Items related to The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need

The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need - Hardcover

 
9780060000752: The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
What do I need to be good?
How can I truly be happy?
To whom or to what dare I give my
ultimate loyalty, my deepest love,
my full and total service? Out of all
this moral discourse and analysis,
what can I find and use to make a life,
and not just a living?

-from the Introduction

After more than thirty years as minister at Harvard University, Peter J. Gomes has given his share of advice to the best and the brightest as they set sail into the world. Yet he has found that even these highly privileged students often run aground on the harsh realities of a life based in values that lead to ruin. The Good Life is his distillation of years of observation and insight into what is wrong and how we can all set our minds and hearts on higher things.

Gomes begins with the contemporary crisis of moral education in higher learning and subverts the prevalent assertion that the youth of today's colleges and universities are spoiled and lacking in the capacity and desire to become good people and good citizens. Impressed by the sharp moral curiosity of young people today, as well as their strong desire to know, to be, and to do good, Gomes sets out to reclaim the tradition of virtue he believes can make this the greatest generation.

In this search for a new nobility, he distinguishes between the plausible lies that our culture tells us about the good life and the fantastic truths that alone can bring true and abiding happiness, working through each of the unquestioned values of modern life. Along the way he redefines the central elements

of the pursuit of the good life (failure, success, discipline, and freedom), then offers a new presentation of the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude), and finally concludes with a passionate argument for the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

A challenge to educators, civic leaders, parents, and the youth who hold our collective future, The Good Life is a timely and important book about the recovery of moral knowledge and the choices we must make in order to live truly well.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
Peter J. Gomes believes that today's college students have it in them to be the greatest generation. The Good Life, a manifesto by the minister at Harvard University, debunks the idea that today's college students are spoiled, materialistic, and morally complacent. Reflecting on 30 years of ministry to undergraduates, Gomes writes, "What has impressed me ... about these young people ... is their moral curiosity, their desire to know, to be, and to do good." Drawing on stories of Gomes's relationships with students, as well as his knowledge of philosophy, theology, and the Bible, The Good Life offers guidance for finding the treasure promised by its title. Some readers will question how much Gomes's personal experience really says about American culture at large (the first chapter begins, "Harvard Yard is never more grand than it is on Commencement Day."). But much of The Good Life is of near universal value, such as Gomes's distinction between "plausible lies" that define the good life in secular culture and the "fantastic truths" that bring true joy. --Michael Joseph Gross
About the Author:

Peter J. Gomes has been minister of Harvard University's Memorial Church since 1974, when he was appointed Pusey Minister of the church, and serves as Plummer Professor of Christian Morals. An American Baptist minister, he was named one of America's top preachers by Time magazine. He is the recipient of thirty-three honorary degrees and an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, the University of Cambridge, England, where the Gomes Lectureship is established in his name.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherHarperOne
  • Publication date2002
  • ISBN 10 0060000759
  • ISBN 13 9780060000752
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages384
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780060000769: The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780060000769
Publisher: HarperOne, 2003
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Gomes, Peter J
Published by HarperOne (2002)
ISBN 10: 0060000759 ISBN 13: 9780060000752
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0060000759

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 23.09
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Gomes, Peter J
Published by HarperOne (2002)
ISBN 10: 0060000759 ISBN 13: 9780060000752
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0060000759

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 26.57
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Gomes, Peter J
Published by HarperOne (2002)
ISBN 10: 0060000759 ISBN 13: 9780060000752
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0060000759

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 28.40
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Gomes, Peter J
ISBN 10: 0060000759 ISBN 13: 9780060000752
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0060000759

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.98
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Gomes, Peter J
Published by HarperOne (2002)
ISBN 10: 0060000759 ISBN 13: 9780060000752
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks91379

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 59.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Gomes, Peter J
Published by HarperOne (2002)
ISBN 10: 0060000759 ISBN 13: 9780060000752
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.38. Seller Inventory # Q-0060000759

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 57.60
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.15
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds