Jeffrey Kripal here recounts the spectacular history of Esalen, the institute that has long been a world leader in alternative and experiential education and stands today at the center of the human potential movement. Forged in the literary and mythical leanings of the Beat Generation, inspired in the lecture halls of Stanford by radical scholars of comparative religion, the institute was the remarkable brainchild of Michael Murphy and Richard Price. Set...

New York Times bestselling author Stephen Mansfield traces the fascinating and influential life of Oprah Winfrey, profiling her quest for spiritual enlightenment, a well-publicized journey featuring a caravan of experts, mystics, and gurus, all claiming to have a prescription for inner peace and personal well-being. Mansfield shows how Oprah's story fits into our larger cultural experience and reveals why her spiritual discoveries have resonated so...

"The first major history of Mormonism in a decade, drawing on newly available sources to reveal a profoundly divided faith that has nevertheless shaped the nation."-- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in the so-called burned-over district of western New York, which seemed to produce seers and prophets daily. Most of the new creeds flamed out; Smith’s would endure. How Mormonism succeeded―and how...

"Since 2000, Religion and Popular Culture in America has been one [of the] standard books used in teaching this area of study. Modestly updated in 2005, it continues to be taught in colleges, universities and theological schools across the continent. The basic four-part structure of Religion and Popular Culture in America remains sound and is a feature that appeals to many who have taught the volume. Section One, Religion in Popular Culture, examines...