Book Description
Until we get to heaven, we're all unfinished Christians.
There are no "self-made" success stories in the spiritual life. No do-it-yourself kits for aspiring saints. That's why Living the Mysteries is ideal for a family member, friend, or fellow parishioner who was recently in the RCIA program and received the sacraments of initiation - baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist - at the Easter Vigil. That's why it's perfect for a lifelong Catholic, too.
The early Church had a process in which a teacher guided seekers through stages of inquiry and purification, culminating in a final phase called "mystagogy" — MIST-a-go-gee — "the revelation of the mysteries."
The instruction the early Christians needed is what we all need, no matter when we were baptized, no matter how much theology we've studied. That's because God's mysteries are inexhaustible and, until we get to heaven, we're all unfinished Christians.
Spirit-Led Mystagogy from the Ancient Masters
Now eight of the early Church's greatest teachers can be your guides as Living the Mysteries presents the wisdom and insights of: St. Ambrose
St. Augustine
St. Basil
St. Clement of Alexandria
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
St. Gregory of Nyssa
St. John Chrysostom
St. Leo the Great
Designed as a devotional - and more - for the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost, Living the Mysteries is a rich spiritual resource valuable any time of the year. Each day features:
• A passage from the Church's great teachers that focuses on a relevant point of the mystical or moral life
• A plan with practical applications for letting that reading inspire your prayer and actions throughout the day
You will treasure these timeless lessons on gaining eternal life.
About the authors Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina are the founders and trustees of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and have co-hosted several series on the Eternal Word Television Network. Each has written extensively on Catholic doctrine, history, and devotion.
Customer Reviews:
Review of Living the Mysteries: A guide for unfinished Christians.......2007-05-07
A fantastic book for Neophytes! This little book gives day-to-day meditations and goals to more fully live the sacramental life. A must read for all Catholics at all stages of spiritual growth.
Living the Mysteries: A Guide for Unfinished Christians.......2005-09-30
Once again Scott Hahn manages to provide such a wealth of resource and this book is a real guide.It will be read many times
What every RCIA teacher needs.......2004-06-23
Finally, after ten years of teaching RCIA, I have found the book that every teacher's been looking for. Unlike the other materials that we've had to use, these authors don't talk about mystagogy, they DO it. Better, they show how the Church fathers did it. Our parish priest agrees. This is the best resource for our catechumenal candidates.
Very fresh approach to Mystagogy, especially useful for RCIA.......2004-06-01
This anthology presents a number of short readings for meditation and prayer. They are drawn from writings of recognized early teachers of Christian doctrine, including St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nysaa, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom and St. Leo the Great. We may have heard of, even revered these early saints, hearing them mentioned on feast days, without really knowing their thoughts and ideas. This book makes those thoughts accessible. Very fresh and useful, too. The authors, Hahn and Aquilina, also show us how to use their book, with encouraging words about such things as meditation. The book focuses on on the ancient riches of God's Word and early Christian teachers and their value for us today.
Average customer rating:
- Share the ambivalence
- Ungenerous Hypocrisy
- Generous? I think so
- Generous indeed
- This book proves only one thing
|
A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN
Brian D. McLaren
Manufacturer: Zondervan/Youth Specialties
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Faith
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Theology
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Comparative Religion
| Religious Studies
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything
-
A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey
-
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
-
The Last Word and the Word after That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity
-
Adventures in Missing the Point: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel
ASIN: 0310257476 |
Book Description
By celebrating strengths of many traditions in the church (and beyond), this book will seek to communicate a “generous orthodoxy.”
Customer Reviews:
Share the ambivalence.......2007-09-28
The one thing I most appreciate about this book is how clearly MacLaren shares his own ambivalence and his own internal struggle over theological issues. His candor is something not always seen in members of the clergy, much less in people who are publishing about their faith.
If you don't like long, convoluted sentence structure (see Faulkner here), you'll likely have trouble taking much away from this book. I think it's unfortunate that his writing style does manage to make his ideas so much less accessible for some people.
Ungenerous Hypocrisy .......2007-08-30
McLaren takes aim mostly at the Evangelical culture and Lord knows we need to get smacked down, but what he fails to understand is how dogmatic, prideful and just plain wrong his spiritually enlightened comrades are on many counts. Case in point is his fawning over environmentalists while he takes hypocritical fundamentalists to task for using scare tactics. I've worked on an environmental issue for four years and daily witness unbelievable slander and misinformation being spread by the leading green groups who use junk science and emotion to lie. This is precisely what McLaren accuses overzealous evangelicals of doing and of course there's some truth to that charge. But the fact that he self righteously hails his environmentalist friends as noble and heroic exposes the weakness of this book, and McLaren's lack of credibility in general.
Generous? I think so.......2007-08-12
After reading this book as well as the reviews that were written here, this book appears to be a big mirror held up for the reader. Those who take themselves too seriously (you'll read many reviews by these folks), those who have built up a large, rule-based "religion", and watch-dog alarmists will not like what they read/see. Those who can take something simply for what it is (not what they want it to be), are open minded yet Biblically ground, and don't mind reading a book that will challenge some of their doctrinal and cultural biases, will thoroughly enjoy this book.
The reason I only gave it 4 stars was because some of the disclaimers in the book got a little old...although after reading the reviews here I can see why he needed to add them. The style of writing is very light...but occasionally almost too light.
In general, I thought this was a great book to sit down with other Christians and discuss and McLaren has some great thoughts on the church and it's direction.
Generous indeed.......2007-07-22
I bought this book because I am really interested in becoming more conversant in the new "emergent" or "open" theology. I suppose that McLaren does a good job of representing the prevailing emergent views, from what I have read in other places. But although his theology is "generous", one wonders how seriously it should be taken. It strikes me as a throw-back to the Jesus movement in the 60's, when people said, "all I need is Jesus". Well, isn't Jesus all we need in 2007? It's a kind of unanswerable question. Of course all we need is Jesus. Of course Jesus was generous and loving. Of course God's arms extend wider than the church is comfortable in admitting. But should we throw out the last two millennia of theology and buy something that we have "missed" until the last 10 years? I think not. This new theology is shallow, and a hair-breadth from Universalistic.
I find McLaren's book to be thought provoking and perhaps a kind of correction to some of modern evangelicalism. But this book, written by an admitted non-theologian with little theological training, must be taken with a grain of salt, at least. He is terribly prone to overgeneralizations, setting up "straw men", and misrepresentations of views other than his own. And his definition of "post modernity" and the resulting disdain for "modernity" is troubling. And is this book biblical? I should have started the review with that question... No, it is not. McLaren does little more than proof-text.
My enthusiastic advice: Do not read this book without some sort of balance or counterpoint readily at hand. D.A. Carson's book, "Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church" is a must read if you are going to read McLaren's works!
This book proves only one thing.......2007-06-19
The title of this book and the writing within proves only one thing: that Mr. McLaren is not a 'true' Christian in any sense of the word. One cannot have the Holy Spirit residing within and believe that their is any way to God other than Jesus. Also, unless Mr. McLaren repents and receives the One who died and shed His blood for him, he will discover that their really is a literal hell, something he states that he does not believe in. All true Christians must pray for this man who is being used by our enemy to deceive many.
Average customer rating:
- A beautiful swan song for a loving man, husband, father & human.
- If you liked his other works, you'll love this fast read.
- Spalding gives us something to think about, and departs.
- A Bittersweet Homage to Spalding Gray
- It's really only 56 pages.
|
Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue
Spalding Gray
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Actors & Actresses
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Theatre
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| History & Criticism
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Traffic & Safety
| Automotive
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
It's a Slippery Slope
-
Monster in a Box: The Movie
-
Sex and Death to the Age 14
-
Gray's Anatomy
-
Morning, Noon and Night
ASIN: 1400048613
Release Date: 2005-10-04 |
Book Description
As the first decade of the new century was getting underway, Spalding Gray worried that the joy he’d finally found with his wife, stepdaughter, and two sons would fail to fuel his work as a theatrical monologist the way anxiety, conflict, doubt, and various crises once had. Before he got the chance to find out, however, an automobile accident in Ireland left him with the lasting wounds of body and spirit that ultimately led him to take his own life. But as his dear friend novelist Francine Prose notes in this volume’s foreword, “Even when his depression became so severe that he was barely able to hold a simple conversation, he was, miraculously, able to perform.”
As was always his method, Gray began to fashion a new monologue in various workshop settings that would tell the story of the accident and its aftermath. Originally titled Black Spot—for what the locals called the section of highway where Gray’s accident occurred—it began as a series of workshops at P.S. 122 in New York City and eventually became Life Interrupted.Gray died in early 2004, and though never completed, Life Interrupted is rich with brave self-revelation, masterfully acute observations of wonderfully peculiar people, penetrating wit and genuine humor, an irresolvable fascination with life and death, and all the other attributes of Gray’s singular and unmistakable voice.
In the final performance of Life Interrupted, Gray read two additional pieces: a short story about a day he spent with his son Theo at the carousel in Central Park and a brief, poignant love letter to New York City that he wrote after the terrorist attacks in 2001. This volume includes these pieces as well as many of the eulogies that were delivered by his friends and family at memorial services held at Lincoln Center and in Sag Harbor.
[If you had to reduce all of Spalding’s work to its essence, its core, if you wanted to locate the subject to which, no matter what else he talked about, he kept returning, I suppose you could say that his work was a profoundly metaphysical inquiry into how we manage to live despite the knowledge that we are someday going to die. . . .
If there is a consolation, it’s what he left behind: the children whom he so loved and, of course, his work. Reading the unfinished pieces in this volume . . . we hear his voice again and feel the happiness we felt when he sat on stage behind his wooden desk, took a sip from his water glass, transformed the raw material of his life into art, and the crowd applauded each brilliant, beautiful sentence.] —
Francine Prose, from the Foreword
Also available as an eBook
Customer Reviews:
A beautiful swan song for a loving man, husband, father & human........2007-07-30
The amount of compassion in this book is simply amazing. Spalding was a normal individual living through extraordinary events that he wove into some of the best monologues & humor to ever grace our eyes & ears. The finality of his decision can never be compromised by our tremendous feeling of loss. He was entitled to save himself from his pain in any manner he sought & I respect him for that. While the hole in our hearts will never be filled, I would only encourage his friends & loved ones to look back on the best of times. I have a feeling He would have wanted it that way too...
If you liked his other works, you'll love this fast read........2007-01-04
I've been a great Gray fan for years. Reading this monologe brings you back into the theater with him again. Read on a quick flight to Boston, I could see hear his monotone stories gain, telling me of his life, and taking me to that wonderful place that only he and old radio dramas could.
Spalding gives us something to think about, and departs........2006-08-18
A celebrity is someone whom you've never actually met, but think you know; not just know about, but know. The celebrity press offers us little bits of enticing, patently untrue information about these imaginary friends every day. Part of our agreement with the idea of celebrity is that we believe these things while knowing (after all, we're not crazy) that they aren't true.
It was easy to slip into thinking of Spalding Gray, who after all never pretended to be anything but an actor and a sort of amateur writer, as a celebrity. Since his confessional monologues included much that was embarrassing and painful, it was easier that way. Apparently, though, every word of it was true. His sadness, his eerily prophetic but still crippling fears, his inability, like so many children of suicides, to get on with his life -- it was all there. It was all, or at least mostly true, and we really knew him after all, and the guilt at not having been able to save him, at having been not an imaginary friend but a real one, and not a very good one, is real as well.
His monologues were surprisingly layered, nuanced and durable works of art, considering he never claimed much for himself as a writer. They are like Chekhov plays without villains -- not so dark, or so funny, and a bit sweeter than you'd like, maybe, but still great, and this is the last of them.
A Bittersweet Homage to Spalding Gray.......2006-05-31
Nearing his 60th birthday in 2001, Spalding Gray was enjoying family life with his wife and two kids, and pondering the next step in his career as a popular monologue performer and writer.
Then a horrific car accident in Ireland changed everything for Gray. Severe injuries left him debilitated for months, with chronic severe pain afterwards, and plunged him into deep depression.
Yet he still tried to transform his painful, frightening and darkly humorous experiences into art, as he has done so many other times. Performing early drafts of his solo memoir of the crash (under the working title "Black Spot", which refers to the patch of road in Ireland where his accident occurred) at Seattle's 2001 Bumbershoot Festival, and later in New York, it looked like he was going to triumph again. But sadly it was not to be (Spalding Grey committed suicide in 2004 at the age of 62, leaving a note stating that he could no longer live with his debilitating pain and depression).
This short book combines that last unfinished script with various short tributes to Gray by actor Eric Bogosian (another favorite performer/monologist/writer of mine) and others.
For 20 years now, I have admired Gray. He was someone who made yakking about his life and himself so engaging and endearing, that I always left his solo monologues wanting to hear more. His books were also equally entertaining.
For any Gray fan, this small book is homage to his unique gifts, and a reminder of the fragility and preciousness of life itself.
Final Grade: A
It's really only 56 pages........2005-11-08
When I saw that it was 256 pages I thought it was all going to be stuff that Spalding Gray had written. I was really excited to get this book, thinking that I'd have at least a few days worth of reading to do. Unfortunately only 56 of those 256 pages are actually his work. The forward by Francine Prose goes from pg 17-49. "Life Interrupted" goes from pgs 53-92 (40 pages). "The Anniversary" goes from pgs 95-109 (15 pages). "Dear New York City" is pg 113. The rest of the book, pgs 121-255, are eulogies. I would have preferred to just get a skinny little 56 page book of only his work. I realize that this book in essence was to be a dedication to Spalding Gray's life and last days. A way for his friends and family to celebrate his existance in their lives and say goodbye to him. It is a good book and well worth the money, but I would have preferred to just get his writings sans wordy forward and eulogies.
Average customer rating:
- great book
- This story is sooooo played out.
- Some Stereotypes, But It Works
- Good read...family bonds & redemption in the west...
- Great read - reminded me of The Horse Whisperer
|
An Unfinished Life
Mark Spragg
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Where Rivers Change Direction
-
The Fruit of Stone
-
The Tie That Binds
-
The Meadow
-
Eventide
ASIN: 1400076145
Release Date: 2005-08-09 |
Book Description
In an extraordinary tale of love and forgiveness, Mark Spragg brings us this novel of a complex, prodigal homecoming.
After escaping the last of a long string of abusive boyfriends, Jean Gilkyson and her ten-year-old daughter Griff have nowhere left to go. Nowhere except Ishawooa, Wyoming, where Jean's estranged father-in-law, Einar, still blames her for the death of his son. Though Einar isn’t glad to see either of them, Griff falls in love with his sprawling ranch and quiet way of life, as she slowly gets to know his crippled old friend Mitch, the cats that lurk in the barn at milking time, and finally the grandfather she had lost for so many years. An emotionally charged story of hard-won friendship and reconciliation,
An Unfinished Life shows a novelist of extraordinary talents in the fullness of his powers.
Download Description
Jean Gilkyson is floundering in a trailer house in Iowa with yet another brutal boyfriend when she realizes this kind of life has got to stop, especially for the sake of her daughter, Griff. But the only place they can run to is Ishawooa, Wyoming, where Jean's loved ones are dead and her father-in-law, the only person who could take them in, wishes that she was too. For a decade, Einar Gilkyson has blamed her for the accident that took his son's life, and he has chosen to go on living himself largely because his oldest friend couldn't otherwise survive. They've been bound together like brothers since the Korean War and now face old age on a faltering ranch, their intimacy even more acute after Mitch was horribly crippled while Einar helplessly watched.
Of course, ten-year-old Griff knows none of this—only that her father is dead and her mother has bad taste in men. But once she encounters this grandfather she'd never heard about, and the black cowboy confined to the bunkhouse, with irrepressible courage and great spunk she attempts to turn grievous loss, wrath, and recrimination—to which she's naturally the most vulnerable—toward reconciliation and love.
Immediately compelling and constantly surprising, rich in character, landscape, and compassion, An Unfinished Life shows a novelist of extraordinary talents in the fullness of his powers.
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2006-09-09
i really really loved this book. it was excellent, easy to read and very satisfying. it was the first of his books i read but when i finished it i bought his other books.
This story is sooooo played out........2006-04-13
I'm reading this for our local book club and wondering who the heck thought that this would be a good read. Although the author writes well enough that you can visualize the scene with ease, there are some places where the plot appears to fall down. For example, when we are introduced to Einor one gets a feeling of cold winter approaching. Some chapters later, we find Jean mixing margaritas for a "cry in your drink session" with Nina in the backyard with feet cooling in a wading pool. Other characters such as Starla are downright strange. There is no real charactor development. Noone I could fall in love with. Unfortunately this story line was been played out over and over and this book does not offer any fresh prespective on the "woman done wrong" theme. But then again if you have a hankering for this type of story, it is an easy read.
Some Stereotypes, But It Works.......2005-12-28
Three of the main characters in this book are fairly stereotypical - Einar, the hard, wizened grandfather who lost a son, the precocious adolescent, the hated daughter-in-law. Added to this mix is the grandfather's best friend, a near cripple due to a bear-mauling, and the novel works well although at first blush you think you have seen them all before.
The daughter-in-law is battered by her boyfriend. Her daughter calls her on a promise that they would leave with the next beating and they do. With no where else to go, they end up at the grandfather's ranch. He did not know he had a granddaughter and she did not know she had a grandfather. The mother is hated by her father-in-law because she was driving when her husband, Einar's son, was killed in an accident.
As one might expect, the granddaughter melts the hearts of the two old men. The daughter-in-law begins to win some grudging respect, mostly due to the fact that she has a good daughter (if the child is good the parent can't be all bad).
So much of this book is predictable, you would think it would fall into the "already read that" category. However, Mr. Spragg's writing has a haunting quality to it. This makes the entire novel different and makes the characters almost seem ephemeral at times. They haunt and are the type of characters that will stay with a reader for a good long time - the mark of quality characterization.
This is a story of family and character renewal. The individauls renew themselves independently as well as members of the family. The precipatator is the child, yet she is very likeable. She is not the sappy sweet irritating child cast member. She is believable and has no supernatural insights or powers. Perhaps this is why the entire novel seems more believable than most of this type.
A good book that will stay with you.
Good read...family bonds & redemption in the west..........2005-10-16
Though well written, this is not a challenging read, as I tore through the book in nothing flat. The characters are largely well developed and enagaging. I agree with another reviewer, this reads like a film script or could even be a play. Griff, the little girl is the centerpiece of the story and her brave, gutsy, irrespressible spirit is a delight. I felt the author captured that time in a little girls life where there's a fear of nothing-that is definitely the case with Griff. I loved this book for Griff-she's spunky & wise.
You genuinely care about the characters and the two crusty old cowboys who are lifelong friends getting goo-goo over a little girl is sweet-I love Griff's observations of these two old coots. You really sense the patience and calm in these two older men that often in life only comes with age.
There is some predictability to the story however, and I found some trouble with Jean's character. The constant bad taste in men when she'd been married to a good man who was not abusive I find a bit implausible, and what's the deal with her and the sheriff? Their relationship just seemed a bit flimsy for me, was it just for the sex or for protection from the nasty abusive boyfriend Roy, I couldn't really tell- it could have been fleshed out more.
I look forward to the movie, but casting Jennifer Lopez as Jean??? She just doesn't strike me as the earthy ranch girl type from Wyoming...sorry folks. Maybe she'll surprise me.
Great read - reminded me of The Horse Whisperer.......2005-10-02
I read this book in under a week, and I'm a slow reader. Truly enjoyable. Looking forward to seeing the movie. I think they cast it well.
Customer Reviews:
A very informative book!.......2007-09-21
I guess everyone knows or has seen Dolly Parton perform. She knows how to take a lemon and make lemonade out of life's challenges. I highly recommend the reading of this book.
Hoping for a sequel, though.......2007-05-23
The best thing about Dolly Parton's autobio is 'hearing' her VOICE come through the print. Eternally optimistic and carefully eccentric, there's no doubt Parton has one of the most blithesome star qualities in the biz. And why not - it's her business to be so lovable.
While she hedges (considerably) on her 'indentured servitude' with Porter Waggoner and speaks infrequently about her creative process (writing and recording), when she gets a topic that pleases her - such as her childhood exploits - Parton lets go like one of her coolest numbers. Her humanism seems unbounded.
Since the publication of this book, Parton, confounding all reasonable expectations, returned to the studio with a revitalized muse, producing some of her most credible work (Grass Is Blue, and onward). Hopefully, we shall 'hear' Parton speak of her artistic reinvention in a future volume.
A laugh a page.......2007-03-05
I knew Dolly Parton had a good sense of humor but I didn't know it was as far out as it is. Although I've been a fan for a long time, I'm a "lazy" fan and didn't even realize she had an autobiography out there until recently. Just to think I could have been laughing 13 years ago. Duh! If you're feeling down and need a laugh, get this book. Dolly needs her own TV show and if the people who run Hollywood had good sense, she would have had it long ago. Of course, they don't so they would have probably put the wrong writers on it and it would have been cancelled in a week.
Dolly And Friends..........2005-08-05
Dolly had a hard life growing up in the wilds of East Tennessee; she started out poor and indeed did have a 'coat of many colors' as her children's book explained. She wore hand-me-downs in the backwoods of Sevier County where my paternal grandfather's people lived. She's funny. Coming from the country, it took some doing and lots of help to get where she is today. She has re-invented her personality through the years from the young lovesick girl who write 'I Will Always Love You' to Porter Wagoner. After all, she was a young country bumpkin from the Knoxville area, and we inexperienced girls fall hard for the first person we can admire. He gave her the first 'big' break, singing on his show in Nashville.
She had been on local talent shows in Knox County, Cas Walker's for country music. She migrated to Middle Tennessee to sing on the Grand Ole Opry where she met my friend, Hal Durham, who was manager of that fabulous old show on radio, television and live. I once attended at the Ryman and he gave Zachary and me a backstage tour.
In Nashville and in the movies, she had a good life but suffered some setbacks and depression. The two photo secitons show how little Dolly the girl was transformed into Dolly the bombshell blonde. She is the richest person in this area as she owns Dollywood, the major attraction for people from all the states who visit the Great Smoky Mountains and from other countries.
In her 'thanks' section, she included her favorite makeup, Revlon staff, and favorite lingerie shop, Frederick's of Hollywood. She includes Terry Morrow, local entertainment columnist for the News Sentinel daily Knoxville newspaper, and Ligiea Saveanu (whoever she is -- I was going to name my daughter Ligeia). From the Grand Ole Opry performers, she includes Archie Campbell from the famous Civil War area in EAst Tennessee, Bull's Gap, Grant Turner, and Bud Wendell, WSM announcer. Game show hosts were Bob Eubanks and Huell Howser; how could she leave out Wink Martindale and Pat Sajacks, both Tennesseans? For some reason, she included the Knoxville Democrat Party chairman, Jim Gray, Al Gore, Jim Sasser, and Sandra Fulton (wife of Dick Fulton of Nashville). Movie stars included Kevin Costner, Jane Fonda, and Delta Burke, while singers were Mac Davis, Billy Ray Syrus, Whitney Houtston and Reba McEntire. She has Johnny Carson, Eddie Hill, and many many others -- too many to mention.
Like most successful people, she has humility when it comes to feeling indebted to others for her success. She showed he CBS anchor a thing or two when he enterviewed her ans commented on her most obvious attraction. She has talent galore, and I wish Dolly could live forever. She will in the figure on Sevier County Courthouse Lawn, as a young country girl. Dolly is everything to everybody.
*****A Country Superstar!*****.......2005-06-08
Put simply, I LOVE this book! I've just finished reading it for the second time and it's even better than it was the first time.
I read it when it first came out in 1994 and was so jazzed to find it a few weeks ago in a used bookstore. I had a few other things to read before I picked up Dolly, but now that I have, I don't want it to end!
I can't say enough good and great and amazing things about this biography. She wrote it herself and it's honest, down to earth and funny as all get out. Because of it, I even added some more Dolly Parton CD's to my music collection and it was a very much needed trip down memory lane.
Thanks, Dolly, for such an amazing, revealing look at what makes you tick. Now, what I want to know is: when is your next book coming out. :)
Book Description
An updated, expanded revision of a classic resource showing how we are in the midst of a radical shift from church as institution to church as organism in which ministry is being returned to the people of God.
Customer Reviews:
A Quality Book.......2006-11-05
This is a book that I will keep in my library. It is a must for every Pastor and laypersons seeking to improve the church and the Ministry for Jesus Christ.
<>
<
Fabulous Book!! - Could Be a Bit More Radical in Some Areas..........2006-05-19
This is an absolutely marvelous, life-changing book. I picked it up this past week, and I believe that it will be pivotal as my husband and I (both of us are evangelical seminarians) figure out the type of church that we would like to plant one day. Ogden works out the theology of the priesthood of believers quite thoroughly, taking it out to its logical and thrilling conclusions.
In the beginning pages he quotes Martin Luther who said, "Let everyone, therefore, who knows himself to be a Christian be assured of this...that we are all priests, and there is no difference between us." This statement really sounds a lot like what our founding fathers wrote when they proudly proclaimed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." We now know, of course, that this affirmation was surely not universally applied from the very beginning. What the founding fathers REALLY meant was that "all white males are created equal." It would take centuries for their radical statement to work itself out and also include blacks (post the abolition of slavery/Civil War in 1865) and women (who were denied the vote until 1920!!) The Protestant Reformation, Ogden masterfully argues, is not all that different. Luther, Calvin, and others might have claimed that we are all priests - but they only partially finished the job of working this idea out to its most radical conclusions. Today, the continuing Protestant fixation on "ordination" has essentially created a new priesthood and a stringent divide between the "clergy" and the "laity." This is really quite unfortunate, since, as Ogden shows, much of this is essentially indefensible according to a Protestant reading of Scripture. Ogden also challenges the idea that such pastoral functions as "pastoral care," baptism, preaching, and the distribution of the Eucharist must strictly be prohibited to "ordained clergy." It is quite convincing and opens up exciting possibilities, in my estimation, for the future.
My one major critique of the book - and this will be controversial for some - is that it does not really address the outworking of the priesthood of all believers for the ministry of women in the Church. It is clear that Ogden, as an ordained PC(USA) minister, is supportive of women's leadership in the Church; and often throughout the book he will use both male and female pronouns when referring to pastors. Nonetheless, I found it disappointing that he did not address this issue head-on in his book. Regardless of where one stands in the "gender debate," it is quite important for all ministers to understand how to apply the supposed doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers" to women. The worldwide Church today is over 65% female, and many today, based on certain difficult biblical "proof texts," continue to restrict their ministry. I am an evangelical with a high view of Scripture, and so I obviously do not want to "throw out" any part of God's Word. Yet, I am left with the question - does God's promise of a priesthood (both before God AND to other believers, as Ogden defines it) of all believers only most fully apply to males? I would find it strange indeed if the majority of the Church would be left out of the full exercise of this great majestic priesthood! I do encourage all readers, in addition to reading this book, to see a fuller exposition on the radical priesthood of all believers including its implications for male/female relations in the book entitled "Community 101" by Gilbert Bilezikian. Ogden and Bilezikian are friends (see Ogden's preface), and Bilezikian strongly promotes Ogden's book in his own. So I know that Ogden probably has similar ideas, although he did not work them out himself. "Community 101" has radically transformed my outlook on the matter of the priesthood of all believers as it pertains to gender relations - and I would strongly encourage everyone to check it out!
A must read for all pastors!!!.......2006-01-05
The other reviewers do a good enough job, and I won't repeat what they say here. Ogden's book is a must read if you want to have a church that takes the priesthood of all believers seriously. Get this book!
Read this book! .......2006-01-04
This book challenges the traditional system of the modern Church movement. It makes the reader reflect on the developmental history of the church and really what the body of Christ, the Church, should look like. Beware, it will challenge everything that you have been brought up to believe as functional in "ministry." It will challenge your concept of "ministry." If you are a believer in the risen and only Savior, Jesus Christ, but think you are a "non professional" minister and only a "lay leader," be prepared to remove the scales from your eyes because; you are the minister! This book will get you into the game! The clock is running and the Holy Spirit is calling. Will you answer?
Not radical enough!.......2005-01-29
In the heady days of the 16th Century, when Luther and Zwingli were challenging Rome and Calvin was codifying what was becoming known as the Protestant Reformation, the reformers agreed: no more priests. All believers are priests who needed no one but Jesus to intercede for them before the Father. No mortal man, of whatever ordination or office, stood between the believer and his or her God.
450 years later, Greg Ogden has looked at the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, and finds that while all Protestants profess to believe it, we simply don't act like it. Instead of priests lording it over parishes and dispensing sacraments to the laity, we have Protestant pastors attempting to be omnicomptent dispensers of religious services. The titles have changed, but little else. The "clergy" does 80% (or more!) of the work, while the "laity" are passive receivers of "ministry."
Ogden correctly discerns that this distinction between "clergy" and "laity" is not Biblical; some ARE called to be equippers, not to do the "ministry" but to equip all believers to do the ministry. This book is a call for the equippers to share the ministry with the whole body and for the so-called "laity" to demand that their pastors equip them!
The problem with this book is that Ogden does not take his thesis far enough. He paints a picture of the New Reformation Church that is good, as far as it goes. The pastoral staff has taken function names, not hierarchical titles, and is actively engaged in training and releasing believers into ministry. As a result, a much larger portion of the church is finding itself in ministry to others and to the world. But the picture is still incomplete! Again, cosmetic changes have been made; instead of a senior pastor and one or more associate pastor, there is now a pastor of teaching, a pastor of care, a pastor of youth and so forth; although many more non-professionals have been equipped and released into the ministry, the top positions are still held by professional staff members who are simply the priests and pastors of days gone by with different titles.
The more I study the Bible and early church history, the more I am convinced that the true church is the house church (although I'm not saying that true churches can't meet in other buildings besides houses) where worship is led by a non-professional, teaching is done by non-professionals, sacraments are administered by non-professionals, and above all, pastoral care is performed by non-professionals. Of course there are still roles for professionals: Paul was arguably a professional apostle and church planter, but the church of the first century clearly understood that the priesthood of all believers meant the priesthood of ALL believers.
Book Description
An Unfinished Life is the first major, single-volume life of John F. Kennedy to be written by a historian in nearly four decades.Drawing upon previously unavailable material and never-before-opened archives to tell Kennedy's story.We learn for the first time just how sick Kennedy was, what medications he took and concealed from all but a few, and how severely his medical condition affected his actions as President. We learn for the first time the real story of how Bobby was selected as Attorney General. Dallek reveals exactly what Jack's father did to help his election to the presidency, and he follows previously unknown evidence to show what path JFK would have taken in the Vietnam entanglement had he survived.Dallek lists JFK out of the gossips and back onto the world stage, showing that while he was the son of privilege, he faced great obstacles and fought on with remarkable courage. Never shying away from Kennedy's weaknesses, Dallek also brilliantly explores his strengths.The result is a portrait of a bold, brave, human Kennedy, once again a hero.
Download Description
An Unfinished Life is the first major, single-volume life of John F. Kennedy to be written by a historian in nearly four decades. Drawing upon previously unavailable material and never-before-opened archives to tell Kennedy's story, An Unfinished Life is packed with revelations large and small. We learn for the first time just how sick Kennedy was, what medications he took and concealed from all but a few, and how severely his medical condition affected his actions as President. We learn for the first time the real story of how Bobby was selected as Attorney General. Dallek reveals exactly what Jack's father did to help his election to the presidency, and he follows previously unknown evidence to show what path JFK would have taken in the Vietnam entanglement had he survived. Dallek lifts JFK out of the gossips and back onto the world stage, showing that while he was the son of privilege, he faced great obstacles and fought on with remarkable courage. Never shying away from Kennedy's weaknesses, Dallek also brilliantly explores his strengths. The result is a portrait of a bold, brave, human Kennedy, once again a hero. The figures who surrounded Kennedy and shaped his life -Joe, Jackie, McNamara, Marilyn, Bobby, LBJ, MLK, Schlesinger, Sorenson and others-are presented here with a richness and accuracy never before seen. From elementary school, to Harvard, to PT-109, to Washington, to the White House, to Dallas, here is the full epic story, finally, and fairly. An Unfinished Life will stand as the essential Kennedy book, a landmark work.
Customer Reviews:
Essential Reading But..........2007-06-25
Robert Dallek is a gifted historian. He is also a complete historian, because he writes extremely well. I wonder if he has ever won the Parkman Prize, because his apparent meticulous research is consumed by the reader with such ease. Of course, because it is Dr. Dallek, I have but one complaint. In the young, Kennedy years, prior to the presidency, the biography feels intimate -- as if we were talking to someone who was right in the house growing up with him -- almost if we were like Lem Billings. But when we get to the presidency there is a bit of opinionating that oftimes goes from historian to editorializing. For example, when speaking of the Berlin Crisis, Dr. Dallek opines that it is best that JFK was running the show because RFK, being a hothead, might have gotten us involved in a nuclear exchange. Other than that minor, minor complaint, (because he is probably right on his opinionating), I think Dallek is great. So is his new title about Nixon, (and Kissinger,too.)
Joe Nichols
Adequate First Kennedy Biography.......2007-05-11
Thought that the book was an adequate one volume account of the life of JFK. The author talked alot about JFK's medical problems, more than I would have liked. He could have written a chapter about the medical problems JFK had with his stomach and back and about how the Kennedy's covered up those ailments during the run for the presidency and during the presidency.
But overall I thought that it was a very good book and would recommend to anyone who is reading their first Biography of Kennedy.
Very Impressive.......2007-04-28
I very much enjoyed this biography of JFK. It is very well written and exactly what you want in a biography. It has a very detailed account of his entire life, from birth, through school and his travels, and on to his time as President.
My only criticism is that for those of you who were not alive at the time of JFK (like me), you can get lost in many of the pages surrounding his Presidency. The author's accounts are so detailed, that I often found myself turning back in the book to refresh my memory about the many names and places that are referenced.
Other than that, I highly recommend this book. The accounts of his young life (the privilege, the travels, the women) are fantastically interesting. The accounts of his many illnesses were also well done, and news to me.
If you are like me and a big fan of biographies that start from the beginning and tell the whole story chronologically without leaving out a single detail, then this book is for you.
Well Done!.......2007-01-07
Well packed and arrived in a timely fashion. Everything as expected. A pleasure to do business with.
It's a very good book indeed!.......2006-12-22
I've been President John F. Kennedy's fan during all of my life and I think I've been waiting for this book. It's an amazing and fantastic plot of Kennedy's life since he was born untill his coward and outrageous assassination in Dallas. I bought this book here at Amazon.com.
In reading it I discovered Kennedy's awesome heroic attitude during Second World War, and about his serious health problems what for me increased even more my admiration for him. He was a great Man, a great Human Being, if he had had the opportunity of a second term, "I don't have any doubt he would be considered nowadays one of the four greatest presidents OF USA, just between George Washington, Lincoln, and the greatest one FDR. One of the reasons that moved the hand of the assassin was that he started on the last breaths of the first term to construct his own history in a very solid way.
People may ask why so many positive statements about this book and only four stars of rating. Because the most important event of Mr.President John F. Kennedy's assassination is very poorly covered inside this book and I think it's such an important event in the world history to be treated with such a disregarded and disrespectful way. Well, the most important thing is that We must remember that Presidents are Human Beings and not God, so they have strong and weak moments like we all "but Kennedy had a lot more positive moments than weak ones", and are mortals, I think they have tried to do the best they can and Mr. President John F. Kennedy was not an exception, he learned a lot about being a leader during his Presidency, he was a very smart man and could learn fast as he demonstrated with the Cuba missiles crisis. Mr. President J. F. Kennedy wasn't a saint but we don't need a saint on Presidency, we need a great Human Being and he was the one, indeed. Just buy this book if you are like me a fan of President John F. Kennedy or just someone wanting to know about him and you will be happy with your choice, it's a very good book indeed!
Average customer rating:
- At last, Danny Gatton's story is told!
- reinvigorated my interest in Danny Gatton and replaced my ignorance with information
- The Real Story
- Thorough Research & an Appreciative Ear
- A very good biography with a couple of weak points.
|
Unfinished Business - The Life and Times of Danny Gatton
Ralph Heibutzki
Manufacturer: Backbeat Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Guitar
| Instruments & Performers
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Strings
| Instruments & Performers
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
History & Criticism
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Rock
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Composers & Musicians
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Rock
| Composers & Musicians
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Roy Buchanan: American Axe
-
Danny Gatton: Telemaster!
-
Danny Gatton: Strictly Rhythm Guitar
-
Blazing Telecasters
-
Unfinished Business
ASIN: 087930748X |
Book Description
Danny Gatton was a players' guitar player, hailed by both Rolling Stone and Guitar Player as the greatest unknown guitarist anywhere. His legend has only grown since his untimely suicide in 1994, along with appreciation for his blinding speed, effortless genre-hopping, flawless technique, and never-ending appetite for tinkering and problem-solving. Drawing from first-hand interviews with dozens of friends, family members and fellow musicians, Unfinished Business places Gatton's musical contributions into context, and documents his influence on those peers who admired him most, including Albert Lee, Vince Gill, Arlen Roth and Lou Reed. 290 pages, 6 inch. x 9 inch. "Danny Gatton comes closer than anyone else to being the best guitar player that ever lived." - Steve Vai
Customer Reviews:
At last, Danny Gatton's story is told!.......2007-06-02
"Unfinished Business" by Ralph Heibutzki is a great read and provides great insight into the life of a not-so-well-known American guitarist. I was a fan of Danny Gatton before his untimely death and own 8 CDs by him. After reading Ralph's book, I ordered the other half of Gatton's canon (8 CDs and an instructional DVD) including a live soundboard recording by Evan Johns from the period when Danny was playing with Evan.
As I was one that always wondered what would cause a "normal" guy like Danny to take his life, on the heels of Roy Buchanan taking his own life, the book provided much insight into those dark days. It also provided insight into his glory days, his love of classic cars, and his struggles with the music industry.
The book was so captivating that I took it everywhere with me. I doing so, many folks inquired about it ... and more people in my town knew of Danny than I ever imagined. One friend was so impressed with my overview of the book, he requested to read it when I finished with it. Because I want to keep my signed copy intact, I'm buying him a copy as a gift.
If you have any interest in Danny Gatton or any interest in an amazing American guitar hero, "Unfinished Business" is his story.
reinvigorated my interest in Danny Gatton and replaced my ignorance with information.......2007-03-09
The book reinvigorated my interest in DG. I had a couple cds of his and knew him to be a hot shot guitarist, but never concentrated much focused listening time on his music. Reading the book has gotten me on a DG binge, and I've picked up a few more cds and some live recordings (Fat Boys 1974!) and have listened alot more closely. Before reading this book, I didn't know about his death or anything about any interfamilial squabbles, but the author presented them very even-handedly. I knew Gatton was a well respected and influential guitarist but I was still surprised to read about some of the other musicians who were influenced by or impressed by his music. And being a guitar player myself (big surprise) I feel motivated to try to learn a lick or two of his myself. Thanks for the great book!
The Real Story.......2006-06-22
As a musician, I was very fortunate to know Danny personally as he played in one of his earliest DC bands with my uncle, Rick Harmel. I recall that he took time to show me a few practice scales almost everytime I ran into him - no matter how busy he appeeared - and he was a warm-hearted, generous guy to the core.
This book balances the abrupt, tragic end of Danny's life with the highs and motivations that made Gatton a player's player. It also spotlights many of the people (like Arlen Roth) that contributed their loyalty and friendship to Danny. Thank you Ralph for a great homage and superb, thorough account of the life of the Master of the Telecaster. A "must read" for all guitarists - and anyone else who enjoys a moving account of an accomplished human being.
Thorough Research & an Appreciative Ear.......2004-10-28
The other reviewers have discussed the merits of Danny's playing, so I will mostly stick to extolling the book. Heibutzki talked to just about everybody, and found most if not all of the print material and used this in his thoughtful, comprehensive biography.
As an interviewer, the author got his subjects to open up, and what they say frequently tells as much about themselves as about Danny. As a consequence, the reader gets a sense of the mileau of clubs, studios, band and record label politics, and Washington DC and Southern Maryland music and lifestyle from the 60's to the 90's. A great deal of attention is paid to Danny's interest in cars, and his family life, as well as his early days gigging in various teenage bands and with Liz Meyer & Friends before he became "unfamous".
Also, the book comes with a bibliography and discography, as well as a useful index, showing the author's almost academic thoroughness.
A very good biography with a couple of weak points........2004-01-22
I enjoyed this book overall. It gives one a good enough idea of who Danny Gatton was and what made him such a respected guitarist. I knew a little about Gatton going in, not a lot though, and I feel like the author succeeded in filling in the blanks. I also thought the book handled Gatton's unfortunate death in an objective fashion while remaining sensitive to the emotional issues involved.
[Reviewer note: This review was edited on 02/07/2005. After looking it over again, I decided it appeared a bit more negative than I had actually intended.]
But this book also has a couple of problems, I think. The most significant being that, in an effort to give Gatton the status he deserves, the author includes a fair amount of material that puts down other great guitarists as a way of building Gatton up. You can see this, for example, on page 76 with regard to Chet Atkins, and at other times throughout the book with some other guitarists.
This happens most often, though, in relation to Roy Buchanan. And I particularly think that's a shame. Danny and Roy were both great guitar players, two of the greatest of all time, in fact, and neither one gets near the recognition he deserves. That being so, I don't see where pitting them against each other adds much to the discussion. But regardless, which one was 'better' is highly debatable, and the relative status of the two should be presented fairly as such, as was done in Phil Carson's Roy Buchanan: American Axe.
The other thing I thought could have been improved would have been for the book to have spent a little more time giving us an idea of who Danny Gatton was as a person. Don't get me wrong, it does give you a better idea of who he was, and the book certainly does a great job covering Gatton's music and career, but I didn't come away from the book feeling like I really knew the man behind the guitar god, at least not as well as I would have liked.
This is a very worthwhile book though, despite the minor drawbacks. You may want to supplement the book with some CDs to get a better feel for Gatton's status as an elite guitar player, and who his influences were. Of course that starts with Danny Gatton CDs, but I would also suggest picking CDs by the following: Roy Buchanan, Hank Garland, Lenny Breau, and Tal Farlow.
Average customer rating:
- No comfort for creationists here, but not much else, either
- Ah, now THIS BOOK IS MORE LIKE IT!! :-)
- A fascinating, cogent polemic
- A book so weak in arguments...
- Darwinism totters.
|
Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution
Fred Hoyle , and
Chandra Wickramasinghe
Manufacturer: J.M. Dent & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Astronomy
| Astronomy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Microbiology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ecology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Evolution
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| History & Philosophy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Ecology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0460860844 |
Customer Reviews:
No comfort for creationists here, but not much else, either.......2005-08-29
Some previous reviewers of this book seem to think it supports creationism, but they cannot have read it with any care. Very early in the book, the authors make it perfectly plain what they think of creationism: "the creationist is a sham religious person who has no true sense of religion... It is the facts we see in the world around us that must be seen to constitute the word of God. Documents, whether the Bible, the Quoran or those writings that held such force for Velikovsky, are only the words of men. To prefer the words of men to those of God is what one can mean by blasphemy." This is their religious argument against creationism, and later on they make it clear that there are strong scientific arguments against it as well: they accuse creationists of blocking valid questions, and of selecting only those observations that seem to support their case, ignoring everything else. No one who actually read the book, or the authors' earlier writings on biology, could possibly think that they were creationists. Amazingly, however, the lawyers for the creationist side in the US Federal Court in 1981 did manage to think this, and went to the expense of bringing Chandra Wickramasinghe all the way from Wales to Arkansas, only to hear him testify that "one would have to be crazy to believe [that the universe is just 10000 years old]."
Unfortunately, however, the relatively infrequent attacks on creationists provide the only worthwhile parts of the book. The rest of it consists of a dogmatic and weakly argued case against an oversimplified travesty of what modern biologists actually think. They have only the most superficial knowledge of biology, and appear to think that the opinions of physicists need to be taken seriously simply because they are physicists, not because they have actually bothered to study in detail the subject they want to pontificate about. Almost at the beginning of the book they remind us that a figure of "no less stature than Kelvin" was hostile to Darwinism, but they neglect to tell their readers (who can hardly expect to know without being told) that Kelvin's main argument was one that every scientist todays accepts to be false: he thought the earth might be as young as 25 million years old, and that it could not be more than 400 million years old, anyway much too young for Darwinian evolution to have occurred. Kelvin, indeed, is a notable example of the sort of senior scientist who has great confidence in his opinions about matters he knows little about: "heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible", he thought, and "radio has no future".
Hoyle and Wickramasinghe, arguing in just the manner of the creationists that they despise, think that the existence of bacteria with an amazingly high tolerance to enormous doses of radioactivity prove that they could not have evolved on earth, where the conditions necessary for natural selection of this tolerance exist nowhere in nature. There is already an element of dishonesty in this argument, as by no means all bacteria tolerate exposure to high levels of radioactivity, and those that can, such as Deinococcus radiodurans, are the exception rather than the rule. A more important problem is their suggestion that biologists just brush examples like this aside because they go against their dogma. It is not clear whether this suggestion is dishonest, or simply the result of not bothering to check how biologists have dealt with this, but in any case it is false. Considerable effort has gone into explaining how Deinococcus radiodurans can have arrived at the properties that it has: it turns out that in natural conditions this organism needs to survive long periods of extreme desiccation, during which it (like any other desiccated bacterium) suffers much the same sort of genetic damage as that produced by exposure to radiation.
The essential claim of Hoyle and Wickramasinghe is that life evolved elsewhere in the universe, and that the earth is continuously receiving new samples of bacteria and viruses from comets and other sources in space. In their earlier writings they were clearly confused about the differences between bacteria and viruses. By the time they wrote this book they had this more or less sorted out, but some relics are still there. They seem to think that their arguments and evidence for the robustness of [some] bacteria allow them to claim that viruses can survive space travel, and they show no awareness of the fact that viruses can only reproduce inside a host, so that human-specific viruses need human inhabitants of comets in order to culture them. In fact they go much further, and seem willing to entertain the idea that an animal as large as a bee could survive arrival on earth as a passenger inside a meteorite.
Among the criteria in a web site describing how to recognize scientific crackpots is a suggestion of "40 points for comparing yourself to Galileo, suggesting that a modern-day Inquisition is hard at work on your case, and so on". True to form, Hoyle and Wickramasinghe assure us right at the beginning of the book that rather than the inquisition of Galileo being a thing of the past, "society has not improved since the sixteenth century in any important respect." However, as they must surely know, Galileo was imprisoned for his views, but no one has been imprisoned for questioning Darwinism.
Ah, now THIS BOOK IS MORE LIKE IT!! :-).......2002-06-21
In this controversial book, Fred Hoyle asserts that life on Earth may originally be of extraterrestrial origin. This isn't as stupid as it sounds. The infrared spectrum of comets & galaxies are surprisingly similar to that obtained from viruses/bacteria found on Earth. Most bacteria on Earth are remarkably resistant to extremes in temperature found in outer space; they will continue to thrive after being exposed to temperatures of only a few degrees above absolute zero. Yet the Earth NEVER gets that cold, and according to the theory of evolution they shouldn't evolve to be this impervious to extremely cold conditions. He attributes the periodic influenza epidemics to the passing of the Earth through the tails of nearby comets in orbit. This is quite a claim!
But Hoyle provides all the convincing scientific evidence necessary to prove his point - there are just the right amount of relevant figures, which reveal all the data that brings him to this conclusion. The style of writing is unpretentious and not overcomplicated, and it flows very well. The proposition is very original, and I doubt you'll find another book like this. Revolutionary.
A fascinating, cogent polemic.......2001-08-02
While most of us assume the truth of Darwinism - and may even have read whole books by exponents like Richard Dawkins - it can be shocking to realize how many gnarly bits there are that we just don't quite understand. For instance: how did some assumed (and so far undiscovered) common ancestor give rise to bears and horses? In theory, random mutations happen all the time, and a tiny percentage of them are beneficial. But if no such mutation yields a new variant that cannot interbreed with the main species, how do new species arise? And if it does, how can the new variant survive unless - by some unbelievable coincidence - another identical mutant of the opposite sex is born at the same time and place?
One of the hallmarks of a great mind is the confidence to ask questions that the rest of us would be ashamed to ask for fear of exposing ourselves to ridicule. This book forcefully argues that today's scientific orthodoxy can be every bit as stifling and irrational as the religious dogmatism of previous centuries. Surely it is wrong that certain opinions simply cannot be held by practising scientists - if they want to keep their jobs and have their papers published, at any rate?
"Our Place in the Cosmos" advances a variety of ideas, all of which are stimulating, although some are more convincing than others. The authors make no bones about the fact that some of their thoughts are speculative - they are only two scientists, backed up up by a small team of researchers, and they have limited time and means. In stark contrast, they claim that the entire community of Darwinian biologists has laboured for 150 years without finding conclusive evidence in the fossil record.
The book's most convincing hypothesis is that the universe is stuffed with microorganisms. The comparison of infrared flux from the galactic centre with that from dry E. coli shows a striking similarity, suggesting the existence of interstellar clouds made up of bacteria - dehydrated of course, but potentially viable when introduced to a suitable ecological niche. It is explained that bacteria can survive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, whereas airless bodies like the Moon swat them like bugs on a windshield. There is also evidence to show that respiratory diseases could be spread by such infalling bacteria (and viruses), whose arrival can be synchronized with the passage of comets.
It is impossible to do justice to this thrilling book in a review. If you enjoy scientific thrillers - with the added spice of an apparent conspiracy to ignore the work of misunderstood geniuses - get hold of a copy of "Our Place in the Cosmos". Anyone who enjoyed Fred Hoyle's SF novels - notably "The Black Cloud", "Ossian's Ride" and "A for Andromeda" - will recognize some key themes.
A book so weak in arguments..........2000-04-07
I gave 2 stars only because it has a couple of good things, as to deserve something over the least. It tells you to be aware and don't believe everything, and to try different alternatives. Besides, it shows a theory that has been told by other people about the possibility of life arising from space in meteorites. Up to here fine, but... It is not conceivable that Carl Sagan had recommended to read this man (that is why I bought this book)in the demon haunted world, when Hoyle uses any trick to arrange anything to suite his words. He describes in the 3rd chapter how he supposes that the cosmic soup experiment by Ulrey was done, when everybody knos that technical papers show step by step how they were made... there is no need tu make assumptions. Besides, in that same chapter he describes how electricity used to extract hydrogen from water is produced by humans, as the basis to say that urea cannot be produced by inorganic means. The book is so full of such incongruencies to attempt to make us believe his hypothesis that I would reccomend to save time and read something useful.
Darwinism totters........1999-04-26
I used to wonder at statements like "the theory of relativity changed the world". They never made sense to me -- how could scientific revolutions affect one's personal philosophy? Now I know, because I've just experienced one. I used to believe in the Darwinist theory of evolution because the alternative -- the Bible -- was too ludicrous/painful. But some parts of Darwinism seemed really shaky and required a religious amount of faith on my part to believe them, which defeated the purpose. Salvation (eek, what an abused word) came in the form of Hoyle and Wick, who have not only shot down Darwinism, but have also put forward an excellent case which deserves serious consideration from the experts. I hope it gets it. A useful book to read, even if you're like me and the biology bits go over your cerebrum. Someone ought to condense this book into something more palatable.
Book Description
This book of self-discovery offers an absorbing technique for tying up the loose ends that fetter everyone's lives. In Unwritten Letters, author Ilene Segalove describes the art of correspondence as a journaling method. By expressing love, guilt, fear, anger, sadness, gratitude, or any other emotion through letters that may never be sent, Segalove shows how we can finally say the things we wish we could have said without the consequences we feared. The author's own experiences in writing letters and the anecdotes of others make Unwritten Letters a real guide for healing and growth through letter writing.
Customer Reviews:
Peace At Last.......2001-03-03
For anyone who's wanted to say something, but let the possible consequence of the response stop them from doing so, I'd like to recommend reading this book. While you certainly don't have to send the letters you write, I did, and found a great weight had been lifted when I did. And a friendship was restored.
Resolving life's problems through letter-writing........1998-12-02
Everyone has their problems, their joys, their sorrows. Ilene Segalove gives everyone an opportunity to sort through the problems and celebrate the joys through writing inspirtational and thought-provoking letters to ourselves, our loved ones or even to inatiment objects. What's even better: You never have to send them. Segalove provides the first line to get you thinking on some serious or joyful topics. If you need to argue, yell, thank someone, have a pitty party.....Segalove provides a healthy and easy way to let those emotions out. Her book is helpful, enjoyable and perfect way to "close the book" on unresolved issues.
this book is for people who need help expressing themselves.......1998-09-07
unwritten letters is the best kind of journal anyone who has trouble expressing themselves needs. i always find that i cant quite express my feelings to certain people and i never had anyway of expressing myself until i got this book. now i refer to it anytime i need to let any uncertain or certain feelings out.
Books:
- Making Wire Jewelry: 60 Easy Projects in Silver, Copper & Brass
- Marilyn Encyclopedia
- Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments
- Mules and Men
- Murder on a Girls' Night Out: A Southern Sisters Mystery
- Nervous Conditions
- Nicomachean Ethics
- No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo & Other Delights
- Obesity Cancer & Depression: Their Common Cause & Natural Cure
- Of Mice and Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Writing Effective Policies and Procedures: A Step-By-Step Resource for Clear Communication
- The Book of Trouble: A Romance
- MP Financial and Managerial Accounting: The Basis for Business Decisions w/ My Mentor, Net Tutor, an
- Sex and the Perfect Lover: Tao, Tantra, and the Kama Sutra
- Ruby Cookbook
- The Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook: A Home Manual
- The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
- A-Z of International Finance: the Essential Guide to Tools, Terms & Techniques
- Social and Political Dynamics of the Informal Economy in African Cities
- Count D'Orgel's Ball
Letter and Spirit: From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy
Letter & Spirit, Vol. 1: Word, Worship, and the Mysteries (Letter & Spirit: A Journal of Catholic Biblical Theology)
Scripture Matters: Essays on Reading the Bible from the Heart of the Church
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith
Letter & Spirit, Vol. 2: The Authority of Mystery: The Word of God and the People of God (A Journal of Catholic Biblical Theology)
