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It is a fair question [how Wouk could be pious and still succeed], all the same, and serious people can probably figure out the answer for themselves. Unserious people say to me after a prod or two — at a dinner party, let’s say, or a cocktail reception that I cannot get out of — “Well, I guess religion works for you, and that’s okay, but it doesn’t work for me.” Translation: It’s nice you have that prosthetic, I’m glad I don’t need it. Variant: I envy you, I wasn’t brought up that way.
The prosthetic inquirer is beyond reach. The variant inquirer interests me, and for him or her, I have written two up-front books, This is My God and The Will to Live On. Across the years readers have let me know that those books have been engaging and useful, reward enough for such labors of love. Neither one really faces up, however, to the stark challenge posed by Feynman’s commonsense prod, THE STAGE IS TOO BIG FOR THE DRAMA. Awareness of that prod has long haunted me, hence my start on this book.
The Bible and meaningful books 