This book had been mentioned a while ago, and I'd flipped through it at a bookstore, but I hadn't thought of reading it until I learned that the author would be speaking at RUSA's annual Literary Tastes Breakfast. She was funnier in person than the book suggests.

The Sabbath World is a rather dry look at the history of the Sabbath and how we react to the idea today. Ranging from the post-exile Jews to today's (mostly lapsed) blue laws, and from Talmudic discussion to Sabbatarian thought, we learn how this "fenced off time" united a people and even won the approval of the Supreme Court. What's missing is how current faiths celebrate the day, or perhaps it's more accurate to say how current faiths recommend celebrating the day.

Copy provided by publisher.