The Givenness Of Things

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Gilead, a collection of “powerful . . . timely and important” essays that encourage readers to “recognize the limitations of our knowledge” (The New York Times Book Review)

The spirit of our time can appear to be one of joyless urgency. As a culture we have become less interested in the exploration of the glorious mind and more interested in creating and mastering technologies that will yield material well-being. But while cultural pessimism is alwa...