Counterpoint: 634 books

An impassioned, thoughtful, and fearless essay on the effects of racism on the American identity by one of our country’s most humane literary voices. Acclaimed as “one of the most humane, honest, liberating works of our time” (The Village Voice), The Hidden Wound is a book-length essay...

A stunning new translation—“the best in a century, without a doubt”—of the Hebrew Bible that restores the creativity and poetry of the original text (New Republic). Whether rendering the Bible as wondrous or as strangely familiar, David Rosenberg’s “brilliant” and “truly fresh”...

A Zen Buddhist masterpiece, winner of the 2018 Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation. The Platform Sutra occupies a central place in Zen (Ch’an) Buddhist instruction for students and spiritual seekers worldwide. It is often linked with The Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra to form a trio...

A spiritual travelogue through the birthplace of Zen. In the spring of 2006, Bill Porter traveled through the heart of China, from Beijing to Hong Kong, on a pilgrimage to sites associated with the first six patriarchs of Zen. Zen Baggage is an account of that journey. He weaves together historical...

“A straightforward biography that thankfully avoids preaching. Readers curious about Judas’ broad effect on world history will welcome this book.” (Kirkus Reviews) In this fascinating historical and cultural biography, Peter Stanford deconstructs that most vilified of Bible characters:...

Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal were both poets and priests, wholly committed to a life of spiritual contemplation which was never far from the gritty work that lead them to risk life and reputation in order to raise worldwide consciousness concerning issues of social justice and the abuse of human...

"Tense, moving, and hilarious . . . [A] dark jewel of a novel." —Francine Prose, O, The Oprah Magazine Three husbands have left her. I.R.S. agents are whamming on her door. And her beloved cat has gone missing. She's back and forth between Melanie, her secluded Southern town, and...

“The authoritative . . . essential set of texts from the great [Zen] master . . . edgy, practical and often funny” (Gary Snyder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author). Born in the 17th century, Hakuin Zenji is one of the greatest and most influential figures in Zen Buddhism. In addition to being...

“Combines art, art history, and Italian allure into a cerebral romance . . . vividly entertaining.” —Publishers Weekly The tour Elizabeth Berman is on is better suited to her late husband, a Dante scholar who’d masterminded the itinerary as a surprise for their thirty-fifth wedding...

God wills it! The year is 1095 and the most prominent leaders of the Christian World are assembled in a meadow in France. Deus lo volt! This cry is taken up, echoes forth, is carried on. The Crusades have started, and wave after wave of Christian pilgrims rush to assault the growing power of Muslims in the Holy Land. Two centuries long, it will become the defining war of the Western world.

**Winner of the 2014 Prix du Style "Masterful . . . An eloquent addition to a violent episode in the history of science in the twentieth century." —Nature** In 1934, the highly respected head of the Soviet Union’s meteorology department, Alexei Feodosievich Wangenheim,...

First published in 1979, Bike Touring introduced tens of thousands of riders to the joys of bicycle travel, and quickly became the go-to reference for an entire generation of bike-touring enthusiasts. But much has changed in the last three decades-and this fully revamped edition provides authoritative...

An in-depth exploration of the innovative science and intrepid spirit behind the expeditions that led to the discovery of Antarctica. On March 8, 1912, the front page of The Daily Chronicle trumpeted “The South Pole discovered,” marking Roald Amundsen’s triumph over the tragic Robert...

“A thrilling account” of a harrowing Antarctic expedition, enriched with the historical journals of the explorers themselves (The New York Times).   Their tents were torn, their food was nearly finished, and the ship had failed to pick them up as planned. Gale-force winds blew, bitter with the...