Beginning with the ancient worlds of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and moving forward through time, Art and Architecture of the World's Religions explores the major faiths from countries and continents around the globe, helping readers better understand the creations their beliefs have inspired. After tracing the history and development of a religion, the book provides a general overview of its principal beliefs and key practices. It then offers specific examples of how works of art/architecture reflect that religion's values.
Taking us from smoggy Los Angeles to the woods of Idaho, from Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century to the post-Civil War frontier, these riveting stories trace the perils and occasional triumphs of lawmen and -women who put themselves in harm's way to face down the bad guys. Some of them even walk the edge of becoming bad guys themselves.
Socrates, written by Voltaire, the famous French philosopher in the mid 17th Century, is a play in three acts that concerns itself with Socrates and the events just before his death during his trial. It is heavy with satire specifically at government authority and organized religion. The main characters besides the titular role is that of the priest Anitus, his entourage, Socrates' wife Xantippe, several judges, and some children Socrates has adopted as his own.
Hiro Protagonist — yeah, that's his name — is a freelance hacker and unemployed pizza deliveryman lost in a post-lapsarian, hyper-capitalist future America in which the central government has withered away, leaving behind a landscape of gated communities and endless strip malls lined with cookie-cutter retail franchises. When a virulent computer virus (or is it a drug? or a religion?) called Snow Crash gets loose and somehow starts infecting humans, Hiro teams up with a sassy skateboard messenger to save both the real world and cyberspace.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is a 1970 book by Judy Blume, typically categorized as a young adult novel, about a girl in sixth grade who grew up with no religion. Margaret's mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, and the novel explores her quest for a single religion. Margaret also confronts many other pre-teen female issues, such as buying her first bra, having her first period, coping with belted sanitary napkins, jealousy towards another girl who has developed a womanly figure earlier than other girls, liking boys, and whether to voice her opinion if it differs from those of her friends.
