Hazleton has described herself as "a Jew who once seriously considered becoming a rabbi, a former convent schoolgirl who daydreamed about being a nun, an agnostic with a deep sense of religious mystery though no affinity for organized religion".[3] "Everything is paradox," she has said. "The danger is one-dimensional thinking".[4]
In April 2010, she launched The Accidental Theologist,[5] a blog casting "an agnostic eye on religion, politics, and existence."[6] In September 2011, she received The Stranger's Genius Award in Literature [7] and in fall 2012, she was the Inaugural Scholar-in-Residence at Town Hall Seattle.[8]
Her latest book, Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto, a Publishers Weekly most-anticipated book of spring 2016,[9][10] was praised by The New York Times as "vital and mischievous" and as "wide-ranging... yet intimately grounded in our human, day-to-day life."[11]
Booksedit
On religion and politics:
Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto[12] 2016 (New York Times Editors' Choice)
The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad (2013) [13] (New York Times Editors' Choice)
After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Hero Split (2009) [14] (Finalist: 2010 PEN-USA book award.)[15]
Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen (2007) [16] (Finalist: 2008 Washington Book Award.)[17]
Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography(2008) [18] (Winner: 2005 Washington Book Award.)[19]
Jerusalem, Jerusalem: A Memoir of War and Peace, Passion and Politics[20] (Winner: 1987 American Jewish Committee/Present Tense Book Award).[21]
Where Mountains Roar: a Personal Report from the Sinai[22]
^"Search for "Lesley hazleton "". Town Hall Seattle.
^"The Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2016". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
^"Religion Book Review: Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto by Lesley Hazleton. Riverhead, $25.95 (224p) ISBN 978-1-59463-413-0". April 5, 2016.
^Wilensky-Lanford, Brook (July 15, 2016). "Religion". The New York Times.
^"Agnostic by Lesley Hazleton | PenguinRandomHouse.com". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
^Nonfiction Book Review: The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad by Lesley Hazleton. Riverhead. 2013. ISBN 978-1-59448-728-6.
^Hazleton, Lesley (2009). After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split. Doubleday. pp. 256. ISBN 978-0-385-52393-6.
^PEN-USA<http://www.penusa.org/node/149 Archived May 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine>
^Hazleton, Lesley (2007). Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen. Doubleday. pp. 272. ISBN 978-0-385-51614-3.
^Seattle Public Library<"The Seattle Public Library: Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library". Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.>
^Hazleton, Lesley (2004). Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother. Bloomsbury. pp. 256. ISBN 978-1-58234-236-8.
^Seattle Public Library<"The Seattle Public Library: Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library". Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.>
^Hazleton, Lesley (1986). Jerusalem, Jerusalem: A Memoir of War and Peace, Passion and Politics. Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-14-010244-4.
^"Awards for Books With Jewish Themes". The New York Times. March 11, 1987. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
^Hazleton, Lesley (1980). Where Mountains Roar: a Personal Report from the Sinai. Holt Rinehart and Winston. pp. 223. ISBN 978-0-03-045321-2.
^Hazleton, Lesley (1979). Israeli Women: The Reality Behind the Myths. Simon and Schuster. pp. 235. ISBN 978-0-671-22531-5.
^Hazleton, Lesley (1990). England, Bloody England: An Expatriate's Return. Atlantic Monthly Press. pp. 205. ISBN 978-0-87113-329-8.
^Hazleton, Lesley (1990). Confessions of a Fast Woman. Addison Wesley Publishing Company. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-201-63204-0.
^Hazleton, Lesley (1998). Driving to Detroit : An Automotive Odyssey. Free Press. pp. 320. ISBN 978-0-684-83987-5.