Doing Well and Doing Good: Money, Giving, and Caring in a Free Society

The latest installment in NavPress's Trinity Forum Study Series, this impressively wide-ranging examination of charity and philanthropy is actually a collection of excerpts edited by Guinness. Beginning with selections from ancient Greeks and ending with several from 20th-century intellectuals and entrepreneurs, Guinness leads readers through his study of the nature and history of wealth and giving. In his introduction, Guinness makes no secret of the series' evangelical Christian perspective, but claims to ""open its programs to all who share its aims."" While Guinness generally does an admirable job of writing for a diverse audience, his overly sympathetic view of Judeo-Christian theories of giving and overly critical perspective on other traditions occasionally offend; his assertion that Jewish and Christian giving never expects anything in return, while virtually all other traditions do, flies in the face of biblical and historical examples too numerous to count. Despite his efforts to include a few liberal voices (most notably Robert Reich), Guinness's preference for conservative thinkers such as Marvin Olasky and S. Humphreys Gurteen is unmistakable. Moreover, his negative, dismissive assessment of welfare programs in the United States seems unwarranted; in assuming that his readers agree with him that these programs have failed, he will no doubt alienate more than a few. Fortunately, study questions at the end of each section, along with a leader's guide at the end of the book (written by series editor Karen Lee-Thorp), invite readers to form their own opinions. (Apr.)