Book Description
Niall Fergusson's most important book to date-a revolutionary reinterpretation of the modern era that resolves its central paradox: why unprecedented progress coincided with unprecedented violence and why the seeming triumph of the West bore the seeds of its undoing.
From the conflicts that presaged the First World War to the aftershocks of the cold war, the twentieth century was by far the bloodiest in all of human history. How can we explain the astonishing scale and intensity of its violence when, thanks to the advances of science and economics, most people were better off than ever before-eating better, growing taller, and living longer? Wherever one looked, the world in 1900 offered the happy prospect of ever-greater interconnection. Why, then, did global progress descend into internecine war and genocide? Drawing on a pioneering combination of history, economics, and evolutionary theory, Niall Ferguson-one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People"-masterfully examines what he calls the age of hatred and sets out to explain what went wrong with modernity.
On a quest that takes him from the Siberian steppe to the plains of Poland, from the streets of Sarajevo to the beaches of Okinawa, Ferguson reveals an age turned upside down by economic volatility, multicultural communities torn apart by the irregularities of boom and bust, an era poisoned by the idea of irreconcilable racial differences, and a struggle between decaying old empires and predatory new states. Who won the war of the world? We tend to assume it was the West. Some even talk of the American century. But for Ferguson, the biggest upshot of twentieth-century upheaval was the decline of Western dominance over Asia.
A work of revelatory interpretive power, The War of the World is Niall Ferguson's masterwork.
Customer Reviews:
A True Face of War.......2007-10-08
Ferguson's War of the World makes all other war history books narrow and shallow. His view covers them all: the Axis and the Allies, the East and the West, the first and the second World Wars. What is most astunishing is his war pshychology; the insight of the minds that waged, fought, suffered and traumatized by the war.
Ethnic Struggles Undermine Civilization.......2007-09-24
This major work by a British historian teaching both at Harvard and Oxford paints a dismal picture of man's inhumanity to man. More particularly, Ferguson persuasively views the 20th century as a series of deadly ethnic struggles precipitated by economic volatility, the breakup or decline of the large multi-ethnic empires (Austria-Hungary, Ottoman, Chinese, Russian, etc.), and the counter rise of ethnic nationalisms with concomitant ethnic cleansings as nationality groups try to purify the state or monopolize power. In this context, Central European pograms have much in common with Balkan, African, and Northeast Asian bloodlettings and leave the reader with limited optimism for the future. The end of the nineteenth century was an era of unprecedented globalization, free trade, and free movement, even more liberal than our own, yet the 20th century contained the largest bloodlettings yet, with the decimation of minority populations in vast areas. The century demonstrated that:
"the fragile edifice of civilization can very quickly collapse even where different ethnic groups seem quite well integrated, sharing the same language, if not the same faith or the same genes. . . . Ethnic minorities are more likely to be viewed with greater hostility when times are hard or when income differentials are widening. . . . We shall avoid another century of conflict only if we understand the forces that caused the last one -- the dark forces that conjure up ethnic conflict and imperial rivalry out of economic crisis, and in doing so negate our common humanity. They are forces that stir within us still."
We must learn from history!.......2007-07-25
Life was rapidly improving as the twentieth century began. People in the developed world had the highest standard of living as compared to their forefathers. Goods from all over the world were available to Europeans, and the advance in health care improved and extended people's lives. However, the author asks why did the rest of the century become so bloody? Among the factors he cites are ethnic conflict and economic turbulence (ethnic unrest is prone to break out during periods of economic volatility), and the decline of the old empires, and the emergence of the new empires, namely Turkey, Russia, Japan and Germany.
H.G. Wells starts his novel, the War of the Worlds, with Martians invading our planet and destroying it. Niall Ferguson successfully demonstrates in his book that it does not take aliens from outer space to destroy us. Mankind, with hatred ingrained in him, has done just that. The aliens are in our midst, and they are from our own planet!
Our history has been marked by brutal conflict and hatred towards each other... the Holocaust during World War II, the Armenian genocide in Turkey, the slaughter of the Tutsis in Rwanda, the ethnic cleansing against Bosnians, the cruelties in Cambodia and Korea, the Japanese rape of Chinese women (The Rape of Nanking), and the Russian Gulag, to name just a few of the atrocities of the twentieth Century that killed over 100 million people!
During war, no regard is given to civilians. The American bombing of German towns during World War II, for example, killed more civilians than the atomic bomb on Hiroshima! Stalin killed far more people than Hitler. The atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed more innocent Japanese civilians than Hitler killed Jews. Mao in China killed millions of people (some believe more than 10 million). The Tokyo bombings by the Americans killed over 100,000 civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands others. The actions of the armies of the allied forces during the 20th century wars are equated with those of the Nazis and Japanese. There are no good people or the good side in war. All parties are evil, and Ferguson successfully demonstrates this in his book.
This book will reveal to the readers the horror man can bestow on his fellowman.
Life will end up killing us, so why do we so hastily do its job? This is a depressing thought, and is the major theme of the book. Maybe we should start learning from history to prevent these atrocities of ever happening again.
Missing The Point.......2007-07-20
the most important points of the book deal with the fact that democracy and the idea of self-determination are two concepts whose implementation often lead not in any advances of personal liberty or tolerance for the human race but simply turn loose the worst instincts of murderous tyranny. In the case of democracy, we often get what Tocqueville warned us of - the tyranny of the majority, yes, but not in domination of public opinion. Rather it assumes the form of active oppression - the majority using its power to persecute minorities and shut the minorities out of employment or other essential areas of participation in national life and their own personal and economic security.
Ferguson speaks brilliantly of a "fundamental contradiction" between the right of self determination and freedom of minorities. For example, after World War One, the Poles immediately turned against their minorities. The Poles, mainly interested in national aggrandizement, fought several wars between 1918 and 1921 including such antagonists as the Ukraine, Germany, Lithuania, Czech, and Russia, in the end extending Poland's boundaries over a great areas. Yet the hope that underlay the idea of self-determination was the hope that in forming a new state, the majority and its minorities would be able to accommodate or submerge their ethnic or religious differences in a new, collective identity. Instead, majorities used their predominance to exclude and divide and oppress the weaker party from the start. When the Poles took power, they excluded Ukrainians from employment. This resulted in Ukrainians forming terrorist organizations to retaliate. The German populations in the new states that sprang up at the war's end were persecuted because they were vulnerable. The Poles attacked them, the Czechs shut them out of the 1919 elections, Germans were bullied by Rumanians. A German in Romania wrote that "a thin foil of civilization appeared to have been superimposed on an untidily assorted ethnic conglomerate from which it could be peeled off all too readily."
But civilization is itself nothing but a thin foil too readily peeled off. I think that is the most disturbing point of Ferguson's book - it highlights the failure of so many optimistic and superficial estimates of human nature that we have tended to believe in as truth. Such an optimism is not warranted, is his message. There slumbers in human beings a horrible pitilessness, a horrible delight in inflicting pain and death on people who cannot resist. There are supposed to exist moral restraints that keep human beings from crushing the weak among the human race. F says that they do not exist. F seems to think that the desire of human beings to want to belong to a group result from feelings of individual inferiority that will only go away if people belong to a group because that membership conveys superiorities that people can't enjoy without the group. Within the group an individual must curb violent instincts (or be expelled), but the individual knows these same violent qualities can be given full range in collective action by the group towards an outsider. In brief, the group, in acting, seems to free itself from any moral curbs, rules of decency or other restraints. There is in German the word, Zivilcourage, or consideration for the weak or infirm. Such concern is part of the Western heritage of individualism. Yet Ferguson argues that any vestige of Zivilcourage disappears when a majority in a group takes power. The important, indispensable qualities of liberal democracy - kindness, a sense of humor, personal tolerance, respect for privacy and belief in the good intentions of one's neighbor, all disappear when a group gains the majority. What supplants them is a taste for power and the delights of making other obey. Groups, majorities, seem to feel that they have to free themselves from every moral rule or they will somehow end by failing. The road to do evil is the path to promotion and power. That is the tragic message of Ferguson. Few got it.
excellent - one parallel worthy of addition.......2007-07-15
Excellent!! I suggest one important parallel: the current situation in the USA where the Whistling Weasel Gang openly notoriously poisons irradiate stalks harasses tortures and murders while the corrupt or inneffectual police and governments just watch. Same mass involvement just like the Nazi party. Excellent! I wonder if this truth will evade the censors.
Book Description
Hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a master … who makes the ordinary extraordinary, the unnamable unforgettable,” beloved author Jim Harrison returns with a masterpiece—a tender, profound, and magnificent novel about life, death, and finding redemption in unlikely places. Slowly dying of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Donald, a middle-aged Chippewa-Finnish man, begins dictating family stories he has never shared with anyone, hoping to preserve history for his children. The dignity of Donald’s death and his legacy encourages his loved ones to find a way to redeem—and let go of—the past, whether through his daughter’s emersion in Chippewa religious ideas or his mourning wife’s attempt to escape the malevolent influence of her own father. A deeply moving book about origins and endings, and how to live with honor for the dead, Returning to Earth is one of the finest novels of Harrison’s long, storied career, and will confirm his standing as one of the most important American writers now working.
Customer Reviews:
Regal in force, and depth and plume .......2007-06-22
Deft writing with scalding pots of humanity. Spirituality takes a swan dive from quarry heights; a writer sets the cleanest line.
Jim Harrison continues the saga of Donald and Cynthia in this heart wrenching novel that addresses terminal illness, loss, humanity, and celebrates life. For some readers, Jim Harrison is a hard read, for me, he is a return home. He is quite simply without a doubt one of the greatest writers of our time. I find release in his rambling narratives and a genius that only a handful of writers can take hold of, harness, and direct.
Returning to Earth is one of Harrisons best works yet, and I find myself wondering truly, how this writer finds time to get it all down. He is a fountain that has no end. Speaking of endings; I for one, felt as if death and re-birth could not have been explained or written about more beautifully. Maybe, one has to have lost a loved one to a terminal illness to truly grasp the pain and love that is contained within these pages.
Returning to Earth, is a continuation of a cast of characters that mirror society. Like it or not, Harrison's eye carves the truth out with no shame. The ending of Returning to Earth is like an unfolding dreamscape, one of the best winding narratives of Harrison's.
And I can even hear the bear calling calling calling
Returning [the book] to the owner.......2007-06-05
I really wanted to like this book. Primarily because it was recommended by a reliable source whose literary opinion I value. Secondarily because I could sense that there was more beneath the surface of the story; I simply couldn't access it. On the surface, "Returning to Earth" explores the circular question of life and death that all of us are challenged with at some point. In this account, the author chooses the Native American culture and a terminal illness as the framework within which life and death are examined. Donald is the biracial Native American/Finnish main character diagnosed with Lou Garret's disease. The story opens with Donald trying to dictate his life and ancestral history to his wife for posterity's sake. Set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula region with a backdrop lush with virgin forests and the wildlife that accompanies them; the novel is a four part story of Donald's dying and its impact on his loved ones. Each part is narrated by a different member of the family and pays homage to Donald's humanity, wisdom and spirituality. Assisted suicide, reincarnation, and our connectedness with nature are the cornerstones of Harris' tale. While the story did solidify my appreciation for an individual's right to die (interestingly, I was reading this novel when Dr. Kevorkian was released from prison for doing for others what Donald's family lovingly did for him) it did little to expand on my understanding of reincarnation or depression. The novel is populated with interesting characters that are wonderfully drawn but I just couldn't connect with the story. I feel that the novel lacks the depth and nuisance required to address the issues that it explores. While "Returning to Earth" wasn't the worst thing that I've lately I can't recommend it either.
a family history.......2007-05-30
In a recent radio interview, Jim Harrison laughed when asked about the demographics of his readers. For 40 years, he says, his publishers have been trying to figure that out. His characters typically inhabit less populated, unglamorous locales like the West and Midwest, and whatever wisdom they attain is often gleaned from the natural world. Donald, the central character of RETURNING TO EARTH, is in some ways the Harrison Ur-hero, facing his impending death from Lou Gehrig's disease. "I'm forty-five and it seems I'm to leave the earth early but these things happen to people."
The first of the novel's four parts is in his voice, dictated to his wife Cynthia, recounting what he knows of his family history in order to preserve it for his grown children, Herald and Clare. We find that he is the first male in four generations not to be named Clarence, and that he is probably over half-Chippewa. "For all practical purposes my dad and I weren't the least bit Indian but were just among the ordinary tens of thousands of mixed bloods in the Upper Peninsula."
Donald lost his mother to schizophrenia at a young age, but succeeded as an athlete due to his size. Working alongside his father, in the employ of a wealthy and decadent white family, he fell in love with Cynthia, the daughter, and they ran away and married as teens. Donald intersperses his family history with matter-of-fact comments on his disease and cryptic references to his personal religion, which is rooted in the more traditional Chippewa ways of his Aunt Flower, who lives in the woods and renders lard for her mince pie crusts from pigs she raises and slaughters herself. This digressive tale could be chaotic, but rather it pulls us into the story, gradually introducing the characters who will have to figure out how to carry on without Donald.
The remaining three parts of the novel feature the first person narratives of "K," Donald's friend and nephew; David, Cynthia's brother; and Cynthia herself, all of whom are vastly affected by losing Donald. K is the son of Polly, David's ex-wife, a smart young man who has been away at school but is not sorry to return to Marquette to help with Donald. He is not sorry for many reasons --- he loves and truly admires Donald, he loves and kind of lusts after Cynthia despite their age difference, and he loves and beds their daughter Clare when she finally arrives back on the scene from California. (In case you're paying close attention, K and Clare are not blood cousins, since K is Polly's son from a subsequent marriage.)
K's account covers Donald's death and burial in Canada, where the family can arrange these matters as they wish. David's part picks up after Donald is gone and as he grieves in his own dithering way. David and Cynthia's parents were both rich drunks, their father particularly perverse and at times abusive. As Cynthia says, David is "very nice but has been basically goofy since he was a little boy. He couldn't accept the fact that Dad was a lost cause." David is a womanizer like his father, but different in that he forms deep, lasting attachments to the women in his life and doesn't hanker after jail-bait.
Cynthia's part begins months after Donald's death. She has tried to make plans and continue teaching, but she is continually tired and interrupted by grief. Donald had told her she'd have to get a new boyfriend after he died, and she's aware of her burgeoning need for physical contact, but she's confused about how to go about getting it appropriately. There seems to have been no ambiguity whatsoever in the long, sure love between Donald and Cynthia. And while Cynthia is a realistic, strong person, we wonder along with her whether she'll ever truly heal.
Succinctly, RETURNING TO EARTH is a rich, carefully crafted novel about an admirable life and a good death. As K puts it, "To care for Donald in his present state is to finally understand that there are no miracles except that we exist. Like his ancestor Clarence, we ride a big horse to the east and then it's over."
--- Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol
The Best.......2007-05-21
There's just no other writer the equal of Jim Harrison.
Readers, you're in for a treat. Writers, read it and weep.
My Favorite Harrison Work.......2007-05-15
I have a love/hate relationship with Harrison's works. I put up with the rambling, often disorganized plots and bleak characters for the beautiful, poetic prose and his strong sense of identity with the land. This book came full-circle in the end, offering the possibility of redemption which is unusual in his writing. Yes, his characters are often caught up in chaotic situations that are often not of their own making, but for most that is the nature of life. I loved this book.
Book Description
A gorgeous gift and a landmark work that is an essential addition to everyone's personal library.
Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin—Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)—been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slipcased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products. Slipcased hardcover; 101 illustrations, map.
Customer Reviews:
Can't Beat It.......2007-04-03
I bought this book knowing very little about Darwin or his theories. From So Simple a Beginning was an easy read about a very interesting man. I would hope that not just supporters of evolution would read this book there is more to the man then just one theory.
Four classics.......2007-01-12
Excellent in every particular. Five stars in delivery time, condition, quality of the experience.
Wonderful writing wrong package.......2007-01-10
There is no gainsaying the writings of Darwin or the thinking of my favorite living scientist, E.O.Wilson. But the package is wrong.
Four books in one. Too heavy, too cumbersome. Discouraging.
Too big.......2007-01-05
This book is way too big to hold to read, so it is not useful. From the picture I thought I was ordering 4 different books in a book holder, not one giant book. I recommend buying them separately unless you have very strong arms and wrists.
From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, T.......2006-07-02
Good
Book Description
Not since Betty Eadie’s Embraced by the Light has a personal account of a Near-Death Experience (NDE) been so utterly different from most others—or nearly as compelling.
In the thirty years since Raymond Moody’s Life After Life appeared, a familiar pattern of NDEs has emerged: suddenly floating over one’s own body, usually in a hospital setting, then a sudden hurtling through a tunnel of light toward a presence of love. Not so in Howard Storm’s case.
Storm, an avowed atheist, was awaiting emergency surgery when he realized that he was at death’s door. Storm found himself out of his own body, looking down on the hospital room scene below. Next, rather than going “toward the light,” he found himself being torturously dragged to excruciating realms of darkness and death, where he was physically assaulted by monstrous beings of evil. His description of his pure terror and torture is unnerving in its utter originality and convincing detail.
Finally, drawn away from death and transported to the realm of heaven, Storm met angelic beings as well as the God of Creation. In this fascinating account, Storm tells of his “life review,” his conversation with God, even answers to age-old questions such as why the Holocaust was allowed to take place. Storm was sent back to his body with a new knowledge of the purpose of life here on earth. This book is his message of hope.
"This is a book you devour from cover to cover, and pass on to others. This is a book you will quote in your daily conversation. Storm was meant to write it and we were meant to read it."
-From the foreward by Anne Rice
As I lay on the ground, my tormentors swarming around me, a voice emerged from my chest. It sounded like my voice, but it wasn’t a thought of mine. I didn’t say it. The voice that sounded like my voice, but wasn’t, said, “Pray to God.” I remember thinking, “Why? What a stupid idea. That doesn’t work. What a cop-out . . .”
That voice said it again, “Pray to God!” It was more definite this time. I wasn’t sure what to do. Praying, for me as a child, had been something I had watched adults doing. It was something fancy and had to be done just so. I tried to remember prayers from my childhood experiences in Sunday school. Prayer was something you memorized. What could I remember from so long ago? Tentatively, I murmured a line, which was a jumble from the Twenty-third Psalm, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the Lord’s Prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and “God Bless America,” and whatever other churchly sounding phrases came to mind.
“Yea, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. For purple mountain majesty, mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. Deliver us from evil. One nation under God. God Bless America.”
To my amazement, the cruel, merciless beings tearing the life out of me were incited to rage by my ragged prayer. It was as if I were throwing boiling oil on them. They screamed at me, “There is no God! Who do you think you’re talking to? Nobody can hear you! Now we are really going to hurt you.” They spoke in the most obscene language, worse than any blasphemy said on earth. But at the same time, they were backing away.
—From My Descent into Death
Customer Reviews:
My Descent Into Death:A Second Chance at Life.......2007-09-05
There isn't a person walking the earth who would not benefit from reading this book. I had seen Mr Storm on TV once or twice, back in the 90's, and was quite impressed. I wondered if he'd ever write a book about his experiences. I recently found he had, bought the book, and devoured it. It hit me like a locomotive. Don't hesitate, don't think twice, BUY this book. You will never forget it and you'll come back to it time and again in the future, I promise.
Q: What is the best religion?.......2007-08-28
A: The one that brings you closest to God!
I had first heard of Howard Storm back in 2005 during an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. Immediately I could tell of this man's sincerity from his deeply profound near death experience. This was truly the first NDE that, after listening to, had touched me so much that it caused another spiritual awakening in my life. His account of hearing voices telling him (by name!) to follow them down a corridor of darkness were more frightening than anything Hollywood could ever conjure up. These strange beings appeared, at first, to simply be in a hurry and behaved rudely and indifferent to Howard Storm. They urged him to move forward with them to an unknown destination of ever increasing darkness. As he continued on with them he became more aware of their malevolence which frightened him. These strange dark beings sensed his fear and they increased their behavior towards Howard. He finally stopped and said he would go no further. It was at this point that the real torment for Howard Storm began!
Can you imagine the horror he must have felt during all of this? Here was a self proclaimed atheist who was admittedly very selfish and used anger and rage to get what he wanted in his life. Now the sum total of his existence was living in a place of utter darkness being tormented by unknown beings and eaten alive! So much for being an atheist.
It was at this point Howard called out to God, a God he firmly didn't believe existed. As he called out to God these raging tormentors began leaving him alone but not without continuing their curses at him. In fact it enraged them even more. But as Howard kept calling on God finally he was all alone in this place of absolute darkness.
Out of this darkness he percieved a light coming towards him that finally engulfed him and picked him up. This light was the total antithesis of what he had previously experienced. Now he was being loved completely in an unconditional manner.
There's so much more to Howard Storm's experience. If you're even remotely interested in near death experiences then you absolutely MUST read this man's account. I would have given this 6 stars but they only allow 5! That's how much I loved reading this book. His story is one of total transformation.
In this hour of our planet's existence we need to be transformed as well. Read this book and you'll catch a glimpse of the ineffable love that emanates from God.
One of my favourite books ever.......2007-08-14
Howard Storm's book answers many questions in my mind about life, our purpose to live in this world, God, religion, and after life.
Although I am a Christian, I grew up in a Muslim countries and have many very nice Muslim friends that I love very much. I just cannot believe they will all go to hell just because they don't believe in Jesus.
Howard Storm explains clearly what God really wants from us, which is to love one another just the way He loves us. What a simple message, yet very true.
This book is the second most important book for me after the new testament.
Disappointing & Preachy.......2007-08-01
I was really looking forward to reading this book and was impressed with the first few chapters. However, Storm quickly got too preachy for my taste, and I actually found it quite repellent. The book started reading like a run-of-the-mill Christian sermon that went on and on. I had expected more. I would recommend Universe of Worlds by Robert Grant. Grant's book and workshop are where I had heard about the Storm book, which sadly turned out to be very disappointing. There is also very little on Hell in this book, though my impression had been that there was a lot more. That part of the book, though small, was interesting and well-written.
very nice.......2007-06-26
Very nice testimony. As howard Strom went from being an atheist, and now is "all about evangelism".
he says some things that don't fit mainstream theology.
1. he says he saw life on other planets.
2. "The one that brings you closer to God" is just a common sense straight foward answer. We know that Jesus is the way, but whether you be religious or not, if you have not the bread of life, you have not life at all.
3. He uses the term "spiritual evolution" Although this makes since to many well scientifically educated people, to the average fundamentalist it wreaks of heresy.
A good testimony to those who can accept it, but very controversial.
Other things to read:
To hell and back - Maurice Rawlings
23 minutes in hell - bill wiesse
hell - mary kathyrn baxter
heaven - mary kathyrn baxter
Average customer rating:
- Sensationalism at its worst
- Relies too much on supposition like it's fact
- An odd mixture of the interesting and the tedious
- The human male; Is he really privileged?
- Interesting and fun
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Y: The Descent of Men
Steve Jones
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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Adam's Curse: A Future without Men
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The Language of Genes
ASIN: 0618565612 |
Book Description
In his highly entertaining and enlightening book, the acclaimed geneticist and author Steve Jones offers a landmark exploration of maleness. With effervescent wit, Jones argues that men, biologically speaking, are the true second sex. Here he lays out the cases for and against masculinity -- exploring every biological aspect from the genesis of the Y chromosome onward -- based on the recent explosion of biological research. Along the way, he offers pithy commentary on topics such as male hormones, hair loss, and the hydraulics of man's most intimate organ. Fascinating and often surprising, Jones's evidence offers fresh fuel for the battle of the sexes.
Customer Reviews:
Sensationalism at its worst.......2005-08-31
This book would have been convincing if it had relied on hard facts
and better research of human evolution. However like many before him Mr. Jones deviates from rational argument and shows his prejudice in this work which relies solely on a sometimes poorly interpreted meaning of what we have learnt about the human DNA.
One area in which Jones argument displays a clear lack of knowledge ( for a suppposed scientific writer of repute). Is in his paragraph about the reproductive system of men vs women. Here Jones states that men have an inefficient system due to the millions of sperm men produce vs the comparatively small amount of offspring that is resulted. What Mr Jones doesn"t realise is that not all sperm are designed to impregnate, as research has proven that the majority of sperm are in fact soldier sperm designed to seek out a rival males sperm present in a woman and prevent it from fertilizing her egg, much like a game of american football. Thus is the competeive nature of humans (by nature the strongest do indeed survive).
There is nothing inefficient about this ...in fact men continue to produce large amounts of sperm well into their 70s and onwards and can continue a very healthy reproductive life well into a very ripe old age. Women in comparison have a very limited (finite)supply of eggs and their reproductive usefulness is relatively speaking short lived.
Jones also goes on about how the Y chromosome is smaller and full of foreign material, plagued by impurities compared to the X chromosome.This may be true
due to a single chromosome not being able to recombine, however, maleness as its been termed in the Y chromosome isnt solely determined by the Y chromosome. X and Y = male, therefore the X chromosome is also part male( being the primary chromosome shared in all humans) and the Y merely acts as a powerful switch to activate what is carried and useful solely for the male species. The Y chromosome has reduced in size the author claims due to its degeneration. Well this may be partly true, however the Y chromosome has become efficient because it doesn't need to carry or duplicate the genetic information already present in the X thus it carries only that which is needed to activate maleness from the X this can account for the size reduction.
If two xx chromosomes are present and even a hint of Y is imprinted on an X then the result will be a male. It is a small and sometimes slightly more vulnrable chromosome in some ways but it is a dominant gene in that when presnt the result will always be male no matter how many X chromosomes there are. Thus thius is scientifiuc proof on how powerful the Y chromosome really is.
We also know from research that the X chromosome has just as many impurities and in fact the better portion of X chromosome data that was gathered and could be used to effectively decode it came from men, can we generalise and claim that the X chromosomes that are passed onto men are of better quality?
The only great thing about the X is not the X chromosome itself but in the fact that since 2 Xs are present in a female it can recombine and negate the defective gene thereby reducing the odds of flaws being passed on to female offspring, but it's far from perfect.
We do know that in the beginning of the DNA decoding project that the many samples of Y chromosomes were taken from a poor selection of male candidates, in fact to complete the sequence very good samples were supplied from Mediteranean and asian countries, what hasnt been explained is why the male DNA of mediterranean and in some cases asia are of better quality than the Y chromosomes from Britain or some parts of the U.S.A?
Could this be a sign that men in The USA and Britain have suffered far more DNA damage? and is this due to drugs and environmental pollutants?
My point being that the book is full of generalisations and suppositions resulting in the authors conclusions that really when examined fall very short of being conclusively convincing.
Are we still in an age where one sex must be superior? We know the sexes are equal(on the whole) but in different ways each has an advantage over the other. To state that one is the first sex and the other the second is a pretty backward form of thinking. And scientific research has no definite verdict on this, even today although we can hear all kinds of argument.
Men and women Xy or XX chromosomed peoples have equal imperfections -that is the only fact gathered from DNA research.
Both have very clear strengths and weaknesses...
Unfortunately this book doesn't stick to fact, and refuses to balance the argument.
At one point Mr. Jones makes reference to mens genital size and supports his argument by stating that it is reported from a Japanese brothel that the average size is around 5.5 inches?
I live in japan and I've never heard of a brothel here measure or keeping stas on anyone, Japanese are very discreet, also how accurate can a brothel in japan be? Is this a method of good science? Actually on Japanese TV they claimed that the average size here was a mere 5 inches, thats way smaller than that of people of European or African descent. But what's Jones point anyway apart from trying to cash in on a bit of man bashing?
This book is a disappointing read overall, it's too general, makes some very wild assumptions and really leaves out so much data that shows that the Y chromosome is in fact quite an efficient and important chromosome in the evolution of mankind.Men share both X and Y drawing on two forms of chromosomes , women only have a pair of the same chromosome. Draw your own conclusions as to what that means, but it's definitely no handicap.In fact in many ways there are clear advantages of the male Y chromosome over the X which the Author refuses to even acknowledge or explore in this publication.
Relies too much on supposition like it's fact.......2005-06-21
He claims stone tools show our teeth became less apelike before we made tools. Jones, we have proven nothing about early man other than he is related to apes and monkeys (through DNA study we did this).
An odd mixture of the interesting and the tedious.......2005-05-02
With its deliberate echo of the title of Charles Darwin's book The Descent of Man (in which "man" means humanity), Y: the Descent of Men is a study of the biology of men (as opposed to women) and maleness. Y is the Y chromosome, which contains the very small proportion of genetic information that men have and women do not. There is much interesting information, but the lack of structure -- a long series of facts stated one after another with very little to link them together -- makes it difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. Likewise the nudging and doubles entendres rapidly become tedious: for example, when we are told that "man's most basic attribute also has a strong tendency to wilt" we are clearly expected to think of erectile dysfunction, though the context tells us that the sentence refers to the tendency of the Y chromosome to lose genes progressively in the course of evolutionary time.
In the Preface Steve Jones tells that he does not plan to compete with other people with the same name -- the lead guitarist of the Sex Pistols, for example, or the champion golfer, etc. -- but will stick to what he knows, the biology and evolution of males. In genetics his expertise cannot be questioned, but there is more to biology than genetics, and the biochemistry in the book is journalistic in style, with starry-eyed references to "special enzymes" that make oestrogen, nitric oxide, and so on, or "special sequences" of DNA that with affinity for particular proteins. The objection here is to the word "special", which adds nothing because the great majority of enzymes are highly specific (the exceptions are mostly involved in digestion and detoxification, and even these are much more specific than the sort of catalysts used by chemists), and many sequences of DNA are likewise specific: in a world where everyone is exceptional, no one is exceptional.
The editing is often careless, as for example in the passage where we are told (apparently) that Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, forbade athletes' wives from watching the events, with violations punished by being thrown over a cliff. This is clearly not what Jones meant to say, but only because we know that it is absurd can we deduce what he did mean to say. Or what are we to make of the following pair of sentences: "The lowest [sperm] counts were in Copenhagen, followed in turn by Paris, Edinburgh and Turku (which came a clear top). The citizens of Edinburgh should be proud of their cells' ability to swim, which takes the European gold medal"? Does the author think that Turku is not in Europe? (No, as he told us at the beginning of the paragraph that it was a European city). Is he making a distinction between sperm count and swimming ability? (Hard to believe, as this is the first mention of swimming ability in this context). Why would it be a matter of pride, anyway?
More seriously, the whole book encourages a confusion between maleness and possession of a Y chromosome, even though the author is perfectly well aware (and explains in the first chapter) that the system for sex determination used by most mammals is only one of several that exist in nature. The Y chromosome is slowly losing genes, and may conceivably retain none at all after some more millions of years of evolution, but so what? There is no necessary implication that the male sex will disappear and that humans will adopt parthenogenesis.
The human male; Is he really privileged?.......2004-08-17
This is definately an interesting, witty and informative book, if your interested on why half of this worlds population is male and not a quarter or less, considering our potency.
Biologically only a fraction of us are actually necessary to keep mankind going- so why are we that many then?
It covers all spectrums of male live including medically unnecessary circumcisions, quite interesting, as the Western world looks upon female genital mutilation with discontent, but tolerates it on their males, often not even old enough to decide for themselves.
The first chapter can be quiet a turn off, as it tends to be very scientific, but if you get past that, you will have a hard time putting this book down.
Interesting and fun.......2004-06-25
I feel puzzled to see that this book has invoked sharp hostilities among some (mainly US) readers, ascribing "Feminist propaganda at its finest" or "Written by Chicken Little?"
I don't believe Dr Jones "deserves" such fanatical labeling. What he is talking about is how a mollusk biologist views the human (or mammal in general) reproduction mechanism, and nothing more, nothing less.
IMHO, the book is simply interesting and fun as a bedtinme reading (like his other books.)
Or is it that the authour's British writing style never catches on in the US?
Average customer rating:
- A Bit About Jeff
- An amazing imagination.
- Dive in!
- Starts off great...but I quit halfway through.
- This Book Is Well Worth Reading
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The Descent
Jeff Long
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Deeper: A Novel
ASIN: 051513175X
Release Date: 2001-10-31 |
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In a high Himalayan cave, among the death pits of Bosnia, in a newly excavated Java temple, Long's characters find out to their terror that humanity is not alone--that, as we have always really known, horned and vicious humanoids lurk in vast caverns beneath our feet. This audacious remaking of the old hollow-earth plot takes us, in no short order, to the new world regime that follows the genocidal harrowing of Hell by heavily armed, high-tech American forces. An ambitious tycoon sends an expedition of scientists, including a beautiful nun linguist and a hideously tattooed commando former prisoner of Hell, ever deeper into the unknown, among surviving, savage, horned tribes and the vast citadels of the civilizations that fell beneath the earth before ours arose. A conspiracy of scholars pursues the identity of the being known as Satan, coming up with unpalatable truths about the origins of human culture and the identity of the Turin Shroud, and are picked off one by bloody one. Long rehabilitates, madly, the novel of adventures among lost peoples--occasional clumsiness and promises of paranoid revelations on which he cannot entirely deliver fail to diminish the real achievement here; this feels like a story we have always known and dreaded. --Roz Kaveney, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
"Long's smart and epic tale takes the reader into a Dantesque world, a journey to the center of the earth for the new millennium. And what is found there is both horrific and entrancing: a system of tunnels that network beneath the earth, and homonid relatives of Homo sapiens evolved to live in the depths of what appears to be hell." (Baltimore Sun)
"A return to the fantastic epics readers associate with H.G. Wells or Jules Verne." (Chicago Tribune)
"As frightening and exhilarating as anything in heaven or hell." (Denver Rocky Mountain News)
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In Tibet, while guiding trekkers to a holy mountain, Ike Crockett discovers a bottomless cave. When his lover disappears, Ike pursues her into the depths of the earth.... In a leper colony bordering the Kalahari Desert, a nun and linguist named Ali von Schade unearths evidence of a proto-human species and a deity called Older-than-Old.... In Bosnia, Major Elias Branch crash-lands his gunship near a mass grave and is swarmed by pale cannibals terrified of light.... So begins mankind's realization that the under-world is a vast geological labyrinth riddling the continents and seabeds, one inhabited by brutish creatures who resemble the devils and gargoyles of legend. With all of Hell's precious resources and territories to be won, a global race ensues. Nations, armies, religions, and industries rush to colonize and exploit the subterranean frontier. A scientific expedition is launched westward to explore beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, both to catalog the riches there and to learn how life could develop in the sunless abyss. Is there a natural explanation, as the scientists hope? Or is there a true supernatural basis? Are the "demons" part of our evolutionary family tree? Is their enigmatic leader merely a freak genius, or could he be the legendary Satan? Fathom by fathom, Ike guides the expedition -- and Ali -- deeper into the deadly stone wilderness. In the dark underground, as humanity falls away from them, the scientists and mercenaries find themselves prey not only to the savage creatures, but to their own treachery, mutiny, and greed. Meanwhile, on the surface, a band of aged scholars scours archaeological digs, museums, artifacts, and rare texts for clues to Satan'sexistence. Is he lurking in wait for the expedition, or is he roaming the earth? Or is he dead? One thing is certain: Miles inside the earth, evil is very much alive. In the tradition of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, The Descent is an epic adventure through fantastic landscapes, among creatur
Customer Reviews:
A Bit About Jeff.......2007-09-03
I've had the priviledge of meeting Jeff several times. He's the kind of writer that takes you by surprise. Not only is he one of the greatest writers in the entire world (not just my opinion) but he's an "older brother" or, at least, I consider him an older brother type. My actual older brother used to read to my when I was younger and now Jeff "reads to me" by telling me wonderful stories about human beings and the glories and tragedies of being human. He's reserved, quiet kind of guy, very personable, intelligent and also a gentleman.
The first of Jeff's books that I read was "The RECKONING." Now, it's very hard for me to describe what it's like for me to read any of Jeff's novels (those of you who've read Jeff's books already know). From the first page I'm lured into the story as an interested viewer - an outsider. Before too long, I'm swept along as a PARTICIPANT, living and striving right along with the characters!
People who LOVE to read know this pleasure of being INSIDE the story, and the satisfaction and sadness that comes when reaching the last page and closing the book with a loving hand an a sigh. This is what is readily available within the pages of a JEFF LONG novel - from the heights of the Himalayas to the depths of the earth, the human spirit is a force to be RECKONED with.
Pick up one of Jeff's books. Treat yourself.
An amazing imagination........2007-08-30
I have read a lot of the reviews here and I am puzzled by some of the more negative statements that the "first half of the book was good, but the last half was so-so." I can't disagree more about the negative statements. This novel is polished from the beginning to the end. Jeff Long is brilliant. Yes, I had a very frightening nightmare the first night I started reading this book. And I am not the kind who is easily frightened.
Jeff Long speaks to a very intelligent audience. He does not water-down his writing for the 'average reader.' And this novel is much more than your 'average NY Times (predictable) bestseller.' I've read quite a few novels, mostly best-sellers, and some classics, and to be honest, I've forgotten most of the books I've read, (except for the classics). I have a basic, "where have I read this before" boredom with most modern novels. But Jeff Long has given me a book that will NEVER be forgotten. Practically every scene in the book is very vivid in my memory. And it was a very startling 'uneasiness' I felt when reading the book.
I can only say this, if you want an 'easy read' that doesn't require any thinking on your part....you know, like watching the 'Simpsons', then this book is not for you. But if you're ready for an ADVENTURE that will almost exhaust you as much as the characters in the book who travel for miles, fathoms below the Pacific in uncharted, dangerous territory.....then this is THE book for you. Enjoy! But don't say I didn't warn you....this book is truly frightening at times.
Dive in!.......2007-07-31
Not without its faults, I still thought it was a very enjoyable read. Nowhere near as good as Year zero but still alot of fun. I am looking forward to reading Deeper.
Starts off great...but I quit halfway through........2007-06-24
At first, I was stunned w/ the imagery in this book. The being found in the cave...what Branch sees when his chopper goes down....I thought it was going to be a great story. But, as I feared, it became too wordy, too much military and religious blah blah blah-ing. Not enough of what caught my attention to begin with. Half way through the book, I gave up. I went to the last 2 chapters to see how it ends. I don't feel like I missed anything by doing so, and don't even feel guilty for doing it like I normally would! Recommended for the premise, but not recommended for the overly-long drawn out presentation.
This Book Is Well Worth Reading.......2007-06-20
If you are a fan of the action/adventure genre such as Lincoln and Child, Cussler, or Crichton; you will probably like Jeff Long.
Descent was a surprising novel. I expected the typical "group of explorers go underground and encounter creatures living below". This novel was much more. The scale and scope of Descent made it a joy to read and had me searching my local bookstores for more Jeff Long novels. This guy is talented. Give him a chance.
WARNING. Start with this one. Don't let "The Wall" be your first Jeff Long novel. See my review of this book if you want to know more.
Book Description
A harrowing, subterranean Into Thin Air, BEYOND THE DEEP is the perilous odyssey of the cavers who explored the Mt. Everest of the undergroundthe Huautla.The Huautla in Mexico is the deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere, possibly the world. Shafts reach skyscraper-depths, caverns are stadium-sized, and sudden floods can drown divers in an instant. With a two-decade obsession, William Stone and his 44-member team entered the sinkhole at Sotano de San Augustin. The first camp settled 2,328 feet below ground in a cavern where headlamps couldnt even illuminate the walls and ceiling. The second camp teeter-ed precariously above an underground canyon where two subterranean rivers collided. But beyond that lay the unknown territorya flooded corridor that had blocked all previous comers, claimed a divers life, and drove the rest of the team back. Except for William Stone and Barbara am Ende, who forged on for 18 more days, with no hope of rescue, to set the record for the deepest cave dive in the Western Hemisphere.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome story...flawed presentation.......2005-12-23
I still recommend this book highly. The story of these explorers is simply amazing. As someone who is very very claustrophobic (my worst fear is being stuck in some confined space), I have to be an "armchair" explorer, and this book makes you confront these fears. In the end it's very rewarding.
The book's only flaw is the "reconstructed" dialogue. I don't know who recommended the author(s) adopt this format, because it is really awkward in places. The narrative of, say, a Jon Krakauer book or a Simon Winchester book is much, much more effective than a lot of the bogus, even boring dialogue that comes across here. There are a lot of characters the author(s) and the readers have to deal with, so perhaps giving most of them "voices" was thought of as the best way to do it, but after a while it gets a little tiring and actually disrupts the build-up of the action.
Still, it's an awesome story of exploration and what drives us to keep pushing the limits.
The willys!.......2004-11-01
I'm a scuba diver. I have also done a lot of spelunking in my late teens and early 20's. I never really considered combining the 2. It just didn't cross my mind.
Now I never will.
There were so many times in this book that I simply got the willies. (Did I spell that right?) It became more frightening that some of the horror I've read.
It also (in my humble opinion) addresses one of the greatest downfalls of some explorers; Not taking into consideration one's mortality.
While I doubt I'll ever willingly mix traditional scuba diving with spelunking I may consider it if I had access to the re-breathers this team used.
This book is NOT for the claustrophobic.
I Really Wanted to Like This Book..........2003-10-15
I really wanted to like this book but I found myself struggling to finish it. No doubt, the experience itself was immeasurably exciting / interesting, but the book was, well, kind of boring.
It could have easily been half the length and not lost much, and as another reviewer indicated, I never really got a feel for what is so great about crawling though caves. I'm sure it IS great, at least to those who are as into it as these people are, but I didn't get why or how from the book. I also found the third-person writing style a bit contrived, somehow.
If you DID like this book, I would highly recommend 'The Last Dive' which is in a similar vein but I found very exciting and extremely well written.
DIVING INTO DISASTER.......2003-07-20
Fascinating book about the ultimate 'adventure' junkies-- who explore the world's most treacherous cave in Mexico. An amazing crew of people. What's so unusual is that these are divers-- deep see divers, not just guys and gals who go down into the cave on ropes or climb rocks. They call themselves CAVERS -- details make the true-life adventure come alive. What's disturbing though is that lives were lost on this expedition and the authors tend to gloss over those lost in their quest for the ultimate experiences. Cinematic and even outrageous tale of diving into disaster.
What Drives Divers To Descend To Unbelievable Depths?.......2003-04-21
What is it that drives cave explorers to descend to unbelievable depths, as if they were involved in an international game of subterranean chess?
Perhaps the clues are to be found within the pages of a book entitled Beyond The Deep that chronicles the breathtaking 1994 San Agustin Expedition as told from the perspective of Bill Stone and Barbara am Ende.
Much of the information was gleaned from their logbooks, diaries, and recollections, as well as from dozens of interviews conducted by their co-author Monte Paulsen.
In 1977, 1979 and 1981 cave divers were unsuccessful in exploring the San Agustin sump or the underground tunnel that was flooded entirely with water. This sump is the deepest point in a cave known as Sistema Huautla, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Many of the difficulties were the result of using traditional equipment as well as the inability to effectively transport the supplies and gear necessary to accomplish this incredible feat.
In 1994 international exploring expert Bill Stone completed the constructing of an closed cycle life support system or as he termed it a "rebreather." This piece of apparatus was called the Mk-ll.
This would permit the cavers and divers to explore the San Agustin Sump far longer than anyone was able to accomplish in the past.
It was Stone's contention that the problem was primarily a technological challenge. Once this was overcome, the rest would fall into place.
The next step entailed the meticulous organization of the various components of the team.
There was expedition leader Stone, six dive team members, 35 support team participants and 5 members of the photo team.
These individuals wanted to "place their own boot where no one hand before." According to Stone, "every member had made enormous personal sacrifices in the pursuit of this elusive grail. They'd left family behind for a third of a year; had trained relentlessly for two years just to get there; had gone deeply into debt; and were subjecting themselves daily to physical hardships."
Why do it? Perhaps Stone sums it up when he asserts, "after so many years of struggle, he'd found the route, the secret doorway to the gaping, unexplored beyond."
One of the shortcomings of the book is the extensive use of technical jargon. The authors did indicate in the introduction that they have substituted common words for technical jargon wherever possible.
However, unfortunately, far too often I had to refer to the glossary at the back of the book to understand a paragraph or sentence. No doubt this deflated some of the suspense of the saga.
Book Description
For years Howard Storm lived as a successful art professor and painter. Suddenly he was in excruciating pain and awaiting surgery in a hospital, realizing that death was a real possibility. As an atheist, he was convinced this would be the end. Instead, he found himself out of his body, staring back at his physical form. Drawn into fearsome realms of darkness and death, he experienced the terrible consequences of a life of selfish materialism. He also traveled to regions of light, where he conversed with angels. But the Lord of Light sent him back with a message of love. This is the story of a near-death, recovery, and transformation — of lessons from spiritual beings about the future, the meaning of life, life after death, the role of angels, and much more. Includes eight pages of illustrations.
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“This is a book you devour from cover to cover, and pass on to others. This is a book you will quote in your daily conversation. Storm was meant to write it and we were meant to read it.”
—From the Foreword by Anne Rice
Customer Reviews:
Descent into?.......2005-05-23
I first heard Howard Storm's amazing story on Coast-to-Coast AM (http://www.coasttocoastam.com), with Art Bell...so I purchased the book - big mistake. I had expected that the story of his amazing journey would be more eliborated upon, instead, after being drawn into the book I read "I haven't described everything that happened. There are things that I don't care to remember.". This was a total let down. As I said I expected to read about the entire journey into death. Instead the book went on and on about how Love = God. Everyone has their own beliefs and everyone has their own experiences. I don't disbelieve Howard's personal journey, however I don't think that everyone has to become part of a catholic religion or even believe in something called "God" to be a good person or to carry out love and goodness in their own actions within the world. This book was a let down.
From Darkness to Light ... Good over Evil.......2005-02-28
From atheist to evangelist, Howard Storm's DESCENT takes the reader on a personal journey from the bowels of darkness to the heights of spiritual enlightenment & ultimately the victory of good over evil / light over darkness. The style of writing & wonderfully descriptive scenes allow for an easy read that moves the reader along on a pace that makes NOT turning the next page impossible. I applaud the author's courage to open his life & soul for all to examine & the ultimate triumph he experienced and now shares with others to show them the hope & light that is theirs to have as well. If you enjoyed Mr.Storm's journey of good over evil, light over darkness, I recommend MANHATTAN MESSIAH, another excellant read.
Skeptical.......2005-01-18
NOTE: I HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK YET
...but, I'm skeptical to it's significance because on the hardcover edition Anne Rice has written the Foreword. If this guy is supposed to be a pastor and a christian then why is he letting this "vampire author" tarnish his book and message!
Boo!
Validates the MESSAGE of All Other Near Death Experiences.......2004-08-08
I heard of this book only recently, and was glad to find it still in print. I read the whole thing in one day. I am not a strong Christian, but did know in advance that this book (particularly the second half) was written from a strongly Christian perspective. However, I did not find this a turn-off, and I can recommend this book to others of ANY religion, including atheists, as was Storm, before his experience.
The important message from this book was that God DOES exist, and that we ARE here for a REASON. That reason is to learn to LOVE one another, which was the message of Jesus, and the message of every major religion. Storm points out that the same truths are in every religion, and even that the idea of God has been given to beings on every planet where there is intelligent life. But it is up to each individual to accept or reject God, here, or on any other planet.
I did not find a lot of totally new ideas in this book, having read several other books on near death experiences. But I did really enjoy reading about Storm's experience, and seeing that the message of his book conforms closely to the message of others' near-death experiences, from multiple cultures. It is an interesting read, and I HIGHLY recommend it to EVERYONE.
Great, inspiring but left me with questions.......2004-06-04
Well, this book did affect me . As a lapsed Christian, it made me think about God and Jesus . It gave me a clearer picture of Jesus.I thought it gave a more personal clear picture of Jesus as a being, as he relates to people.The descriptions of Heaven were just... wow.
There are a few things that trouble me. He said he was dragged off to hell not by fallen angels commonly known as demons but by mortal people who died and rejected God. He said he was told by the angels that there are other intelligent beings in the universe, other worlds.
All that goes directly against Christian theology which leaves me very confused.My confusion probably stops me from being able to give a deeper more vivid review of the book.I have no doubt he is being sincere. His truthfulness shines from the pages,but I'm just having a hard time processing that.
If you are interested in NDE's get this book. Its different from a lot of ones out there on the same subject. Not many are told from a converted Christian point of view.
Book Description
Chris and Chrissy Rouse, an experienced father-and-son scuba diving team, hoped to achieve widespread recognition for their outstanding but controversial diving skills. Obsessed and ambitious, they sought to solve the secrets of a mysterious, undocumented World War II German U-boat that lay under 230 feet of water, only a half-day's mission from New York Harbor. In doing so, they paid the ultimate price in their quest for fame.
Bernie Chowdhury, himself an expert diver and a close friend of the Rouses', explores the thrill-seeking world of deep-sea diving, including its legendary figures, most celebrated triumphs, and gruesome tragedies. By examining the diver's psychology through the complex father-and-son dynamic, Chowdhury illuminates the extreme sport diver's push toward -- and sometimes beyond -- the limits of human endurance.
Customer Reviews:
Duffy.......2007-07-30
Maybe I shouldn't write my review, because I didn't finish the book, but it just isn't good. This is supposed to be a tragic story of a father and son that lose their life to a sport they thoroughly enjoy, yet all I get from the writing is a couple of guys who are arrogant and immature. Chowdhury goes between writing technical diving information to dialogue between characters, that reads hollow and adolescent. Not a good read for me. If you're into diving and wrecks, ready Kevin McMurray. He's BRILLIANT!!!
A Great Read for All Divers.......2007-07-12
This book will make you laugh, will make you cry, but more importantly, will make you think. This book contains a lot of good, and usable information about diving, the history of mixed gases, and makes you realize even the best can fail. Even with the amount of info contained, Bernie ties it all in to make an enjoyable and easily followed story. Anyone who claims it was boring or he rambled too much, has ADD.
This book SHOULD be read by all new divers!
Alright but..........2007-02-08
This book is alright but I read The Last Attempt by Carlos Serra and found that one a whole lot more interesting. It's quite controversial to say the least. It tells the story of a female freediver champion who ended up dying because of her husband, who is a hero on the sport also. Even though there is some paralellism between the two stories, The Last Attempt is a much more interesting reading than this one. Just be ready for some shocking twist in the story. I'm impressed!
Mediocre at best.......2007-02-03
This book, "The Last Dive" is a poorly written attempt to ride the coat tails of the fantastic book, "Shadow Divers". 80% of this book is mindless filler. It's only saving grace is that it presents a good case for safe deep wreck diving.
delight in details.......2007-01-22
Yes, the author goes into a lot of detail. And yes, if you are not a diver, you'll find the book a bore. Having said that, as a diver you'll find the stories of diving in the '80's and 90's very interesting. These are the guys who paved the way for tech and deep diving. And through their trails and errors, others have learned a lot. Yes, Bernie Chowdhury also writes a lot about his own experiences, but I'm glad he did, as his own story is just as interesting as the story of the Rouses.
Average customer rating:
- A Time Bending Tale of Innocence and Metaphor for Complicit Madness
- Imaginative tour-de-force!
- Descent into Hell
- Invoke the Doctrine of Substituted Books
- Timeless Truth Visits Suburbia
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Descent into Hell, a Novel
Charles Williams
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.
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ASIN: 0802812201 |
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In Charles Williams's novel Descent into Hell, Hell turns out to be nothing other than a refusal to see things as they really are. Arguably his finest novel, the "descent" in the title happens to an ordinary (if extraordinarily selfish) historian named Wentworth, whose daily choices to cheat on the truth slowly but surely lead him into a terrifying state of isolation and egotism. Heaven, by contrast, is increasingly inhabited by the novel's heroine, Pauline Anstruther, who as the book proceeds learns to face her fears (and her ancestors!) and to love the truth exactly as it is. The plot turns around the latest production of fictional playwright Peter Stanhope, but for Williams Pauline's realization of the divine glory incarnate in all of life is the deeper truth that sustains this and every other drama. --Doug Thorpe
Book Description
They had gone down the hill together, the man and that creature of illusion which had grown like the flowers of Eastern magic between the covering and uncovering of a seed. The feminine offspring of his masculinity clung to him, pressing her shoulder against him, turning eyes of adoration on him, stroking his fingers with her own. The seeming trance prolonged itself in her in proportion as it passed from his own senses; he could plunge again into its content whenever the creature looked at or spoke to him. Their betrothal had been celebrated thus before they began to walk down the hill, and in that betrothal a fraction of his intelligence had slept never to wake.
Download Description
They had gone down the hill together, the man and that creature of illusion which had grown like the flowers of Eastern magic between the covering and uncovering of a seed. The feminine offspring of his masculinity clung to him, pressing her shoulder against him, turning eyes of adoration on him, stroking his fingers with her own. The seeming trance prolonged itself in her in proportion as it passed from his own senses; he could plunge again into its content whenever the creature looked at or spoke to him. Their betrothal had been celebrated thus before they began to walk down the hill, and in that betrothal a fraction of his intelligence had slept never to wake.
Customer Reviews:
A Time Bending Tale of Innocence and Metaphor for Complicit Madness.......2007-05-31
I finally decided to check out `the other guy' from The Inkling and picked up a copy of Charles Williams' Descent into Hell in which he seems to explore the idea of `the terrible good' a relatively fruitful line of thought. The characters are layered and the descriptions rich with subtle observations about connection, human nature, art and scholarship. Williams is poetic without seeming self important. His dream and fantasy sequences however, can be ponderous and difficult.
Descent into Hell's protagonist Pauline, is a poetic soul haunted by apparitions. I was engaged in her story as it interwove with that of an eccentric poet and the dead of generations past on her way to apprehending the vaguely name omnipotent. It is the secondary (counterpoint) narrative of Wentworth, however, that makes this little novel truly memorable. A historical scholar's objectification of a woman takes a mystical and corporeal turn providing a jarring metaphor for the costs of maintaining an alternate reality. William's description of Wentworth's complicit delusion was horrifying in its familiarity. Wentworth's preference for a controlled unreality to an uncertain actuality and its associated madness was a creative and memorable centerpiece for a generally pleasant and intriguing story.
Imaginative tour-de-force!.......2006-08-27
W. H. Auden and T. S. Elliot admired this eccentric author and found his novels great reading. My small voice echoes "Darn Right!" Gently invite anyone still laboring under the illusion that you "make your own reality" or that "by following your heart you'll never go astray" to a good slow read of this mystical horror. Laurence Whitworth is as good a cautionary protagonist for which one could hope. Two parallel themes, the lightness of love's burden and the burdened suicide's call to light are both deeply moving. After my third reading I'm glimpsing what Williams' tried to reveal, but hope subsequent rereads will take me even deeper. Don't give up! this book's worth every minute you spend in it.
Descent into Hell.......2006-02-12
Just the first page is an example of some of the worst writing I have ever read. The prose is convoluted and unreadable. He uses the word "stairs" when he means "stares". How basicly illiterate can you get?If this man can get published, there is real hope for all those neophyte writers out there. Keep throwing your manuscripts over the transoms --somebody's going to give you a chance.
Invoke the Doctrine of Substituted Books.......2004-06-26
and instead read something slightly more coherent. Like Finnegans Wake. Or, if you must read Williams, either War in Heaven or All Hallows' Eve are much better. It's not that the book is all bad. After you get past the overwrought and near unintelligible prose, a subtlety of plot that borders on disregard of the reader, silly and unsympathetic characters, and some very naughty heresy, there are a few good things to be said of Descent Into Hell. For one, the picture Williams draws of lust, pride, and despair is outstanding. For another, some of his more subtle observations regarding the effects of sin on an individual are also excellent. And there may be an interesting observation or two about the Communion of Saints (although Williams adds a dash of heterodoxy to this concept as well). But mostly the book is just wacky. Sinners get a second (and maybe third or fourth) bite at the apple in the hereafter, the reality of hell is oddly diminished through Williams' apparent desire to draw a psychological portrait of its existence, a heretic is punished by the noble and pious Mary Tudor yet saved by God for relying on his malformed conscience, and daffy Golden Dawn freak-shows carry each other's burdens in an evident misunderstanding of the Church's spiritual treasury, how it is filled, and how it is put to use. I would recommend the book only to Williams completists. The middle third is hard slog but it picks up at the end.
In a nutshell, it's not the best book for right-wing orthodox Catholic monarchists. But if you're a hippy-freak new ager with a taste for poorly drafted gothic novels, this might be right up your alley.
Timeless Truth Visits Suburbia.......2004-02-18
Ask any minister what part of the Apostle's Creed elicits the greatest number of questions from parishioners. He or she will say without hesitation, "He descended into hell."
This is a puzzling phrase for us. If we want to have a Biblically accurate and theologically sound understanding of the most difficult phrase of the Apostle's Creed, we may wish to turn to The Book of Confessions. Or John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Or we might want to read this novel, by one of the most dazzling Christian novelists of the past (Twentieth!) century.
Charles Williams should be better known that he is, as a brilliant scholar, inventive writer and faithful Christian of modern times. A forceful, inventive and compelling person, Willams was a member of the famous "Inklings"-the creative Oxford University Christian writers whose company included C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.
The setting of the book is an affluent suburb of a large city where a group of interesting residents have prevailed upon one of their most famous neighbors, a world-renowned playwright, to produce his newest play. We meet them all as the rehearsals are taking place-and we learn that each person is on a spiritual journey fraught with dangers, toils and snares. There is love and lust, loss and confusion, the meaning of life and the meaning of work, all wrapped up in the preparations for performing the play.
If Shakespeare is to be trusted, all the world's a stage... Williams uses the metaphor of the play to portray life, in this world and the next. So we have the world of "The Hill" (their neighborhood-but could it be any suburban enclave), intersecting with the world of the play. We also have a larger challenge. For, as he does in all his novels, Williams reveals the intersection between the "real world" and the spiritual realm. Past and present at times merge. Memory and hope combine. People make choices that will affect their lives for all eternity. Sometimes, without thinking.
We meet the wise and kindly playwright, Stanhope. The eminent and ambitious historian Wentworth. The beguiling and mysterious Mrs. Samile. The fear-stricken Pauline, whose perils help us grasp the key to the most famous verse in Galatians... "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." For that passage alone, the novel is unsurpassed.
But you will also not want to miss Wentworth's Choice. Classic Christian truth portrayed unforgettably.
If you are of a literal bent, you may find it hard to wrap your mind around some of his images. Don't give up! Allow yourself to be guided by a pro, into a world you may not have visited before. Read this book slower than you are accustomed to read novels. Intersperse its reading with Biblical study on the same concepts: wholeness, healing, Christian love, jealousy, anger, fear, faithfulness, joy, life and life eternal.
(Note: This novel is one of a series that also includes these titles, by the same author and from the same publisher: All Hallows Eve, War in Heaven, Many Dimensions, The Place of the Lion, The Greater Trumps).
If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.
Books:
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- Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
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- What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers
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