Paradise: Escaping the Terror of History

Paradise: nostalgia for something lost in human antiquity, or a fantasy made by evolution to keep us going…could the answer lie in the history of the human race, in the story of your life, or possibly in another dimension?

We all remember Paradise. We remember it as something lost, but also as a hope for what can be. If it once existed, it can and should exist again...a place without anxiety or want; a place of love, where we are not abandoned and alone.

There must be some reason for the ubiquity of Paradise stories across cultures. From Israeli settlers to ISIS fanatics; from starry-eyed socialists to Evangelical politicians, all strive for a version of Paradise. Why?

This story is truly anthropological—it is ancient and universal, a story for humanity. We are going to seek Paradise in all its possible resting places, including psychological spaces, spiritual dimensions and geographical locations. 

The author has worked as a humanitarian in the Middle East for over three decades. From large-scale conflicts to the hard-scrabble search of individuals for meaning, he sees the quest to recover a measure of the Garden of Eden at every turn.