Author: Brian Britt File Type: pdf In readings of Walter Benjamins work, religion often marks a boundary between scholarly camps, but it rarely receives close and sustained scrutiny. Benjamins most influential writings pertain to modern art and culture, but he frequently used religious language while rejecting both secularism and religious revival. Benjamin was, in todays terms, postsecular. Postsecular Benjamin explicates Benjamins engagements with religious traditions as resources for contemporary debates on secularism, conflict, and identity. Brian Britt argues that what animates this work on tradition is the question of human agency, which he pursues through lively and sustained experimentation with ways of thinking, reading, and writing. **Review Postsecular Benjamin Agency and Traditionmakes a notable contribution to contemporary discussions of secularization and a strong case regarding Benjamin and his contemporaries as key figures for reflection on the incompleteness of this historical transformation.German Studies Review Britts book makes a threefold contribution to Benjamin studies in the traditional sense, to contemporary discussions of how to think beyond the false binary of religion and secularism, and to readers with a particular interest in the literary qualities of Benjamins texts. John McCole, author of Walter Benjamin and the Antiomies of Tradition With the publication of Postsecular Benjamin, Brian Britt adds to his already lustrous reputation as a leading commentator on Walter Benjamins relationship to twentieth-century theology. Postsecular Benjamin puts Benjamins work in dialogue with our contemporary world in consistently inventive and suggestive ways, addressing such central issues as the conflict between science and culture, secularization, the uses of tradition, and the potentials inherent in the notion of a collective agency. Benjamin emerges here not just as a leading theorist of modernity, but as a figure whose insights, blind spots, and excesses can shed light from the past onto our present. Michael Jennings, Class of 1900 Professor of Modern Languages, Princeton University About the Author BRIAN BRITT is a professor in and chair of the Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. He is the author of Biblical Curses and the Displacement of Tradition.

Author: Arthur C. Clarke File Type: pdf The Firstbornthe mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001 A Space Odysseyhave inhabited legendary master of science fiction Sir Arthur C. Clarkes writing for decades. With Times Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in their acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant co-author Stephen Baxter imagined a near-future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic.Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, restitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mirs inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike powera power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanitys race against time to stop a doomsday event a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back.This time, they are pulling no punches They have sent a quantum bomb. Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyedand one that will obliterate Earth.Bisesas desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge into the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.From the Hardcover edition.From Publishers WeeklyThough supposedly the last volume of Clarke and Baxters Time Odyssey series (after 2005s Sunstorm), this intriguing and frustrating installment of the high-octane space opera ends with an astounding cliffhanger just as humans have begun to confront the ancient and super-powerful Firstborn, who attack any species that might become a rival. Having barely survived a Firstborn-created solar flare, Earth now must cope with a meteor bomb approaching from deep space. Tensions rise between secretive, paranoid forces on Earth and equally suspicious groups among the Spacers, whose identification with humanitys home is waning. Meanwhile, in a pocket universe created by the Firstborn for some inscrutable purpose, slices from different Terran eons nervously adjust to each other. The narrative leaps about too much to develop characters, but Clarke has never been as interested in individuals as in humanitys ability to accept change as a species. Its too early to tell whether that theme will be enough to carry the story to a coherent conclusion. (Dec.) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. ReviewPraise for Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen BaxterSunstormClarke and Baxter have mastered the art of saving the world in blockbuster style.Entertainment WeeklyAn absolute must for science fiction fans.All Things ConsideredSure to blow your mind.BookMarksTimes EyeWonderfully entertaining . . . a story that engrosses you with its dramatized ideas about the nature of existence.Chicago Tribune*hrA rousing adventure.The New York Times Book ReviewA fast and engaging read.Rocky Mountain News*hrFrom the Hardcover edition.