{"product_id":"the-beginning-of-wisdom-reading-genesis-9780226425672","title":"The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis","description":"As ardent debates over creationism fill the front pages of newspapers, Genesis has never been more timely. And as Leon R. Kass shows in \u003ci\u003eThe Beginning of Wisdom\u003c\/i\u003e, it's also timeless. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eExamining Genesis in a philosophical light, Kass presents it not as a story of what happened long ago, but as the enduring story of humanity itself. He asserts that the first half of Genesis contains insights about human nature that \"rival anything produced by the great philosophers.\" Kass here reads these first stories--from Adam and Eve to the tower of Babel--as a mirror for self-discovery that reveals truths about human reason, speech, freedom, sexual desire, pride, shame, anger, and death. Taking a step further in the second half of his book, Kass explores the struggles in Genesis to launch a new way of life that addresses mankind's morally ambiguous nature by promoting righteousness and holiness. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEven readers who don't agree with Kass's interpretations will find \u003ci\u003eThe Beginning of Wisdom\u003c\/i\u003e a\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ecompelling book--a masterful philosophical take on one of the world's seminal religious texts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Extraordinary. . . . Its analyses and hypotheses will leave no reader's understanding of Genesis unchanged.\" --\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A learned and fluent, delightfully overstuffed stroll through the Gates of Eden. . . . Mix Harold Bloom with Stephen Jay Gould and you'll get something like Kass. A wonderfully intelligent reading of Genesis.\"--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews, \u003c\/i\u003estarred review \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Throughout his book, Kass uses fruitful, fascinating techniques for getting at the heart of Genesis. . . . Innumerable times [he] makes a reader sit back and rethink what has previously been tediously familiar or baffling.\"--\u003ci\u003eWashington\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"It is important to state that this is a book not merely rich, but prodigiously rich with insight. Kass is a marvelous reader, sensitive and careful. His interpretations surprise again and again with their cogency and poignancy.\"--\u003ci\u003eJerusalem\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-178372\"\u003eLeon R. Kass\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 716\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 1.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226425672\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226425673\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-REL\"\u003eReligion\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-REL040000\"\u003eJudaism | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-REL\"\u003eReligion\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-REL006090\"\u003eBiblical Criticism \u0026amp; Interpretation | Old Testament\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLeon R. Kass\u003c\/b\u003e, MD, is the Addie Clark Harding Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and the College at the University of Chicago and Hertog Fellow in Social Thought at the American Enterprise Institute. A member of the President's Council on Bioethics, he is the author or coauthor of five books, including, most recently, \u003ci\u003eLife, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiberty\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44525787873517,"sku":"9780226425672","price":46.67,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_eb2f4e6a-a1c5-425c-a26c-648326016520.jpg?v=1701355050","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/the-beginning-of-wisdom-reading-genesis-9780226425672","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}