This is an astonishing, engrossing introduction to 10 human beings who seem to live with one foot in another plane. Gallagher, journalist and author of several books (Working on God; Just the Way You Are), defines spiritual genius as the "ability to seek life's meaning" and proposes that "all of us use spiritual genius some of the time, but some of us use it all of the time." From a goddess on an obscure Indian island to passionate scholars (Huston Smith), community activists (Tony Campolo), hermits and healing doctors, the individuals she highlights are deeply religious men and women with a gift for "combining mysticism and activism." These living saints are not household names, but they clearly belong in the same class as more famous individuals such as Mother Teresa. Each has emerged from major religious traditions (Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity), but this book is not a primer on world religions. Each chapter plunges the reader into deep, rich veins of religious thought and experience. The disciplined devotion and seemingly boundless compassion of these geniuses, combined with their indifference to limelight, make them utterly convincing and magnetic witnesses to the divine. Gallagher manages to insert enough of herself to draw out humor, irony and humility—and to let the reader taste what an encounter with these geniuses might be like—without inserting any kind of obscuring religious bias. Her reverence, curiosity and appreciation of these individuals flow from the pages. (Feb. 19)
Forecast:This outstanding multibiography is poised to do well in a time when Americans are focusing less on celebrities and more on "everyday heroes." A four-city author tour and advertising in such periodicals as
New Age Journal,
Tricycle and
Parabola should help with promotion efforts.
