INTERPLAY OF RELIGION AND CULTURE AT CORE OF NEW BOOK ON BUDDHISM
Philosophy Professor Recounts His Life Altering Experiences Living & Teaching in Cambodia
Chicago, IL -- In The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha (HarperSanFrancisco), Stephen T. Asma writes with wit and candor of his experiences living and teaching in Southeast Asia. He combines travelogue, political history, social critique, philosophical analysis, and the teachings of the Buddha.
Asma, a 'big white barang (foreigner)' who teaches philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, was invited by the Center for Khmer Studies and the Khmer Education Assistance Program to teach a graduate seminar on Buddhist philosophy to Cambodian students at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh. The Gods Drink Whiskey is the story of his physical and philosophical journey in this 'land of the tattered Buddha.'
The Washington Post notes that Gods is 'a fascinating look at a land where every day is a challenge.' Time Out New York says that Asma 'artfully explor[es] Buddhism's role in helping a society maintain equanimity in the face of poverty, conflict and bloody oppression.' Shambhala Sun states that Gods 'is a raw, heartbreaking confluence of religion and adventure rarely encountered in works of non fiction these days and that 'Those curious about the murkey side of Theravada Buddhism in Asia couldn't ask for a better guidebook'' Booklist calls Gods 'Intense and revelatory [with] hair-rising anecdotes and expert analysis' and Publishers Weekly states that 'Asma's descriptions are skillfully interwoven with firsthand encounters from his time in Cambodia. His forays into Southeast Asian politics, violence and globalizing trends, colorfully entertaining as travel writing, illuminate the ways in which Buddhism plays a primary role in the collective welfare of the region.'
Stephen Asma is as multi-dimensional and engaging as the lands, events, issues, and people he writes about. A 36-year-old single father who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and teaches full time in the humanities department at Columbia College Chicago, he is also an accomplished artist and illustrator, as well as a blues musician. His critically praised book Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums (Oxford University Press, 2001), that explores the history of natural science museums, went to paperback in 2003. For more information on his activities visit www.stephenasma.com
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