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Existing books on Christian ritual and the sacraments tend to presuppose a good acquaintance with Roman Catholic thought and practice. Today, however, even at Catholic institutions students tend to lack even a basic knowledge of Christian ritual. Moreover, for many modern people the word "ritual" carries negative connotations of rigidity and boredom. In this accessibly-written book two noted authors offer an engaging introduction to this important topic. Their goal is first to demonstrate that celebration, ritual and symbol are already central to the readers' lives, even though most do not see their actions as symbolic or ritualistic.

"Christian Reconstruction." In 1980, hardly anyone had heard the phrase. By 1990, it was becoming famous-or at least infamous-in American evangelical circles. Even the secular media had begun to pick up on it, most notably Bill Moyers, who devoted an entire Public Broadcasting System television program to the topic.

Christian Reconstruction is a theological system, a movement of independent activists, and a cultural ideal. Its goal is nothing short of transformation of the world. "And they shall build the old wastes, and they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generation" (Isa. 61:4).

Twenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other radio and televangelists first spoke of the United States becoming a Christian nation that would build a global Christian empire, it was hard to take such hyperbolic rhetoric seriously. Today, such language no longer sounds like hyperbole but poses, instead, a very real threat to our freedom and our way of life. In American Fascists, Chris Hedges, veteran journalist and author of the National Book Award finalist War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, challenges the Christian Right's religious legitimacy and argues that at its core it is a mass movement fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society.