Moral Freedom

Book excerpt: Focusing on the traditional virtues of loyalty, honesty, self- restraint, and forgiveness, Wolfe (religion and American public life, Boston College) describes the state of contemporary moral thinking in the United States. He describes the struggle for individuals to forge a moral life without guidance from strict conventions. He considers the prevalent attitudes of eight American communities: from San Francisco's Castro district to the small-town environs of Tipton, Iowa, from Lackland Air Force Base to Fall River, Massachusetts. The cover shows shows the subtitle as The search for virtue in a world of choice, while the title page (and Library of Congress) cataloguing show The impossible idea that defines the way we live now. c. Book News Inc.