RITUAL
Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing by Thomas Ashley-Farrand (Ballantine Wellspring, paperback, $12.95, ISBN 0-345-43170-7)
SHAMANISM
Woman Who Glows in the Dark: A Curandera Reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health by Elena Avila and Joy Parker (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 0-87477-958-8)
SOUL
Against the Pollution of the I: Selected Writings by Jacques Lusseyran (Parabola Books, hardcover, $18.95, ISBN 0-930407-46-6)
SOUL
Freeing the Soul from Fear by Robert Sardello (Riverhead Books, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 1-57322-133-3)
SPIRITUALITY
Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: Living in the Spirit of the Prayer of Saint Francis by Kent Nerburn (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover, $16.00, ISBN 0-06-251581-0)
STORIES
Anthony de Mello: Writings Selected with an Introduction by William Dych by Anthony de Mello (Orbis Books, hardcover, $14.00, ISBN 1-57075-283-4)
SUFISM
The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation by Kabir Helminski (Shambhala, hardcover, $22.50, ISBN 1-57062-408-9)
SUFISM
Awakening: A Sufi Experience by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, hardcover, $21.95, ISBN 0-87477-974-X)
VISION
Sight and Sensibility: The Ecopsychology of Perception by Laura Sewell (Tarcher/Putnam, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 0-87477-989-8)
WONDER
Stories of Awe and Abundance by Jose Hobday (Continuum, paperback, $9.95, ISBN 0-8264-1161-4)
WORK
Work as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond (Broadway Books, hardcover, $25.00, ISBN 0-7679-0232-7)
WORLD RELIGION
The Divine Deli: Religious Identity in the North American Cultural Mosaic by John H. Berthrong (Orbis Books, paperback, $16.00, ISBN 1-57075-268-0)
YEARNING
Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong by John O'Donohue (Cliff Street Books/HarperCollins, hardcover, $25.00, ISBN 0-06-018280-6)
YOU
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer (Jossey Bass, hardcover, $18.00, ISBN 0-7879-4735-0)
ZEN
Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki by David Chadwick (Broadway Books, hardcover, $26.00, ISBN 0-7679-0104-5)
ZEN
Lotus in the Fire: The Healing Power of Zen by Jim Bedard (Shambhala, paperback, $14.00, ISBN 1-57062-430-5)
Selected by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
It's holiday time again. For your gift-giving pleasure, we offer our choices for the best spiritual books of 1999. These inspiring and insightful volumes reveal the diversity of practices and depth of ideas in today's spiritual renaissance.
BEING PRESENT
Contentment: A Way to True Happiness by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover, $18.00, ISBN 0-06-251592-6)
BUDDHISM
Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Spiritual Life from Scratch by Lama Surya Das (Broadway Books, hardcover, $26.00, ISBN 0-7679-0274-2)
CHILDREN
For Heaven's Sake by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (Jewish Lights, hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 1-58023-054-7)
CHRISTIANITY
The Ladder: Parable Stories of Ascension and Descension by Edward Hays (Forest of Peace, paperback, $13.95, ISBN 0-939516-46-2)
COMMUNITY
Welcoming Spirit Home: African Teachings to Celebrate Children and Community by Sobonfu E. Some (New World Library, hardcover, $16.00, ISBN 1-57731-009-8)
COMPUTERS
Zen Computer: Mindfulness and the Machine by Philip Toshio Sudo (Simon and Schuster, hardcover, $22.00, ISBN 0-684-85409-0)
CONSCIOUS AGING
The Force of Character and the Lasting Life by James Hillman (Random House, hardcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-375-50120-7)
DEATH AND DYING
The Wisdom of Dying: Practices for Living by N. Michael Murphy (Element, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 1-86204-579-8)
DEVOTION
Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer by Richard Rohr (Crossroad, paperback, $14.95, ISBN 0-8245-1652-4)
ETHICS
Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama (Riverhead Books, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 1-57322-025-6)
EVIL
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Lessons for Transforming Evil in Soul and Society by Matthew Fox (Harmony Books, hardcover, $25.00, ISBN 0-609-60087-7)
FAITH
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Pantheon, hardcover, $23.00, ISBN 0-679-44240-5)
HEALTH AND HEALING
Radical Healing: Integrating the World's Great Therapeutic Traditions to Create a New Transformative Medicine by Rudolph Ballentine (Harmony Books, hardcover, $26.00, ISBN 0-609-60137-7)
HEALTH AND HEALING
Reinventing Medicine: Beyond Mind-Body to a New Era of Healing by Larry Dossey (HarperSanFrancisco, har dcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-06-251622-1)
HINDUISM
Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion by Stephen P. Huyler (Yale University Press, hardcover, $35.00, ISBN 0-300-07938-4)
INCARNATION
The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser (Doubleday, hardcover, $21.95, ISBN 0-385-49418-1)
JESUS
Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh (Riverhead Books, hardcover, $22.00, ISBN 1-57322-145-7)
JUDAISM
Yiddishe Kop: Creative Problem Solving in Jewish Learning, Lore and Humor by Rabbi Nilton Bonder (Shambhala, paperback, $12.00, ISBN 1-57062-448-8)
LIVES
Path Without Destination: The Long Walk of a Gentle Hero by Satish Kumar (Eagle Brook/William Morrow, hardcover, $22.00, ISBN 0-688-16402-1)
LOVE
Love Is Stronger than Death: The Mystical Union of Two Souls by Cynthia Bourgeault (Bell Tower, hardcover, $21.00, ISBN 0-609-60473-2)
MEANING
Finding Your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up with Has Lost Its Meaning by Scotty McLennan (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-06-065347-7)
MUSIC
Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound by Robert Gass and Kathleen Brehony (Broadway Books, hardcover, $20.00, ISBN 0-7679-0322-6)
MYSTICISM
The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions by Wayne Teasdale (New World Library, har dcover, $23.95, ISBN 1-57731-102-7)
NATURE
Little Stone: Your Friend for Life by James Wanless (Element Books, hardcover, $10.95, ISBN 1-86204-537-2)
NURTURING
Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller (Bantam, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 0-553-10672-4)
PILGRIMAGE
Sacred America: The Emerging Spirit of the People by Roger Housden (Simon and Schuster, hardcover, $23.00, ISBN 0-684-84838-4)
PLAY
Deep Play by Diane Ackerman (Random House, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 0-679-44879-9)
POETRY
The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master translated by Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin/Arkana, paperback, $13.95, ISBN 0-14-019581-5)
POLITICS
Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time by Paul Rogat Loeb (St. Martin's Griffin, paperback, $15.95, ISBN 0-312-20435-3)
PRACTICE
Heaven Begins Within You: Wisdom from the Desert Fathers by Anselm Gruen (Crossroad, paperback, $14.95, ISBN 0-8245-1818-7)
PSYCHOLOGY
Where the Roots Reach for Water: A Personal and Natural History of Melancholia by Jeffrey Smith (North Point Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, hardcover, $24.00, ISBN 0-86547-542-3)
QUESTING
Living in the Question: Meditations in the Style of Lectio Divina by M. Basil Pennington (Continuum, paperback, $14.95, ISBN 0-8264-1206-8)
RELATIONSHIPS
The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient Teachings in the Ways of Relationships by Sobonfu Some (William Morrow, hardcover, $19.95, ISBN 0-688-16450-1)
RELIGION
Working on God by Winifred Gallagher (Random House, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 0-679-44794-6)
RITUAL
Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing by Thomas Ashley-Farrand (Ballantine Wellspring, paperback, $12.95, ISBN 0-345-43170-7)
SHAMANISM
Woman Who Glows in the Dark: A Curandera Reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health by Elena Avila and Joy Parker (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 0-87477-958-8)
SOUL
Against the Pollution of the I: Selected Writings by Jacques Lusseyran (Parabola Books, hardcover, $18.95, ISBN 0-930407-46-6)
SOUL
Freeing the Soul from Fear by Robert Sardello (Riverhead Books, hardcover, $23.95, ISBN 1-57322-133-3)
SPIRITUALITY
Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: Living in the Spirit of the Prayer of Saint Francis by Kent Nerburn (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover, $16.00, ISBN 0-06-251581-0)
STORIES
Anthony de Mello: Writings Selected with an Introduction by William Dych by Anthony de Mello (Orbis Books, hardcover, $14.00, ISBN 1-57075-283-4)
SUFISM
The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation by Kabir Helminski (Shambhala, hardcover, $22.50, ISBN 1-57062-408-9)
SUFISM
Awakening: A Sufi Experience by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, hardcover, $21.95, ISBN 0-87477-974-X)
VISION
Sight and Sensibility: The Ecopsychology of Perception by Laura Sewell (Tarcher/Putnam, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 0-87477-989-8)
WONDER
Stories of Awe and Abundance by Jose Hobday (Continuum, paperback, $9.95, ISBN 0-8264-1161-4)
WORK
Work as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond (Broadway Books, hardcover, $25.00, ISBN 0-7679-0232-7)
WORLD RELIGION
The Divine Deli: Religious Identity in the North American Cultural Mosaic by John H. Berthrong (Orbis Books, paperback, $16.00, ISBN 1-57075-268-0)
YEARNING
Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong by John O'Donohue (Cliff Street Books/HarperCollins, hardcover, $25.00, ISBN 0-06-018280-6)
YOU
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer (Jossey Bass, hardcover, $18.00, ISBN 0-7879-4735-0)
ZEN
Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki by David Chadwick (Broadway Books, hardcover, $26.00, ISBN 0-7679-0104-5)
ZEN
Lotus in the Fire: The Healing Power of Zen by Jim Bedard (Shambhala, paperback, $14.00, ISBN 1-57062-430-5)
Reviews copyright 1998 - 2007 by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SpiritualityandPractice.com.
