Equally important are the avenues of fur- concems of Judaism are actually treated by ther study that McDantiell suggests in the Allen ''with extreme seriousness," comic book's conclusion: exces.s in ritual and or otherwise. He cites "Annie Hall" (1977) decoration as failh expression in the United and "Hannah and Her Sislers" (1986) for States; the use of food in maintaining soli- their references to the Holocaust and con- darity and celebrating economic and spiri- cem over a Jewish anxiety-ridden outsider tual abundance; an exploration of the mate- status, which supposedly trigger funda- s TO rial cultures of American Jews, Buddhists, mental theological questions about the m Muslims and Native Americans. McDan- Deity and free will. PlítSS nelTs book is an excellent resource for Certainly Allen's history as a screen- scholars of religion interested in material writer has seen him retum again and again Responses to 101 Questions Christianity, for sociologists and anthro- to wrestle with the ethical plight of how to on the Church Rkhanl n MiHrii-n pologists exploring the wider field of mate- live a decent life in a vicious universe with- A complete mini-course on the Church in rial culture and religious practice and for out meaning or human scale, subject always a format ;iiid style readily accessiblu to the specialists in women's studies concerned to the existential Angst Freud posited as general reader The book touches on every intrinsic to the human condition. Blake major aspect of the mystery of the with the gendering of religious practices in ("biirch—its ruiturc, mission, ministries the United States. experiences little difficulty in limning the and structure. KATHLEEN S. NASH obsessive Ahab hunt for a godhead amid the 0-8091-3638-4 $9.95 sexual and relational confusion of modem Creative times that surges beneath so many Allen Fidelity films. Woody Allen: Wihi and Blake's approach throughout is chrono- Interpreting Sacred and Profane logical, which imposes a necessarily rigid Documents of the By Richard A. Blake. S.J. Magisterium thematic grid when he also groups the films Scarecrow Press. 235p $45 Fnmci.s A. Sullivan, S.I. by type, moving from Cartoons through Deals with a basic step As Richard A. Blake, S.J.. concedes in his Romances and Experiments to Interludes involved in doing the- and Moral Fables (covering all of Allen's ology in thi" ('atholic thorough, often acute scan of Woody tradition, namely, the Allen's cinematic career, writing now about recent efforts before "Bullets Over Broad- evaluation and inter- the film maker's theological perspective is way" [1994]). The classification system is pretation of docu- ments issued by popes councils and other problematical at best. Though not convicted crudely persuasive, however, except tor the organs of official teaching aiiîbority. of being a child-molester, Allen has Interludes cop-out, as is the focus on Allen's 0-8091.3644-9 $14.95 L'merged from press wars over his affair nerdy, neurotic screen persona, his wise- with Mia Farrow's adopted daughter more cracking quest for genuine love and philo- Footsteps in than a bit tarnished. But, as Blake rightly sophic validation under the harpoon prod of Assisi inescapable oblivion. Sam Lee ¡ohe decides, although "the films carry the This collection of freight of autobiographical references, still In concert with other critics, Blake sees a poetic reflections and they stand on their own merits apart from basic, pemianent shift occurring in "Annie pen-and-ink line draw- ings of tiie beautiful the life of the artist." Hall," where the protagonist. Alvy Singei'. Italian town of Assisi This is especially refreshing coming is more closely identified with his author. introduces readers to and for "good or ill, autobiography will the lives, writings, atici from a Jesuit scholar whose two previous spirituality of Saints studies {The Lutheran Milieu of ¡ngmar remain inextricably tied into the subsequent I'rancis and Clare, ¡ier^mait'.s Films and Screening America: films." He also argues thai the Allen hero of -8091 3635-X $6.95 Reflections on Five Classic Films) have "Sleeper" (1973), the last of the Cartoon adamantly pursued religious subtexts. In films, evinces signs of positive spiritual Pathways to Re-Creating both his preface and sweeping introduction growth, despite his denial of any belief in Religious Communities science, politics or God, because he has IKitrkhi Wittbcrii, S.C to Woody Allen: Sacred and Profane (the With a sociologist's eye the autbor looks at subtitle alludes to Mircea Eliade's distinc- raised the possibility of putting one's faith what religious communities have been in tion between the "two modes of being in in life and love. More important, his tbe j)ast, and offers a hopeiul new vision actions^—opposing the Dictator and risking of what they can become in tbe future. the world"), Blake is careful to stress that 0-8091-3640-6 $14.95 his mission or thesis, "a religious dialogue his life for his beloved—undercut his cyni- with Woody Allen's films," is meant to cal humor, I'AI'LIST I'IÍI.SS enlarge, not restrict our ultimate apprecia- From here, Blake fmds it an easy glide • at haokslOHS or 1/ "»7 Matailliur IlKil. tion of the iatter's content. into the covert sermon being delivered by the Mahwati. N.I. U7-li(i Blake, in fact, is well aware that most Romances, which he concedes overtly locate To oMer, call 1-8(>0-218-1903 or FAX 1-800-836-3161 "films are resolutely secularist enterpris- salvation in arl itself, even in "Interiors" es." He is equally cognizant of his sub- (1978), where tragedy rules the Bergman- ject's self-proclaimed agnosticism and cau- feathered roost. The message, admittedly tions that Jewishness forms "no part of my fragmented, is simple and uplifting enough artistic consciousness." But Blake theo- for a television evangelist to embrace: Self- rizes that the philosophic and theological sacrifice defines the essence of love. AMERICA AUGUST 3, 19% 27 According to Blake, the sacrifice is evident cal events are bringing that city and its enig- In keeping with this approach. Shanks not only in "Sleeper" and "Annie Hall," but matic history into the center of contemporary emphasizes interpretations of archeologieal in "Manhattan" (1979) and "Broadway conscience. remains that associate them with the evi- Danny Rose" (1994) as well. Two recent book.s address the questions dence provided in biblical or other texts. Blake is correct in probing the significant of how we are to grasp Jerusalem's signifi- An interesting example is the question contradictions between comic denials and cance within the three biblical religions debated by scholars whether a tomb plot progression. He conducts a brilliant and how we are to understand the extent to (referred to as Tl ) in the area of the original autopsy on "Zelig," one of the Experiments, which the "City of Peace" has been the City of David is, in fact, the tomb of King as the start of "a systematic exploration of object of fighting for over 3,000 years. David. "The case has not been made art...as a means of reshaping the world into Hershel Shanks' Jerusalem: Ati Archae- beyond a reasonable doubt that Tl is the a more congenial arena of human activity." ological Biography u.ses archeological evi- tomb of King David, or even that it is a It steers Biake away from the pathological dence to uncover the cultural and spiritual royal tomb of the House of David," Shanks dynamic that drives Allen's cinematic imag- life of the eity, with special attention to writes. "But it does remain a reasonable— ination and has conversely (and perversely) events and locales of interest to Jews, and tantalizing—possibility. And no one prevented him from achieving the kind of Christians and Moslems. In Jerusalem: has come up with another satisfactory itrlistic depth he desires. The Endless Crusade. Andrew Sinclair explanation for these unusual installations, located right where the Bible says the early EDWARD BUTSCHER depicts the history of political turmoil caused by Jewish, Christian and Islamic Kings of Israel were buried. If they are not aspirations to control the city. He asks how tombs, what are they?" the religious conceptions of Jerusalem that emerge within these religions have led to Since there is no firm jusllfication for Jerusalem: making a connection to King David. Shanks' An Archaeological Biography an "endless crusade" for sovereignty over it. Both books offer important insights into word "tantalizing" is hardly probative. But he By Hershel Shanks seems to find such connections too tantaliz- Random House. 256p $45 the earthly Jerusalem, insights that emerge ultimately from the authors' depiction of ing to be denied and so, while presenting all Jerusalem: how this eity has inspired images of a sides of the question, his own judgment gen- heavenly one, one so significant in theolo- erally is to confinn such associations. The Endless Crusade gy and spirituality. Yet Shanks is careful to evaluate the evi- By Andrew Sinclair dence on both sides of each question and to Crown Books. 295p $24 While Shanks begins with the city's instruct the reader regarding any disputed founding about 3,5(X) B.C.E., his main focus reconstruction. His book, therefore, is a Since its conquest by David and the con- is the period from David's conquest, about good entry point for readers interested in struction of the First Temple by Solomon, l.OOO B.C.E., to the second Jewish revolt seeing just how much light archeology has Jerusalem has been the holy city of Judaism, against Rome in 133-35 C.E.