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The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line between Christianity and Islam Audiobook
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(3.04) - 362 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The tenth parallel—the line of latitude seven hundred miles north of the equator—is a geographical and ideological front line where Christianity and Islam collide. More than half of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims live along the tenth parallel; so do sixty percent of the world’s 2 billion Christians. Here, in the buzzing megacities and swarming jungles of Africa and Asia, is where the two religions meet; their encounter is shaping the future of each faith, and of whole societies as well.
An award-winning investigative journalist and poet, Eliza Griswold has spent the past seven years traveling between the equator and the tenth parallel: in Nigeria, the Sudan, and Somalia, and in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The stories she tells in The Tenth Parallel show us that religious conflicts are also conflicts about land, water, oil, and other natural resources, and that local and tribal issues are often shaped by religious ideas. Above all, she makes clear that, for the people she writes about, one’s sense of God is shaped by one’s place on earth; along the tenth parallel, faith is geographic and demographic.
An urgent examination of the relationship between faith and worldly power, The Tenth Parallel is an essential work about the conflicts over religion, nationhood and natural resources that will remake the world in the years to come.
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"Well worth reading for those wishing to understand and put a human face on conflicts in Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia, many of which are crystallizing around tensions between Christians and Muslims. Many of the difficulties are caused by economic, cultural, and political problems in which religion has become a group identifier or unifier. Also, fundamentalists on both sides push matters to extremes and violence, rather than seeking ways to compromise or deescalate situations. Moderate majorities have a hard time hanging on to values such as tolerance and women's rights (such as they are); in places like Somalia, the situation is so deteriorated that it is simply chaos destructive to any normal way of life. I was surprised how greatly American Christians, sometimes with US government support, are involved in creating/exacerbating these conflicts, particularly through missionary efforts. The book is very well written and gripping throughout."
— Sally (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Griswold’s courageous pilgrimage changes the way we think about Christianity and Islam by exploding any simplistic ‘clash’ narrative. She returns us to the most basic truth of human existence: that the world and its people are interconnected.”
— Archbishop Desmond Tutu, New York Times bestselling author -
“A beautifully written book, full of arresting stories woven around a provocative issue—whether fundamentalism leads to violence—which Griswold investigates through individual lives rather than caricatures or abstractions.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“An American poet and experienced journalist, the author brings to her book a sharp eye for telling details and a keen sense of place.”
— Washington Post -
“Far more than a travelogue, her book is a richly textured fugue that dramatizes the dizzying interplay between notions—faith, morality, identity—and nations…Given our world today, Griswold’s book is as timely as ever.’”
— Los Angeles Times -
“A compelling portrait of embattled human communities yearning for more-than-human succor.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Though not a scholar of Islam, Griswold has a profound grasp of the misinterpretation and manipulation of Islam…Always maintaining a journalist’s objective view, Griswold, a published poet, nevertheless enchants the reader with her lush, flowing prose.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Griswold keenly investigates how the global clash of religions especially takes its toll on women and children. She visits religious leaders on both sides and debates finer points of their arguments. An important ongoing venture in the West’s attempts to understand the conflicts of this region.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A 2010 Publishers Weekly Best Book for Nonfiction
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A 2010 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books in Nonfiction
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Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
The Tenth Parallel Listener Reviews
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" A must-read! Great profiles of feuding cultures/religions along the 10th Parallel. Basic premise: evangelicals have ruined the world. Very enlightening. And she is a fantastic prose writer. A poet, as well, she has a lightly lyrical touch that renders these horrific truths readable. "
— Mbreaden, 2/4/2014 -
" Insightful, thoughful, interesting, and enlightening. "
— Edward, 2/3/2014 -
" A frustrating book for two reasons: my inability to read the text except holistically because of all the nations and citizens Griswold presents, and my sense that the problem of religious fundamentalism is so long-standing and pervasive that getting Christians and Moslems to live in harmony and mutual respect seems humanly impossible. "
— Kathy, 2/1/2014 -
" I appreciate Griswold's courage in going to strange and dangerous places to learn the context of conflicts between Christians and Muslims and to meet some of the major players. She is an objective observer who questions herself as she encounters believers, remaining open to the mysterious and deep relationship with God that many have. Her account of the missionary Gracia Burnham, held captive by Al Qaeda in the Philippines for a year, losing her husband, and in the process learning an impossible forgiveness, is unforgettable. "
— Sharon, 1/10/2014 -
" Another disappointing read - a great concept, traveling along the 10th parallel to troubled lands. Robert Kaplan has done it better. "
— Kimberlee, 11/23/2013 -
" Am interesting idea. But places in the book dragged. "
— Marcie, 11/16/2013 -
" Interesting review of various historical conflicts between Islam and Christianity. I thought it was a bit choppy moving from country to country, between different time periods, and from third to first person accounts. "
— Craig, 11/10/2013 -
" This lady spent seven years traveling through countries in Africa and Asia split between Christianity and Islam talking to people from both religions. Very interesting. "
— Luke, 9/6/2013 -
" Well written and insightful culturalism examined at an expanding geographic clash point. "
— Bill, 8/7/2013 -
" Meh. Interviews with local notables were interesting, but the long historical discursions were so general that they didn't really add anything to the book. I lost interest about halfway through. "
— James, 1/13/2013 -
" very even-handed treatment of this issue. "
— Mary, 11/27/2012 -
" This book was great through Nigeria, okay through Sudan, and skimmable through Indonesia. It just got tiring. I think that, unless you're seriously history crazy, this is a book to buy and then read at intervals throughout the year. "
— Christy, 10/27/2012 -
" Very in-depth look at where the lines are drawn between Christianity and Islam. Written from a secular worldview, but felt the author was fair in the portrayals. Would recommend this book to anyone living or planning to live in this part of the world. Great insight! "
— Jeff, 10/27/2012 -
" Amazing story within a story! This is an enjoyable, easy read about a complex subject. "
— Deb, 9/10/2012 -
" so good. poetic language, captivating stories through and through. it will get you up to date on global religious discourse. "
— Hanna, 4/17/2011 -
" very scary how fundamentalist christians influence our foreign policy "
— Becky, 4/5/2011 -
" Good anecdotes and colorful writing makes these encounters easy to imagine. The horizontal structure made it seem more a collection of stories than a directed argument. "
— Stargrave, 3/13/2011 -
" a fascinating account of people and places we know very little about, and how it will have an effect on the whole world. <br/>an eye opener. who knew evangelical Christians are trying to "win souls" for poetical gains... "
— Hpnyknits, 2/19/2011 -
" very even-handed treatment of this issue. "
— Mary, 2/1/2011
About Eliza Griswold
Eliza Griswold, a Guggenheim fellow, is the author of a collection of poems and two nonfiction books. Her Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line between Christianity and Islam was a New York Times bestseller that was awarded the J. Anthony Lukas Prize.
About Tavia Gilbert
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.