The Great Reduction: Solomon Seeks the Key to Peace

by Jay Trott

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, 2020

Overview

What is the secret to happiness? King Solomon was one of the greatest superachievers of all time and fabulously wealthy. He also had a reputation as the wisest man in the world. But at the end of his life he was so unhappy that he felt moved to cry out “all is vanity” and wish he had never been born. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon brilliantly diagnoses the causes of our continuing unhappiness and boils down the secret of peace and contentment to a few essential ingredients. The Great Reduction explains why his prescription for peace is just as relevant today as the day it was written. It also uses his diagnosis to shed light on a happiness that goes far beyond anything Solomon could have imagined.

Praise for The Great Reduction

“For those who find Ecclesiastes mysterious, this book sets the ancient biblical seer’s voice in a wider literary and philosophical vision that is also personal. We gain a companion for our journey of meditative reading.”

—Judith Dorn, St. Cloud State University



“Wisdom had made Solomon powerful and rich beyond measure. . . . But wisdom couldn’t make him happy. Trott helps us see beyond Solomon’s futility to where true wisdom is to be found.”

—James R. Wheeler, recently retired Episcopal priest



“Jay Trott wonderfully expands in an accessible yet learned manner the quest for life in all its fullness as expressed by Solomon. A vade mecum for the pilgrim in progress, this book will serve one well at whatever stage of life’s journey they find themselves in.”

—Joseph Shepley, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brookfield, Connecticut



“Trott considers topics that cover the full range of human life: love, marriage, work, wisdom, friendship, loneliness, and more; Solomon wrote about all these, and Trott brings Solomon’s insights to bear on contemporary life.”

—William C. Carroll, Boston University



“This is a book that I wish I had read earlier in my life. Setting the bar too high always ends in disappointment if Solomon’s experience has any carryover for us. I have a new perspective on Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs, and now find my ‘joy in the Lord.’”

—George Crocker, Episcopal priest

Product Details

• Title: The Great Reduction: Solomon Seeks the Key to Peace
• Author: Jay Trott
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: 2020
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781725264809, 9781725264786, 9781725264793, 1725264803, 1725264781, 172526479X
• Resource ID: LLS:9781725264809
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T20:21:54Z

About the Author

Jay Trott is a medical writer and the author of ten books, including The Most Soulful Book, At Smith’s House, and Essays at the End of the Age. His novels include The Man Who Loved Too Much, The Visitor, and Trish’s Secret. He has a master’s degree from Columbia University and a lifelong love of English literature as well as the Bible. He is also a composer of choral music. He lives with his beloved wife Beth in Sherman, Connecticut, and they have four children and three grandchildren. He is a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brookfield, Connecticut.