{"title":"Alan Jacobs","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlan Jacobs\u003c\/strong\u003e offers thoughtful explorations into the intricacies of human thought, culture, and belief. His works invite readers to engage deeply with classic texts and enduring questions, blending keen intellectual insight with accessible prose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom reflections on spirituality and literature to analyses of philosophical ideas, Jacobs’ writings enrich conversations around \u003cem\u003eReligion \u0026amp; Spirituality\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePhilosophy \u0026amp; Psychology\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e. His books encourage a thoughtful, reflective approach to understanding the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"how-to-think-by-alan-jacobs-9781781259573","title":"How To Think","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eHow to Think\u003c\/i\u003e is a contrarian treatise on why we're not as good at thinking as we assume—but how recovering this lost art can rescue our inner lives from the chaos of modern life.\n\n\u003cp\u003eMost of us don't want to think, writes the American essayist Alan Jacobs. Thinking is trouble. It can force us out of familiar, comforting habits, and it can complicate our relationships with like-minded friends. Finally, thinking is slow, and that's a problem when our habits of consuming information (mostly online) leave us lost in the echo chamber of social media, where speed and factionalism trump accuracy and nuance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this clever, witty book, Jacobs diagnoses the many forces that prevent thought—forces that have only worsened in the age of Twitter, such as 'alternative facts', and information overload. He also dispels the many myths we hold about what it means to think well. (For example: it's impossible to 'think for yourself'.)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on sources as far-flung as the novelist Marilynne Robinson, the basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, the British philosopher John Stuart Mill, and the Christian theologian C.S. Lewis, Jacobs digs into the nuts and bolts of the cognitive process, offering hope that each of us can reclaim our mental lives from the whirlpool of what now passes for public debate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter all, if we can learn to think together, perhaps we can learn to live together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000641372396,"sku":"9781781259573","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5296353482822.jpg?v=1763292743"},{"product_id":"paradise-lost-by-alan-jacobs-9780691238579","title":"Paradise Lost","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe life and times of Milton's epic poem about Satan's revolt against God and humanity's expulsion from paradise\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Milton's \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e has secured its place in the pantheon of epic poems, but unlike almost all other works in the pantheon, it is intimately associated with religious doctrine and its implications for how we live our lives. For more than three centuries, it has been a flashpoint for arguments not just about Christianity but also about governance, rebellion and obedience, sexual politics, and what makes poetry great. Alan Jacobs tells the story of Milton's enduring poem, shedding light on its composition and reception and explaining why it resonates so powerfully with us today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eComposed through dictation after Milton went blind in 1652, \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e centres on an ancient biblical answer to the eternal question of how evil came into the world. It has proved impossible to disentangle the defence or critique of the poem from attitudes toward Christianity itself. Does Christian theology entail monarchy or democracy? Are relations between the sexes thwarted by pompous and tyrannical men or by vain and disobedient women? Jacobs traces how generations of readers have grappled with these and other questions, along the way revealing how Milton's poem influenced novelists like Mary Shelley and Philip Pullman and has served as the inspiration for paintings, operas, comic books, and video games.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn essential companion to Milton's poetic masterpiece, this book shows why \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e continues to serve as a mirror reflecting our own complex attitudes about power and authority, justice and revolt, and sin and salvation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47461235720428,"sku":"9780691238579","price":92.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691238579-paradise-lost.jpg?v=1774962964"},{"product_id":"the-book-of-common-prayer-by-alan-jacobs-9780691191782","title":"The Book of Common Prayer","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Common Prayer\u003c\/em\u003e became one of the most influential works in the English language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile many of us are familiar with such famous words as \"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here...\" or \"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,\" we may not know that they originated in \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Common Prayer\u003c\/em\u003e, which first appeared in 1549. Like the words of the King James Bible and Shakespeare, the language of this prayer book has saturated English culture and letters. Here Alan Jacobs tells its story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe shows how \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Common Prayer\u003c\/em\u003e—from its beginnings as a means of social and political control in the England of Henry VIII to its worldwide presence today—became a venerable work whose cadences express the heart of religious life for millions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47559023460588,"sku":"9780691191782","price":50.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691191782-the-book-of-common-prayer.jpg?v=1776927021"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/alan-jacobs.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}