“A sumptuous feast of beauty and wisdom. This is one of those books that becomes a family treasure, to be dipped into time and again for sustenance and guidance. In Talking to God: Portrait of a World at Prayer, John Gattuso has wedded superb writings about prayer with breathtaking photographs of people at prayer, and the result is itself a magnificent prayer. ”
—Philip Zaleski, editor of The Best American Spiritual Writing
“Rich with powerful images and thoughtful reflections.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness
“Deep, powerful, and transformative. This is more than a book about prayer, it is a book from which you can pray.”
—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness
“When we pray sincerely, earnestly, and honestly, a window opens onto what we would like to be and might become. I found that iconic element in every entry in this book.”
—Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions and Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief, from the Foreword
“A great gift for our spirits’ instruction . . . Let us all read and look at these pages, first to our own private benefit and, then, to that of our spirits’ lives together.”
—Phyllis Tickle, author of The Divine Hours trilogy and Prayer Is a Place: America’s
Religious Landscape Observed, from the Introduction
"Through scores of photographs . . . interspersed with essays from some of the greatest spiritual thinkers and writers of the modern era, Talking to God looks into the mystery of why—regardless of our religious beliefs—humans pray. "
—Religion News Service
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“Readers will find this book arresting, with essays on prayer from the world’s leading spiritual minds … accompanied by breathtaking photographs of people around the world engaged in prayer … Talking to God demonstrates with powerful words and images the common human awareness of a great transcendent holiness, and the human need to feel connected to it."
—ForeWord
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"A beautiful compendium, compiled with respect toward all faiths."
—Midwest Book Review
“The exquisite collection of photographs speak beyond the wise words, providing
a visual landscape of devotion. Through the vibrant colors, faces and ceremonies,
a unifying thread is laid bare—the desire of all faiths to communicate with a reality
greater than their own.”
—Vision Magazine
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"More than 100 photographs make this book a feast for the eyes, creating a global album
of individuals and groups talking to God in their own ways . . . This is a book you’ll want to
share with spiritual companions to celebrate your journeys."
—Spirituality & Health magazine
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"Over and over again, you will feel your mind and heart challenged and uplifted by the insights contained in this extraordinary book."
—Alan Caruba, Bookviews
“What this book accomplishes beautifully is to preserve the varieties of ways in which
humanity calls upon God, the Sacred, the Absolute, the Eternal, the Immanent-yet-
Transcendent. Avoiding the trap of seeking a universalism that eradicates distinctions
and particularities, it seeks to trace the manifold ways in which we, from our different
starting positions, all aspire to see the face of God through prayer.”
—Omid Safi, associate professor of Islamic Studies at Colgate University and editor of
Progressive Muslims
