Description
Book Synopsis Through the ages, the world’s cultures and great religions have in profound, though different, ways sought to answer the big question: how should we live? Part of the answer has to do with how we ought to treat others, particularly those who are most in need. Ample evidence suggests that giving selflessly to others lies at the heart of what it means to be a thoughtful and moral human being. In Being Generous, author Theodore Roosevelt Malloch leads an exploration of this important concept of generous giving.
He begins by examining how generosity fits into the various spiritual traditions, philosophical schools, and economic systems. Further chapters illustrate how generosity need not always be about money, showing how it might also involve the sharing of time and talent. Elsewhere, Malloch explores the science behind generosity, looking, for example, at the relationship between various chemicals in the brain and generous behavior. Beyond the theory and the science of generosity, readers will also find a wealth of inspiration in a collection of profiles of past and present icons of generosity.
Being Generous concludes with a practical action plan that lays out concrete steps to guide readers toward lives of greater giving.
Table of Contents Foreword by John M. Templeton Jr., MD / xi
Preface / xv
Introduction xix
1: Generosity: A Universal Moral Urge / 3
- The Pew Family / 7
- Calouste Gulbenkian / 13
- Wafic Rida Saïd / 19
- Li Ka-shing / 27
2: Charity and Gift / 30
- The Maclellan Family / 33
3: Stewardship Spirituality / 36
- Sebastian Spering Kresge / 41
- George Cadbury / 47
4: Time, Treasure, and Talent / 49
- William Wilberforce / 51
- Johann Sebastian Bach / 55
- Felix Mendelssohn / 59
5: Generosity and Economics / 61
- J. C. Penney / 63
- John Walton / 67
- Henry Ford / 71
- Eli Lilly / 73
6: Generosity and Science / 75
- Jeffrey Skoll / 77
- John Templeton / 79
7: Responsible Generosity / 81
- John D. Rockefeller / 85
- Gary Ginter / 89
8: A Generous Society / 93
- Andrew Carnegie / 95
- Joan Kroc / 97
- Mother Teresa / 99
9: Generosity and Purpose in Life / 103
- Bill and Melinda Gates / 105
- Warren Buffett / 107
- Oprah Winfrey / 109
- Michael Bloomberg / 111
10: Final Thoughts / 114
- Arthur Blank / 117
- C. S. Lewis / 121
Appendix A: Twenty-one Books to Read on Generosity / 125
Appendix B: Real Life Stories of Giving to GlobalGiving / 129
Appendix C: About GlobalGiving / 139
Notes / 141
