What is the purpose of life on Earth? Philosopher Jacob Needleman frames man's role on the planet in a completely new and fresh way, moving beyond the usual environmental concerns to reveal how the care and maintenance of a world is something vital and basic to our existence as authentic human being.

The acclaimed author of books including The American Soul, The Essential Marcus Aurelius, Lost Christianity, and Money and the Meaning of Life, Jacob Needleman is professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University, and former director of the Center for the Study of New Religions at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. He has also served as research associate at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and was a research fellow at Union Theological Seminary.