Customer Reviews:
Fascinating On Multiple Levels.......2004-08-10
I purchased this book to learn about the fiasco of Heaven's Gate from the inside perspective of a participant. The book provides this, with a blow-by-blow (dollar-by-dollar) recant of the film's making. This provides much insight into the world of motion-picture production, and of course the mechanics of Hollywood and its egos. The many details provided, from the movie's conception through its distribution, aptly illustrate how difficult a business it is to make film. Today the business side of Hollywood is often condemned for its effect on the artistic process, but this story shows how the two sides must co-exist, and that compromises must be made. Sometimes the result is disastrous to both.
The topical matter however is much broader than simply Heaven's Gate. Significant details are provided regarding the merger between Transamerica, an insurance company, and United Artists. Working in the corporate world, and having experienced a merger and the accompanying "culture clash", I found this part of the book to be quite interesting. The author does a terrific job of detailing the various personalities involved and the interplay between two heterogeneous cultures. The book is articulately written.
as many stars as possible.......2003-09-09
this is a brilliant book.
stephen bach is such a good writer-- witty, urbane, and the book reads like a tale of glamour and folly.
one of my favorite reads of all time.
A look at the business of movies and how it can all go wrong.......1996-10-27
When we sit in a darkened theater, watching pictures flicker and come to life before our eyes, we often forget that the movies are made with one primary purpose in mind, and contrary to popular belief, it's not to entertain us. Film studios are in the business of making money and lots of it, through careful financial and creative planning. They choose the concepts they think we will most like to see, they hire the directors and actors whose work they think we will find most appealing, and then they put a film together for a price they think they can recoup or, even better, make a profit from. Sometimes however, things go wrong. Final Cut tells the story of the making of Heavens Gate, infamous as one of the greatest financial debacles in film history, from an insiders point of view. It shows what can happen to the best laid plans of mice an men and gives a glimpse of a back office Hollywood we rarely see or hear about. Not only is the reader able to discern why the film was so unsuccessful, but how such a movie could even come to be made. Though now a bit dated, this remains a must-read for anyone with an intrest in the process of big-budget film making
Book Description
Rebecca Springer shares the wonders and joys of her glorious vision of heaven as she offers hope for the future of mankind. Through this uplifting book, get a glimpse of the eternal home that awaits believers as well as inspiration to continue in your spiritual walk. Come venture Within Heaven's Gates!
Customer Reviews:
Heaven is Real.......2007-06-27
For those who are suffering the loss of someone very close, this book brings such comfort. It makes the unknown far more evitable by its look beyond the gates of death.
I purchased it for my brother who recently lost his wife. It comforted him so that he has read it two or three times, and ordered more to share with others in his plight of despair over her death.
A magnificent look into what all believers have in store for them!.......2007-03-17
This little magnificent book is just that! I was captivated from the very beginning. Her trip to heaven makes me long for the day when our LORD tells me it is time to go home. Wow, now I don't have to imagine anymore. This sweet book is on my "best book" list along with several others that relate stories of having gone to heaven. The interesting thing is, they all have a thread of commonality to them.They all describe the streets of gold! Fruit they had never seen before. Nothing decays. There is no sorrow, no danger, and everything is so magnified in it's glory!!!
I can't say enough about this wonderful book. I've read it three times now and never get tired of reading more. I would like to find more books like this. I would dive into them all! Please read this book and be blessed!
Within Heaven's Gates.......2007-02-07
This book changed my life. After reading around 30 pages I knew that she had experienced Heaven and returned to tell about it. My childhood picture of Heaven dramatically changed and I felt great comfort knowing the reality of where I will spend Eternity.
As to the book I received it was not the one pictured. I am familiar with the edition pictured so I ordered several but the edition was different and much poorer quality.
Interesting.......2006-11-10
While I find that Rebecca Springer's "dream" of heaven very uplifting, there are too many scriptural flaws to believe it was an actual experience. In light of that, I still enjoyed reading the book and didn't want to put it down until I was finished.
Within Heaven's Gates.......2006-08-22
I Loved it. It takes you to a better place and is unlike anything I've read about Heaven.
Book Description
In the 1920s, thousands of white migrants settled in the Los Angeles suburb of South Gate. Six miles from downtown and adjacent to Watts, South Gate and its neighboring communities served as L.A.'s Detroit, an industrial belt for mass production of cars, tires, steel, and other durable goods. Blue-collar workers built the suburb literally from the ground up, using sweat equity rather than cash to construct their own homes.
As Becky M. Nicolaides shows in My Blue Heaven, this ethic of self-reliance and homeownership formed the core of South Gate's identity. With post-World War II economic prosperity, the community's emphasis shifted from building homes to protecting them as residents tried to maintain their standard of living against outside threats—including the growing civil rights movement—through grassroots conservative politics based on an ideal of white homeowner rights. As the citizens of South Gate struggled to defend their segregated American Dream of suburban community, they fanned the flames of racial inequality that erupted in the 1965 Watts riots.
Customer Reviews:
Am I Blue?.......2004-07-12
Though I've read many books on obscure topics, Becky Nicolaides' 'My Blue Heaven' surely tops them all for being a conversation-stopper. Telling someone you're reading a history of a blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles through the middle decades of the 20th century nearly guarantees eye-glazing, if not outright abandonment. Yet, if a reader has even a passing interest in any of the ambitious ground Ms. Nicolaides covers--urban trends, suburban sociology, the political emergence in the 1960s of the famous "silent majority," among many others--I wholeheartedly recommend this work. Only some thready allegations in the final chapter mar an otherwise superb survey.
I'll also admit to a personal interest. Both my parent's families--at least two generations worth--hail from these neighborhoods. Beyond some sketchy childhood memories from the 60s, I don't have any solid impressions of how my immediate ancestors grew up and therefore found myself riveted by--in essence--a detailed family history.
So beyond supplying a nearly endless string of familial "ah-ha!" moments for me, Ms. Nicolaides also blankets her study with incredible (and often myth-puncturing) detail; among them:
* Impressive majorities of pre-WW2 homeowners actually *built* their own homes in the south LA "suburbs." Prototypical developer housing arrived much later.
* In the late 20s (*before* The Depression) the average household spent over a third of its income on food--but only a quarter on housing
* As soon as LA residents could drive, they did: 50% of residents owned a car by *1925* (concurrently compared to 16% nationwide, and 9% in Chicago), and as many commuted to downtown as took (excellent and cheap) public transit. This early automotive embrace neatly skewers the "Roger Rabbit myth," i.e., that evil oil companies "forced" Angelenos into smog-belching cars and conspiratorially drove the beloved streetcars out of business
* Teenagers commonly hitchhiked (!) to popular hangouts like movie theaters and the beach
This list could go on and on. The author is nothing if not comprehensive--and, as shown, she backs up her claims with reams of statistics. A more nuanced and revealing portrait of emerging suburban America would be hard to find.
But the book reaches far beyond strings of lifestyle anecdotes, however fascinating and well-supported. The formation and consolidation of local political attitudes provide both the strongest and most contentious parts of her thesis. The author rarely misses a chance to show how these blue-collar suburbanites swung from being 1920s "Republicans" (boot-strapping home-builders and farmers) to 1930s/40s "Democrats" (New Deal-embracing proponents of post-war government expansion)--and finally back to 1960s "Republicans" (anti-Civil right protectionists), the so-called "silent majority." Her best work shows the underpinnings of these political transformations, fleshing out how they were both formed at the local level and reflected nationally.
My strongest objection to her political theses comes in her final chapter--on race. Leaving aside any sensitivities about my south LA relatives being natural bigots (I can personally attest that many were), I'll only note that the author fails to connect some obvious dots about neighborhood segregation. For example, after a withering critique of blatant bigotry shown by the New Deal-spawned Home Owners Loan Corporation--their notorious loan appraisal maps included such lovely language as "blighted," "menace," and "subversive racial elements" while denying loans to blacks and hispanics--she conveniently neglects mentioning this government segregation complicity in any later contexts. This omission struck me as especially curious since she saves her strongest venom later for white homeowners who opposed many civil rights measures on economic grounds. Whether whites were segregationist bigots or trying to protect their property values (or both), to neglect the money-loaning agent who initially subsidized these conditions struck me as selective at best.
A further racial swipe perhaps comes closer to the author's philosophical biases. After noting that Southern migrants to the area brought "a new style of working-class populism, melding racism, economic populism, and anti-elitism," (a point I'll surely concede) she notes in the same paragraph that "self-help, Americanism, homeowner rights, and a distaste for activist government persisted as core values (among residents); in the new context of economic prosperity and racial encroachment, they *blended easily with the southern political style*." (Italics mine.) We're to conclude that racism and populism "blended easily" with self-help and "Americanism" (whatever that is)? To be fair, Nicolaides sets the context ("The values forged in the distinctive context of working-class suburbia during the interwar years fused smoothly with these imported ideals"), but unlike the rest of the book she provides no evidence for these profound statements.
Ultimately, I found 'My Blue Heaven' a five star effort with a severe markdown for these objections. Aside from an occasional anti-capitalist sneer ("the vagaries of the free market subjected working people to lives of economic instability ...")--almost *de rigeur* from an academic, I suppose--I found her scholarship sound, her organization tight, and her supporting data nearly overwhelming. (Indeed, she is her own worst enemy as topics lacking evidence clearly stand out.) I discovered more here about my parents and relatives than I could have probably ever unearthed on my own and for that Ms. Nicolaides has my utmost gratitude and respect.
A Must-Read.......2003-12-15
I was absolutely riveted by Ms. Nicolaides' study of LA suburban culture and how the struggles therein eventually culminated into the Watts riots. This is a must-read for anyone searching for answers about how these neighborhoods developed and how the families within them struggled from poverty to middle-class. It is written beautifully and I thoroughly enjoyed every page.
My Blue Heaven - a fascinating history of L.A. Suburbia.......2002-12-08
I loved this book! I never thought of suburbs as being all that
interesting or important, thinking that cities were important, and suburbs were minor satellites around them. This book, however, tells the real story of the working class suburbs of L.A. and how they developed. Often, one hears that the purpose of studying history is to understand why things are the way they are today. As a history buff, this book motivated me to travel to LA and ride around the streets of South Gate and some of the other suburbs, visualizing the events of days gone by. Ms. Nicolaides shows how these suburbs changed from street after street of self-built houses inhabited by struggling workers, chicken coops, and makeshift stores into the dynamic communities of today. Once I started it, I was totally engaged through the last chapter.
Book Description
Back in print with a new introduction and epilogue by the author, this modern classic is "one of the few indispensable books about Hollywood." --Jack Kroll, Newsweek. "What altered Hollywood irrevocably was the notorious 1980 film Heaven's Gate." --Irwin Winkler, The New York Times, 1/14/99. Heaven's Gate is probably the most discussed, least seen film in modern movie history. Its notoriety is so great that it has become a generic term for disaster, for ego run rampant, for epic mismanagement, for wanton extravagance. It was also the watershed film of the '80s--not for its cinematic qualities, but for its effect on Hollywood and the way movies were and were not made for years afterward. For Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate did not merely fail; the film did the unthinkable: it sank a studio. Less than a month after the picture's second release, United Artists--the company founded in 1919 by Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, D. W. Griffith, and Charlie Chaplin--for all practical purposes ceased to exist. What happened? Why? How? In answering these questions, combining wit, extraordinary anecdotes, and historical perspective, Steven Bach has produced a landmark book on Hollywood and its people, and in so doing, tells a story of human absurdity that would have made Chaplin proud.
Customer Reviews:
Destroy the Myth.......2006-12-22
Myths and legends pervade and shade our light of the truth. Art is lost to commerce and business; the business of Hollywood, which rarely produces art. Michael Cimino became a leper of ill-repute based solely on negative reviews and publicity that shielded and prevented the public with seeing 'Heaven's Gate.' Do we know this, or do we still nurse the myth and legend? This film is a masterpiece along the lines of D.W. Griffith, David Lean, Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Coppola, and possibly, John Ford. Cimino's genius lies in 'The Deer Hunter' as well. 'Deer Hunter' is a powerful, masterful film. 'Heaven's Gate' parallels this mastery with its excessive beauty (excessive is used lightly in the bloated productions of 2006). This book should be destroyed as it only perpetuates the thought of a time when negative hype can wipe clean of any exposure to art on celluloid. Watch the film; ignore the ignorant past; embrace this director; watch his films. 'Year of the Dragon' is a fine film as well. Begin with 'Deer Hunter,' and then the film in question.
Worthwhile history of eighties Hollywood.......2006-11-03
So much has been written about Michael Cimino's "Heaven's Gate" that few people recall the film itself: a bloated, aimless, wandering and unfocused epic about the Johnson County "war" of the late eighteen hundreds. The book's story of wretched excess, greed, artistic ambition run amok and misguided faith in that ambition mirrors the story of the making of Fox's "Cleopatra" in 1961. Though "Heaven's Gate" has a devoted cult following today, such admiration is common to reviled works: people have a tendency to champion projects that "nobody else got" because it makes them feel elevated from the common wisdom, or a part of an exclusive culture of appreciation. Sadly, Cimino's film doesn't warrant such revisionist thinking. The book explains in excruciating detail the process by which a small, personal project became one of the grandest flops in the history of Hollywood. Equally culpable in this fiasco are the men and women who allowed this director to squander the millions spent, even after it became apparent that the film was a disappointment by the kindest standards. Far from being a lost opportunity (the story of the Johnson County war has been done several times, in films like "Shane") "Heaven's Gate" is probably the best known example of the kind of apalling waste that drove the film industry into the sad state it has fallen to. The author accepts his share of the blame, and is astonishingly fair to Cimino, defending the director's vision, his decisions, and his intentions. But the end result (known to every film buff) hangs over the proceedings like grim death.
Don't go in the cellar!.......2006-03-09
This is one of the finest books ever written about the movie business. Bach explains, step by step, why he and the other UA execs did the things they did, and the disaster that unfolded. He's honest about his own failings, but at every step, as he outlines the choices available, you realise that - in his place and without the benefit of hindsight - you'd probably make the same mistakes. It's fascinating.
Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to see the experience as a kind of horror movie. Each time UA concedes a point to Cimino, you feel like yelling "Don't go in the cellar!" (or, in this case, "Don't cast Isabelle Huppert!"). Of course, down they go into the cellar, where there are even more zombies lurking. The high point is the part where Cimino demands the installation of an irrigation system to ensure the grass looks properly green - but of course it's his land!
I have read this book several times since it was first published, and lent my copy to at least a dozen people who are also in the business. Everyone I know who knows anything about moviemaking has loved it.
The Big Money Movie Business, Blow By Blow.......2005-08-26
Wanna detailed blow-by-blow account of the behind-the-scenes business machinations surrounding the production of a big-budget (and bank-breaking) movie at a major Hollywood studio? Look no further than this book!
Perhaps "surrounding" isn't the appropriate term since author Steven Bach, who was head of production at United Artists during the time immediately preceding the original publication of this book (its original title was Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in the Making of Heaven's Gate), really couldn't get his hands around the major film project which was writer/director Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate.
Following the lengthy but fascinating back history of United Artists, Bach presents a matter-of-fact but truly stomach-churning description of how the elusive sense of creative unity in the sincere quest for timeless cinematic art butts heads with the realities of capitalism. Though he rarely dwells on it as such, Bach gives the reader a visceral sense of the ulcer-inducing frustrations that can befall such a project.
How is it possible that a film's original budget can balloon so exponentially without a clear sense of the market's need or want for such a project? How is it possible that financial disaster can be predicated on the faith afforded in the talents of a single man whose reputation rests solely on a single well-received film? You'll find out by reading this book.
It's perhaps too easy to make Michael Cimino the fall guy in this scenario; there were plenty of corporate politics apart from the Heaven's Gate project, and which Bach thoroughly delineates, which "might" have been circumstantially responsible for UA's downfall. But what Bach rightfully chooses to focus on is that area for which he was ultimately responsible. It's painfully obvious that Cimino's exploits on location in Montana were "allowed" to get out of hand. It was Cimino who formulated the original budget and made certain assurances. It was Cimino who built, destroyed, then rebuilt a large exterior set of late 19th century Casper, Wyoming. It was Cimino who chose to print upwards of fifty takes of scenes. It was Cimino who promised a roughly two-and-a-half hour film that eventually came in at over five hours. These are personal shortcomings which are simply impossible to overlook...up-and-coming Academy Award-winning cinematic genius or not.
Granted, Cimino's own account of the happenings on location are not to be found here. Bach does, however, give accounts of the many meetings and conversations he, the producer, and Cimino had during the entire gut-wrenching process. Perhaps one day Cimino will bravely come forward and explain, in writing or in film, his personal culpability and reasoning. That his career in Hollywood took a downward spiral following this escapade is most unfortunate--he is obviously a director with talent and a vision.
It's well known and understood that in the world of entertainment, luck and timing can count for an inordinate amount toward success or failure. Indeed, success and failure can only be quantified in ways which are hardly tangible apart from dollars and cents. From Bach's account, it's plain to see that with a little judiciousness on the part of many important decision-making people, this financial disaster need not have occurred.
I can't imagine a better read than Final Cut if one wants a detailed dissection of torment in the pursuit of corporate American art.
Fascinating account of a filmmaking disaster.......2004-07-13
It was called a "runaway," and never has a term been more appropriate. In this case, it was a movie running millions of dollars over budget with an end nowhere in sight. The 1980 film "Heaven's Gate" has become synonymous with failure, its very name punned whenever big-budget productions flirt with disaster. Steven Bach's "Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven's Gate, the Film That Sank United Artists" gives a terrific blow-by-blow account of this gargantuan flop. A former producer at United Artist who suffered the ax after "Heaven's Gate," Bach penned this detailed tome a couple of years after fallout.
The book should be a fascinating account for film lovers. "Final Cut" details the history of United Artists and filmmaking in the 1970s - a truly golden era. At United Artists, Francis Ford Coppola premieres "Apocalypse Now," Woody Allen helms "Manhattan" and Martin Scorsese prepares "Raging Bull." But the man of the hour in 1978 is a quiet guy named Michael Cimino. He just won an Academy Award for directing "The Deer Hunter," and now he wants to make a western - a big, big western.
Bach accurately reveals the difficulties United Artists was going through at this time, losing several long-time executives who jump ship to form the Orion film company. Bach and company, wishing to re-establish United Artists as a major player, take on Cimino's western project. Cimino sets up shop in Montana, the location work a two-hour's drive from the nearest cement road. He ships an antique train across five states to the Montana wilds. He hires over 700 extras. He signs a cast of mainly unknowns including Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt and Sam Waterson. And he films only during the twilight hour, a period right before dusk so scenes will have a golden hue. But what terrifies United Artists most is Cimino is filming 50-60 takes per scene, and printing almost every take. Such obsession was unheard of.
As Bach reveals in "Final Cut," Cimino's western (now hovering around $25 million) was going to have make blockbuster numbers just to turn a profit, performing in the "Jaws" and "Star Wars" neighborhoods. United Artists attempts to fire Cimino, at one point even asking David Lean to take over. Cimino realizes the dire situation, finally bucks up and finishes the film. With promotional and post-production fees, "Heaven's Gate" cost United Artists $44 million - the most expensive film in history up to that time.
Heaven's Gate is premiered in New York, a three-and-a-half hour monstrosity that receives devastatingly bad reviews. It is eventually released to the theaters and makes $1.8 million. It is the biggest bomb in motion picture history (cue dead elephant hitting the cement). Heads roll at the studio, Cimino's career is finished and United Artists, a film company created by Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, is purchased by MGM to disappear forever into the sunset.
Cimino's "Heaven's Gate" spelled the end of the free-spirited, amazingly creative decade of the 1970s. Producers and studios took the reins out of the hands of superstar directors (Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" ran a similar "Heaven's Gate" route, but he pulled success from the fires of disaster, perhaps inspiring this debacle as much as anything else). "Final Cut" is a tragedy exposing the end of a golden era of filmmaking and a once-great studio. It's as good as an Irwin Allen disaster film, and a lot cheaper.
Average customer rating:
- A quite humane approach
- Cosmic Suicide - Forrest Jackson
- Buy direct from publisher for $12!
- Do, Ti, The Crew and T.E.L.A.H....
- All Hail Hale-Bopp
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Cosmic Suicide: The Tragedy and Transcendence of Heaven's Gate
Rodney Perkins
Manufacturer: Pentaradial Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Suicide
| Death & Grief
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Cults & Demonism
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
UFOs
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
UFOs
| Astronomy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0965951219 |
Book Description
Cosmic Suicide is the definitive study of the Heaven's Gate cult. Consisting of neither tabloid trash nor New Age pabulum, it details the group from its origin in the early 1970's to the sensational mass suicide in 1997. By providing perspective and insight into the cult's attitudes and beliefs, Cosmic Suicide places Heaven's Gate within a historical context of millenarian movements. The book gives intimate details about the cult's doomsday philosophy, including the influence of Christianity, UFOs, and conspiracy theories. These factors prompted the androgynous believers to think that the passing of the Hale-Bopp comet would usher the UFO Crew into the Next Level of human evolution. Bizarre facts are revealed about the cult's lifestyle, including the odd monastic rituals designed to indoctrinate new members. In fact, the text features a rare transcription from a recruitment meeting held in Dallas in early 1994. It also contains extensive appendices, which include leader Marshall Applewhite's autopsy report and numerous documents of otherworldly propaganda. Cosmic Suicide is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in learning the real truth behind this strange End Times religion.
Customer Reviews:
A quite humane approach.......2006-10-13
The reasoning and worldview of religious minorities are often difficult, impossible even, to understand for an outsider. What he or she sees as completely bizarre and incomprehensible is for the believer quite normal and natural. Not rarely is there a major clash when the two worldviews meet, and history is thus filled with conflicts between dominating religious beliefs and exotic and strange groups.
The "UFO-cult" known as Heaven's Gate is one of the most notorious new religious movements in modern times, with the media going into a genuine frenzy after their well-known mass suicide in San Diego in 1997 where close to forty members lost their lives. They were convinced that an extraterrestrial spacecraft was hidden behind the comet Hale-Bopp, an idea planted in them by their leader Marshall Applewhite. However, the fact that such (in)famous UFO people as radio host Art Bell and author/abductee Whitley Strieber were positive to this idea was definitely not an obstacle in the strengthening of the beliefs of the soon-to-be victims. The pictures of the alleged spacecraft were proven to be hoaxes, and mainstream science declared the comet to be just that: a very ordinary comet. Still, that did nothing to quench the suicidal ideas.
Perkins' and Jackson's book is a thin little thing with a little more than 100 pages. However, the small scale doesn't mean the quality is low. It was originally published in 1997, the same year the tragedy took place, and is filled to the brim with interesting facts about Heaven's Gate, its history, and worldview. A worldview that, when it comes down to it, wasn't really that different from other, more established religions. Using a comparative approach the authors show how different parts of the ideas can be found in other religions and/or in earlier eras. The language is easy to understand, so you don't have to be a scholar of religion to benefit from the reading. The text is furthermore filled with miscellaneous little stories and details that many other essays and studies about the group have left out or ignored. These stories and details might not provide a better comprehensive picture of the group, but they sure make the reading more fascinating.
Still, the fact that the book was published in 1997 makes the section about the internet, quite understandably, feel somewhat outdated, and I must say that the conclusion that Applewhite founded the movement as a result of his homosexuality and the negative response from the Christian church is very weak indeed. But it's nonetheless a book worth reading, primarily due to the understanding it offers. Alternative religious movements are often hard to grasp, but by reading this book one will gain a somewhat thorough understanding of why the members did what they did, how they viewed their bodies more as "containers" than bodies, and how they as a result of this regarded their actions not as suicides per se. They simply moved on to a different level. The greatest insight offered by the book, however, is that readers will learn about other "normal" people, who chose to do something radically different and incomprehensible while at the same time being able to rationalize it completely, at least according to their view of the world.
Cosmic Suicide - Forrest Jackson.......2006-04-11
I happened across Forrest Jackson's blurb about how inexpensive his book is if bought through him. Correct this was.
Not only is this book fabulous, but Mr. Jackson was a pleasure to deal with by email. He was ultra-quick in responses, polite and even asked if I might like him to inscribe it, or would I prefere to have no handwritting on or in the book. Very considerate.
Thank you, Mr. Jackson. I give this book and you a very high review.
Buy direct from publisher for $12!.......2006-04-07
If you buy it direct from the publisher, you can buy it for $12 which is $70 cheaper than what was being offered from maket place sellers via Amazon.com when I was looking to get hold of a copy. Information below:
Cosmic Suicide is available for $12 ppd. from The Pentaradial Press, P. O. Box 600318, Dallas, TX 75360.
E-mail: forrestjackson@hotmail.com.
Forest was great in getting it to me really fast - I haven't yet read it.
Do, Ti, The Crew and T.E.L.A.H...........2006-01-29
I was excited to read this book since material on the Heavens Gate group is woefully lacking. The book had much information, some of it somewhat obscure about the group and I found the history of the group from start to finish to be reported in an interesting, entertaining matter. There was something I had a problem with though.The Authors had a very judgmental attitude towards members of the group. Several times, they called them insane,disturbed and used other unflattering terms to describe them. I'm not a believer in Heaven Gates theology by any means, but I would have much rather seen a straightforward reporting of events than the Authors making so much of a value judgement and constantly asserting so much of their own commentary based on their personal opinions.They seemed to have the same sort of Attitude towards any sort of religion .There are many books of essays in which different writers assert their views on various groups and I felt that it would have been better suited for such an anthology.
It is no way takes away from the quality of the book . I just found that to be a bit irritating.
This is the best book out there on Heavens Gate that I've come across and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more.
All Hail Hale-Bopp.......2001-08-21
Suicide cults! Apple sauce! Sexless androgenoids! Sure there are satanic cults, drug cults, Ufo cults, Christ cults, Hip hop cults, beenie-baby cults, Ebay cults, and even tupperware cults, but none come close to the inspired zaniness of Doe's Heaven's Gate cult.
I've been an observer of cults for most of my adult life and I must admit that I've got a soft-spot in me for all of them. Many books are written in the aftermaths of these cults and most are a boring lethargic read. Victims families are trotted out for the dog & pony show and stoic lawmen denounce the "crimes". NOT IN THIS BOOK!
Here, Forrest Jackson and Rodney Perkins become entrenched in the genesis of the Heaven's Gate cult as well as interpreting the parallels with other cults and pull back the veil on our own cult dominated society, exposing our fetishes for some cults and our poison hatred of others. Not only is this book a fun read because of the scalpel-altered DOE and his suicide-prone squad of comet pilots, but this book takes it's subject matter seriously, and never in a Bugliosi tone of superiority. The closest equivalent that I can think of to this book in terms of cult research is MESSENGERS OF DECEPTION by Dr. Jacques Vallee.
COSMIC SUICIDE is one of the best books written about the Heaven's Gate cult, hands down and it's written from the desk of someone who did the leg work and circumvented all the idiot editorializing that this book would have been subjected to had it been published by a major publishing house. To put it simply... if cults are your thing... especially the Heaven's Gate cult.... then BUY THIS BOOK!
Average customer rating:
- Heaven's Gate is excellent.
- MORGANA IS A BEAUTIFUL FANTASY/SCI-FI NOVEL!
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Morgana 1: Heaven's Gate (Morgana (Humanoids))
Luca Enoch , and
Mario Albert
Manufacturer: Humanoids Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1930652321 |
Customer Reviews:
Heaven's Gate is excellent........2004-04-15
"Morgana: Book #1: Heaven's Gate" is a wonderful tale, beautifully drawn and inked. I've never recommended a book on Amazon before, but this graphic novel caught my imagination and I want to spread the word. The plot is not easy to describe in a couple of sentences, so just trust me that you will enthralled by this epic.
My only complaint is that at this time (14 April 2004) only "Heaven's Gate (Book #1)" is available. Once you've read it, you'll want to read them all. So, if anyone from Humanoids Publishing reads this- Get busy and publish the rest of Morgana's adventures!
MORGANA IS A BEAUTIFUL FANTASY/SCI-FI NOVEL!.......2002-11-09
This was a great find. Now, I'm 41-years-old and don't read much of this type of stuff - but the cover art grabbed me and the storyline is awesome. The mix of beautiful artwork and colors, along with the great and different storyline draws you instantly in a fantasy world with sci-fi undertones - awesome!
I will definately be buying the next in this great start of a bright and different fantasy series.
Book Description
Explains how the initiatory practices of the Ninja can be used to achieve self-mastery
• Uses the five human archetypes of lover, seeker, magus, soul warrior, and mystic
• Shows how to access kuji-kiri, the positive energy of the Ninja Godai, to dispel fear, disempowerment, and soul fatigue
The Ninja are a mysterious warrior elite said to be so spiritually advanced they knew the mind and will of God. Regarded with awe as masters of invisibility and “warriors of the shadow-self,” their legendary skills include the ability to command the elements and transform themselves into Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Void--the nothingness from which all things stem. In this book Ross Heaven reveals the training exercises and mental discipline used by the Ninja to develop these extraordinary physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual skills.
Central to Ninja philosophy is the understanding that there is no higher power than the actualized human being. The Ninja believe there are four gates to freedom, and to pass through them we must overcome four initiatory ordeals. Succeeding at these enables us to combat fear, find true power, clarify our vision, and overcome the soul fatigue that is at the root of our personal and social problems in order to embrace our positive energies and realize our talents.
Ross Heaven guides us through these four gateways with exercises and initiations that utilize the energy of the lover, seeker, magus, soul warrior, and mystic as well as dealing with their shadow manifestations that may be causing problems in our lives. We learn how to break the destructive habits of the past and create a bushido, a personal code to live by. Without initiation, we cannot access and channel our energies; they remain uncontrolled or even work against us. Ross Heaven provides the key that allows us to turn these elemental forces into allies.
Customer Reviews:
Extraordinary Initiatory Process to Power.......2007-01-18
This book is an essential for anyone who want to release their power from within, and apply it in real life. This book goes way beyond the mojo 2 buck spirituality. It's the real thing, with in-depth processes to realease fear, confusion,... it's a wonderful book. I have 20 years of spiritual experience in many domains, and soon to become a buddhist Sensei, and this book brought something to me. I give it 6 on 5 rating.
Ehh..............2007-01-06
lets just say i've spent my money better learning about ninja stuff from t.v.
self improvement and what not is good but i want to learn more about mind manipulation and how to really mess with peoples heads. but i mean if ur all meditative and stuff than go ahead get this book
Suckered into buying this book by the bogus reviews.......2006-12-19
This book was a major disapointment, after reading the hyped up reviews. I have learned one thing about the Amazon reviews, that: if the reviewer only has one review when you check their other reviews, Most likely they are friends or the author writing positive reviews on the book. Most of these reviews are hype by the author to sell his book. This book is a lot of airy-fairy new age type philosopy and very little to do with martial arts or Ninja. A lot of references to carlos castanada. Reads like a new age book. I couldnt even finish it. A waste of time/money.
a question.......2006-11-21
Does anyone know if this guy is Bujinkan, or is affiliated with Hatsumi or the Bujinkan, or any XKAN? Or is he some Ashida Kim type who just uses the "ninja" word to sell books?
A tight focus on mental and emotional self-improvement.......2006-10-07
The Spiritual Practices Of The Ninja: Mastering The Four Gates Of Freedom by therapist and workshop leader Ross Heaven leads the reader on a journey to the spiritual philosophy of the Ninja, and its core tenet that there is no higher power than the actualized human being. Four initiatory ordeals lead the seeker through the confusion and fatigue of the soul that block the individual from realizing his or her full potential. Primarily a metaphysical self-help guide rather than a martial arts instruction book, The Spiritual Practices Of The Ninja nonetheless offers a tight focus on mental and emotional self-improvement that can reap benefits in all walks of life.
Book Description
Much-loved storyteller Gilbert Morris turns an imaginative pen to the lives of the patriarchs. Combining extensive research with an action-packed and skillful plotting, Morris creates believable scenarios in which his ?ctional characters parallel their biblical counterparts. The Gates of Heaven follows the dramatic journey of Jacob, from deceiving his brother and being deceived in his choice of wife, to his life-changing encounter with God. Meanwhile, Jacob's only daughter, Dinah, buys a slave who is actually an aristocrat from Crete. Will he come to love Jacob's God as well as his daughter? Book 3 of the bestselling Lions of Judah.
Customer Reviews:
Bibical truths + fiction = good reading.......2007-09-27
This is a good series of books especially if you know the Bibical truths behind them. I like how the people in the Bible are brought to life. Gilbert Morris is a good writer.
Product Description
This book redefines the story of Heaven's Gate told by the last insider. A well written, autobiographical, true-life account experienced by Rio DiAngelo. After turning forty, feeling grateful for a full creative life he prays to God for a way to give back. In 1994 he joins the Heaven's Gate celibate monastery for men & women to focus on God & self-improvement. Soon after finding that the group of people believed they were the Second Coming of Jesus and His present day Disciples. Includes Rios three years with the group and 39 personal pre-suicide statements from all members recorded days before their mass suicide in 1997.
Find out:
* The untold truth about the largest mass suicide in U.S. history.
* Why they did it.
* Why the news media did not report the whole story.
* How they knew it was the present day Jesus.
* How the members created a Soul to make the transition.
Books:
- Freddie Mercury
- Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God's Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People
- Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume I (with ArtStudy CD-ROM 2.1, Western)
- GIS Tools for Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Systems
- Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know
- Hamptons Havens: The Best of Hamptons Cottages and Gardens (Hamptons Cottages & Gardens)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
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