Ararat

"Ararat is a breathtaking journey along the fault-line between religion and science, a pilgrimage by a non-believer that takes Frank Westerman to Mount Ararat where, as biblical tradition has it, Noah s ark ran aground and God made his covenant with mankind. Mount Ararat in Armenia is now a geographical, political and cultural crossroads, bound up with the centuries-old history of warfare between different cultures in this region. As Westerman stands at its foot it poses both a...
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"Ararat is a breathtaking journey along the fault-line between religion and science, a pilgrimage by a non-believer that takes Frank Westerman to Mount Ararat where, as biblical tradition has it, Noah s ark ran aground and God made his covenant with mankind. Mount Ararat in Armenia is now a geographical, political and cultural crossroads, bound up with the centuries-old history of warfare between different cultures in this region. As Westerman stands at its foot it poses both a physical and a religious challenge- where is the God from my children s bible? Who or what has taken his place? Can one free oneself of a religious upbringing? He meets geologists, priests, and, on the mountain s high slopes, an expedition in search of the Ark s remains. And also a Russian astronaut who observes that there is something between heaven and earth about which we humans know nothing . And it always comes down to this- would I, would we when death seems imminent, perhaps invoke a higher power? Ararat is a dazzling, highly personal book about science, religion and all that lies between, by one of Europe s most celebrated young writers of non-fiction.