Product Description

This remarkable book combines myth and psychology, the poetry of the Sufis and the wisdom of King Solomon, along with Needleman's searching of his own soul and his culture to explain how money can become a unique means of self-knowledge. Includes a "user's guide" and discussion section, exclusive to this paperback edition.

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Worth a read for anyone with issues around $        Rating:

Needleman's plot and dialogue are not strong, so this is not a brilliant literary achievement. The man is a professor of philosophy, not a novelist, and some how his story does an incredible job of bringing to life the real emotional and philosophical issues we all have about the mighty dollar. Actually, it's more universal than that, he goes back and explores the social role of barter and money throughout history. And then, through his not-so-well developed characters, makes extremely accessible and intelligible some of the most commonly held hang ups so many people hold. Hating money, worshiping money, pretending it's not important, etc. I recently put this book on a list of top 15 books that have stuck with me. Not because it's great fiction. But because it delivers on it's title and makes explicit how our choices around money demonstrate what we care about and how being more aware we can make money more meaningful in our lives and reflective of what we find meaningful. It is easy for anyone to understand concepts like "meaningful work," and how family and friends bring meaning in our lives, not to mention arts and culture. But meaningful money? That's what makes this a unique read.

So what's going on here? It is the rare teacher who can find a way to help non-philosophers find meaning in money. He describes how the emotions and thoughts evoked by historic rites and ethical practices were meant to help us "toward awareness of the universal source in the midst of the rhythms of life." But we generally don't experience things that way anymore. We've made money so important that it's taken the place of all the practices meant to give meaning to our lives, "Money, being the principal means of organizing and ordering survival in the outer world, thus seems the most real thing in our lives." Ultimately, Needleman ties money to self-respect. He shows us how modern man has become unnecessarily lonely and stripped of our sense of inner worth. To sum it all up, paying attention to how we interact money can become a practice that adds great meaning to our lives, "It is the thesis of this book that the effort of seeing the truth, no matter what that truth is, is the real seed of the higher self; and this effort we can make--no matter what life hands us." So that's the point, but to really get it, you have to read the book, which is a "spiritual detective story." If you've ever wondered why money matters, or seems to be the only thing that matters, reading this book is a spiritual quest you should consider taking.

a darn good book        Rating:

The book is a good one. We enjoyed it and recommend it to others. The service was great too.

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