Average customer rating:
- Sunny and Sad
- An emotional story
- HORRIBLE! Shame on Beverly Lewis!
- A precious story with a surprising ending...
- A 12 yr old girl sacrifices -proving her love for her mother
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The Sunroom
Beverly Lewis
Manufacturer: Bethany House
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Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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October Song
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The Redemption of Sarah Cain
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The Crossroad (Amish Country Crossroads #2)
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The Postcard (Amish Country Crossroads #1)
ASIN: 0764220764
Release Date: 1998-05-01 |
Book Description
The wonderful story of a talented and passionate young pianist on the verge of adolescence who learns the devastating news of her mother's critical illness. Heartbreak and joy are intertwined in this powerful gift book.
Customer Reviews:
Sunny and Sad.......2007-01-19
This was a good one.It real hits home about the problems that many people have to face concerning family members.So good,Nadia Rehmani
An emotional story.......2005-09-09
I found this book to take you through emotions. If you love to feel what your reading, then this is the book for you. I felt with Becky through every step.
This book was so good, didn't want to put it down. Took me about a week to read the story!
HORRIBLE! Shame on Beverly Lewis!.......2001-08-22
This was the most awful and depressing book I have ever read. I don't understand how Beverly Lewis ever got it published! Who would like it? People who constantly want to feel sorry for themselves, that's who! It was supposed to be based on her childhood, you would have thought she could have made it more interesting than that. Read "The Postcard" and "The Crossroad", which are beautifully written, but don't lay a finger on this one! If you should be so unfortunate to get it as a gift, please run screaming for the hills!
A precious story with a surprising ending..........2000-07-20
Beverly Lewis is an extremely gifted "Christian" writer, obviously focusing her talents on conveying messages in wholesome, respectful manners. This is a beautiful yet heart-wrenching story of a young girl's struggle with life, death, and change. There are many lessons about love, trust, and faith to be learned in reading this simple yet elegant acccount. You will weep, then rejoice in the final chapters. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a heart.
A 12 yr old girl sacrifices -proving her love for her mother.......1998-05-03
12 yr. old Becky loves God, her Mother, and her tremendously talented piano playing. Being the older of 2 girls in her family, she tries to set a Godly example for her younger sister by maturing during the absence of their young mother. The thing she wants most is for her Mother to get well and return home and she thinks she can strike a bargain with God to bring this about. Her father is the pastor of their small church and struggles with his wife's illness, his responsibilities to his church and the welfare of his 2 daughters. Becky is sure the Sunroom must be a beautiful place and wishes she could visit her mother in person there, but first she has to live up to her end of the bargain with God. This is not easy, considering she has offered to completely give up the one thing that consumes her thoughts, fills her lonely time and brings her some measure of peace!
Book Description
Born out of the heritage of structures first imagined by and constructed for the British aristocracy, the contemporary conservatory represents the ultimate in traditional elegance married to informal comfort. With or without plants and flowers, they come in every conceivable size and shape-square, oblong, octagonal, or whatever your pleasure. The conservatory adds a treasured space to any home and makes a strong statement of individual style. The conservatories surveyed here play a rich architectural role through the use of classic detailing or sophisticated modern materials. Some are based on graceful Victorian antecedents while others are modernist sculptures of glass and steel. The evocative photographs in the book survey the spectrum of styles and interior design-everything from a Zen-inspired glass perch where the landscape outside becomes the room to a casual lounging area enclosed by a virtual jungle canopy. Specific chapters focus on decorating and accessorizing and demystify difficult decisions (color schemes, floor materials, and controlling natural light). Recent advances in weatherproofing, glass engineering, flooring, lighting, and zoned heating and cooling are covered. Also included is an A-to-Z glossary of recommended plants plus a directory of manufacturers and suppliers.
Book Description
Porches and Sunrooms is the perfect reference tool for homeowners who are considering adding or renovating a porch, sunroom, or conservatory. Topics include planning and designing the outdoor room to bridge the indoors and outdoors, basic information on the rooms structure, and details on what a homeowner should know to add it to the house. Readers will see real-life examples in hundreds of beautiful, full-color photographs, discovering what a difference a porch can make to the outside of their home, or a sunroom to their indoor lifestyle.
Book Description
For people who want to bring the outdoors in.
Information on the best way to improve or add a sunroom or porch.
Dozens of inspirational photos show a broad range of options.
Construction basics including how to choose and work with professionals.
Customer Reviews:
little or no help.......2005-09-09
The Guide would be useful to an interior decorator. I was looking for help in estimating cost and materials needed to build a porch.
unusually helpful.......2001-03-09
I could not find any other books like this that showed me all the possibilities and helped me decide what kind of room was right for our house, where to put the room, and even how to decorate it.This isn't a book about building it yourself but about getting your own goals and ideas straight before you call in the builder or the architect or the seller of sunroom additions,
Book Description
Homeowners are feathering their nests, and the one area of home improvement that continues to grow is sunrooms. As interest grows, so does the variety and style of sunrooms and conservatories.
Whether you want to use a sunroom as a dining area, a playroom, an office space, or simply a room in which to relax and let the outdoors in, you need a plan. This book includes exactly what every homeowner is seeking; hands-on, practical information; inspirational images; and templates for each style, ranging from Victorian to Edwardian and from regency to modern-in short, all the information you need to choose a style and design your own sunroom.
The book also includes a CD ROM to help design your sunroom, discussion of interior furnishings, sourcing materials, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Informercial for kit sunrooms........2007-03-15
This book features the sunrooms that belong in America's suburbs. Nearly the entire book shows the same sunroom 'kit' over and over again with a slightly different trim package to change styles.
Pros: This is great for you if you have a conventional home and want a small, attractive, sunroom in kit form.
Cons: Book is bound poorly. First one in such poor condition "new" that I returned to amazon. Book is limited to very basic set of styles with little deviation.
Book Description
Porches not only provide a practical function by extending living and entertaining space, but they also fulfill aesthetic and social needs by exuding a sense of welcome and creating an appealing transition from indoor to outdoor. In Dream Porches and Sunrooms, homeowners are invited to discover the simple pleasures these additions can bring to their life by envisioning the various design possibilities available as well as gaining an overview of the porch creation process.
This highly-visual resource book overflows with vibrant color photography showcasing diverse outdoor additions in a variety of exterior styles arranged by purpose (dining, entertaining, relaxing, etc.) and location (city, suburbs, small town, waterfront), demonstrating how homeowners can select a design to suit their particular living space and needs. Sketched plan diagrams are included with many of the photos, and an in-depth chapter on the elements of "porch style" encompasses a wealth of decorative options for further inspiration.
Dream Porches and Sunrooms also highlights the important practical considerations to take into account before embarking on a porch project and selecting a suitable design. It concludes with a final chapter outlining the key choices and elements involved in the porch construction process, rendering them in a clear, concise manner using a mix of text and pictorial examples along with helpful checklists and sidebars.
Customer Reviews:
Misleading Title; Disappointing Contents.......2007-06-18
Though the word "sunrooms" is included in the title, there are fewer than five sunrooms featured in this book.
Most of the featured houses would cost $3-5million if purchased in California. The porch on the front cover is illustrative of the porches featured inside. If you can't afford the house that goes with that porch, you won't be able to afford the porches on the interior either.
This complaint is no small matter--the issues that arise in trying to make the most of limited space with a limited budget are different from the issues faced by a multi-millionaire designing a dream house with a dream view.
The self-congratulatory text concludes, "You've seen spectacular examples of porch design and been directed to the details that set them apart. Along the way, you've witnessed what is possible no matter the circumstances, regardless of the size of a house." I disagree.
Book Description
Guides homeowners through choices to create better outdoor rooms within budget and home style.
Current information on materials for foundations, furnishings, floor and wall coverings, and more.
Thoroughly explains planning and design issues, whether it's a DIY project or working with a pro.
Practical information for wall construction, roofing types, drainage, site concerns, and other building details.
Extraordinary photographs inspire homeowners to bump out and build up to bring the outdoors in.
Handy worksheets combined with expert advice help homeowners avoid surprises.
Book Description
New ideas for natural living. Materials and products featured in photos are available at home improvement centers and hardware stores. Includes helpful background information and additional resources essential for DIYers. IdeaWise Porches Sunrooms will show readers how to plan a sunroom or four-season porch that best suits a familys needs, and also how to furnish and decorate that space for maximum enjoyment and usefulness. It also includes dozens of ideas for making this special space truly unique.
Customer Reviews:
hard to follow.......2006-04-23
The author is kind of jerky in his writing, making me reread previous paragraphs to see what this new one references. Tried reading it but was never able to build enough interest to want to pick it up again. The plot is muddy, going off in strange tangents, the characters also. Maybe you have to be British to enjoy this one. Two-thirds of the way through, I finally gave up and got a new book.
fabulous mystery .......2005-12-15
In England's Fen region, the archeological team led by Cambridge's Professor Valmgimigli was digging for Anglo-Saxon artifacts at a World War II POW camp when they found the underground tunnel that apparently was an escape route. Inside the tunnel is a skeleton in which the deceased seemingly heading back to the camp was shot in the head.
Local law enforcement already overworked treats the homicide as a five decade old cold case. The Crow reporter Philip Dryden finds the murder mystery quite fascinating especially since he previously reported on the "Ely Dig" so he begins making inquiries. As he discovers clues to the identity of the dead man that take him to a landfill owner, the enigmatic legendary powerhouse Ma Trunch and a nearby Italian community the clues to the homicide seem to always dead end.
The third Dryden journalist investigation is a fabulous mystery due to the hero and other caring eccentric protagonists helping him as he makes his inquiries. Interestingly Dryden is a bit of a coward, but does not allow his fears for example of dogs to stop his investigation as he rides his motivations of curiosity and compassion to learn the truth. Throwing in a touch of 1940s history, Jim Kelly provides a super tale.
Harriet Klausner
Average customer rating:
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Moon Tunnel, The
Jim Kelly
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000LVN3AM |
Book Description
Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" launched the detective story in 1841. The genre began as a highbrow form of entertainment, a puzzle to be solved by a rational sifting of clues. In Britain, the stories became decidedly upper crust: the crime often committed in a world of manor homes and formal gardens, the blood on the Persian carpet usually blue. But from the beginning, American writers worked important changes on Poe's basic formula, especially in use of language and locale. As early as 1917, Susan Glaspell evinced a poignant understanding of motive in a murder in an isolated farmhouse. And with World War I, the Roaring '20s, the rise of organized crime and corrupt police with Prohibition, and the Great Depression, American detective fiction branched out in all directions, led by writers such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, who brought crime out of the drawing room and into the "mean streets" where it actually occurred. In The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories, Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert bring together thirty-three tales that illuminate both the evolution of crime fiction in the United States and America's unique contribution to this highly popular genre. Tracing its progress from elegant "locked room" mysteries, to the hard-boiled realism of the '30s and '40s, to the great range of styles seen today, this superb collection includes the finest crime writers, including Erle Stanley Gardner, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, Ed McBain, Sue Grafton, and Hillerman himself. There are also many delightful surprises: Bret Harte, for instance, offers a Sherlockian pastiche with a hero named Hemlock Jones, and William Faulkner blends local color, authentic dialogue, and dark, twisted pride in "An Error in Chemistry." We meet a wide range of sleuths, from armchair detective Nero Wolfe, to Richard Sale's journalist Daffy Dill, to Robert Leslie Bellem's wise-cracking Hollywood detective Dan Turner, to Linda Barnes's six-foot tall, red-haired, taxi-driving female P.I., Carlotta Carlyle. And we sample a wide variety of styles, from tales with a strongly regional flavor, to hard-edged pulp fiction, to stories with a feminist perspective. Perhaps most important, the book offers a brilliant summation of America's signal contribution to crime fiction, highlighting the myriad ways in which we have reshaped this genre. The editors show how Raymond Chandler used crime, not as a puzzle to be solved, but as a spotlight with which he could illuminate the human condition; how Ed McBain, in "A Small Homicide," reveals a keen knowledge of police work as well as of the human sorrow which so often motivates crime; and how Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer solved crime not through blood stains and footprints, but through psychological insight into the damaged lives of the victim's family. And throughout, the editors provide highly knowledgeable introductions to each piece, written from the perspective of fellow writers and reflecting a life-long interest--not to say love--of this quintessentially American genre. American crime fiction is as varied and as democratic as America itself. Hillerman and Herbert bring us a gold mine of glorious stories that can be read for sheer pleasure, but that also illuminate how the crime story evolved from the drawing room to the back alley, and how it came to explore every corner of our nation and every facet of our lives.
Customer Reviews:
Could have been better.......2006-04-03
I picked the book with interest. I wondered which story by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Edna Buchanan would be included as an excellent example of the current state of the art. I did not like the absence of Edna.
The editors felt compelled to get Nero Wolfe out of the brownstone for a gag. If I'd felt I had to make Nero break his own rules I'd of chosen "This Won't Kill You." That story is a good example of the "It was the behavior of the dog" mystery.
Breaking the Rules, the Evolution of the American Detective Story - Good Collection.......2006-01-17
Critics have observed that the widely popular detective story is essentially a literary game, and have speculated that readers might tire of its structured formula, thereby leading to the eventual disappearance of this genre. Nonetheless, after more than 150 years, the mystery story remains vibrant. Why is this so? The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories provides an answer.
Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert have assembled stories that trace the evolution of the American detective short story. Their contention, amply supported by their selections, is that American authors have stretched, modified, and violated the rules and structural form of the detective story, thereby continuously enriching this genre, and ensuring its longevity. Each story is preceded with an interesting, one-page discussion on topics like the emergence of credible female detectives, the growth of regionalism, and the development of authentic, psychologically complex characters.
This literary theme is interesting in itself, but the primary attraction is the stories. I especially liked I'll Be Waiting (Raymond Chandler), Small Homicide (Ed McBain), Guilt-Edged Blonde (Ross MacDonald), Christmas Party (Rex Stout), Words Do Not A Book Make (Bill Pronzini), Benny's Space (Marcia Muller) and Chee's Witch (Tony Hillerman).
Some were titles that I have encountered elsewhere: Rear Window (Cornell Woolrich), The Problem of Cell 13 (Jacques Futrelle), The Doomdorf Mystery (Melville Davisson Post), The Parker Shotgun (Sue Grafton), An Error in Chemistry (Faulkner) and The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Poe). Others were by early masters of this genre: Erle Stanley Gardner, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen, Anthony Boucher, and Edward Hoch.
All in all, the thirty-three stories selected by Hillerman and Herbert create a satisfying, enjoyable anthology, one that will appeal to avid readers of detective fiction.
Interesting selection.......2002-09-21
There are a good mix of stories here. They range over a broad time period, early to present. I like the fact that there were some authors I haven't read yet, or others that I never associated with mysteries. The reason I didn't give it five stars is that there were quite a few stories that I had already read in other anthologies. Nice introductions to each story, with background info on the author.
A remarkable collection of American detective fiction.......2000-04-04
I am taking a class this semester, Mysteries, and this book is the required text. I have always enjoyed mysteries, but this book has added to that pleasure immensely. Hillerman and Herbert have done an extraordinary job of piecing together a good representative slice of American detective/mystery writers past and present. The books begins with Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." The editors wrap the selection up with Marcia Muller's "Benny's Space," published in 1991. The book spans the evolution of the American detective story throughout its entire history.
I highly recommend this anthology to anyone who enjoys reading the short story. With few exceptions, the stories in this book are very enjoyable mysteries.
Average customer rating:
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Oxford Bookworms Library: Level Two The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Stories (Oxford Bookworms)
Edgar Allan Poe
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Poe, Edgar Allen
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ASIN: 0194233081 |
Book Description
Everybody has bad dreams. Horrible things move towards you in the dark, things you can hear but not see. Then you wake up, in your own warm bed, and turn over to go back to sleep. But imagine that you wake up on a hard floor, in a darkness blacker than the blackest night. You listen to the silence, and smell a wet dead smell. Death is all around you, waiting... In these stories by Edgar Allan Poe, death whispers at you from every dark corner, and fear can send you mad...
Average customer rating:
- Foundational Reading
- the believing mind
- On furthering the truth about mind-altering "drugs"
- it isn't a occident
- Thought provoking, interesting, but wrong.
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The Natural Mind: An Investigation of Drugs and the Higher Consciousness
Andrew T. Weil
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
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Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
ASIN: 0395911567 |
Book Description
Weil's first bestseller, the classic work on the principles of consciousness, offers a new model for solving the drug problem by acknowledging our intimate yearnings and offering an alternative.
Customer Reviews:
Foundational Reading.......2006-05-31
This book was shared with me by a college girlfriend who was taking a graduate Biology of the Brain course at the University of Iowa. I confess that I only read it out of love and admiration for her, as I expected only a dry, clinical text. But this book grabbed me with its honesty, its openness, and its accessibility. I found it impossible to put down as I explored a range of substances that I had only heard of, but often wondered what they were and how they worked. The book is written with soul, conscience, great depth of understanding, and honesty. I am grateful to her even today for sharing it with me. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to understand these substances which are all around us in our communities, like it or not.
the believing mind.......2006-01-23
'There is none who is worthy of my love or hatred'. - Krishna, Bhagavad Gita.
The Natural Mind by Andrew Weil is not so much concerned with drugs per se as it is with the nature of consciousness. Having obviously experienced profound mystical states of being, Weil outlines his 'conceptual model' of a world in which the 'limitless' powers of the mind have been freed from the restraints of non-intuitive, 'straight' thinking reponsible for virtually all our social problems and allowed, via 'non-ordinary', or 'stoned' thinking, to restore sanity, balance and health to our Western world.
It is vital to stress the overwhelming nature of attaining the highest levels of consciousness, through such methods as meditation. It is difficult to understand where the more visionary aspects of Weil's beliefs come from if we are unable to accept the self-authenticating validity of these experiences. They leave us - at least initially - with virtually no doubts as to the perfect rightness of the spiritual and psychological insights gained.
To my mind, the most valuable of these insights is emotional detachment from personal prejudices and biased thinking. The experience of highest consciousness permits us to look at social, personal and medical problems with a fresh perspective and find effective solutions, rather than continue using methods that have patently failed and too often only exacerbated them.
Weil shows how the problem of drugs has been so mismanaged that instead of facts (alcohol and tobacco, our two most damaging and addictive drugs, are considered safer than relatively harmless ones such as cocaine, and especially marijuana), we prefer to hear only the 'evidence' of 'experts' who pander to our fears and prejudices.
People are using substances, Weil asserts, because of an innate need to achieve an 'altered state of consciousness', in other words, to get 'high'. By linking this need to the ultimate high of meditation, he suggests drug users have been misled into thinking highs can only be found in things external to themselves (he calls this a 'materialistic' view) instead of experiences they can find within themselves that are infinitely more satisfying.
Many of Weil's beliefs are eminently sensible and useful, but a large number are problematic. He discounts the pharmacological properties of drugs and denies they are directly responsible for the highs of the user. Drugs are merely 'active placebos', he claims, that in the right 'setting' trigger the mind's natural tendency to enter into altered states. When he tells us psychotics are 'the evolutionary vanguard of our species' who 'possess the secret of changing reality by changing the mind', and that physical manifestations of disease are caused by 'non-material factors', we know the line between science and faith has been well and truly crossed.
As a 'spiritual' way of thinking, a lot of the views expressed by Weil are very attractive. All things within and without oneself - however 'bad' - must be loved whole-heartedly, thus encouraging them to respond positively in return. Wasps, and bees, can 'appear to behave differently' towards someone who sees them as similar to himself, who sees their 'extraordinary beauty'. Diseases are to be embraced rather than fought against, causing them to minimize the suffering they cause. We are assured 'all things tend to go in one direction only - always toward equilibrium, balance and harmony'.
Weil has been swept up in the euphoria of experiencing 'oneness', and come to believe - as many have before him - all of creation is working together for the common 'good', that all life - despite appearances - is inseparably united and harmonious. Accepting life in all its manifestations means, if this is true, the only options are co-operation and love.
The highest state of consciousness, however, when one takes a closer look, teaches a much tougher lesson. Attaining the perfect freedom of mystical experience takes us infinitely above our human need to love or to hate anything or anyone. From this level of complete detachment we see truly accepting living beings means wanting in no way to discourage their natural impulses to fight for survival and advantage for themselves and their own kind. We are as unaccepting of others if we expect them to suppress the anti-social, recalcitrant and deadly aspects of their nature because we are loving them as we would be if we were hating them.
I agree entirely that acceptance is essential to maximizing the degree to which co-operation is possible. But, where Weil believes transcendence will all but eliminate difference, conflict and suffering, I think irreconcilable differences, unending conflicts and the most terrible suffering can become, via highest consciousness, things we are able to endure with no damage done to our joy.
On furthering the truth about mind-altering "drugs".......2003-05-30
I first was introduced to this book when a medical student in l976 in Arizona. Presented is a very expansive look at all mind-altering substances used in all cultures, with new definitions of those socially acceptable and not in our own culture. This belongs on every library shelf. I very quickly learned to see the many new insights into behavior vis-a-vis effects of all substances on the mind. I happen to be a fan or Dr. Weil's contraversial health information, but for those who have no interest, this material is fairly unrelated and more of a contribution to our understanding of culturally prescibed and proscribed mind altering substances. As an abstainer from cigarettes, coffee, alcohol, chocolate and recreational drugs, I was better able to understand the behavior of the majority who do use the above. This is also an excellent book for parents of teenagers, to further understanding on this vital topic. We need, as a nation to rethink our policies on a lucrative industry which is not taxed due to not being legal and also to look at the consequences of youthful consequences.
it isn't a occident.......2001-05-31
well as though very few people open to the american bibles and find certain melelzadekguys had paved the way for peoples to know that joint conciousness is normal as vines and fig trees have considerations internationals knowing will as well have enjoyed dr. weils candor in his fantastic death valley experience and all of those trippynesses availing the truths that a natural mind does not mean you must have an alternative lifestyle. this book is a liberating experience. i mean that.
Thought provoking, interesting, but wrong........2000-12-07
This is an interesting book that advances the argument that the reason people use drugs is to achieve altered states of consciousness but that meditation is a better way to do it. Furthermore, the author argues that drugs do not cause the user to become high, but instead are simply the "trigger" that induces the mind to enter an altered state. These are thought provoking ideas and worth reading, but they are totally wrong. People use drugs to change their mood, not their consciousness. Drugs make people happy or excited or are just fun, and that's why people use them. Moreover, drugs have real effects on the mind due to their pharmacological properties; they aren't simply "active placebos". For the most part, the author's arguments are based on unsupported premises and as a whole the book is unsatisfying. As the author would no doubt point out, I have some biases. I am a materialistic neuroscientist (in the sense that I believe that the thoughts occur when neurons fire or that the mind and the brain are the same thing) who has personal experience with nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, LSD, mescaline, and meditation. Most agitating to me is the author's (weak) arguments against materialism. He suggests that there is some non-material property of the mind responsible for the effects of drugs, and that to think that drugs are the actual cause of the highs one can experience is to fall into a "materialistic trap". Later he contradicts himself by stating that the material and non-material are the same thing. So which is it? Are you a monist who thinks that the mind and the brain are just different sides of the same coin, or are you a dualist who thinks that they are two wholy different things that magically interact? As I said, this was a thought provoking book and probably worth reading, but was it a "good" book? Not really.
Books:
- The Swallows of Kabul
- The Three Mrs. Parkers
- The Turner Diaries: A Novel
- The Wandering Hill: The Berrybender Narratives, Book 2 (Berry Bender Narratives, No 2)
- Timequake
- Tooth and Claw : and Other Stories
- Unique's Ending
- Upstate : A Novel (Alex Awards (Awards))
- When Rabbit Howls
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Books Index
Books Home
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