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The Book of Calamities: Five Questions About Suffering and Its Meaning | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter Trachtenberg
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $23.99
Buy New: $10.99
You Save: $13.00 (54%)
New (43) Used (12) from $10.00
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 202042
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 464
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 1.2 x 0.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0316158798
Dewey Decimal Number: 128.4
EAN: 9780316158794
ASIN: 0316158798
Publication Date: August 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
What does it mean to suffer? What enables some people to emerge from tragedy while others are spiritually crushed by it? Why do so many Americans think of suffering as something that happens to other people-who usually deserve it? These are some of the questions at the heart of this powerful book.
Combining reportage, personal narrative, and moral philosophy,Peter Trachtenbergtells the stories of grass-roots genocide tribunals in Rwanda and tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka, an innocent man on death row, and a family bereaved on 9/11. He examines texts from the Book of Job to the Bodhicharyavatara and the writings of Simone Weil. THE BOOK OF CALAMITIES is a provocative and sweeping look at one of the biggest paradoxes of the human condition--and the surprising strength and resilience of those who are forced to confront it. (2008)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Intriguing information! December 9, 2008
Reader Views (Austin, Texas)
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (12/08)
"The Book of Calamities" is a very thoughtful and intriguing book on why people suffer and what did they do to cause this? Do we believe that people who suffer deserve this?
The author, through his own learning and conversations with individuals from Manhattan to Rwanda, gives us a good idea as to why individuals suffer and why we can't seem to get rid of suffering. Many people, when tragedy happens such as a death of a small child or an event like 9/11, ask questions such as: How do I go on? - Is my suffering the result of other people's malice? - What do I require in the way of justice? Often there are no answers to these questions.
In one narrative the author describes his visit to victims of the Tsunami where many families were lost and whole towns disappeared. One of the villagers said that Tsunami orphans were made fun of by others in the village as "unlucky." How could these children control what had happened to them? Many of their fathers had left to find work elsewhere and what was left of the family was destroyed in a few minutes. Here the Buddhists call this fate "karma." Many thought that the corruption of the government caused the Tsunami. Their way of thinking is that wholesome acts bear pleasant consequences and unwholesome acts unpleasant ones. So were these children being held responsible for the acts of the government and their parents?
In the western world the thought is that we make our own suffering and shouldn't be surprised when it happens. Many individuals believe that they have control of their life and how they obtain the material items of the world. We believe as the author says that even the unluckiest of us can transform themselves to be lucky. So why isn't that the same thought worldwide?
One of the things I particularly liked about "The Book of Calamities" by Peter Trachtenberg is that the author didn't try to force his views on the reader. He gave us his information and experiences and let us come to our own conclusions.
Thoughtful, precise yet Emotional November 3, 2008
T. Carey (New York, NY)
This is a thoughtful, well researched, extremely well written and vivid survey of the various natures of suffering--religious, philosophical cultural and psychological. Trachtenberg traveled and interviewed both perpetrators and victims, but the most alluring part of the book is his capacity for empathetic yet clear-eyed description. Bravo! Highly reccommended.
Poweful and Compelling October 19, 2008
C. Jensen (NJ United States)
This book is both powerful and compelling and the beauty of its writing pulls you into these true stories of calamities. I couldn't wait to read more each evening after work, till I finished it all. Now I want to re-read it and re-visit the places and people Peter Trachtenberg has introduced to us. He's a fine writer (see 7 Tattoos) who is becoming a great writer.
Beautiful. October 17, 2008
reader (boston)
I just attended a reading by Peter Trachtenberg, of the last chapter of this book, and it was breathtaking-- so compelling and smart and sensitive. The writing is superb and so interesting.
excellent October 13, 2008
jon grife (maryland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
i could not put this book down. it proved novel and enlightening in so many ways. it is an exciting exploration of human suffering and god's place in the world. Trachtenberg is a tremendous writer and thinker and i can't wait for additional writings.
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