A landmark interpretation! Jacob Needleman

Description

"A stirring introduction . . .  [Geldard's] accessible

approach makes Emerson palatable and relevant to

a new generation of inquisitive readers across

denominational lines." —Library Journal, May 1, 2010

Emerson and the Dream of America connects

the awakening of hope that led to the election

of Barack Obama with a rebirth of Emerson’s

great Dream of “this new yet unapproachable

America.”


This is the first book to combine Emerson’s

energizing teachings for individuals with the

theme of achieving America’s unique promise

as a nation.


It is a timely message about the ground of

our being and the future of our country and

offers strength and confidence to readers

who dream (as Emerson did) of an America

devoted to equality, social justice, and economic

opportunity for all its citizens.


(See next tab, On Emerson and this Book)

On Emerson and This Book

Ralph Waldo Emerson is the most

quoted American of all time. He

speaks to and for what makes

Americans American, regardless

of national/religious heritage.

Copies of his Essays are as common

as the Bible in American homes.

Voicing strong American values—

self-reliance, the infinitude of the

private individual, the integrity of

one’s own mind as what is most

sacred—Emerson helps us identify,

and possibly meet one another anew

in, a common ground. His Vision is of

a possible future, not a past gone by,

and still can inspire us like no other.

This “landmark interpretation” (see

endorsements, Jacob Needleman) of

Emerson’s work helps us to see how,

in contrast to the American Dream,

the Dream of America evokes some-

thing deeper, more fundamental,

and infinitely more adequate to

the immediate challenges of our

personal, national, and global

crises.

Early endorsements

“In these pages the mind and heart of

Emerson show us why we are here—

both as Americans, and as individual

human beings in the vast, universal

world.

Geldard’s book offers a landmark

interpretation of America’s greatest

philosopher.”

       —Jacob Needleman, author of

          What Is God? and The American Soul

“Spend an hour with Richard Geldard

and he will lead you to the inner sanctum

and hand you over to the Master.

Emersonianism is the American religion.

It is not a church or a cult; it is a spiritual

discipline, a Way. It teaches the infinitude

of the private person, of each private

person, of you yourself with your laptop

and cell phone.

Emerson was a great teacher in his

day, but Richard Geldard can get him

to you now.”

     —Robert Richardson, author of

        Emerson: The Mind on Fire

"The stock of Ralph Waldo Emerson stands high,

as it has for the last 50-plus years. Geldard's brief

book champions Emerson not only as an exponent

of the Perennial Philosophy but as a genuine voice

for continuing reform, social justice, and economic

equality in America. Both an exposition of Emerson's

thought and a call to change and action, this is a

stirring introduction to the thought of the great

transcendentalist. VERDICT Geldard here will not

bring news to the student of Emerson, but his

accessible approach makes Emerson palatable

and relevant to a new generation of inquisitive

readers across denominational lines."

               —Library Journal, May 1, 2010

“As readers have discovered in the

classic book, The Spiritual Teachings

of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard

Geldard is unmatched as a companion

and guide to the works of America’s

Founding Thinker. This book demon-

strates convincingly that the poet/

philosopher was as prescient as he

was relevant in his own times, and

that, as the "keeper of America’s

best thoughts," we can gain from

Emerson (with Geldard’s insight)

a new perspective on our current

struggles and profound guidance

through our difficult future.”

     —Richard Grossman, author of

        A Year with Emerson and

        The Tao of Emerson

Contents, Preface, Introduction

Click here to view the Table of Contents,

Preface, and Introduction to Emerson and

the Dream of America in PDF format.

Chapter 1

Click here to see Chapter 1 of Emerson

and the Dream of America in PDF format.

About Richard Geldard

Richard Geldard is one of Emerson’s

finest contemporary disciples—the author

of The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo

Emerson, The Essential Transcendentalists,

The Vision of Emerson, and God in Concord.

A full-time writer and lecturer living in

New York City and the Hudson Valley, he

is married to the artist and writer Astrid

Fitzgerald.

Before retiring to write full time, he taught

Greek Philosophy and The Science of Mind

at Yeshiva College in New York. He is a

graduate of Bowdoin College and Stanford

University, where he earned his doctorate

in Dramatic Literature and Classics.

A frequent lecturer, he was a featured

speaker at Faneuil Hall in Boston as part

of the Emerson Bicentennial Celebrations

in 2003, and in June, 2005, he delivered

the Keynote at the re-instatement of the

Delphic Games in Delphi, Greece.

In June, 2011 he will speak on Neoplatonism

at the new library in Alexandria, Egypt.

For Emerson and the Dream of America,

he has selected and developed a series of

stunningly eloquent passages from through-

out Emerson’s works that serve both a nation

in crisis and individuals seeking meaning and

direction—urging us to listen to Emerson as a

source of personal and national rediscovery

and revitalization.