Quakers Books

Book Synopsis a model combination of scholarship and readability' Thomas Hamm, Emeritus Professor of History, Earlham College. Author of The Quakers in America highly readable and engaging' Robynne Rogers Healey, Professor of History, Trinity Western University a book at once both lively and authoritative' Stephen K. Roberts, History of Parliament Trust, London Ambitious in its intent, and masterful in its execution.' Jackson van Uden, History with Jackson & BBC History Extra '30 under 30' A vivid and groundbreaking account' Estelle Paranque, Author of Thorns, Lust and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn Insightful and engaging, this balanced account brings their convictions and struggles to life, while revealing the bold, disruptive strategies these spiritual revolutionaries employed to achieve their ends.' Mark Turnbull, Author of Prince Rupert of the Rhine: King Charles I''s Cavalier Commander moving perspectives not found in previous scholarship' Professor Ronald Hutton CBE, Author of Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief The mid-seventeenth century was a tumultuous time, and out of the chaos, Quakerism was born. Zealous: A Darker Side of the Early Quakers tells a different side to this story. The Civil Wars touched all corners of England, Scotland and Wales; the people of the poor, almost wasted Kingdom' were war-weary, miserable and in total ruin. Years of conflict left the people in utter desperation. Communities were pillaged, torn apart and irrevocably changed. And then, in September 1651, it was over. What remained was a tattered landscape, an uncertain political future, religious upheaval and emotional trauma. Amongst the turmoil, a new religious movement started in the north of England. The early Quakers were a group of people led by charismatic preachers wholly convinced that it was their responsibility to save as many souls as possible. Their methods of convincing others ranged from failed attempts at miracles, to disruptive behaviour and infuriating local authorities by repeatedly breaking the law. The early Quakers were standing on shifting sands during a very uncertain time. Throughout history, fear has always compelled people to do just about anything to feel safe and secure. Their zeal led them to challenge what they saw as an impure world. They were willing to die for their beliefs, and on occasion, they would commit unspeakable acts in the name of God.

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Book SynopsisAre Quakers mystics? What does that mean? How does it translate into how we are and what we do in the world? 'Jennifer Kavanagh has written a lovely book which I found to be to be compelling reading. In a very practical way she explains the meaning of mysticism for Quakers and how an experience, which some might regard as being esoteric, can be truly meaningful for many today.' Terry Waite Practical Mystics is Jennifer Kavanagh's first addition to the burgeoning series Quaker Quicks, which examines very aspect of what it means to be a Quaker, from John Hunt Publishing imprint Christian Alternative.

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Book SynopsisProphet against Slavery is an action-packed chronicle of a remarkable and radical individual. It is based on the award-winning biography by Marcus Rediker, which prompted the Quaker community that once disowned Lay to embrace him again after 280 years. Graphic novelist David Lester brings the full scope of Lay's activism and ideas to life.Born in 1682 to a humble Quaker family in Essex, England, Lay was a forceful and prescient visionary. Understanding the fundamental evil that slavery represented, he employed guerrilla theatre tactics and direct action to shame slave owners and traders. The prejudice Lay suffered as a dwarf and a hunchback, as well as his devout faith, informed his passion for human and animal liberation. Exhibiting stamina, fortitude, and integrity in the face of the cruelties practiced against his 'fellow creatures', he was frequently a solitary voice speaking truth to power.Lester's beautiful imagery and storytelling, accompanied by afterwords from Rediker and Paul Buhle, capture the radicalism, the humour, and the humanity of this uncannily modern figure. A testament to the impact each of us can make, Prophet against Slavery brings Lay'' prophetic vision to a new generation of young activists who today echo his call of 300 years ago: 'No justice, no peace!'Trade ReviewPraise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:Admirers of Marcus Rediker's splendid The Slave Ship will be delighted by this historian's new book. Sailor, pioneer of guerrilla theater, and a man who would stop at nothing to make his fellow human beings share his passionate outrage against slavery, Benjamin Lay has long needed a modern biographer worthy of him, and now he has one. -- Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s GhostPraise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:A modern biography of the radical abolitionist Benjamin Lay has long been overdue. With the sure hand of an eminent historian of the disfranchised, Marcus Rediker has brought to life the wide-ranging activism of this extraordinary Quaker, vegetarian dwarf in a richly crafted book. In fully recovering Lay's revolutionary abolitionist vision, Rediker reveals its ongoing significance for our world. -- Manisha Sinha, author of The Slave’s Cause: A History of AbolitionPraise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:The unswerving eighteenth-century abolitionist Benjamin Lay, maligned when not ignored for many generations, has at last found his sympathetic biographer. In this captivating must-read book, Marcus Rediker shows that Lay's disfigured body contained a mind of steel and a heart overflowing with compassion for victims of the Atlantic slave trade. Lay's place in the annals of American reform is now secure. -- Gary Nash, author of Warner Mifflin: Unflinching Quaker AbolitionistPraise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:Lay's antinomian radicalism has been wonderfully excavated by Marcus Rediker in this eloquent testament. -- Catherine Hall, author of Legacies of British Slave-OwnershipPraise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:This turbulent life of a seafarer, glove maker, and preacher is the stuff of legend, recovered with panache by Rediker. -- John Rees, author of The Leveller RevolutionPraise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:In this vivid life, Rediker explains how Benjamin Lay, the dwarf, became an iconic prophet of abolitionism. Lay lived in the utmost simplicity in a cave, eating no meat, and wearing only clothes he had made himself. Rediker shows how Lay, despite his modesty, used spectacle to dramatise the cruelty of slavery, and explains why, despite clashes with the wealthy, Lay died at seventy-seven with an estate worth over £500, which he bequeathed to the poor. The Fearless Benjamin Lay offers a master class in eighteenth-century radical micro-history, showing how much is revealed by the scattered details of one man's life, a short man but a political and moral giant. -- Robin Blackburn, author of The American CruciblePraise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:Like most satisfying biographies, Rediker's is part group biography, offering sketches of the lives with which Lay's intersected. * Times Literary Supplement *Praise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:It is a pretty safe bet that for every 1,000 people who know of William Wilberforce, no more than the odd one might have heard of Benjamin Lay. But if anyone deserves to muscle in on the mildly self-congratulatory and largely middle-class pantheon of Abolitionist Saints, it is the gloriously improbable and largely forgotten Quaker throwback and hero of Marcus Rediker's generous and absorbing act-his own phrase-of 'retrospective justice'. -- David Crane * Spectator *Praise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:Rediker has done a valuable service in rescuing Lay from obscurity ... I suspect there will be few readers who won't want to boil a celebratory turnip to salute what Benjamin Lay achieved in the course of his long and remarkable life. -- John Preston * Daily Mail *Praise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:This is micro-history at its best, a careful concentration on one small man's activities as a way of testing out the limits of what could be thought, known and felt in the hive-mind of early modern America. -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian (Best biographies of the year 2017) *Praise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:It is a pretty safe bet that people reading this excellent biography of the Quaker radical Benjamin Lay will not have heard of him or his exploits. Hopefully because of Marcus Rediker's hard work and perseverance more people will now know of this extraordinary figure. -- Keith Livesy * A Trumpet of Sedition *Praise for The Fearless Benjamin Lay:Historian Marcus Rediker's excellent book . illuminates the life of this extraordinary man. -- Eugene Grant * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisTim Gee tells the story of why he became a pacifist and what it means to him. Gee reflects on the lives of peacemakers past and present to provide responses to questions like “Don’t we have to hit back if we're hurt?”, “Don’t we need war to respond to evil?” and “Doesn’t religion justify wars?”. This is a critique of war, but more than that, it stakes a claim for pacifism's feminist and anti-racist qualities. This is a call for a more nonviolent world.

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Book SynopsisKate McNally grew up in a mainstream Christian faith, where she could not find the connection to the divine that we all seek. She turned to psychology and science and to the pursuit of success. That all worked for a while, providing a measure of comfort but not fulfillment, feeding the ego but not the spirit. Then, at a low point and broken by the drive for success, Kate began a spiritual journey that brought her to the Quakers, where she found a spiritual community and a stripped-down, simple way of following the basic commandment: Love one another. In Quaker Quicks - A Simple Faith in a Complicated World, Kate explores the faith of Jesus rather than the faith about Jesus and shares with us the connections to God, self, and others that have brought her to the spiritual community we all long for. Take this journey with her and explore the idea of perfection and how imperfections make us uniquely ourselves, perfectly suited to the work we are called to do.

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Book SynopsisWhat do Quakers have to offer when there is pain and distress in body, mind and spirit? Can their beliefs and worship help in the processes of healing? In this book, Diana and John Lampen try to answer these questions, drawing on their experiences of caring for troubled people and working in situations of conflict, as well as their long membership of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The book contains practices which readers can use for themselves.

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Book SynopsisA glimpse into the convictions, lives and legacies of the three Quaker chocolate families - the Cadburys, Rowntrees and Frys.

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Book SynopsisThis book is an attempt 'to explain the Quaker way, as far as that is possible'. It is a distinctive way and, though perhaps no better than others, it has its own integrity and effectiveness. Although it is fairly well known, Quakerism is not well understood, so the purpose of this book is to make it intelligible, to explain how it works as a spiritual practice and why it has adopted the particular practices it has. It is aimed primarily at non-Quakers, who may nonetheless be interested to know what Quakerism is about.

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Book SynopsisQuakerism began in England in the 1650s. George Fox, credited as leading the movement, had an experience of 1647 in which he felt he could hear Christ directly and inwardly without the mediation of text or minister. Convinced of the authenticity of this experience and its universal application, Fox preached a spirituality in which potentially all were ministers, all part of a priesthood of believers, a church levelled before the leadership of God. Quakers are a fascinating religious group both in their original ''peculiarity'' and in the variety of reinterpretations of the faith since. The way they have interacted with wider society is a basic but often unknown part of British and American history. This handbook charts their history and the history of their expression as a religious community. This volume provides an indispensable reference work for the study of Quakerism. It is global in its perspectives and interdisciplinary in its approach whilst offering the reader a clear narrativTrade Review[A] landmark achievement in its comprehensiveness and nuance. It demonstrates Quakerism to be a diverse and complex religion that is constantly changing and interacting with external pressures, and it shows Quaker Studies to be a cutting-edge and active field of scholarship. * Quaker Religious Thought *An indispensable resource for anyone interested in the academic study of Qakerism. Essential. * J. H. Sniegocki, Choice, *Table of ContentsI: HISTORY OF QUAKERISM; II: QUAKER THEOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY; III: QUAKER WITNESS; IV: QUAKER EXPRESSION

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Book SynopsisRandazzo's theological narrative of liberal Quakerism creates clarity and structure without compromising the capacious breadth and depth of this distinctive tradition. Using the metaphors of an ecosystem, Randazzo helps readers understand the richness of Quaker theology while offering space for the myriad ways Friends experience the sacred.

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Book Synopsis"So what do you believe?" It's the question Quakers are always asked first and the one they find hardest to answer, because they don't have an official list of beliefs. And Quakerism is a religion of doing, not thinking. They base their lives on equality and truth; they work for peace, justice and reconciliation; they live adventurously. And underpinning their unique way of life is a spiritual practice they have sometimes been wary of talking about. Until now. In What Do Quakers Believe? Geoffrey Durham answers the crucial question clearly, straightforwardly and without jargon. In the process he introduces a unique religious group whose impact and influence in the world is far greater than their numbers suggest. What Do Quakers Believe? is a friendly, direct and accessible toe-in-the-water book for readers who have often wondered who these Quakers are, but have never quite found out.

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Book SynopsisQuakers have made the cultivation of the guided life the focus of their spirituality for over three centuries. Generations of Quakers have developed practices for nurturing their connection to an inward source of guidance, meaning and purpose. This Inward Guide is present in all people, cultures and traditions. It goes by many names and is understood in many ways, but it is equally available to everyone who is willing to listen and respond. The Guided Life shares some of the spiritual practices that the Quaker tradition has developed to discover purpose and direction in daily life. These practices may be of use to anyone who is wrestling with the complex challenges and dilemmas of the modern world.

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Book SynopsisStay alert to the ring of truth and reach for solid ground in all aspects of life. John Woolman, a colonial Quaker, advises us to “Dig deep. …Carefully cast forth the loose matter and get down to the rock, the sure foundation, and there hearken to the Divine Voice which gives a clear and certain sound.” What if moving ever closer to what rings true were the central principle for organizing our lives? There may be no work that’s harder - or more worth doing. And maybe, as we keep trying, it will get less hard - and we’ll hear that ring of truth in our lives more and more. This collection of meditations on being alive in these wonderful and perilous times encourages us to stay alert to the sound of truth even in the most unlikely places, to reach for solid ground in all aspects of our lives, and to stretch from there toward lives of greater connection and integrity.

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Book SynopsisIsaac Penington was a leading Quaker when the movement first emerged during the confusion and crisis of the English Civil War. Inspiring people to move toward a new vision of peace, equality, generosity and integrity, Penington saw the potential in everyone to help create such a new world. Like other Quaker leaders, he discovered that silently waiting on the divine helps us better understand ourselves and others so that we are more able to respond to life's challenges with openness, confidence and courage. In Exploring Isaac Penington: Seventeenth-Century Quaker Mystic, Teacher and Activist, author Ruth Tod not only draws upon Penington’s letters and pamphlets to build a bridge between his time and ours, she also uses examples and interpretations of his writings to explore the beliefs and habits that shape our lives. Tod’s fresh look at Penington's own insights reminds us just how much we can learn from those early Quaker leaders.

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Book SynopsisIn the second decade of the twenty-first century, Quakers are increasingly divided over matters of theology, religious belonging, and the status of Friends’ Christian past. Recent controversies over Theism, Non-Theism and Universalism have highlighted deep-rooted transformations of Quaker self-understanding. In contrast to earlier decades, many contemporary Quakers hanker after an intensely inclusive community, unhampered by the particulars of Christian theology. Many British Friends no-longer see the Quaker movement as an expression of the Gospel nor a manifestation of the Universal Church. What might Friends be missing by re-imagining Quakerism in these resolutely post-Christian terms? Author Benjamin Wood argues that, far from limiting the bounds of Quaker identity, a selective return to Quakerism’s seventeenth-century roots can restore to modern Liberal Friends a shared story capable of deepening their spiritual life and worship-practice. Based neither on doctrinal agreement nor inflexible religious borders, the Quaker narrative recovered in The Living Fountain: Remembrances of Quaker Christianity is drawn together by sacred experiments in mutual love and enduring hope. Through a series of extended reflections on God, Jesus, and the language of salvation, Wood seeks to uncover a dynamic faith ncommitted to universal healing, reconciliation, and the crossing of religious and cultural boundaries. At the centre of this retrieval is the insistence that the God revealed in Quaker worship cherishes our differences and delights in our diversity.

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Book SynopsisExplores the depths of the personal through postcritical and theopoetic lenses, and fleshes out the richness of insights and limits in Augustine's - as well major 20th-century thinkers' - understanding of our deepest self.

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Book SynopsisOpen to New Light is not only for readers interested in exploring Quaker history and principles but also for anyone interested in different faiths and the relationships between them. The topics covered include Quakers' historic interfaith encounters, as well as more recent engagements with Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Jains, Sikhs, Baha'is, followers of Indigenous religions and Humanists.

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Book SynopsisRufus Jones was a Quaker giant of the 20th century. Charismatic and controversial, he reshaped the way many Quakers thought about the relationship between God and humans. Rufus Jones and the Presence of God traces Jones' life from adventurous farm boy to much-loved college lecturer and popular author on mysticism, showing how he wove together ideas from Quakerism, psychology and philosophy. It also explores some of his spiritual practices, asking whether there is anything we can learn from them today, whatever our beliefs.

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Book SynopsisThese reflections address the challenge of reaching for right relationship in all aspects of our lives. They invite us to consider how we show up - with ourselves, our communities and the world around us - in the light of Quaker values and practice. Does this choice of a way of being nourish community, for myself and others? Is a commitment to equality embedded in my position and clear in my intent? Does it have the essence of simplicity, cutting through the layers of complexity and clutter in modern life, and resting in that which is good and true? Is it life-affirming, tending to minimize violence and enhance the possibility of peaceful cooperation? Is it rooted in an understanding of my place in the larger community of life in all its forms, and my role in sustaining that web? Is it honorable: Does it have the ring of truth? An intention to keep reaching for right relationship holds the promise of finding solid ground in these tumultuous times and discerning paths that light a way ahead.

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Book SynopsisInspired by early Quaker Margaret Fell, this book uses stories and practical exercises to help and encourage us all to find hope in difficult times

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Book SynopsisLife affirming, inclusive and contemporary theology rooted in Quaker spirituality and Biblical wisdom.

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Book SynopsisThe Friends Way is a grand walk that starts in Barley, Lancashire, passing over the summit of Pendle Hill to and through some of the finest parts of the Yorkshire Dales to end at Sedbergh. It combines glorious scenery with superb wildlife and striking geology, and it also visits many places that were crucial in George Fox’s journey of 1652. He preferred to deliver his sermons outdoors, dismissing churches as ‘steeple-houses’. His long walk and discussions with Seekers and other dissidents were the catalyst for the creation of the Society of Friends, first known as Quakers. From Pendle Hill, where Fox had his vision, to Fox’s Pulpit, where he gave his ‘Sermon on the Fell’ to a crowd of over 1000, the route is steeped in Fox’s personal journey. This 62-mile Way ends at Sedbergh, a town rich in Quaker heritage, to be followed by two day-walks, one a circuit that takes in Fox’s Pulpit. The whole route can be completed comfortably inside one week. It will appeal not only to all Quakers who enjoy walking, but also to those walkers who don’t yet know the remarkable story of Fox’s 1652 journey and life. The guidebook is richly visual, with mapping at 1:35,000 on 17 of its pages and nearly 140 colour photos. It is robustly bound and printed on rainproof paper.

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Book SynopsisThe Friends Way route will appeal not only to all Quakers who enjoy walking, but also to those walkers who don’t yet know about Margaret Fell's remarkable story. This volume, a sequel to Friends Way 2, continues the route from Sedbergh to Swarthmoor Hall near Ulverston. After George Fox reached Swarthmoor Hall, he deeply impressed Margaret Fell (1614-1702) with his radical ideas. She later became a committed Quaker who was imprisoned for her beliefs, and also his wife. She worked tirelessly to organise the movement, to lobby for releasing prisoners of conscience and to spread the Quaker word by publishing letters. This book covers her journey from mistress of Swarthmoor to mother of Quakerism, as well as devoting a section to Swarthmoor Hall which was and is the most important centre of Quakerism in northern England. The route takes in major Quaker sites in Sedbergh and Kendal en route to Swarthmoor Hall, and it can comfortably be completed inside one week.

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Book SynopsisThis book invites all people of faith to consider how our personal and communal faith practices in growing deeper spirituality should bring us to a fresh engagement with the needs of this world. This includes being active in promoting those values which align with our understanding of the gospel and standing against injustice, oppression, and evil inflicted on any of God's children. Such activism, rooted in deep spirituality, may include being what Quaker civil rights activist Bayard Rustin called "angelic troublemakers."

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Quakers have long been respected for their simplicity, integrity, truthfulness, non violence and undestanding of the need for silence. This inspirational little book explores Quaker values and shows how - even if we are not members of the Society of Friends - we can bring Quaker practices and ideals into our everyday lives and relationships with others. Including a fascinating chapter on how to use the tools of Quakerism in a business context, there is also much helpful advice on how to slow down, still the mind and ''let the heart create for us''.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review...a handy paperback guide and supplement designed to further the understanding of all things Quaker. * Reviews in Religion & Theology, Vol. 14, No. 1 (2007) *...the scope of the work covering as it seems to do the full range of Quakerism's manifestation, is amazing....an excellent work. * Quaker Studies, March 2007 (vol 11, no 2) *Offering a reference for Quakers and general readers interested in the faith, this reference focuses on the religion's history, scope, and modern diversity of theology and practice. * Reference and Research Book News *A chronology, a historical introduction and a dictionary of Friends, this book is essential for both personal and meeting libraries. From 'abolition' to 'Zaru, Jean', 'conservative Friends' to the 'pastoral movement', 'Friends United Meeting' to 'tithes', this reference book illuminates both 'Friendly' terminology as well as a Quaker perspective on more general religious terms and concepts. * Quaker Life *

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Book SynopsisQuaker women were unusually active participants in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century cultural and religious exchange, as ministers, missionaries, authors and spiritual leaders. Drawing upon documentary evidence, with a focus on women''s personal writings and correspondence, Naomi Pullin explores the lives and social interactions of Quaker women in the British Atlantic between 1650 and 1750. Through a comparative methodology, focused on Britain and the North American colonies, Pullin examines the experiences of both those women who travelled and preached and those who stayed at home. The book approaches the study of gender and religion from a new perspective by placing women''s roles, relationships and identities at the centre of the analysis. It shows how the movement''s transition from ''sect to church'' enhanced the authority and influence of women within the movement and uncovers the multifaceted ways in which female Friends at all levels were active participants in making and susTrade Review'… Pullin has justly been nominated for the Ecclesiastical History Society Prize, as this book is a work of outstanding quality.' Catherine Gill, H-Early-America'A significant contribution to early modern transatlantic and religious historiography, Pullin indirectly reminds the reader that women's history is everyone's history. … this book is a must- read for scholars and historians of religion and gender studies to as far afield as colonial Quakerism and the British Atlantic.' Allison Kach, Religious Studies ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Spiritual housewives and Mothers in Israel: Quaker domestic relationships; 2. 'A government of women': authority and community within the Quaker Women's Meetings; 3. 'United by this holy cement': the constructions, practices, and experiences of female Friendship; 4. 'In the world, but not of it': Quaker women's interactions with the non-Quaker world; Conclusion: Quakerism reconsidered; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisHow can we find inner stillness in our lives today? What is it for and how can we use it? Inspired by the fiery writings of early Quakers, such as George Fox and Margaret Fell, this book calls on their advice to go within and wait, adapting it to create a modern, relatable method for finding stillness and peace. This meditation is for us to use however we most need it, whether to explore and heal the self and others or to help us be more effective in the wider world.

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Book Synopsis'What is Quakerism?' can be a difficult question to answer, especially when Quakers today struggle to find a shared religious language. In this book, Mark Russ answers this question from a personal perspective, telling his story of trying to make sense of Jesus within the Quaker community. Through this theological wrestling emerges a 'Quaker Shaped Christianity' that is contemporary, open and rooted in tradition. In reflecting on how to approach the Bible, the challenges of Universalism, and the key events of the Jesus story, this book offers a creative, inspiring and readable theology for everyone who has wondered how Christianity and Quakerism fit together.

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Book SynopsisWhat is vocal ministry and how does it relate to the silence of Quaker meeting for worship?

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Book SynopsisArnold Marsh, son of Belfast tin-factory owner born in 1890, is best remembered as an educationist and headmaster of Newtown Quaker School in Waterford, Ireland. His life also saw him travel widely, leaving Canada to work in a gold mine in Northern Ontario, on railway construction in British Columbia, and in a lumber camp in Alaska where he met Scandinavians, Chinese and Japanese, Russians and a Finn who learned language after language so that he could read different versions of the Bible. There he encountered the racism experienced by native Alaskans treated as foreigners in their own country. In 1917, once war was declared in the United States, Marsh sailed from Alaska to California where he played an extra in the Douglas Fairbanks movie A Modern Musketeer. He was eventually ‘inducted’ into the US Army at Camp Lewis, Washington, and was sent to France to join the front line beset by Spanish Flu. After peace was declared, Marsh returned to Ireland where he cycled 1200 miles around Ireland on a ‘Grand Tour’. Returning to his first love, education, he got a job in the Friends School, Lisburn, becoming headmaster in 1926. At that time, he observed that Irish Protestants were pessimistic about their future, many sending their children to English schools. Numbers at Newtown had fallen to twenty pupils and the buildings were dilapidated. In sympathy with the new post-1916 independent Ireland, Marsh took immediate steps to improve the school’s conditions, and during his tenure, numbers grew to 300–400 pupils. His fresh ideas about multi-denominational education took inspiration from his own schooldays at Sidcot in England: ‘The masters were our friends. We could look up to them and enjoy their company. … I got a great deal out of being away for those years, doing other work and getting to know other people. With my students I discussed the whole social system, trying to get people to think things out afresh.’ He married the distinguished portrait painter Hilda Roberts and they, with their daughter Eithne, settled at the foot of the Dublin mountains in Woodtown Park during the late 1930s, building a community of like-minded tenants and idealists drawn from all over Europe. In his later years, he was inspired to write his memoir, illustrated with postcards, letters and photographs describing his journeys and adventures in North America, and his experiences as a headmaster. In 1976, a year before his death aged eighty-six, he was still splitting and sawing logs for the fire, recalling his early career as a lumberjack in Alaska those fateful years ago.

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Book SynopsisWho are the Quakers, what do they believe, and what do they practice? The Religious Society of Friends - also known as Quakers - believes that everyone can have a direct experience of God. This title explains Quakerism through quotations from writings that cover 350 years, from the beginnings of the movement.Trade Review"They [the Quakers] are fascinating. . . . Durham directs the reader to the movement's most articulate members. . . . The reader sees what goes on in Quaker meetings [and] how inspired members have contributed to social change in many areas."--Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times -- Susan Salter Reynolds * Los Angeles Times *

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Book SynopsisReflects on the meaning of death and loss for three generations of the author's family and their friends. Focusing on issues of bullying, child rearing, and non-conformity, this work offers a look at growing up Quaker in the tumultuous 1960s that shows the more sober side of the decade's counterculture.Trade ReviewBeth Taylor's memoir is one of the most tender and moving books I've read in a long time. Written with poise and grace, never falling into self-pity, The Plain Language of Love and Loss will surely touch the heart of anyone who has found the means to salvage a kind of meaning out of great tragedy. This is a book I will not forget.â Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried and In the Lake of the Woods ""The Plain Language of Love and Loss blesses us all with its wisdom and grace. It is a luminous, powerful, and unforgettable book that is ultimately a triumph of the human spirit and a sister's love.""â Laura Palmer, author of Shrapnel in the Heart and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Escape â This tender narrative is, on the surface, about Quakers and Quakerism in modern America. It is about one familyâ s struggle to align its spiritual strivings with the realities of human limitations and the uncontrollability of circumstance. And it is about some of the ways that the Vietnam War era indelibly marked America. But it is also about much, much more, and anyone who has raised (or is raising) children will empathize here with the poignant collage of tragedy, vulnerability, humdrum, and triumph, as well as the bittersweet canvas of both community and isolation upon which the hues of all our lives are painted.â - Emma Jones Lapsansky-Werner, Professor of History and Curator of the Quaker Collection at Haverford College and coeditor of Quaker Aesthetics: Reflections on a Quaker Ethic in American Design and Consumption, 1720â 1920

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Book SynopsisStructured around questions which non-Quakers often ask, this book explores Quaker practices, explaining them in the context of Quaker theology and present-day diversity. It describes how Quakers make decisions and why they have preferred this method, as well as looking at the Quaker rejection of common Christian practices like baptism. Each short chapter gives an answer, considers why that is so, describes some of the diversity within Quaker groups, and points to other resources which could be used to find out more.

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Book SynopsisAn illuminating collection of work by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Covering nearly three centuries of religious development, this comprehensive anthology brings together writings from prominent Friends that illustrate the development of Quakerism, show the nature of Quaker spiritual life, discuss Quaker contributions to European and American civilization, and introduce the diverse community of Friends, some of whom are little remembered even among Quakers today. It gives a balanced overview of Quaker history, spanning the globe from its origins to missionary work, and explores daily life, beliefs, perspectives, movements within the community, and activism throughout the world. It is an exceptional contribution to contemporary understanding of religious thought.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a glo

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Book SynopsisThis is the first scholarly biography of George Fox (1624-91), an important Reformation leader and founding organizer of the Religious Society of Friends. Firmly grounded in primary sources and enriched with fascinating detail, this engagingly written and original study reveals hitherto unknown sides of a man who became known as First Among Friends.Trade Review[the author] takes a fresh look at all the surviving evidence, provides a comprehensive assembly of scholarly research and discussion, and offers conclusions which are objective * Church Times *

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Book SynopsisThis book brings Quaker thought on theological ethics into constructive dialogue with Christian tradition while engaging with key contemporary ethical debates and with wider questions about the public role of church-communities in a post/secular context.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Knowing Experimentally: Approaches to Quaker Testimony and Theology 1. Walking in the Light: The Bible and Quaker Testimony 2. 'We do utterly deny...': Refusals, Silences and Negative Testimony 3. Speaking Truth to Power, and Other Holy Experiments 4. 'Sweat not at all': Oaths, Non-Violence and Conscience 5. Religious Freedom and Solidarity: Quaker Martyrs and their Communities 6. Being Witnesses: Marriage, Sexuality and Tradition 7. Sustainability and Simplicity

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