How we came to seek absolute good in religion and nature-and why that quest often leads us astrayPeople have long looked to nature and the divine as paths to the good. In this panoramic meditation on the harmonious life, Michael Mayerfeld Bell traces how these two paths came to be seen as separate from human ways, and how many of today's confli
"This is a superb work of scholarship and wise insight. Bell asks important questions for this troubled age: How shall we live? Where can we find truth? How can we best steward the world for all its inhabitants?"--Jules Pretty, author of The Edge of Extinction: Travels with Enduring People in Vanishing Lands
"City of the Good is an ambitious effort to tell the history of the interconnections between religion, nature, and community. This is an important book with big ideas, fresh perspectives, and a broad sweep."--Colin Jerolmack, author of The Global Pigeon
"There is much to like about [
City of the Good]. It is written for a broad audience and takes on big questions, something more social scientists should attempt. The personal anecdotes create a certain intimacy and lightheartedness, while the historical disquisitions convey real urgency and seriousness. Bell did not spend all this time reading about the world’s religious traditions just for fun. He was searching for answers to questions that matter to him, and to all of us."
---Philip S. Gorski, Contemporary Sociology
