"Almost nothing lasts. Books and films that are wildly popular this year are forgotten by next year. Thrift stores across the country are full of clothes and compact discs that were highly sought-after just last December. The sort of ideas about race and gender that were thought sophisticated one generation ago are now regarded as primitive and crass. Our society has a cultural metabolism which moves at a breakneck speed. Much of our lives are given to things that are not worth a second look, second read, or second listen. This constant exposure to mediocrity is robbing us of the ability to listen deeply, think deeply, and love deeply. Some things do last, though. Two hundred years later, we are still listening to Beethoven. Three hundred years later, we are still traveling great distances to stand before the works of Rembrandt. Sixteen hundred years later, we are still reading Augustine. Why have these things lasted? What happens to people who love things that last? What becomes of people who never learn to love anything deeply? In Love What Lasts, Joshua Gibbs offers readers a wide-angle view of contemporary culture, explains how we got here, and invites readers to reconsider the role which old books, old music, and old films might play in their lives and lives of their families. In a society which is helplessly addicted to the next big thing, loving things which last is real deliverance." -- Book jacket