I think Berger's books are under recognized in the world of social thought and for certain to the general public. Again, this book was very readable and important, since it deals with a predicament that so many people in the modern world have to deal with, and for what many is a very difficult situation. Like in the book The Homeless Mind and other books, there is the explanation of how 'pluralism' which is a product of the modern world has thrown many into a state of uncertainty in terms of religion, and the consequential ramifications of this for personal meaning and identity in our social world. Such a logical and scientifically based consideration of these problems is very refreshing since it seems that the world of popular writings end up in the 'self-help' genre where putative answers are offered but without any understanding offered about why it is the case that the individual in the modern world is in such a difficult situation in the first place. Modern psychology often seems to point the finger at the individual, as if we are the problem in need of medication if we feel anxiety, depression, or sense of being empty. This book made me feel a lot better, not in terms of totally resolving the modern human condition, but it giving excellent assessment of it and offering what may be the real potential solution. This is that in this world of relative and pluralistic world views and fragmentation of social cohesion, a self construct mediated by the transcendent is arguably the only way for someone to have a self, at least a plausible subjective notion of a self. This is in a way why religion was developed by man in the beginning, but it has to be dealt with in a new way in the world of pluralism which has revealed the fact that religion can not be taken for granted in such a social world. Books like these are arguably the most important books being written, since they deal with the fundamental concern of people in our social world. Priceless.
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