Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic's Quest - Hardcover

Michael Krasny is both the conscience and alpha brain of the Bay Area, and certainly one of the most thoughtful interviewers alive. That he s also fantastically open-minded and spiritually searching only increases his appeal and importance. It s hard to imagine radio, and the life of the mind, for that matter, without him.
Dave Eggers, author of Zeitoun and What Is the What
Michael Krasny s Spiritual Envy is a memoir of seeking and questioning, of a battle between a man s deepest yearnings and formidable intellect, of the longing for belief in the face of the impossibility of belief. If doubt is an element of faith, then Krasny s grappling with doubt is a kind of act of faith itself. This is a beautifully written book, and reading it is a spiritual adventure.
Dani Shapiro, author of Family History
Spiritual Envy is written with the same kind of self-reflection and open-mindedness that separates Krasny's radio show from the snarky ideological rantings of so many other radio and TV broadcasters, be they left-wing, right-wing, political or religious.
San Francisco Chronicle
This is a personal and philosophic journey in search of God, spiritual meaning and why religion and faith matter a must-read for those who seek. This book touched me personally because, like Michael Krasny, I wish I had faith: life would be simpler.
Isabel Allende, author of Island Beneath the Sea
If you felt a little bludgeoned by the Dawkins/Hitchens approach to God, this is the book for you, generous instead of pinched, and honestly engaged with actual religious people and ideas, not a series of straw men. Michael Krasny is every bit as open and curious in print as he is behind the mike.
Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
An agnostic describes his relentless struggle with spiritual beckoning in a thoughtful personal manner. Exceedingly well-informed, well-written, and edifying.
Irvin D. Yalom, author of Staring at the Sun
According to the public-opinion polls, agnostics and atheists are the group Americans trust least even though nonbelievers conduct themselves more ethically than do the religious faithful. It helps in reducing such ignorance and fear for nonbelievers to come out of the closet and profess not only their opinions but the emotional and intellectual struggles behind them, as the always engaging Michael Krasny does in this probing examination of his spirituality and ours.
Timothy Ferris, author of Coming of Age in the Milky Way
This is a beautiful, thoughtful book about the deepest issues of spirituality, told by Michael Krasny with remarkable openness about the subject and himself.
Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent and Innocent
The vitality and integrity of this beautifully written book is bound to touch anyone who knows how to value a truly independent mind and spirit.
Jacob Needleman, author of What Is God?
In this engrossing memoir, Michael Krasny searches for God and fails to find Him. Yet God finds Michael Krasny in the Negative Way known so well to so many who seek Him. God is not an entity to be accessed and understood. God is Love, infinite and eternal. To seek Him is to find Him, even as we envy those who have stumbled upon what they believe to be the Answer.
Kevin Starr, University of Southern California
"

"Michael Krasny is both the conscience and alpha brain of the Bay Area, and certainly one of the most thoughtful interviewers alive. That he's also fantastically open-minded and spiritually searching only increases his appeal and importance. It's hard to imagine radio, and the life of the mind, for that matter, without him."
-- Dave Eggers, author of Zeitoun and What Is the What

"Michael Krasny's Spiritual Envy is a memoir of seeking and questioning, of a battle between a man's deepest yearnings and formidable intellect, of the longing for belief in the face of the impossibility of belief. If doubt is an element of faith, then Krasny's grappling with doubt is a kind of act of faith itself. This is a beautifully written book, and reading it is a spiritual adventure."
-- Dani Shapiro, author of Family History

"Spiritual Envy is written with the same kind of self-reflection and open-mindedness that separates Krasny's radio show from the snarky ideological rantings of so many other radio and TV broadcasters, be they left-wing, right-wing, political or religious."
-- San Francisco Chronicle

"This is a personal and philosophic journey in search of God, spiritual meaning and why religion and faith matter -- a must-read for those who seek. This book touched me personally because, like Michael Krasny, I wish I had faith: life would be simpler."
-- Isabel Allende, author of Island Beneath the Sea

"If you felt a little bludgeoned by the Dawkins/Hitchens approach to God, this is the book for you, generous instead of pinched, and honestly engaged with actual religious people and ideas, not a series of straw men. Michael Krasny is every bit as open and curious in print as he is behind the mike."
-- Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

"An agnostic describes his relentless struggle with spiritual beckoning in a thoughtful personal manner. Exceedingly well-informed, well-written, and edifying."
-- Irvin D. Yalom, author of Staring at the Sun

"According to the public-opinion polls, agnostics and atheists are the group Americans trust least -- even though nonbelievers conduct themselves more ethically than do the religious faithful. It helps in reducing such ignorance and fear for nonbelievers to come out of the closet and profess not only their opinions but the emotional and intellectual struggles behind them, as the always engaging Michael Krasny does in this probing examination of his spirituality and ours."
-- Timothy Ferris, author of Coming of Age in the Milky Way

"This is a beautiful, thoughtful book about the deepest issues of spirituality, told by Michael Krasny with remarkable openness about the subject and himself."
-- Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent and Innocent

"The vitality and integrity of this beautifully written book is bound to touch anyone who knows how to value a truly independent mind and spirit."
-- Jacob Needleman, author of What Is God?

"In this engrossing memoir, Michael Krasny searches for God and fails to find Him. Yet God finds Michael Krasny in the Negative Way known so well to so many who seek Him. God is not an entity to be accessed and understood. God is Love, infinite and eternal. To seek Him is to find Him, even as we envy those who have stumbled upon what they believe to be the Answer."
-- Kevin Starr, University of Southern California

Michael Krasny, PhD, hosts the nation s most-listened-to locally produced public radio talk show, Forum with Michael Krasny. A widely published scholar and literary critic, he is an English professor at San Francisco State University and has taught at Stanford University and University of California, San Francisco. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area."