Rambam's Ladder: A Meditation on Generosity and Why it is Necessary to Give »

Julie Salamon, a culture writer and critic for The New York Times since May 2000, has also been a reporter and film critic for The Wall Street Journal. Her journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Bazaar, and The New Republic. Salamon is the author of six books, White Lies, a novel; The Devil's Candy, a study of Hollywood film making gone awry; The Net of Dreams, a family memoir; The Christmas Tree, a novella that was a New York Times best-seller; and Facing the Wind. Salamon received a B.A. degree from Tufts University and a J.D. degree from New York University Law School. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.

The Eight Steps of Giving

Nearly a thousand years ago the great philosopher and physician Maimonides, known to Hebrew scholars as Rambam, pondered the question of righteousness Out of it came the Ladder of Charity.

Rambam's Ladder, written by Julie Salamon, the bestselling author and New York Times culture writer, is a book that will inspire every reader to get a toehold on the ladder and start climbing. In eight chapters, one for each rung, the book helps us navigate the world of giving. How much to give? How do we know if our gifts are being used wisely? Is it bettter to give anonymously? Along the way, Rambam's Ladder will help all of us make our lives, and the lives of those around us, better.

The New York Times

Rambam's Ladder is small in size but very humbling. It asks readers to judge themselves in the light of altruism. Experts agree that "most people are overly optimistic about themselves," Ms. Salamon writes. I agree, but with conscientious effort, after reading Rambam's Ladder, I've already moved from Reluctance, giving begrudgingly, to Proportion, giving less to the poor than is proper, but doing so cheerfully. — Gail Buckley