Category Archives Books

Abdu’l-Baha: The Perfect Exemplar – A New Book by Dariush Lamy

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Abdu’l-Baha: The Perfect Exemplar is a new scholarly work by Dariush Lamy. Among its 350 pages, you’ll find an overview of the Life of Abdu’l-Baha. The books also provides us with a glimpse into the profundity and scope of Abdu’l-Baha’s Writings. As this year is a time for profound reflection on Abdu’l-Baha, I’m sure Dariush’s book will be valuable to those who read and study it.

Dariush graciously agreed to tell us about his book and this is what he shared:

Baha’i Blog: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Of course! I was raised in a Baha’i family and was fortunate from an early age to be in close proximity with the great scholars of the Faith in Iran. I started reading and researching Baha’i literature and published many articles in different Persian Baha’i and non-Baha’i magazines. I have studied architecture and then continued my graduate studies in Islamic studies at UCLA to help with my research in the Baha’i Writings. Continue reading →

Mighty: A Children’s Resource About Abdu’l-Baha by First Valley Books

Books, Interviews 2 Comments

The dynamic team at First Valley Books that created the vibrant and engaging children’s book Little Champions of Justice have a new project in honor of Abdu’l-Baha as we commemorate the centenary of His Passing.

Mighty: 7 Stories About Abdu’l-Baha for Children Who Want to Serve the World is their latest creation and it’s really a gift to the children of the world: it’s been translated into five languages, it’s available as a free download and you can purchase physical copies of the book on www.firstvalleybooks.com, you can listen to all the stories here on our Soundcloud page, and you can see simple videos of the stories on our YouTube channel.

We’re beyond beyond grateful that the team at First Valley Books gave us permission to share this wonderful resource on Baha’i Blog. We wanted to share with you a little bit more about the book so we asked the team a few questions, and here is what they told us:

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Memorials of the Faithful: Abdu’l-Baha’s Manual for Living and Dying

Books 4 Comments

During the centennial commemorations of the Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha, let us remember a precious gift from Him.

That gift is Memorials of the Faithful, a volume the Master wrote in 1915.

Shoghi Effendi published it in 1924, the first book to emerge after he began his ministry.

We can understand why the Guardian made this book his priority when we start to view it as far more than a collection of seventy obituaries of Baha’is who passed away during the lifetime of the Master.

Rather, it is really a collection of parables, true stories that contain within them the lessons we can take from the example of people who were energised by the spiritual power of Baha’u’llah.

In her remarkable introduction, the book’s translator into English, Marzieh Gail points out that Memorials of the Faithful, is “a book of prototypes, a kind of testament of values endorsed and willed to us by the Baha’i Exemplar.” Continue reading →

Two New Books to Nurture Love for Abdu’l-Baha in Children’s Hearts

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Celeste Finn has created two children’s books about Abdu’l-Baha. While they would be valuable resources any year, they are particularly precious this year as we reflect profoundly on the Life of Abdu’l-Baha and as we share stories about Him with the children in our lives in honor of the centenary anniversary of His Passing.

Celeste kindheartedly agreed to tell us about her two books, and to provide a little sneak peak of one of them. We hope you enjoy our conversation and that the sample story at the bottom whets your appetite to read more! Continue reading →

Convergence: Cities, Spirituality and the Future of Civilization – A New Book by M. L. Perry

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Mark Perry has authored a new book published by George Ronald titled Convergence: Cities, Spirituality and the Future of Civilization. The book asks the question: What makes a great place to live?

In this book, Mark draws on the experience, knowledge, information, wisdom and vision of people of diverse fields working with and concerned about human habitats. Using as guiding principles some writings of Baha’u’llah, Mark looks at how spirituality and the developing science of sustainability might converge to produce communities that are moderate, local but interconnected globally, technologically and spiritually-based, progressive and sustainable, and great places to live.

Mark graciously agreed to tell us more about his book and how it came together:

Baha’i Blog: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in Swarthmore, a suburb of Philadelphia. My first career goal was to be a musician and I majored in music in college. But racism was constantly on my mind, and I couldn’t focus on music while dealing with persistent questions of inequality and segregation buzzing around like mosquitos and hornets. I was fascinated by my first sociology course, which provided a way to discuss social problems and their solutions. I pursued graduate studies in sociology, cultural anthropology and history, and have been teaching in those fields since 1987. From 2014 I have been teaching at BNU-HKBU United International College in Zhuhai, China.

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Signs of God’s Love – A New Children’s Book by Tahirih Lemon

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Tahirih Lemon has penned a new book for children called Signs of God’s Love and, to judge a book by its cover, it looks delightful! Illustrated by Lusya Stetskovych, this book introduces the concept of God, the loving Creator, and what makes humans special.

It was lovely to interview Tahirih Lemon about her book series for junior youth called The Independent Investigator (you can find that interview here on Baha’i Blog) and I was thrilled to hear from her about this new publication:

Baha’i Blog: Could you please tell us a little about your book Signs of God’s Love?

Signs of God’s Love is a story about a boy named Aidan, who learns about the signs of God’s love throughout creation, while hiking with his father. As Aidan wonders and ponders, his father teaches him about the unique power each form of creation possesses. It is a beautifully illustrated book introducing the concept of God, the loving Creator, and what makes humans special.

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When the Moon Set Over Haifa – A New Book About the Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha

Books, Interviews 3 Comments

Angelina Diliberto Allen has penned a new historical book called When the Moon Set Over Haifa. This book shares the stories of six Westerners who were in Haifa at the time of the Passing of Abdu’l-Baha on November 28, 1921. There were five pilgrims: John Bosch and Louise Stapfer Bosch, Dr. Florian Krug and Grace Krug, and Fraulein Johanna Hauff. The only other Western believer present was Curtis Kelsey from New York, who was there to install electrical power plants to light the Shrines of the Bab and Baha’u’llah.

This book tells the story of these six Baha’is and explores how their experiences at the time of the Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha shaped their lives. Angelina’s book is such a gift, especially in this special commemorative year when we reflect on the Life of Abdu’l-Baha. You can hear Angelina talk about her book, and many other fascinating topics, in this episode of the Baha’i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson but in this interview, we hear specifically about When the Moon Set Over Haifa. Here’s what Angelina graciously shared with us:

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My Study Aids for Reading the Works of Shoghi Effendi

Books, Resources 1 Comment

The written works of Shoghi Effendi make up an important part of Baha’i literature as I believe they provide vital insights into the history and development of Baha’i communities, contextual information and interpretation of the Writings, and inspired insights about how one can participate in Baha’i community efforts. In this article I would like to provide a look at some resources that can assist us in beginning to read, relate to, and learn from Shoghi Effendi’s works. It should also be noted that I am considering the works Shoghi Effendi himself authored, and not his masterful translation work. Continue reading →

When Reason Sleeps – A Story of Hope, Strength, Courage and Faith

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When Reason Sleeps is a biography of Manuchihr Farzaneh-Moayyad, as recounted by his wife Mehri to her dear friend Audrey Mellard. It is a compelling narrative of hope, indomitable spiritual strength, courage and faith. It tells the story of Manuchihr’s unjust arrest, imprisonment and execution because of his beliefs, and Mehri’s subsequent time in prison and harrowing escape out of Iran. Audrey has penned their story beautifully and shares with us about her book in this interview:

Baha’i Blog: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I have thought of myself as a writer since I was seven years old, but it has taken me a long time to find what I wanted to write, apart from press releases, slide show scripts and one very brief TV script. Since I am now 85 years old, my future output is not likely to be massive, but there was a man on Orkney whose story I would like to tell.

I have been married for more than sixty years to Keith, and we were friends for ten years before we married, meeting when I was fourteen and he was thirteen, although my parents did not allow me to have a boyfriend until I was sixteen.

We had four children in slightly less than four years, and I spent 18 years at home with them, after which I joined the civil service as a clerical officer. During the time I was at home with the children, I did all the clerical work for my husband’s business, doing all the bookkeeping, dealing with the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise (VAT) etc. It was difficult at times, because as soon as the telephone rang, every child wanted my immediate attention!!

Since my husband had to give up sculpture last year due to arthritis in his hands, I used his stone and marble stores and started to make a garden alongside his studio. This is my ongoing project at the moment.

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Meet Coach Ben – A New Comic Book Series for Kids

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Written by Munib Rezaie, an educator and school counselor living in the United States, Meet Coach Ben is the first instalment in a brand new series of children’s books that feature a diverse cast, positive models of masculinity, and practical parenting advice, all rendered in beautiful hand-drawn comic book style illustrations.

I got in touch with Munib to find out more about the book and the initiative as a whole. Here’s what he shared: Continue reading →