I was thinking about how to write the review for All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly when I came across the Amazon.com entry:

“What constitutes human excellence?” and “What is the best way to live a life?” These are questions that human beings have been asking since the beginning of time. In their critically acclaimed book, All Things Shining, Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly argue that our search for meaning was once fulfilled by our responsiveness to forces greater than ourselves, whether one God or many. These forces drew us in and imbued the ordinary moments of life with wonder and gratitude. Dreyfus and Kelly argue in this thought-provoking work that as we began to rely on the power of our own independent will we lost our skill for encountering the sacred.”

Seriously, that says it better than I could ever phrase it.  I’ll only add that this is not an overtly religious book.  It is instead a blend of sociological insight, philosophical pondering, and brilliant commentary on classic literature.  Still trying to fully understand everything in it … this is not a book for the light reader!