Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

One Book, Philadelphia
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

In my in-box this morning, an article in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer forwarded by my sister. Read through to the bottom. It's a Q & A with Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen and founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.

Quotation to live by: "Life's persistent and most urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others? ' " The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Books on my nightstand right now: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama; At Canaan's Edge, by Taylor Branch; The Holy Experiment, by Violet Oakley.

Favorite author, nonfiction: Tom Friedman.

Favorite poet: Maya Angelou.

Favorite beach reading: New York Times, without wind.

Book or author other people have praised but I never liked: Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville.

A book that influenced how I live my life: The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.

TV shows I'm not ashamed to admit I watch: Hardball With Chris Matthews (MSNBC), 60 Minutes (CBS), The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central), Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO), Antiques Roadshow (PBS), The Dog Whisperer (National Geographic Channel).

TV show I hate to admit I like: 24 (Fox).

Movie I love so much I've watched it more than twice: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. It's better if you get it.

Web sites I visit regularly: Google; CNN; Philly.com; Corporation for National and Community
Service (www.cns.gov); eBay.

Magazines I read regularly: Preservation, Philadelphia Magazine, Bicycling.

Favorite types of music: Jazz, blues, funk.

Last concert/performance attended: Bonnie Raitt and Keb' Mo' .

Recording I play when my soul needs a lift: "Give up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off)," by Parliament Funkadelic.
Person in my field whom I most admire: Former Pennsylvania Sen. Harris Wofford.

Living person I'd most like to join for dinner and conversation: Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J.

Heroes from history: The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the man who stood in front of the column of tanks on Changan Avenue near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5, 1989.

If I had the power to order all of the Philadelphia region to read one book, it would be: Abraham, by Bruce Feiler.
And here's why: The book analyzes the common values among several of the world's predominant religions. If we had better understanding about the common roots of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, perhaps we might embrace our common humanity.

At as my sister comments: "How cool is this!?"

Labels: Bruce in the Media

Posted by B Feiler at 9:33 AM
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