A landmark work on the liberal ideals of the progressive American tradition; reaffirming their relevance for today: "A major contribution to the intellectual history of modernity."―Arthur Schlesinger; Jr. In 1943; the renowned theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote a prayer for a church service in a New England village. Its appeal for grace; courage; and wisdom soon became famous the world over. Here; Elisabeth Sifton; Niebuhr's daughter; reclaims the true history of the Serenity Prayer and; in a poignant narrative; tells of efforts made by the brave men and women who; like Niebuhr; devoted their lives to the causes of social justice; racial equality; and religious freedom in a world spiraling into and out of economic depression and war. Recalling her father's efforts to warn the clergy of the dangers of fascism; and of America's own social and spiritual crises; Sifton reminds us of what is possible when liberal; open-minded leaders―not zealous fundamentalists or hawkish plutocrats―shape the conscience of the nation. The Serenity Prayer is itself a meditation on the power of prayer in morally compromised; unstable times. A New York Times Notable Book. "Crossing all religious boundaries; the Serenity Prayer may be the best-loved prayer in America. Why? Elisabeth Sifton gives the best answer by remembering a life lived in fidelity to the prayer; the life of her father; the prayer's author; Reinhold Niebuhr. Candidly observed; brimful of energy and wit; this memoir becomes by its end a moving meditation on the dark heart of the twentieth century."―Jack Miles; author of Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God "Elisabeth Sifton's The Serenity Prayer is in part a memoir of her father; Reinhold Niebuhr; in part a meditation on the dilemmas of religious faith in the contemporary world. Beautifully written; filled with perceptive insights and wry humor; it is a major contribution to the intellectual history of modernity."―Arthur Schlesinger; Jr. The Serenity Prayer is an adventure in applied theology; family history; and a nation's search for meaning. Elisabeth Sifton has written a deeply engaging work of memory and imagination; a broadside critique of politics and religion worthy of the name Niebuhr; a humane meditation on prayer; memoir at its best; nothing less than literature."―James Carroll "It is forbidden to look back with envy upon Reinhold Niehbur and the other religious intellectuals brought back to life so vividly in Elisabeth Sifton's important book; because the world in which they lived was truly dark. But they were; truly; children of light. In their intrepid; learned; and humane minds; ideas of God mingled naturally with ideas of liberalism: so how can one not read The Serenity Prayer without a tremor of nostalgia? Here are men and women praying as intelligently as they were thinking and thinking as intensely as they were praying. Sifton's steadfast and affecting memoir leaves me not just admiring her father; it leaves me also loving him."―Leon Wieselthier "[An] ebullient and shrewd meditation on faith and social action....A peaceable state of mind simply accompanies the reader as he ends this effortlessly elegant; uniformly sensible paean to the human faith that Sifton inherited."―Carlin Romano; Philadelphia Inquirer "A timely reminder of the wealth and diversity of the American religious tradition."―Walter Russell Mead; Foreign Affairs 12 illustrations
#409334 in Books Marc Bloch 1999-07-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.30 x .60 x 5.60l; .42 #File Name: 0393319113204 pagesStrange Defeat A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Exceptional and accurate analysis of French defeat in WWIIBy Steven DonaldsonAs both an avid reader of WWII history and early 20th century European history I find Marc Bloch's analysis of the French defeat not only insightful but his first hand accounts amazingly accurate. His original book was hastily written following the French loss. At the time he was a renowned Medieval history professor who took up his reserve status in the French Army at the age of 52 only to see the arrogance; ineptitude and disgrace of the self-serving leadership of the French Army and government under Jenri Phillippe Petan.This later to be published book was found in a desk of the family home in the south of France. Having read several other short essays and books on the French defeat it's fascinating that the French; better armed; better prepared completely ignored the German's new strategies of combined air; tank and infantry tactics and the fast; penetrating attacks of the blitzkrieg. He clearly saw this first hand the alternatives the French had to stop the Germans following several eye witnesses accounts of battles and the unwillingness of the French to change tactics and to simply resupply their army. This is a shocking and eye opening view of how leadership can fail a nation.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Look at French Ground-eye ViewBy PZGRENStrange Defeat presents the Fall of France; 1940 from the French perspective. Not the official self-defensive view of the French political-military establishment; but from the grounds-eye of a French Reservist Captain working in the Fuel Supply system in Northern France in 1940. It is written almost immediately after the campaign; and the author goes on to be tortured and killed by the Germans in 1944 for his activities in the Resistance. Marc Bloch was a professional historian of the Middle Ages; so the prose can be a tad elaborate; but it is frankly a refreshing difference from the routine language of most military histories. Much of the analysis is about Fench military politics in the period before the war and why the outcome was pre-ordained by the decisions the French made. He counterposes the French decisions and methods to that of the Germans in the interwar period and during the Phoney War. As a proper historian; he gives the Germans credit where it is due -- despite his obvious historical antipathy towards them (he fought in the Great War). It is also a subtle window into the French social system of classes and the tensions between them; he unabashedly supports his own class and that of the working man -- which not only explains some of the events leading to 1940; but offes insight into the post-war actions of DeGaulle and others.2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Nostalga is a a fatal flaw in world affairs.By Charles A. KrohnThis book is perhaps more timely today than it was when it was written for the wisdom it imports. As other reviewers note; on one level it deals with the causes that contributed to France's capitulation to the Nazis in 1940. But the insights into human nature are timeless; especially now since we've lost several wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with worse days perhaps ahead. Bloch suggests that leadership by the elderly; physically and mentally; cannot survive contact with the vigorous impulses of youth. Although he was executed by the Nazis for his role in the Resistance; he gives them begrudging credit their revolutionary notions of warfare that leapfrogged the practices and strategy of the old regime.I suspect we're about to see history repeat itself in the youthful crowds behind Trump and Sanders; looking for a new way out. I hope they find it in the time I have left.
