Piers Paul Read's Books

Alive

The Story of the Andes Survivors

By: Piers Paul Read

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Alive

The Story of the Andes Survivors

By: Piers Paul Read

The #1 New York Times bestseller and the true story behind the film: A rugby team resorts to the unthinkable after a plane crash in the Andes. Spirits were high when the Fairchild F-227 took off from Mendoza, Argentina, and headed for Santiago, Chile. On board were forty-five people, including an amateur rugby team from Uruguay and their friends and family. The skies were clear that Friday, October 13, 1972, and at 3:30 p.m., the Fairchild’s pilot reported their altitude at 15,000 feet. But one minute later, the Santiago control tower lost all contact with the aircraft. For eight days, Chileans, Uruguayans, and Argentinians searched for it, but snowfall in the Andes had been heavy, and the odds of locating any wreckage were slim. Ten weeks later, a Chilean peasant in a remote valley noticed two haggard men desperately gesticulating to him from across a river. He threw them a pen and paper, and the note they tossed back read: “I come from a plane that fell in the mountains . . .” Sixteen of the original forty-five passengers on the F-227 survived its horrific crash. In the remote glacial wilderness, they camped in the plane’s fuselage, where they faced freezing temperatures, life-threatening injuries, an avalanche, and imminent starvation. As their meager food supplies ran out, and after they heard on a patched-together radio that the search parties had been called off, it seemed like all hope was lost. To save their own lives, these men and women not only had to keep their faith, they had to make an impossible decision: Should they eat the flesh of their dead friends? A remarkable story of endurance and determination, friendship and the human spirit, Alive is the dramatic bestselling account of one of the most harrowing quests for survival in modern times.

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Page Count

264

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504039122

ISBN 13

9781504039123

Scarpia

By: Piers Paul Read

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Scarpia

By: Piers Paul Read

It is the late 18th century and Sicilian nobleman Vitello Scarpia finds himself penniless and in disgrace on the streets of Rome. After leaving his home in pursuit of a military career, his fiery passion has seen him expelled from the Spanish royal guard and left to seek his fortune in Italy; a fortune inseparably bound to the Pope, whose rule is put in question by the French Revolution. Scarpia enrolls in the papal army and is soon taken up by a countess eager to have a handsome young officer at her side. She introduces Scarpia into Roman society, and he is both enthralled and agitated by its mix of religiosity, sophistication, decadence, and intrigue. Then, on a mission to Venice, he meets the gifted, beautiful singer Floria Tosca. And as the armies of revolutionary France advance into Italy, and war and revolution engulf the whole peninsula, these two lives become entwined. Steeped in factual detail and exploring the lives--part historical, part fictional--of figures from Puccini's famous opera, Scarpia shines a light into dusty corridors of history and dark corners of the human soul.

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385

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1632863243

ISBN 13

9781632863249

On the Third Day

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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On the Third Day

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

Archaeologists in Jerusalem make a revolutionary discovery in this “beautifully written” thriller from a #1 New York Times–bestselling author (Ruth Rendell). John Lambert, Catholic priest and professor of biblical archaeology, returns to London from an archaeological dig in Israel—and not long after, he’s found dead, hanged in his room. It’s only the first shocking discovery for his assistant, Andrew Nash, a young friar. The second is the reason for the spiritual disillusionment that led his mentor to such a desperate act: irrefutable evidence of the skeletal remains of Jesus Christ excavated under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. The find could shake the core doctrine of the Catholic Church and destroy the very foundation of the Christian faith. But it also poses a grave threat to Nash and his associate, Israeli archaeologist Michael Dagan—because they’re not the only ones scrambling to piece together the clues to this ancient mystery. In their shadow are the KGB, the Israeli Secret Service, and an ambitious American cardinal. But are they collaborators in a diabolical hoax or coconspirators in a cover-up of the most damning discovery in history? The answer “chills the blood and makes the hair stand on end . . . confirming Read as one of our strongest novelists” (The Independent). “It’s hard to imagine a more provocative thesis,” said the New York Times of this forerunner to the biblical conspiracy thrillers of Dan Brown and Kate Mosse. On the Third Day is “an enthralling read—touch[ing] upon a number of current theological controversies” (Kirkus Reviews).

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238

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504044657

ISBN 13

9781504044653

Hell and Other Destinations

A Novelist's Reflections on this World and the Next

By: Piers Paul Read

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Hell and Other Destinations

A Novelist's Reflections on this World and the Next

By: Piers Paul Read

The famous British novelist and playwright Piers Paul Read presents his lively, thought-provoking reflections on wide ranging spiritual topics with his usual brilliance and insight. When this best-selling writer turns his attention to a subject he holds most dear, his Catholic faith, as well as to religious and cultural issues of our times, he provokes delight and inspiration, as well as some fury and controversy. This illuminating volume presents a selection of Read's most elegant and memorable writings on subjects ranging from Christians and Jews, liberation theology, and The Da Vinci Code to sexual desire, saints and Pope Benedict XVI. Book jacket.

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260

Publisher

Ignatius Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1586171615

ISBN 13

9781586171612

The Dreyfus Affair

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Dreyfus Affair

By: Piers Paul Read

Intelligent, ambitious and a rising star in the French artillery, Captain Alfred Dreyfus appeared to have everything: family, money, and the prospect of a post on the General Staff. But his rapid rise had also made him enemies - many of them aristocratic officers in the army's High Command who resented him because he was middle-class, meritocratic and a Jew. In October 1894, the torn fragments of an unsigned memo containing military secrets were retrieved by a cleaning lady from the waste paper basket of Colonel Maximilien von Schwartzkoppen of the German embassy in Paris. When French intelligence pieced the document back together to uncover proof of a spy in their midst, Captain Dreyfus, on slender evidence, was charged with selling military secrets to the Germans, found guilty of treason by unanimous verdict and sentenced to life imprisonment on the notorious Devil's Island. The fight to free the wrongfully convicted Dreyfus - over twelve long years, through many trials - is a story rife with heroes and villains, courage and cowardice, dissimulation and deceit. One of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in history, the Dreyfus affair divided France, stunned the world and unleashed violent hatreds and anti-Semitic passions which offered a foretaste of what was to play out in the long, bloody twentieth century to come. Today, amid charged debates over national and religious identity across the globe, its lessons throw into sharp relief the conflicts of the present. In the hands of historian, biographer and prize-winning novelist Piers Paul Read, this masterful epic of the struggle between a minority seeking justice and a military establishment determined to save face comes dramatically alive for a new generation.

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417

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

1408801396

ISBN 13

9781408801390

The Death of a Pope

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Death of a Pope

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

The Death of a Pope by the highly acclaimed British writer Read is a novel of intrigue, church espionage, and an attempt to destroy the longest continuous government in the world-the Papacy. A priest who seems to be the model of compassion for the poor is accused of terrorist activities. His worldwide charitable outreach is suspected of being a front for radicals. A young woman, a reporter and a lapsed Catholic, tries to undercover the truth but in the process she finds herself attracted to the priest and falls in love with him. Meanwhile, forces conspire within the Vatican and the College of Cardinals to overthrow the Papacy. The death of Pope John Paul II brings the conclave that will elect Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI-only a group of radicals will resort to anything, including blowing up the Vatican, to stop it. A powerful tale combining vivid characters, high drama, love, betrayal, faith, and redemption, The Death of a Pope races toward an unexpected and unforgettable conclusion.

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216

Publisher

Ignatius Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1586172956

ISBN 13

9781586172954

The Wisdom of Solomon

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Wisdom of Solomon

By: Piers Paul Read

Traditionally believed to be written by King Solomon himself, though later attributed to his friends and followers, the author of the Greek text is well versed in the popular philosophical, religious, and ethical writings adopted by Hellenistic Alexandria. In his introduction, Piers Paul Read contemplates this story that impressed him greatly as a child, one in which wisdom pleases God so greatly he gives Solomon everything else besides

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Canongate Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0857861069

ISBN 13

9780857861061

The Patriot

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Patriot

By: Piers Paul Read

The author of Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors draws from a palette of love, theft, politics, and murder to create a thrilling new novel. Set in 1991, after the fall of the Wall, and one year later in Moscow, The Patriot tells of a Russian security officer and an American art historian caught up in the investigation of the murder of an emigree Russian couple involved in the export of priceless icons.

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Page Count

466

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786208325

ISBN 13

9780786208326

Alec Guinness

The Authorised Biography

By: Piers Paul Read

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Alec Guinness

The Authorised Biography

By: Piers Paul Read

A portrait based on access to the late actor's personal writings offers insight into his experiences as a soldier in World War II, his stage and film achievements, and his fiercely private personal life.

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644

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

0743244982

ISBN 13

9780743244985

The Dreyfus Affair

The Scandal That Tore France in Two

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Dreyfus Affair

The Scandal That Tore France in Two

By: Piers Paul Read

Documents the case of a successful Jewish captain in the French artillery command who was wrongly convicted of high treason, chronicling the twelve-year effort to secure his freedom and describing period anti-Semitism.

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418

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1608194329

ISBN 13

9781608194322

The Templars

The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, the Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Templars

The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, the Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades

By: Piers Paul Read

Explores the rise, fall, and far-reaching legacy of the Knights Templar.

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388

Publisher

Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

0312555385

ISBN 13

9780312555382

Los Templarios

monjes y guerreros

By: Piers Paul Read

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Los Templarios

monjes y guerreros

By: Piers Paul Read

Utilizando la beca más reciente, esta narración evalía las leyendas y los mitos que han seguido la historia de los Templarios. En 1099, la ciudad de Jerusalén cayó ante un ejército de caballeros europeos con la intención de restaurar la Cruz en las Tierra

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Page Count

508

Publisher

Ediciones B

Published Date

ISBN 10

9501523276

ISBN 13

9789501523270

Knights of the Cross

By: Piers Paul Read

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Knights of the Cross

By: Piers Paul Read

A European conspiracy and a fanatic Catholic sect are behind Piers Paul Reads superb new novel-both a thriller and a love story.

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311

Publisher

George Weidenfeld & Nicholson

Published Date

ISBN 10

0297818899

ISBN 13

9780297818892

Alice in Exile

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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Alice in Exile

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

By critically acclaimed author Piers Paul Read, Alice in Exile is an exquisite historical novel featuring Alice Fry--a free-thinking and independent-minded woman in a world ruled by men--and the two men who love her. It is 1913 when Alice, the daughter of a radical publisher, meets Edward Cobb, the eligible young son of a baronet who has recently quit the army to pursue his political ambitions. Edward's family could accept his liaison with a girl they consider "fast," but when he proposes, they are appalled. When Alice's father becomes involved in a scandal, it becomes clear that Edward must choose between Alice and his political career. He breaks off the engagement, unaware that his lover is expecting his child. Desperate, Alice accepts the offer of a rich and charming (if somewhat predatory) Baron Rettenberg, returning to Russia with him to serve as a governess for his children, while Edward marries suitably, but unhappily. Two of the greatest cataclysms of the twentieth century--the Russian Revolution and World War I--serve as backdrops to Alice's story as she raises her young son, yearns for Edward, and begins to fall passionately for the Baron. Alice in Exile is Piers Paul Read's triumphant return to the fiction for which he is widely hailed--romantic, dramatic, and rich with historical detail and fascinating characters that make Alice's story an enchanting and unforgettable read.

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461

Publisher

Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

1466869232

ISBN 13

9781466869233

On the Third Day

By: Piers Paul Read

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On the Third Day

By: Piers Paul Read

A thrilling, challenging and ultimately faith-strengthening story, which will inspire you to seek deeper understanding of the very roots of what you believe. Suppose Christ did not rise from the dead? What would be the implications for those who have devoted their lives to his service? These are the chilling questions posed by Piers Paul Read, one of Britain's finest contemporary novelists, in On the Third Day. This is the 'desert island' book of Christian writer and Telegraph columnist Anne Atkins. In a new introduction, she recommends the novel to all Christian readers.

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307

Published Date

ISBN 10

034075625X

ISBN 13

9780340756256

A Patriot in Berlin

By: Piers Paul Read

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A Patriot in Berlin

By: Piers Paul Read

A Patriot In Berlin is the dramatic story of Berlin after the fall of the Wall, and Moscow after Gorbachev - of love, faith and patriotism in conflict. Berlin, August 1991. An emigre Russian couple are found murdered. American art historian Francesca McDermott is recruited to organise a major retrospective of 20th century Russian painting. In Moscow, the search begins for a rogue former KGB agent, Andrei Orlov, who has disappeared without trace. Three seemingly unconnected events.... Working alongside Francesca is a Russian expert on the art that Communism dismissed as `decadent`. Serotkin is combative, attractive, mysterious; he is also secretive, and his secrets hold lives to ransom.

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311

Published Date

ISBN 10

1857994108

ISBN 13

9781857994100

The Death of a Pope

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Death of a Pope

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

The Death of a Pope is a powerful new novel by the acclaimed British writer Piers Paul Read. Juan Uriarte, a handsome and outspoken Spanish ex-priest, seems to be the model of nonviolence and compassion for the poor and downtrodden. So why is he on trial, accused of terrorist activities? His worldwide Catholic charitable outreach program is suspected of being a front for radicals. The trial is covered by Kate Ramsay, a young British reporter, who sets out to undercover the truth about Uriarte and his work. She travels with him to Africa to see his work first hand but soon finds herself attracted to him. Meanwhile an international conspiracy is growing, one that reaches into the Vatican itself. When the death of Pope John Paul II brings the conclave that will elect Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, a terrorist plot involving blackmail, subterfuge, and mass murder begins to fall into place... a plot that could spell disaster for the Catholic Church and the world. Piers Paul Read's powerful tale combines vivid characters, high drama, love, betrayal, faith, and redemption in a story of intrigue, of church espionage, and an attempt to destroy the longest continuous government in the world - the Papacy. The Death of a Pope races toward an unexpected and unforgettable conclusion.

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216

Publisher

Ignatius Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1681494817

ISBN 13

9781681494814

Introduction to the Devout Life

By: Piers Paul Read

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Introduction to the Devout Life

By: Piers Paul Read

Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva in the early seventeenth century. He was known as a preacher, evangelizer and spiritual director and he founded the congregation of the Visitation of Holy Mary. In the Preface, he states that anyone with courage and determination can live in the world without being influenced by its spirit and he sets out to guide the reader in living a life of true devotion.

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Page Count

274

Publisher

SPCK

Published Date

ISBN 10

028107710X

ISBN 13

9780281077106

Alec Guinness

The Authorised Biography

By: Piers Paul Read

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Alec Guinness

The Authorised Biography

By: Piers Paul Read

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644

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

0743244982

ISBN 13

9780743244985

Scarpia

By: Piers Paul Read

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Scarpia

By: Piers Paul Read

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385

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1632863243

ISBN 13

9781632863249

Hell and Other Destinations

A Novelist's Reflections on this World and the Next

By: Piers Paul Read

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Hell and Other Destinations

A Novelist's Reflections on this World and the Next

By: Piers Paul Read

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260

Publisher

Ignatius Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1586171615

ISBN 13

9781586171612

The Misogynist

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Misogynist

By: Piers Paul Read

A telling portrait of an older man after a miserable divorce ... a well-observed portrait of middle-class London life for the older single man. It's hilariously funny' Saga 'At once eloquent and entertaining, intelligent and incisive ... Novels don't come more diverting or sublimely satirical than this' Tatler Jomier has reached the age of retirement, his children are grown up and his wife, after having an affair, has left him. Embittered and humiliated, he lives alone in London, mourning the disintegration of his marriage as he broods about the past and the present. When he falls for Judith, things begin to improve. Yet he still cannot escape his old habits and it is only when his daughter falls ill that he begins to reassess his feelings towards those he loves and his ability to forgive. Darkly humorous, ruthlessly satirical and surprisingly moving, The Misogynist is a perceptive exploration of the ways in which we can unintentionally let past disappointments affect our present, and how difficult it can be to move forward.

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273

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

1408821168

ISBN 13

9781408821169

Alice in Exile

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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Alice in Exile

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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461

Publisher

Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

1466869232

ISBN 13

9781466869233

The Templars

The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, the Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Templars

The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, the Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades

By: Piers Paul Read

The internationally best-selling author of Alive explores the rise, the catastrophic fall, and the far-reaching legacy of Knights of the Temple of Solomon. In 1099, the city of Jerusalem, a possession of the Islamic Caliphate for over four-hundred years, fell to an army of European knights intent on restoring the Cross to the Holy Lands. From the ranks of these holy warriors emerged an order of monks trained in both scripture and the military arts, an order that would protect and administer Christendom's prized conquest for almost a century: the Knights of the Temple of Solomon, or the Templars. In this articulate and engaging history, Piers Paul Read explores the rise, the catastrophic fall, and the far-reaching legacy of these knights who took, and briefly held, the most bitterly contested citadel in the monotheistic West. Drawing on the most recent scholarship, and writing with authority and candor, Read chronicles the history of the blood-splattered monks who still infiltrate modernity in literature, as the inspiration for secret societies, and in the backyard fantasies of any child with access to a stick and a garbage can lid. More than armed holy men, the Templars also represented the first uniformed standing army in the Western world. Sustaining their military order required vast sums of money, and, to that end, a powerful multinational corporation formed. The prosperity that European financiers enjoyed, from the efficient management of Levantine possessions and from pioneering developments in the field of international banking, would help jump-start Europe's long-slumbering Dark Age economy. In 1307, the French king, Philip IV, expropriated Templar lands, unleashing a wave of repression that would crest five years later. After Templar leaders broke down and confessed, under torture, to blasphemy, heresy, and sodomy, Pope Clement V suppressed the Order in 1312. Was it guilty as charged? And what relevance has the story to our own times? In this remarkable history, Piers Paul Read explores the Crusades and the individual biographies of the many colorful characters that fought them.

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Page Count

476

Publisher

Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1466875259

ISBN 13

9781466875258

On the Third Day

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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On the Third Day

A Novel

By: Piers Paul Read

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238

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504044657

ISBN 13

9781504044653

The Dreyfus Affair

By: Piers Paul Read

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The Dreyfus Affair

By: Piers Paul Read

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417

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

1408801396

ISBN 13

9781408801390

Commitment

By: Piers Benn

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Commitment

By: Piers Benn

Most of us care about certain people and things, and some of these concerns become personal commitments, involving our values, our relationships, our work and our religious or political stances. But what is commitement, and why should it matter? Is social commitment - for example, to the family - being eroded by individualism or ironic detachment? And how should we deal with the potential tension between devotion to a life-stance, and the doubts prompted by pursuit of rational integrity? In this work, Piers Benn delves into the relationship between commitment and meaningful life, and asks whether commitment must be based on truth to provide such meaning. He also explores obstacles to commitment such as boredom, sloth and indifference. Drawing on his own experience of dithering and procrastination, he suggests that a sceptical, cautious attitude to important matters can be both a virtue and a real obstacle to human fulfillment.

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