"For those battered by the winds and tides of cynicism about marriage, family, politics, the church, the meaning of words, and even the character and existence of God, or for those just wanting to understand the culture in which we live, this is a brilliant and powerful exploration of a pervasive problem. Dick Keyes, in his wonderfully down-to-earth and intelligent manner, helps us to navigate between the rocks of corrosive pessimism and romantic optimism to healthy suspicion and solidly grounded hope."
- Richard Winter, author of Still Bored in a Culture of Entertainment and Perfecting Ourselves to Death
"Dick Keyes's work here is profound, bringing his own hard-won wisdom to bear upon what is the most difficult of all human tasks; namely, can one really know what the world is like and still choose to responsibly love it? With great skill, ground out over years of listening to fellow pilgrims wrestle with their cynicism even as he has faced his own, his insights are pastorally attentive and philosophically rich. This is an important book for the young who hope, as well as for the old who still need help hoping."
- Steven Garber, director, The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, and Culture, and author of The Fabric of Faithfulness
"This long-awaited book is simply a feast. Dick Keyes takes us on an enthralling adventure where we meet hundreds of players and discover hundreds of insights. We are thoughtfully introduced to the major sickness of cynicism, an epidemic in our culture in many guises. Then we are shown the best response to it: not fighting fire with fire, nor with sentimentality, but with opening our eyes wide. Keyes counters cynicism with a demonstration of the great power of imagination, God's imagination, which gives us a robust hope that trumps all our unhealthy, indolent doubting. Required reading for just about anyone concerned with understanding the times and seeing in a fresh, compelling way how radiant the Christian message is."
- William Edgar, professor of apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary
"With thoughtfulness far exceeding the pseudosophisticated world, Dick Keyes parts the dark clouds of cynicism, revealing an open sky of reasonable hope for the world."
- Kelly Monroe Kullberg, founder, The Veritas Forum, and author of Finding God Beyond Harvard
"Written by the co-director of the New England L'Abri, it brings together insightful cultural criticism, thoughtful psychological study, a critique of an unqualified shift to the postmodern, and how all of this allows many of us to wallow in our nearly self-righteous contempt for nearly everything. This is a book, I say again, that is truly thoughtful and exceedingly rich. It is very important, and utterly compelling for those willing to work through it."
- Byron Borger, Hearts & Minds Books (www.heartsandmindsbooks.com), August 30, 2008
