Living in this period of unprecedented change and uncertainty, it is critical to develop a clear understanding of current conditions in the world. For this purpose I recommend two books that provide us with sound historical and futuristic perspectives: Alan Macfarlane’s The Making of the Modern World: Visions from the West and East; and James C. Bennett’s The Anglosphere Challenge: Why the English-Speaking Nations Will Lead the Way in the Twenty-First Century.

In seeing the devastating impact and danger of Islamic fascism in the form of global terrorism, people from a non-Islamic background are asking: What is real Islam? I recommend two books that provide us with a most profound understanding of the Islamic religion: Frithjof Schuon’s Understanding Islam and Lex Hixon’s The Heart of Qur’an: An Introduction to Islamic Spirituality.

Beneath the visible flux of events and episodes we see in the news, in the realm of ideas, a powerful convergence of science, art, and spirituality is taking place. To understand this convergence, I recommend three books: Frederick Turner’s The Culture of Hope: A New Birth of the Classical Spirit; Christopher Alexander’s The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe; and Ervin Laszlo’s Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything.

And last but not the least, a book very close to my heart, Lafcadio Hearn’s Gleanings in Buddha-Fields: Studies of Hand and Soul in the Far East, first published in 1898, now available in Paraview’s Cosimo Classics series. In 1890, Lafcadio Hearn (1850 1904), a Greek-born British author, moved to Japan - where he married, became a naturalized citizen, and lived until his death. He adopted a Japanese name, Yakumo Koizumi, and wrote many penetrating essays on Japan and Japanese culture.

See you next month!