New Releases by Robert Coles

Report from various doctors to the Field Foundation about children''s health - food, conditions, etc.

Originally published in 1999 Black Writers Abroad puts forward the theory that African American literature was born, partially within the context of a people and its writers who lived, for the most part, in slavery and bondage prior to the Civil War. It is an in-depth study of black American writers who, left the United States as expatriates. The book discusses the people that left, where they went, why they left and why they did or did not return, from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. It seeks to explain the impact exile had upon these authors’ literary work and careers, as well as upon African American literary history.

''I KNOW WHERE I''VE BEEN: A YEAR LONG JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY'' follows the story of the author, Robert M. Coles, and his determination to see and experience the world while reflecting on his childhood growing up in the conservative Bible Belt. With a blend of humor, emotion, and vivid storytelling, ''I KNOW WHERE I''VE BEEN'' will inspire cravings of adventure and grand-momma''s sweet tea.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Children of Crisis, a profound examination of how listening to stories promotes learning and self-discovery. As a professor emeritus at Harvard University, a renowned child psychiatrist, and the author of more than forty books, including The Moral Intelligence of Children, Robert Coles knows better than anyone the transformative power of learning and literature on young minds. In this “persuasive” book (The New York Times Book Review), Coles convenes a virtual symposium of college, law, and medical school students to explore the phenomenon of storytelling as a source of values and character. Here are transcriptions of classroom conversations in which Coles and his students discuss the impact of particular works of literature on their moral development. Here also are Coles’s intimate personal reflections on his experiences in the civil rights movement, his child psychiatry practice, and his interactions with his own literary mentors including William Carlos Williams and L.E. Sissman. The life lessons learned from these stories are of special resonance to doctors and teachers looking to apply them in classroom and clinical environments. The rare public intellectual to be honored with a MacArthur Award, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a National Humanities Medal, Robert Coles is a true national treasure, and The Call of Stories is, in the words of National Book Award winner Walker Percy, “Coles at his wisest and best.”

Who Were the Most Innovative Spiritual Leaders of the Past Century?Fascinating profiles of the most important spiritual leaders of the past one hundred years. An invaluable reference of twentieth - century religion and an inspiring resource for spiritual challenge today. Black Elk, H. H. the Dalai Lama, Mary Baker Eddy, Abraham Joshua Heschel, J. Krishnamurti, C. S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, Elijah Muhammad, Meher Baba, Joseph Campbell, Simone Weil, Pope John XXIII, Shunryu Suzuki, Aimee Semple McPherson, Billy Graham, Dorothy Day, Thich Nhat Hanh, Martin Luther King, Jr. ... these are just some of the spiritual leaders who have changed our world. The result of a nationwide survey of experts in leading universities and seminaries, as well as leading representatives of dozens of religious traditions and spiritual persuasions, this authoritative list of seventy - five includes martyrs and mystics, intellectuals and charismatics from East and West. Their lives and wisdom are now easily accessible in this inspiring volume. A celebration of the human spirit, ideal for both seekers and believers, the curious and the passionate, thinkers and doers, this book is an authoritative guide to the most creative spiritual ideas and actions of the past century - a challenge for us today.

A brilliant portrait of a beloved and controversial figure in twentieth-century spirituality. Simone Weil (1906-1943) was a writer and philosopher who devoted her life to a search for God—while avoiding membership in organized religion. She wrote with the clarity of a brilliant mind educated in the best French schools, the social conscience of a grass-roots labor organizer, and the certainty and humility of a mystic—and she persistently carried out her search in the company of the poor and oppressed. Robert Coles''s study of this strange and compelling figure includes the details of her short, eventful life: her academic career, her teaching, her political and social activism, and her mystical experiences. Coles also analyzes the major themes her life encompassed: her politics, her Jewish identity, her moral concerns, her intellect, and her experience of grace. This is the best, most accessible introduction to the woman who was a spiritual influence on the life and work of so many, among them T. S. Eliot, Flannery O''Connor, Adrienne Rich, and Albert Camus. Robert Coles, M.D., was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his five-volume Children of Crisis series. He is Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at Harvard Medical School and the James Agee Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard University, and is the author of many books, including The Spiritual Life of Children, The Moral Life of Children, and Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion.

No writer or public intellectual of our era has been as sensitive to the role of faith in the lives of ordinary Americans as Robert Coles. Though not religious in the conventional sense, Coles is unparalleled in his astute understanding and respect for the relationship between secular life and sacredness, which cuts across his large body of work. Drawing inspiration from figures like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Day, and Simone Weil, Coles’s extensive writings explore the tug of war between faith and doubt. As Coles himself admits, the “back-and-forthness between faith and doubt is the story of my life.” These thirty-one thought-provoking essays are drawn from Coles’s weekly column in the Catholic publication America. In them, he turns his inquisitive lens on a range of subjects and issues, from writers and painters to his recent reading and film viewing, contemporary events and lingering controversies, recollections of past and present mentors, events of his own daily life, and ordinary encounters with students, patients, neighbors, and friends. Addressing moral questions openly and honestly with a rare combination of rectitude and authorial modesty, these essays position Coles as a preeminent, durable, and trusted voice in the continuing national conversation over religion, civic life, and moral purpose.

“Excellent” poetry and prose about physicians and their patients, by Raymond Carver, Kay Redfield Jamison, Rachel Naomi Remen, and more (Library Journal). A Life in Medicine collects stories, poems, and essays by and for those in the healing profession, who are struggling to keep up with the science while staying true to the humanitarian goals at the heart of their work. Organized around the central themes of altruism, knowledge, skill, and duty, the book includes contributions from well-known authors, doctors, nurses, practitioners, and patients. Provocative and moving pieces address what it means to care for a life in a century of unprecedented scientific advances, examining issues of hope and healing from both ends of the stethoscope. “An anthology of lasting appeal to those interested in medicine, well-written literature, and a sympathetic understanding of human life.” —Booklist

The inspirational true story of Ruby Bridges. The year is 1960, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her family have recently moved from Mississippi to New Orleans in search of a better life. When a judge orders Ruby to attend first grade at William Frantz Elementary, an all-white school, Ruby must face angry mobs of parents who refuse to send their children to school with her. Told with Robert Coles'' powerful narrative and dramatically illustrated by George Ford, Ruby''s story of courage, faith, and hope continues to resonate more than 60 years later.

In this rich and illuminating book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author Robert Coles creates a portrait of moral leadership--what it is, and how it is achieved--through stories of people who have led and inspired him: Robert Kennedy, Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Erik Erikson, a Boston bus driver, teachers in college, medical school, and elementary school, among others. Coles tells how to be a moral leader and shows how the intervention of one person can change the course of history, as well as influence the day-to-day quality of life in our homes, schools, communities, and nation. We need to "hand one another along" in life, says Coles, quoting his friend Walker Percy, and in Lives of Moral Leadership he explores how each of us can be engaged in a continual and mutual life-giving process of personal and national leadership development. Coles discusses how the actions of the American president affect the way people feel about themselves and the country, and-citing the influence of Shakespeare''s Henry V on Robert Kennedy, and of Tolstoy''s Anna Karenina on his own mother--explains how reading literature can motivate action and growth. The way in which moral leaders emerge today, and for all time, comes vividly to light in this brilliant book by one of America''s finest teachers and writers.

In this book on shaping a meaningful and ethical life, the renowned, Pulitzer Prize–winning author explores how character, courage, and human and moral understanding can be fostered by reflecting on the lives of others, through stories. Based on Robert Coles’ legendary course at Harvard, this provocative book addresses such questions as, “Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?” It calls on us to become stronger and more aware, by reflecting on ourselves and others with the help of great literature and art. Dr. Coles shows how the work of writers, artists, and thinkers of the past two centuries can inspire our own reflections on the daily lives we lead. He offers a compelling call to venture outside of our own selves and lives and to listen, attentively and with growing humanity, to the way others get through life. Coles encourages us to examine our own character, kindness, and complexity by looking carefully at our perceptions of others, and by studying the wisdom of authors from Charles Dickens to Flannery O’Connor, from James Agee to George Orwell, and many others. In this influential conversation about empathy and engagement, Coles inspires us to seek out deeper meaning in our lives, and guides us toward achieving greater clarity, strength, and richness of understanding, amid the moral, psychological, and social complexities of the modern world.

Lives We Carry with Us gathers together for the first time a diverse cross section of Coles''s profiles, originally published in our premier magazines over the span of five decades but never before collected in book form. Depicting the famous, the lesser known, and the unknown, the profiles here include portraits of James Agee, Dorothy Day, Erik Erikson, Dorothea Lange, Walker Percy, Bruce Springsteen, Simone Weil, and William Carlos Williams among others. Coles has chosen figures whom he considers his guardian spirits—individuals who shaped, challenged, and inspired one of the great moral voices of our era. Profiles include: James Rufus Agee (1909 - 1955) was was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S. He was the author of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (to which he contributed the text and Walker Evans contributed the photographs) which grew out of an assignment the two men accepted in 1936 to produce a magazine article on the conditions among white sharecropper families in the American South. His autobiographical novel, A Death in the Family (1957), won the author a posthumous Pulitzer Prize. Simone Weil (1909 - 1943) was a French philosopher, activist, and religious searcher, whose death in 1943 was hastened by starvation. Weil published during her lifetime only a few poems and articles. With her posthumous works --16 volumes in all -- Weil has earned a reputation as one of the most original thinkers of her era. T.S. Eliot described her as "a woman of genius, of a kind of genius akin to that of the saints." William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963), was an American poet who was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine. Williams "worked harder at being a writer than he did at being a physician," wrote biographer Linda Wagner-Martin; but during his long lifetime, Williams excelled at both. He considered himself a socialist and opponent of capitalism and is probably spinning in his grave at the current state of things, economically and socially. One of his best known poems is an "apology poem" taught to most American children in elementary school called "This Is Just to Say" : "I have eaten / the plums / that were in / the icebox / and which / you were probably /saving / for breakfast. / Forgive me / they were delicious / so sweet /and so cold." Dorothy Day (1897 - 1980) was an American journalist and social activist who became most famous for founding, with Peter Maurin, the Catholic Worker movement, a nonviolent, pacifist movement which combines direct aid for the poor and homeless with nonviolent direct action on their behalf. Dorothea Lange (1895 - 1965) was a hugely influential American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best know for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange''s photographs humanized the tragic consequences of the Great Depression and profoundly influenced the development of documentary photography, one of Robert Coles'' great passions. Erik Erikson (1902 - 1994) was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theories on social development of human beings. He may be most famous for coining the phrase "identity crisis." Erikson''s greatest innovation was to postulate not five stages of development, as Freud has done with his psychosexual stages, but eight. Erik Erikson believed that every human being goes through a certain number of stages to reach his or her full development, theorizing eight stages, that a human being goes through from birth to death. Walker Percy (1916 - 1990) was an American southern author best known for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans, the first of which, The Moviegoer, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1962. He devoted his literary life to the exploration of "the dislocation of man in the modern age." His work displays a unique combination of existential questioning, Southern sensibility, and deep Catholic faith -- all themes of great interest to Coles. Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), has long been in Robert Coles'' orbit and he once held a concert as a fundraisr for Coles'' magazine Double Take (now defunct). Springsteen''s most successful studio albums, Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A., epitomize his penchant for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily life in America, and the latter album made him one of the most recognized artists of the 1980s within the United States.

In 2001, photographer Thomas Roma was given access to the addresses of the patients of William Carlos Williams - successful doctor and legendary poet in the 1940s and 50s. These addresses were plotted on a map, becoming the route that Roma travelled and recorded over the next five years, retracing Williams'' footsteps from decades past. Dr Williams would travel from Rutherford, New Jersey to Paterson, New Jersey, stopping to attend to his patients en route. Roma''s photographic re-treading of this journey is an immersive experience.

In this remarkable anthology, some of the world’s greatest writers provide a master class on the transformative power of learning and literature. Culled from a course developed by Pulitzer Prize—winning author Robert Coles for the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Teaching Stories is an invaluable collection in which novelists, essayists, and poets “render school life in all its complexity and variety.” Featuring writings by James Agee • Julia Alvarez • Charles Baxter • Raymond Carver • John Cheever • Anton Chekhov • Erik H. Erikson • Anna Freud • Thomas Hardy • Toni Morrison • Howard Nemerov • Flannery O’Connor • Tillie Olsen • Leo Tolstoy • Tobias Wolff • Richard Yates Ideal for educators and students of all ages, Teaching Stories will inspire anyone who loves great writing.

From ancient times to the present day, here are indispensable insights on political power and leadership as expressed in the novels, plays, and poetry of the world’s greatest artists and intellectuals. Adapted from a course taught at Harvard by Pulitzer Prize—winning author Robert Coles, Political Leadership features scenes, stories, and speeches that pierce to the core of how and why some lead and others follow. In Felix Holt, the Radical, George Eliot observes that progressive reformers can be even more self-serving than their conservative counterparts; in The Prime Minister, Anthony Trollope suggests that honest men must cope with the corruption of politics–or leave leadership entirely to the crooked; and the works of Nadine Gordimer and George Orwell reveal that those who overturn tyrants often envy their power and repeat their mistakes. Anyone trying to understand today’s confused and violent world will be both challenged and inspired by this unique and important collection.

A groundbreaking study of the impact of current events on the lives and minds of children from the Pulitzer Prize-winning child psychiatrist. Most parents teach their children the lessons and skills they need to function in the world while trying to shield them from the harsher realities of life. But long before children are considered ready to face the complications of the real world, they are learning truths and perspectives most adults imagine are beyond them. Child psychiatrist and author of The Spiritual Life of Children, Robert Coles traveled the globe for more than a decade, from Northern Ireland to Nicaragua, South Africa to Southeast Asia, across the United States and beyond, conducting in-depth interviews with children about their cultures, ideologies, national pride, and political knowledge. He learned that the greater challenges, traumas, conflicts, and issues of the world around them find their way into children’s impressionable minds and play a crucial role in their development. Robert Coles’ unique and groundbreaking research sheds much-needed light on the psychology of childhood, revolutionizing both professional and personal understanding of humans’ formative years. “Robert Coles is to the stories that children have to tell what Homer was to the tale of the Trojan War.” —The New York Times Book Review

There would be many more human sacrifices-of that Char was sure. It never occurs to him that he or Quel might become one of those victims who meet their fate at the hands of the cruel warrior-priests! The Maya youth spots something unusual in the Sacred Well of Sacrifice and must satisfy his curiosity. After he goads his friend into helping him commit a forbidden and foolish act-secretly entering the Well-a series of calamities is unleashed on Chichen Itza. He''s been in trouble with the priests before. If they find out, the gods (or is it the priests?) will only be satisfied with the removal of his beating heart atop the Pyramid of Kukulcan. Skullman, the high priest, has worries of his own-drought, war, unrest among the people, Screaming Jaguar and Sharp Claw scheming to overthrow him. Perhaps the offering of an innocent youth would appease the gods and bring peace and harmony to the city. The boys'' only desire is for calm and prosperity to return to their land. Their actions may determine not only their own fate, but also that of the entire community.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Children of Crisis offers a unique vision of musical legend Bruce Springsteen and the influence of his music on both the lives of ordinary Americans and on the American literary tradition, examining the meaning of Springsteen''s lyrics and profiling "The Boss" as a poet within a larger social, cultural, and philosophical context. Reprint. 26,000 first printing.

Combines prose by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Coles with full page tritone images spanning 150 years of photography from artists including Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange, and Marion Post Wolcott.

A classic of faith-based activism―updated for a new generation. Why was Daniel Berrigan wanted by the FBI? Why did Robert Coles harbor a fugitive? Listen in to the conversations between these two great teachers as they struggle with what it means to put your faith to the test. Discover how their story of challenging the status quo during a time of great political, religious, and social change is just as applicable to our lives today. Thirty years ago, at the height of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest, was wanted by the FBI for his nonviolent protest activities. He hid in the house of Robert Coles, who would later win the Pulitzer Prize. The two began a dialogue that encompasses a fascinating range of topics, from war, psychology, and violence, to social institutions, compassion, activism, and family life. With this expanded, anniversary edition of a classic, new generations of readers can examine for themselves how spirituality is not only for ourselves, but often demands action and personal risk in the public arena. New to this edition, Robert Coles offers historical perspective on this turbulent time and assesses the progress of faith-based activism in the years since. Daniel Berrigan challenges today’s activists in a new afterword. Finally, a glossary of terms helps to clarify the key people, places, and movements that are often the subject of the Coles/Berrigan conversations.

Does the business of daily living distance us from life''s mysteries? Do most Americans value spiritual thinking more as a hobby than as an all-encompassing approach to life? Will the concept of the soul be defunct after the next few generations? Child psychiatrist and best-selling author Robert Coles offers a profound meditation on how secular culture has settled into the hearts and minds of Americans. This book is a sweeping essay on the shift from religious control over Western society to the scientific dominance of the mind. Interwoven into the story is Coles''s personal quest for understanding how the sense of the sacred has stood firm in the lives of individuals--both the famous and everyday people whom he has known--even as they have struggled with doubt. As a student, Coles questioned Paul Tillich on the meaning of the "secular mind," and his fascination with the perceived opposition between secular and sacred intensified over the years. This book recounts conversations Coles has had with such figures as Anna Freud, Karen Horney, William Carlos Williams, Walker Percy, and Dorothy Day. Their words dramatize the frustration and the joy of living in both the secular and sacred realms. Coles masterfully draws on a variety of literary sources that trace the relationship of the sacred and the secular: the stories of Abraham and Moses, the writings of St. Paul, Augustine, Kierkegaard, Darwin, and Freud, and the fiction of George Eliot, Hardy, Meredith, Flannery O''Connor, and Huxley. Ever since biblical times, Coles shows us, the relationship between these two realms has thrived on conflict and accommodation. Coles also notes that psychoanalysis was first viewed as a rival to religion in terms of getting a handle on inner truths. He provocatively demonstrates how psychoanalysis has either been incorporated into the thinking of many religious denominations or become a type of religion in itself. How will people in the next millennium deal with advances in chemistry and neurology? Will these sciences surpass psychoanalysis in controlling how we think and feel? This book is for anyone who has wondered about the fate of the soul and our ability to seek out the sacred in our constantly changing world.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Children of Crisis" places Bruce Springsteen in the literary tradition of poets and people and explores how the singer''s words resonate with the lives of ordinary Americans today. Photos throughout.

Documented over a ten-year period, the author''s photographs illustrate the beauty of this country and the extent to which it has been torn apart by political conflict. Oral histories from interviews with Tibetans cover issues such as rights abuse, political demonstration and religious persecution.

This volume explores the question of how to raise a child whose moral intelligence and strong values will be the basis for a balanced and happy life. It shows how character develops from the earliest years, moulded by the often unselfconscious guidance of parents.

Investigates the nature of documentary work, arguing that the work of an observer is not only to represent, but also to interpret reality, and uses examples from literature and photography to show how the observers'' personal frame of reference has influenced his or her work.

This 224-page book begins with several examinations of what is known about the spiritual and moral life of at-risk youth and then presents four cultural perspectives of spirituality. The final four essays move from theory to practice as a teacher, two ministers, and a religious education director offer concrete strategies for affecting the spiritual lives of at-risk youth."--Pub. desc.

This video reveals the lives of eight American children who are struggling to cope. Each child must draw upon inner resources to come to terms with such issues as deteriorating families and neighborhoods, alcoholism, affluence, the uncertainties of migrant life, AIDS, racism and riots. Children are asked to draw pictures of themselves and their families. As the pictures unfold in vibrant reds or dull grays, in sad faces and sunny skies, Coles defines the feelings the children may not be able to put into words. He is able to explore the issues - anger, sorrow, fear, low self-esteem - revealed by the child''s own hand and seeks out the source of strength in each child''s family that will, hopefully, see them through.

In this book, Coles explores the concept of idealism and why it necessary to the individual and society.