Reinhold Niebuhr’s writing holds great influence in arenas from theology, ethics, political theory and philosophy. In this book, Ronald H. Stone introduces us to Niebuhr’s life in the 1960s from the critical vantage point as a former student and then colleague of Niebuhr’s. Stone shows the shift in impact of Niebuhr’s work, even among some of his closest colleagues. Through newly published letters between the author and Niebuhr and his wife, Ursula, we also learn about the impact of the 1960s upon Niebuhr the human being.
This winsome book is judicious, deeply informed, and generous.
Ronald H. Stone waited until his own retirement years to write about the retirement years of Reinhold Niebuhr. This winsome book is judicious, deeply informed, and generous, like every book that Stone has written about Niebuhr.
Stone helps us better understand the Niebuhr who remained prophetic to his final days.
Ronald H. Stone has delivered a must read for anyone seeking to understand Reinhold Niebuhr beyond the caricatures of him as a young radical, middle-aged sage, and elderly crank. Through Stone’s eyes, we meet an older and physically challenged Niebuhr who was determined to overcome pain and depression to speak to issues of justice in both foreign policy and American culture. Stone helps us better understand the Niebuhr who remained prophetic to his final days. This book should cause us to reconsider the possibilities of Christian realism in these days of populist politics.
This is a careful and insightful reading of Reinhold Niebuhr’s public thought and influence
This is a careful and insightful reading of Reinhold Niebuhr’s public thought and influence by a scholar who was his student, friend, and, subsequently, among his leading scholarly interpreters. Stone draws much-needed attention here to the latter phrases of Niebuhr’s public scholarship from the turbulent 1960s and to Niebuhr’s analytic relevance for that decade and for our twenty-first-century social landscapes.
This book will be of interest to those who seek to reclaim the living spirit of Christian realism for our own secular age.
Exploring Niebuhr’s life during the 1960s, Stone finds a man who is still evolving, producing novel works, pushing in radical directions to realize racial justice, and challenging the American status quo at every turn. This book will be of interest to those who seek to reclaim the living spirit of Christian realism for our own secular age.
An excellent resource for those seeking to understand both Niebuhr’s legacy as a scholar and his ongoing impact on contemporary theology and ethics.
In this important book, Ronald H. Stone underscores the evolution of Niebuhr’s thought and political engagement in the 1960s. Stone emphasizes the continued significance of Niebuhr’s arguments for contemporary political philosophy and foreign policy and adds insight to the debates about how committed Niebuhr was to the women’s and Civil Rights movements. Readers also get a sense of Niebuhr as both a charismatic religious leader and as a mentor. This book will be an excellent resource for those seeking to understand both Niebuhr’s legacy as a scholar and his ongoing impact on contemporary theology and ethics.
