After a health scare leaves him reeling, Weiner--an atheist by default--sets out on a worldwide search for an experience of the divine. His journey takes place at a time when more Americans than ever--nearly one in three--are choosing a new faith. At each stop along the way, the author tackles pressing spiritual question. With his trademark wit and warmth, Weiner leaves no stone unturned.

Reviews

"Books about God tend to fall into two categories: objective inquiries into the nature of belief and personal tales of spiritual awakening...Weiner's 'Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine' nimbly and often hilariously straddles the fence between the two genres....He's Woody Allen channeling Karen Armstrong."
-- "New York Times Book Review"

Weiner (The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World) offers listeners a touching and humorous account of his search for a personal God. The journey takes him to Turkey to study Sufism; Nepal for Buddhism; China for Daoism; Israel for the Kabbalah; the Bronx, NY, to work alongside Franciscans operating a homeless shelter; Washington State for instruction in Wicca; and Las Vegas, NV, to attend a Raelian (a UFO-based religion) convention. Along the way, he encounters a cast of characters-from a guru named Wayne to a Franciscan who was originally a player on Wall Street-and a variety of situations, from cross-dressing to trying to dance a dervish. He also tries to come to grips with a lifelong battle with depression. All of this is delivered with warmth and humor, which also are apparent in Weiner's narration. In the end, Weiner settles on no single religion but acknowledges that the effort deepened his spiritual understanding. VERDICT Individuals involved in their own search for God will find this work insightful. ["Weiner's memoir is one of the best and most readable spiritual autobiographies of the last few years, worthwhile for a broad range of readers and spiritual seekers," read the review of the Twelve: Hachette hc, LJ 1/12.-Ed.]-Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.