DAVID CRUMM This year's best books

The enormous thirst for inspirational reading over the past decade is fueling such a flood of religious books that it's no huge loss to the world if a lot of this material cascades down the storm drains and disappears.
Many of these books look suspiciously like old stories dressed up with a veneer of faith. There's a constant stream of books about how faith will make us successful, how bite-sized servings of various religious traditions will spice up our lives and how a steady diet of weepy tales will lift our spirits.
If this sounds harsh, it's because faith is so much bigger and better than that. Religion has endured for thousands of years because of its deeper power to challenge conventional wisdom and to summon people to practices that become ingrained in their lives over generations, not a few spare moments spent thumbing a paperback.
Faith is far more creative, demanding and, ultimately, rewarding than a lot of religious books would have readers believe.
So in listing 10 of this year's best spiritual books, the spotlight is on books that creatively push boundaries and, because this is a holiday season in several religious traditions, these also are fresh ideas for holiday giving.
Here they are
* "Homeland" by Dale Maharidge with photos by Michael Williamson (Seven Stories, $24.95): This duo, which won a Pulitzer Prize for an earlier book about poverty in the South, pushed creative boundaries in an effort to take America's pulse after three years of the war on terrorism. The authors crisscrossed the country's back roads, then returned home with a book that isn't religious in a traditional sense, but is deeply spiritual in its haunting portraits of real Americans. The two men found that as Americans, we pride ourselves on sharing core values, but at the moment, we seem alienated and angry with one another over a host of long-simmering grievances.
* "Speaking My Mind" by Tony Campolo (W Publishing Group, $19.99): Tackling America's spiritual discontent from an entirely different perspective, Campolo writes as a popular evangelical prophet trying to nudge his conservative Christian audience to rethink some of its deeply entrenched assumptions. Often provocative, but always compassionate, Campolo touches on the toughest issues that tend to divide American believers: sexism, militarism, gay rights, evolution and fundamentalism. He offers wise suggestions for freshly rethinking these issues. Readers will argue with some of his ideas, but along the way, most will feel that they're talking with a friend, not a foe.
* "Muslims Next Door: Uncovering Myths and Creating Friendships" by Shirin Taber (Zondervan, $9.99): The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based publisher took a risk with this book that calls on evangelical Christians to reconsider their tendency to regard Muslims merely as targets for conversion. Taber is a conservative Christian writer, but provides a moving account of coming to terms with her father's Muslim faith. From that open window of acceptance, Taber describes a broad array of religious values that Muslims and evangelical Christians share. Each chapter ends with questions for discussion, so this is an excellent choice for church-based study groups.
* "In Search of Paul: How Jesus's Apostle Opposed Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom" by John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed (Harper San Francisco, $29.95): Cultural conflict certainly isn't new in the world of religion, and "In Search of Paul" is a monumental new overview of the life and ministry of the early Christian evangelist, Paul. The authors argue that Paul's books of the Bible are impossible to understand without examining the complex, cosmopolitan culture surrounding him. Sprinkling their text with photos and maps, Crossan and Reed sketch the Roman Empire as a contest between powerful religious traditions that vied for people's devotion.
* "The Reformation: A History" by Diarmaid MacCulloch (Viking, $34.95): This year's greatest achievement in religious scholarship for general audiences is "The Reformation" by prolific British historian Diarmaid MacCulloch. Although 16th- and 17th-century church history sounds like an obscure subject, this book couldn't be more timely as Protestant denominations around the world are reconsidering their roots and their missions. What's most amazing about this massive book is that the author manages to lead his readers through complex layers of historical detail, while offering moments of true wit and even suspense along the way.
* "The Donkey and the Golden Light" by John and Gill Speirs (Abrams, $16.95): Proving that profound messages can be packaged in remarkably small and inexpensive packages (just 32 pages), this husband-and-wife team has produced the most beautiful religious book of the year in less than three dozen pages. The idea sounds almost sacrilegious: The Speirses created modern renditions of 16th-century paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, then they inserted into each painting a simulated-gold-leaf image of Jesus. Then they added a short, illuminated text summarizing Jesus' life. The result is a medieval "Where's Waldo?" with a biblical theme. It's daring, fresh and mesmerizing.
* "The Book of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year" by Scott-Martin Kosofsky (Harper San Francisco; $19.95): Another fresh approach to traditional material is this surprisingly readable encyclopedia of Jewish customs. Kosofsky, a book designer and editor, explains that until the 20th Century, Jewish publishers often produced one-volume guides to customs and traditions that were similar to American almanacs in earlier centuries. Intrigued by these antique books, he set out to create a modern guide to the entire cycle of the Jewish religious calendar. The book comes with a ribbon to mark one's place from season to season, but it's just as much fun to read this handbook from cover to cover.
* "The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust" by Mark I. Pinsky (WJK Press, $14.95): A completely different cultural handbook comes from Orlando Sentinel religion writer Mark Pinsky, whose home base is the back yard of the Magic Kingdom. From "Snow White" (1937) to "Brother Bear" (2003), Pinsky examines the major Disney animated movies and offers his thought-provoking analysis on each film's spiritual themes. These movies are such a powerful part of our culture that it's intriguing to try to figure out what values the wizards of animation are slipping into our memory banks along with the dancing princesses and singing wildlife.
* "New Religions, A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities" edited by Christopher Partridge (Oxford University Press, $40): It's a sure sign of the complexity of America's religious landscape that so many new books this year are attempting to sort out the cacophony of competing spiritual messages. This authoritative new guidebook, pulled together for Oxford by a British scholar of religion, is a sorely needed encyclopedia of the most obscure sects that dot the religious landscape. Remember the Raelians, who claim to have learned their secrets from aliens who landed in space ships? That group is summarized here along with a stunning diversity of other religious sects.
* "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau (Shambhala , $24.95): In the realm of religion, only time proves the value of inspirational works. And for this year's 150th anniversary of Thoreau's memoir of life on Walden Pond, several publishers produced new editions. Yale University Press also produced a very nice edition ($30), annotated extensively by Thoreau scholar Jeffrey Cramer. But Shambhala's edition is illustrated with gorgeous black-and-white wood engravings by Michael McCurdy. It's those images that most effectively transport modern readers back to Thoreau's era, invite them to slow down and set the mood for real reflection on this timeless classic.
XDavid Crumm is a religion writer and columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Readers may write to him at ourspiritfreepress.com.