The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr

Theologian, ethicist, and political analyst, Reinhold Niebuhr was a towering figure of twentieth-century religious thought. Now newly repackaged, this important book gathers the best of Niebuhr's essays together in a single volume. Selected, edited, and introduced by Robert McAfee Brown--a student and friend of Niebuhr's and himself a distinguished theologian--the works included here testify to the brilliant polemics, incisive analysis, and deep faith that characterized the whole of Niebuhr's life.

"This fine anthology makes available to a new generation the thought of one of the most penetrating and rewarding of twentieth-century minds. Reinhold Niebuhr remains the great illuminator of the dark conundrums of human nature, history and public policy."--Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

"Sparkling gems. . . brought from the shadows of history into contemporary light. Beautifully selected and edited, they show that Niebuhr's fiery polemics and gracious assurances still speak with power to us today."--Roger L. Shinn

"An extremely useful volume."--David Brion Davis, New York Review of Books

"This collection, which brings together Niebuhr's most penetrating and enduring essays on theology and politics, should demonstrate for a new generation that his best thought transcends the immediate historical setting in which he wrote. . . . Brown's] introduction succinctly presents the central features of Niebuhr's life and thought."--Library Journal