Kenneth L. Woodward

In this book Kornhaber and Woodward explore the vital connections that link generations to each other and expose a new social contract that destroys the emotional bonds between grandparents and grandchildren.This is the first book that reviews, in a careful ethnographic manner, the relationship of grandchildren to grandparents and the place of love at one end and abandonment at the other by grandparents. The authors probe the deep, unexplored emotional histories of hundreds of grandparents: how they feel about themselves, their grandchildren, and their loss of function within today's nuclear family. With sharp increases in the number of broken families and working mothers, grandparents are more vital than ever and also more available than ever. This basic research document shows how grandparents recover their natural role as elders of the family and of society. The authors' basic premise is that to exist is to be connected, and that no matter how grandparents act, they affect the emotional well-being of their grandchildren, for better or for worse, simply because they exist.

Now in paperback. Blending personal narrative with the story of Christianity in the United States over the last fifty years, the award-winning former editor of Newsweek tells the roller-coaster ride of religion through the cultural, public, and political landscapes of American history. Kenneth L. Woodward, one of the most well-respected journalists in the United States, served as Newsweek's religion editor and chief religion writer for almost forty years, reporting from five continents and contributing more than 700 articles, essays, and book reviews, including nearly 100 cover stories, to the magazine. In this new book, Woodward tells a truly American story about how faith shaped, and continues to shape, our culture and politics (and vice versa). Recent polls from Pew and others attest to the changing demographics of believers in the United States. This book provides historical insights into why these changes have happened (and why some of the information that is being touted by mainstream media may actually be wrong). From the myopic optimism of the '50s, to the civil rights battles of the '60s, to the evangelicalism of Billy Graham and Bill Bright, to the years of Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush, and Obama, we get eye-opening answers to the questions: Is religion really an important part of the American experience? And why do people believe and act the way they do when it comes to religion? Impeccably researched and thought-provoking, this book is perfect for an NPR and Charlie Rose crowd of informed readers looking to understand a topic that continues to cause devotion and division in equal parts.

For the first time in a single volume, Kenneth Woodward presents both the familiar and more obscure miracle stories of the great saints, sages, and spiritual masters of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam -- and explains their meaning in the context of the sacred scriptures of each tradition. The Book of Miracles charts a journey from ancient to modern -- from the Prophet Muhammad's healing of the sick and the workings of Moses, Elijah, and Elisha to those of the Lubavitcher rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson and the female Hindu sat guru Ammachi. In bringing together stories of the Talmudic wonder-workers, the first Christian hermits, early Sufi mystics, Muslim ascetics and martyrs, and the most revered Hindu and Buddhist saints, Woodward illuminates both the striking similarities and significant differences in each tradition's understanding of the miraculous.

In this book Kornhaber and Woodward explore the vital connections that link generations to each other and expose a new social contract that destroys the emotional bonds between grandparents and grandchildren.This is the first book that reviews, in a careful ethnographic manner, the relationship of grandchildren to grandparents and the place of love at one end and abandonment at the other by grandparents. The authors probe the deep, unexplored emotional histories of hundreds of grandparents: how they feel about themselves, their grandchildren, and their loss of function within today's nuclear family. With sharp increases in the number of broken families and working mothers, grandparents are more vital than ever and also more available than ever. This basic research document shows how grandparents recover their natural role as elders of the family and of society. The authors' basic premise is that to exist is to be connected, and that no matter how grandparents act, they affect the emotional well-being of their grandchildren, for better or for worse, simply because they exist.