Setting a Trap for God; The Aramaic Prayer of Jesus by Rocco A. Errico

Errico goes back to the original Aramaic words that Jesus spoke in what we commonly refer to as "The Lord's Prayer" and he pays special attention to cultural setting and the nuances of the Aramaic language. What he comes up with is not so different from what we already know, but he emphasizes the sense of intimacy with God that Jesus encouraged. He also objects to "lead us not into temptation," as something a loving father would not do. He prefers "leave us not in temptation." Errico's book is sensible and has little to disagree with. However, those of us who see the Universe as God (there's nothing that's not God) still wonder whom you are addressing when you pray. Even though this is a Unity book, it seems to emphasize human separation from God -- as does all prayer. Personally, I think meditation and "intention" is the way to go.

The Translator by Daoud Hari

Daoud Hari is an African of the Zaghawa tribe in Darfur. Using his talent for language, he left his home to support himself in Chad by translating. His adventures took him to Egypt and Israel dodging authorities eager to enforce immigration laws. As Sudan's war against its native Africans heated up, Daoud's job became escorting journalists into Darfur to report on conditions there. He was also part of a commission to establish that the Arab Sudanese government was indeed committing genocide. For me this was an excellent introduction to the problems in Darfur.

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

Bhima is an illiterate old woman who lives with her granddaughter in the slums of Bombay. She works as a housemaid in a wealthy home headed by a widow named Sera. Over decades of employment Bhima and Sera have become friends who look out for each other's families. Bhima endures the drudgery of housework and the humiliation of servanthood (she is not allowed to sit on the furniture in Sera's house.) Sera, who has endured her own pain and unhappiness, comes to Bhima's aid with money or influence when needed. Eventually events conspire to make clear the boundaries and distance between them. Thrity Umrigar is a good story teller who takes you deep into Indian culture in this page-turner.

The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggart

I loved McTaggart's book called The Field, but was a little disappointed in this one. It is about attempts of science to prove that prayer or thoughtful "intention" can have long distance effects. There are a lot of past experiments that prove it to be true and several that prove nothing. With this book McTaggart and her colleagues have set up an internet site (www.theintentionexperiment.com) which allows anyone who has read the book to participate online in experiments aimed at proving the effectiveness of human "intention" on living things. If this were a subject close to my heart, I would join in; but it seems to me that results thus far are scant and unpredictable and I doubt we'll be able the use this method to achieve world peace anytime soon. Nevertheless, McTaggart's writing is wonderfully clear and her facts thoroughly documented. If you should doubt any of the research she's writing about, you can check her endnotes and run down the source yourself.