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Visions of a Better World by Quinton Dixie and Peter Eisenstadt
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Visions of a Better World

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Visions of a Better World by Quinton Dixie and Peter Eisenstadt
Ebook
Aug 30, 2011 | ISBN 9780807000465

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  • Aug 30, 2011 | ISBN 9780807000465

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Praise

“An important portrait of a neglected figure who deserves a wider recognition.”—Booklist, starred review

“Highly recommended.”—Choice

“Howard Thurman was one of the great prophetic minds and spirits of the 20th century – and this wonderful book does justice to his formation. Don’t miss it!”—Cornel West, author of Race Matters
 
“In retrospect, great struggles for freedom tend to be viewed as smooth and inevitable social transitions. Thurman historians Quinton Dixie and Peter Eisenstadt offer precious details about the circumstances and cultural factors that grounded Howard Thurman’s spiritual leadership. Their engaging storytelling style and careful research will inform and inspire current and future generations.”—Barbara Holmes, Professor of Ethics and African American Religious Studies, Memphis Theological Seminary, and author of Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church

“An enlightening, engaging saga that expands our understanding of the global creation of the African American intellectual tradition. The authors deserve high praise for their thorough research, lively style, and for reminding us of Howard Thurman’s cosmopolitan mind, one that reached across racial and national boundaries to meld Black Christianity with Gandhi’s philosophy. The book provides us with powerful lessons necessary for today’s turbulent world.”—Graham Russell Gao Hodges, George Dorland Langdon, Jr. Professor of History and Africana Studies, and author of David Ruggles: A Radical Black Abolitionist and the Underground Railroad in New York City

“There are too few works that expertly illuminate the luminous life and thought of Howard Thurman. This perceptive and learned book by Quinton Dixie and Peter Eisenstadt goes a long way toward remedying that situation.”—Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University

Visions of a Better World brings back all the memories of my time with Howard Thurman—I feel like I am once again listening to him, feeling his presence. We had many talks at his home in San Francisco. His requirement was two hours, preferably three, and no phone calls. These talks were among the most inspiring and instructive moments of my life. His mentoring was spiritual, practical, and mystical. It influences my life to the present day.”—Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Senior Managing Director, Lazard Freres & Co, LLC

“Dixie and Eisenstadt have given us a true gift. This magisterial book distills the life of Howard Thurman, revealing the depth of his influence on the African American freedom struggle and the power of his faith. Howard Thurman always seemed a step ahead. And this account of his trip to India and embrace of Gandhi is just another example of his prophetic vision. Visions of a Better World takes the reader on an extraordinary journey: one can’t help but be transfixed and transformed by Thurman’s witness.” —Eddie S. Glaude Jr., William S. Tod Professor Religion and African American Studies, Princeton University, and author of In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America

“An admirably focused portrait of… Howard Thurman… the authors delineate how Thurman’s brand of theology and philosophy emerged from a desire to reconcile individual spiritual experience and transcendence with broad social change—and how his thinking and teaching inspired a generation…”—Publishers Weekly 

“Reveling in the complexity of Thurman’s thought and his actions, this book eloquently blends intellectual history and biography and restores Thurman to his rightful place as one of the 20th century’s most brilliant and influential religious thinkers. Thurman’s early engagements in India and the wider world deeply affected his ideas and his actions as a prophet, a religious leader, and a political visionary. This book deserves a special place in the long intellectual prehistory of the civil rights movement and African American politics.”–Barbara D. Savage, University of Pennsylvania, author of Your Spirits Walk Beside Us: The Politics of Black Religion

Table Of Contents

Foreword by Walter Earl Fluker
Introduction
1 Southern Boy, Morehouse Man, Rochester Scholar
2 Starting a Career
3 Planning the Pilgrimage of Friendship
4 The Negro Delegation in India
5 What Thurman Learned from India
6 Thurman’s War and the Creation of the Fellowship Church
Epilogue: Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus and the Disinherited
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

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