The following are books that received favorable reviews in Parabola. If you would like to order any of these works, please click on the title of the book.

In 1799 Ernst F. F. Chladni coated two glass plates with extremely fine sand. He then stroked the edge of the glass with a violin bow, making the glass sing just like when you stroke the top of a fine crystal glass with your moistened finger. He was amazed to see that extremely beautiful symmetrical but slightly irregular patterns appeared on the sand, which have come to be known as Chladni sound figures.
Now, Alexander Lauterwasser has updated the technology yet again to produce the most beautiful book of sonic wave images ever seen, and this book is sure to become a cult classic itself. The images are far more complex than anything Jenny or Chladni was able to produce. The pictures in this book are striking and inspiring works of art that seem to resonate far beyond the basic physics of vibration they are meant to illustrate.

—David Rothenberg

THE TRUE DHARMA EYE: Zen Master Dogen’s Three Hundred Koans

Every once in a while you come across a book that deals in truths so profound and painful that it can be difficult to read. John Daido Loori Roshi’s The True Dharma Eye is just such a book. But read
it you must, because this book has the power to pierce your heart and to stop your mind, as the koans in this book, and Loori’s commentary on them, unflinchingly reveal reality.

—Jeff Scott

JUSTICE AND REMEMBRANCE: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam ‘Ali

The Imam ‘Ali, son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammed, is viewed by the majority of Muslims as the paradigm of Islamic spirituality, second only to the Prophet in importance. According to Frithjof Schuon, ‘Ali is “the representative par excellence of Islamic esoterism.” This study, which beautifully introduces the Nahj al-balagha (Peak of Eloquence), the principal text of ‘Ali’s sermons, expresses the transparently metaphysical spirituality that was present in the earliest period of Islam, and which came to be known as Sufism. The teachings concerning the Oneness of the Absolute, the significance of the virtues as windows into the nature of Reality, and the spiritual alchemy of invocatory prayer all place ‘Ali among those greatest of sages whose words, while embodying a spiritual message for a specific collectivity, at the same time transcend the formal boundaries of any particular religion.

—Barry McDonald

HALF/LIFE: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes

For generations, young men and women from different classes, clans, and religious backgrounds have been turning their backs on convention, pleading for acceptance, and defying cultural mores
in the name of love or rebellion as they create new households with one another. In Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes, Laurel Snyder, a poet and editor, explores this struggle for identity in all
its pain and glory.

—Erynn Sosinski