Tying Rocks to Clouds

Would you like to talk about the meaning of life with Mother Teresa, Norman Vincent Peale, the Dalai Lama, B.F. Skinner, Ram Dass, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Pir Vilayat Khan, Rabbi Harold Kushner, Jean Houston, Brother David Steindl-Rast and other world-renowned spiritual leaders and experts in wise living? In this ecumenical volume, ``ordinary person'' Bill Elliott asks 20 such people essentially the same set of questions: ``What is the purpose of life?'' ``Why is there suffering?'' ``Do all religions lead to the same place?'' ``If you were on your deathbed, what advice would you give to your son or daughter?'' What emerges from this process is nothing less than a snapshot of our planet's philosophies at the end of the millennium. In perfect counterpoint, Elliott also surfaces in the course of the book as a wise, humorous, spiritual person himself. This invaluable record deserves to be a bestseller, not only for its inherent wisdom but also for its clarity and respect for the many ways there are to be and to believe. (Oct.)