Book Description
A timeless, utterly charming Christmas fable, beautifully illustrated and destined to become a classic When Paul Auster was asked by The New York Times to write a Christmas story for the Op-Ed page, the result, "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story," led to Auster's collaboration on a film adaptation, Smoke. Now the story has found yet another life in this enchanting illustrated edition.It begins with a writer's dilemma: he's been asked by The New York Times to write a story that will appear in the paper on Christmas morning. The writer agrees, but he has a problem: How to write an unsentimental Christmas story? He unburdens himself to his friend at his local cigar shop, a colorful character named Auggie Wren. "A Christmas story? Is that all?" Auggie counters. "If you buy me lunch, my friend, I'll tell you the best Christmas story you ever heard. And I guarantee every word of it is true."And an unconventional story it is, involving a lost wallet, a blind woman, and a Christmas dinner. Everything gets turned upside down. What's stealing? What's giving? What's a lie? What's the truth? It's vintage Auster, and pure pleasure: a truly unsentimental but completely affecting tale.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating story.......2006-01-09
Many (many!) years ago I read this story; years later, I saw the film "Smoke" with Harvey Keitel and William Hurt. I was so deeply influenced by both that I suggested that the Great Books discussion group I was in should read this story for our December reading (never mind that half of us are Jewish).
However, back in the day, the story was only a figment of my fevered imagination, if you searched the libraries or the internet (young then). The story had been published only once, in the New York Times, and then dropped to the bottom of the sea. Meanwhile, director Wang had gotten in touch with Auster and they had agreed to make it into a film. So it HAD to exist somewhere, right?
After digging into the internet, I located a gentleman who had published a limited edition, William Drenttel. He had published it in a small run of very nicely bound books for a lot of money, or a REALLY limited edition for well over $100.
I wrote (humbly) to him, and here is what he said:
Lori, happy to send you the text for the limited use of your reading group.
I've attached it as a Word file, as well as posted it below. Hope you have a great evening on 1/19. Best, Bill Drenttel
Published by William Drenttel New York & The Delos Press
December 1992
Printed by Libranus Press, England, in an edition of 450
Story Þrst published in The New York Times on December 25, 1990.
Auggie Wren¹s Christmas Story
Paul Auster
Illustration by Brian Cronin
So that is how my book group was able to discuss "Auggie Wren" years before this book became an affordable reality.
Of course I think it is a wonderful and complex story about growth, redemption, sadness, joy, pain, and how to move on with one's life...instruction of a sort.
Auster is brilliant, as always.
The making of 'Smoke'........2005-04-13
Auggie Wren runs a store where you can buy tobacco and magazines. One day a youth steels a few paperbacks and Augggie Wren runs after him. The young man loses his wallet and Auggie stops to pick it up. He looks in the wallet and finds the address
of what turns out to be the grandmother of our young delinquent. ( I can't tell anymore without spoiling the plot ).
Film director Wayne Wang was seduced by this little story and it was he who persuaded Paul Auster to write the script for "Smoke". (1994).
The present edition of "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story" has two parts. The first part is a kind of introduction and uses a scene from the film where Auggie shows his photo collection to Paul. Even in this introduction reality and fiction are intertwined to become one and the same.(And isn't this the true value of literature, to erase the borderline between dreams and every day reality ?).
The second part is the story like it was told by Harvey Keitel in "Smoke".
At the end Paul Auster says: " As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true."
An Unsentimental Christmas Story.......2005-01-11
Auggie Wren's Christmas Story by Paul Auster is one of those short books which is fun to read either before, during or even after the holidays.
Paul Auster, the highly regarded author, is asked to write an editorial piece which will appear on Christmas morning in the NY Times. At first Mr. Auster doesn't even want to write the article fearing he has nothing to say, but then he's worn down and agrees to do this. One thing the author knows is he doesn't want to write
anything sentimental. Readers should think of his thoughts as a non Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus. When in fact he sits down to write the article, though, he has trouble actually write this unsentimental tale. Days go by and he has nothing written on paper to show for his efforts.
Fearing he may never write this article, Mr. Auster mentions his problem one day to the man who owns a small newspaper and cigar store in his neighborhood. The man, Auggie Wren promises to tell him a Christmas story if he treats him to lunch. And so over lunch the author listens to a tale which is both sentimental and poignant which asks what does a wallet, a blind woman and a camera have to do with each other. More important than the answer which these questions raise are the more important ones like what is true, what is lying and did any or all of these events really ever happen.
This is a warm and somewhat sentimental story, despite what the author hoped for, about the spirit of the holidays in the tradition of O. Henry's Gift of the Magi. Consider buying this title for next Christmas. This book is just perfect as a holiday gift and sure to be a keeper in the future.
A surprising little Christmas story.......2004-12-19
Auster succeeded in what he attempted to accomplish: to create an unsentimental Christmas story. The story is surprisingly effective, in that the reader is not entirely certain of what direction the plot is going. This slim book -- little more than an elongated article -- is pure, forced action. One event closely follows another. What I enjoyed about it is the series of moral dilemmas offered up to the reader. Should Auggie have turned in the thief? Was it a wise choice to visit the thief's home? Should he have stayed with the grandmother? And should he have taken the camera that he found in the bathroom? If he had not done any of these actions, then we would not have today the collection of Auggie Wren's a-picture-a-day. Does the end justify the means? I read this book to my two sons and had a very interesting discussion regarding the choices that Auggie made. This book, in combination with Auster's "I Thought My Father Was God," makes for worthwhile discussions around small, fascinating stories. The beautiful illustrations by the artist ISOL merit close study.
"Gift Of The Magi" ala Auster.......2004-12-05
In this slim book, Paul Auster authors a new version of a Christmas Story. The book recounts a very interesting story about what Christmas means to so many. It represents a time of hopefullness and wishes that people have and how they may come true.
The obvious similarity between Auster's story and O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi" involves the giving of gifts, one person to another, but not in the regular way we give gifts at Christmas. In this book, by a simple twist of fate, Auggie Wren, the protagonist comes upon a wallet, that was dropped. For a long time, Auggie just keeps the wallet, but eventually he attempts to give it back to its owner.
Upon arrival at the owner's house, it turns out, that he is not there at the time. However, the grandmother of the wallet owner is there. And she is blind. Yet, she allows herself to accept the visit and perhaps the spirit of Christmas by allowing Auggie to represent her grandson, as the Grandmother to believe that he is who she wishes him to be. Likewise, Auggie allows himself to accept a gift that is given in a very unusual manner.
While Auggie believes that even blind, the women knew he was not her grandson, yet she allows Auggie to act as the grandson, because that is her most personal wish at that time. In return for this favor, the grandmother in turn gives unknowingly, a gift to Auggie. Auggie though is bothered by the manner in which he acquired the gift and goes back to return it. When he arrives, the Grandmother no longer is resident at the apartment.
What actually happens to her, Auster never reveals. However, the concept of the story is tightly bound to the giving of gifts, one to another, and with the gifts, there is both sorrow and love. As each gives what they have, and each sacrifices what they have, in order to please the other.
Such is the case in this book as well. The book is highly recommemded for those who have a familiarity with "The Gift of the Magi" and also with "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. A good familiarity with those stories enhances the reader's understanding of Auster's point.
Because of the books short text, it can be read in lest than 30 minutes, but it is strongly advised that the reader reread the book immediately after finishing it the first time, in order to get the full flavor and impact of Auster's version of Christmas.
Average customer rating:
|
Auggie Wren's Christmas Story Signed
Paul Auster
Manufacturer: William Drenttel Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Christmas
| Holidays
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1884381049 |
Book Description
Did the federal government mete out justice or revenge in response to Lincoln's assassination?
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was murdered by John Wilkes Booth, and Secretary of State William H. Seward was brutally stabbed. Clearly a conspiracy was afoot. Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt was put in charge of the investigation and trial. He first set out to punish all of Booth's accomplices and then wanted to go after Jefferson Davis, whom he felt had instigated the assassination—despite stern opposition, not least of all from Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson.
Elizabeth D. Leonard tells for the first time the full story of the two assassination trials. She explores the questions that made these trials pivotal in American history: Were they to be used to make the South pay for secession? Were they to be fair trials based on the evidence? Or were they to be points of reconciliation, with the South forgiven at all costs to create a solid union? 36 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent, Objective Account of the Assasination Trial, Its Main Characters and Its Place in American History.......2007-02-06
What many of us know about Lincoln's assasination is probably limited to the following: he was killed by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater while attending a play. This book enlarges that knowledge from the point of view of Judge Advocate Joseph Holt, who made it his personal mission to bring anyone involved in the assasination to justice. In addition, Holt's goal was also to bring the highest leaders of the Confederacy to justice, including former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Professor Leonard also places the events following assasination, especially the trial of the first eight, and subsequent attempts to bring others to justice, in the context of Reconstruction and the division among the victorius Union about how to effect it, particularly whether to do so punitively or with mercy. The reader has a clear sense of all the forces at play and how they interacted and influenced events in such a way to impact US political and racial developments for a long time to come.
The personal stories are gripping, not only of Holt but especially that of Mary Surrat, one of the eight co-conspirators tried and one of the four who was executed by hanging. The details of the story leave one wondering whether Mary Surrat was ultimately guilty or not, and to Leonard's credit, she presents only the historical evidence, without attempting to sway the reader one way or another.
If you want to learn more about this pivotal event in American history, this is a good book with which to start.
Enjoyable read!.......2005-12-18
This book definitely adds new information to the usual renditions of the Lincoln assassination, by focusing on the conspirators' trial and especially Joseph Holt's role in that event. The book is well researched, objective, and good at placing events within the context of the 19th-century mindset and values that prevailed in the wake of Lincoln's death.
Lincoln's Death as the Beginning of a New Period.......2005-07-08
Elizabeth D. Leonard's Lincoln's Avengers is a different sort of Lincoln murder book. It does have all the usual suspects and covers all of their details adequately, particulary the issues surrounding Mary Surratt. The book's strength, however, is to look at the events through the eyes of Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt as a way to see the tragedy not so much as the last gasp of the Civil War but as the first shot in the battle over Reconstruction. If nothing else, and there is much else, it gives the reader a chance to clearly glimpse a lesser known figure of history in Holt. The most riveting sections of the book involve his determinatin to avenge the murder, as well as all the other injustices he saw from the civil war, as Andrew Johnson devises an entirely different plan for the South. A powerful and important addition to books on the this fascinating period of time.
Prelude to Reconstruction.......2004-05-23
The shock and deep mourning our nation went into in April 1865 is something we have never really gotten over. The first presidential assassination, that of Abraham Lincoln, has prompted countless books ever since, and endless questions of what our nation would have been like had he lived. It might be thought that all the details have been covered, but Elizabeth D. Leonard, a professor of history at Colby College, has found a flawed hero who supervised the hunt and prosecution of the conspirators that killed Lincoln; his story is told in her book _Lincoln's Avengers: Justice, Revenge, and Reunion after the Civil War_ (Norton). Of course the plotters' dirty work is covered here, and their prosecution and sentencing; it may be familiar, but it is told with vivid detail. What is different in Leonard's book is that she shows how the political and national mood after the Civil War changed the outcome of those proceedings, which in turn had effects on Reconstruction itself.
Leonard tells this story by examining the life and work of Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt, a former slaveholder who during the civil war was in charge of thousands of military commissions to prosecute both soldiers and civilians. The day after Lincoln's assassination, Holt took charge of the detection of the conspirators and their prosecution. It was only a matter of months before the military commission tried the conspirators, found all of them guilty, hanged four (including Mary Surratt, the first woman executed by the federal government) and imprisoned the others. Many histories of these events end there, but Holt thought he was just getting started. He had concluded that the assassination plot was instigated by Confederate leaders, including Jefferson Davis, and he was eager to pursue military commissions against them as well. However, his support from President Johnson waned. Setting up conflicts that would eventually get him impeached, Johnson pardoned thousands of Confederate leaders, and having declared the war officially over, removed any possibility that military commissions could continue. He transferred Davis from military to civilian custody in Virginia, where he was released on bail. The Supreme Court, in the famous _Ex Parte Milligan_ decision, overturned the military commission's conviction of civilian Confederate sympathizers. Davis would never be brought before Holt's military commission.
There was the possibility that Davis might be tried in a civilian court, but Holt never got the hard evidence that would have been needed for a conviction. Holt was led to bad judgements such as reliance on dubious, venal witnesses. After a couple of years, Davis was completely free. In 1867, Holt had a chance for a conviction (in civilian court) of Mary Surratt's son who had been captured overseas, but the divided jury, reflecting the divisions of the nation, did not convict. Holt's further vengeance would never come, but his efforts, as written about by Leonard in this well-researched volume, will be satisfying reading for anyone interested in the Civil War and the troubling era of Reconstruction thereafter.
Average customer rating:
|
Repeat Performance
Sharleen Cooper Cohen
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Literature & Fiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Romance | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1412004721
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Book Description
Music was passion, sex was power, but love was the seductive melody.
Average customer rating:
|
Reunion of Revenge
Ronald F. Smith
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
jp-unknown3 | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 1587216248 |
Customer Reviews:
Reunion of Revenge.......2000-12-20
Having grown up in Southern Florida (where the bulk of the book takes place) I enjoyed the walk down memory lane.
The hero of this book, a Dirk Pitt type of guy was the kind of guy you would like looking out for your backside.
I thouroughly enjoyed this book. It was a quick easy read and kept me entertained. Exactly what I look for in a book. ESCAPE!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 541 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Lincoln's Avengers: Justice, Revenge, and Reunion after the Civil War.(Book review)
Author: Charles M. Hubbard
Publication:
Journal of Southern History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 72
Issue: 2
Page: 490(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- expectations unmet, but still satisfied
- Revenge can be sweet or Lethal
- jacket summary
- Great Fun
- Oh Joy once more!
|
Look to Windward
Iain M. Banks
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| Classics
| Contemporary
| General
| Historical
| Humor
| Letters & Correspondence
| Middle
| Old
| Poetry
| Renaissance
| Shakespeare
| Short Stories
Banks, Iain M.
| ( B )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Excession
-
The Algebraist
-
The State Of The Art
-
Use of Weapons
-
Consider Phlebas
ASIN: 0743421914 |
Book Description
The Twin Novae battle had been one of the last of the Idiran war, and one of the most horrific: desperate to avert their inevitable defeat, the Idirans had induced not one but two suns to explode, snuffing out worlds and biospheres teeming with sentient life. They were attacks of incredible proportion -- gigadeathcrimes. But the war ended, and life went on.
Now, eight hundred years later, light from the first explosion is about to reach the Masaq' Orbital, home to the Culture's most adventurous and decadent souls. There it will fall upon Masaq's 50 billion inhabitants, gathered to commemorate the deaths of the innocent and to reflect, if only for a moment, on what some call the Culture's own complicity in the terrible event.
Also journeying to Masaq' is Major Quilan, an emissary from the war-ravaged world of Chel. In the aftermath of the conflict that split his world apart, most believe he has come to Masaq' to bring home Chel's most brilliant star and self-exiled dissident, the honored Composer Ziller.
Ziller claims he will do anything to avoid a meeting with Major Quilan, who he suspects has come to murder him. But the Major's true assignment will have far greater consequences than the death of a mere political dissident, as part of a conspiracy more ambitious than even he can know -- a mission his superiors have buried so deeply in his mind that even he cannot remember it.
Hailed by SFX magazine as "an excellent hopping-on point if you've never read a Banks SF novel before," Look to Windward is an awe-inspiring immersion into the wildly original, vividly realized civilization that Banks calls the Culture.
Customer Reviews:
expectations unmet, but still satisfied.......2007-06-20
When expecting a Banks' sci-fi book, expect only excellence.
When expecting a Banks' "Culture" book, expect seven things:
1) war, weapons, death and destruction
2) glanding different sensations to alter reality
3) drones with smart mouths, attitudes and a cunning wit
4) knife missiles slicing through baddie targets
5) quirky aliens in and out of the Culture
6) dark, grim gory scenes that will leave you cringing
7) minds and their space vessels
With this latest installment in Banks' Culture books, how does it rank with the above expectations?
1) Not much war takes place in this book, but it does mention two past wars (Culture vs. Chelgrian & Culture vs. Idirian). Possible death is bountiful in a few of the chapters and actual death is far and few between... until the very satisfactory last few pages.
2) Glanding is occasionally come across, but just in one or two sections.
3) There is a drone as a main character on the Orbital of Masaq', but it seems too sophisticated so cop an attitude and spit out some wit.
4) knife missiles are mentioned twice, but, sadly, no one dies
5) The Chelgrian species is explored pretty well, more so than a lot of other aliens in Banks' novels. The single Homomdan species was barley touched upon. Perhaps this could be further explored in the future.
6) just one part of Look to Windward made me cringe a bit, and that part was only a page or two long.
7) minds are a central theme, focusing on the mind of the Hub of the Orbital Masaq'. Look to Windward really explores the Hub's mind in detail and all things a Hub is capable of. Silly names for space vessels will not leave you disappointed (especially the 'quote a Culture Ship' game between two characters).
Reviewing the list above, the entire novel fell short of my expectations, but that doesn't leave Look to Windward hanging out to dry. This book is more exploratory in the "human endurance" of a Chelgrian and the "emotions and thoughts" of a Hub Mind. Hard Sci-fi is also throw in the mix for a delightful (but a bit lacking) sci-fi novel from Banks.
Revenge can be sweet or Lethal.......2006-05-14
Eight hundred years ago, during the war between the Culture and the Idiran's the current Hub of Masaq' Orbital was part of a force that destroyed two stars (The Twin Novae Battle) and ended a war. The Chelgrians have just signed an armistice that ended their Caste War (which was instigated by the Culture) in which over 5 billion souls perished. Quildan, lost his love and half his body during this war. Ziller, the greatest composer on Chel, has gone into self-exile on the Culture Orbital Masaq'.
The two Chelgrians are on a collision, which will culminate in a genocidal act of suicide, when Ziller's symphony to honor the light from Twin Novae reaching Masaq. What and how the act will be accomplished is unknown but the secret has been discovered by the xeno-anthropologist Uagen Zlepe who is studying a Behemothaur halfway across the galaxy. Can he get back to Culture space in time.
Banks has created an amazing universe, populated by exotic creatures and worlds. Reading the narrative is almost as much fun as trying to figure out who everyone is and what part they will play in coming battle.
jacket summary.......2006-01-15
from the back cover of the November 2002 Pocket Books paperback edition
cover art by Jerry Vanderstelt
Eight hundred years after the most horrific battle of the Idiran war, light from its catastrophic, world-destroying detonations is about to reach the Masaq' Orbital, home to the far-flung Culture's most adventurous and decadent souls. There it will fall upon Masaq's 50 billion inhabitants, gathered to commemorate the deaths of the innocent and to reflect, if only for a moment, on what some call the Culture's own complicity in the terrible event.
Also journeying to Masaq' is Major Quilan, an emissary from the war-ravaged world of Chel. In the aftermath of the conflict that split his world apart, most believe he has come to Masaq' to bring home Chel's most brilliant star, the self-exiled celebrity Composer Ziller.
Ziller suspects Quilan has come to murder him, but the major's true assignment will have far greater consequences than the death of a mere political dissident. He is part of a conspiracy more ambitious than he can know - a mission his superiors have buried so deeply in his mind that even he cannot remember it.
Great Fun.......2006-01-03
I have read some of Banks' other novels and enjoyed them as well, particularly Player of Games, Inversions, and Use of Weapons. I read Banks Science Fiction because he is obviously a brilliant guy who has a lot of fun with the genre. The thing is, there's a lot of smart folks writing science fiction, but they often write flat characters or flat worlds or both. Banks is literate and interesting and he has something to say. I am not a die hard science fiction fan, but when I do read it, I look for something that will provide a sense of wonder and leave me thinking for days after. Banks accomplishes this as does Robert Charles Wilson (especially Blind Lake). Look to Windward is as good a place as any to start with Banks. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Oh Joy once more!.......2004-04-22
Mysterious, subtle and thoughtful. Less of a mindless space adventure story with juvenile one dimensional space morons(i.e. Hamilton's Reality Dysfunction behemoth) than a crime fiction novel of sorts that moves with wit and finess, inexorably towards its ultimate conclusion.
Quilan is a Chel. A member of a nation moving out of the shadow of a sudden and violent civil war. It's relationship with the vast Culture civilisation is ambiguous. Quilan is sent as an emissary to a Culture orbital to meet with a famous Chel exile. As we move through the book the past of the central character is slowly peeled away as both he and the reader come to understand the implications fo his terrible mission.Muhahahaha!
This is one of those rare novels that reminds one of how truly satisfying it is to read, wrapped in blankets or draped across a sofa with a coffee in easy reach. The repartee between the Culture figures is almost Vancian (as in Jack Vance)in its quick indulgent interplay. There is little of Bank's (at times maligned) penchant for descriptive violence. Rather mystery blends deliciously with succulent characterization in this truly worthy addition to Bank's Culture series. I growled at times at pointless scences reading through 'Consider Phlebas'(esp the eater scene on a Caribbean-esque beach - Nice book title though!)Such superfluity has been truly expunged in this tight novel. Here I whoopped and chuckled with joy and delight as I read, locking myself in the bathroom so that I might finish it undisturbed by my family. It is perhaps Bank's finest work; Subtle in ways many people seem not to have picked up on. Ho ho.
If you enjoy this then do all you can to read any of Jack Vance's works. The Demon Princes series is as good a place as any to start.
Average customer rating:
|
Windward of the Caribbean,: A look at Barbados,
S. W. C Pack
Manufacturer: A. Redman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
History
| Subjects
| Books
| Africa
| Americas
| Ancient
| Arctic & Antarctica
| Asia
| Australia & Oceania
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Europe
| Gay & Lesbian
| Historical Study
| Large Print
| Middle East
| Military
| Military Science
| Russia
| United States
| World
Barbados & Trinidad and Tobago
| Caribbean
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
North America
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B0007IY420 |
Book Description
Every day of your life can be a spiritual adventure!Make all the ordinary experiences of your life a part of your path to enlightenment. Whether balancing a checkbook, working in an office or factory, raising a family-- Chop Wood, Carry Water shows you how to integrate the events of modern living into a quest for spiritual fulfillment.Based on the classic, inspirational bestseller, this unique program offers advice, insight, information, humor, and encouragement from the spiritual masters of the past and the most innovative thinkers of today. From Lao Tze to Mother Teresa, from Socrates to Margaret Mead, this audio compendium of practical wisdom shows you that the true guide to a more joyous, productive inner journey is ultimately yourself.
Customer Reviews:
Chop Wood, Carry Water.......2007-01-10
This book is a wonderful guide to help in all areas of our lives.
Good quotes, but what exactly is the point?.......2006-12-20
If you want a book that has interesting spiritual quotes, but doesn't take a specific stand on any of them...this is your book; it's really more of a "spiritual quote book" edited by a politically correct quorom of authors. It struck me that it was almost like I was sitting next to a hippie who has deeply studied religions, but thanks to all the pot they've smoked, can't really decipher what the point of the quotes was in the first place, and who lives his life by none of them.
Don't get me wrong, it has a lot of great quotes; however, if you have any inkling at all of what kind of spirituality you'd like to explore, you're better getting a more specific book. This book hits in such a broad way as to make it's chapters somewhat irrelevant in the final analysis. I understand that their goal is to cover what every major philosophical/religious idea is, but it seems kind of silly to have "modern humanist perspectives" next to Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and Confucianist statements. It's basically a poorly designed text book that was written without analytical analysis.
I guess that a lot of the book strikes me as more of a "nobody's right" approach to spiritualism that is dangerously close to moral relativism. My feeling is that if you want to study what the great teachers, philosophers, and religious icons think, you're better off studying them specifically, as this book tries to please everyone, and likely pleases very few.
Eclectic gathering of wisdom to live happier.......2006-04-13
This book pulls wisdom from many sources to cover topics across all aspects of life. It is a good book to have handy for difficult times or just a bad day.
A starter manual.......2002-09-18
I thought that this book was written by one person. This book is a compilation of essays, quotes, and articles by various authorities in religion (Buddhist in particular), psychology, and other how to thrive in the modern world experts. I'm not dismissing the book. I think it's a good collection. I was expecting a sharper focus. This is a good primer for someone just beginning to live as a mindful person today.
Awesome as ever !.......2001-04-05
Just under 290 pages this is a classic that has just as much meaning in 2001 as it did the first time I read it 20 years ago. A book I cannot help buying, over and over when copies get lent out and the message keeps getting passed on.
15 Chapters. Beginnings; Learning; Intimate Realtionships; Sex; family; Work; Money; Play; Tuning the Body; Healing; Technology; The Earth; Social Action; Inner Guidance; Perils of the Path. Etc.
The subtitle actually explains better than anything what the book is all about. "A Guide to Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Everyday Life". The Chop Wood Carry Water comes from a thousand year old Chinese Zen Master who spoke of the spiritual aspect of everyday things.
This reminded me (I am not a Christian) of reading where the wife of Billy Graham, Ruth Graham has a small plaque in her kitchen that says "Godly service done here daily" or something to that effect. This is what this book is all about. AAppreciating the simple joy of things like sex, gathering with community to make the earth healthier and fight injustice etc etc.
The Chop Wood Carry Water book has been helpful so often in reminding me that their is joy and honour in doing the laundry, cleaning, paying bills, bathing, cooking, and doing what many people sadly think is boring everyday needs.
In this day and age where people rush here and there and express a sense of loss, because they feel they need to always be doing something noticable, I think this book would be a great healing tool, in teaching people that doing the "chores" of life, can in fact be a relaxing and growth enhancing activity.
Book Description
The size of the Universe defies description. And it teems with sentient life. Its size and life are testimony to the Creator's Love, Creation's fuel, governed by Divine purpose.
Author Michael Quinn takes us on a revealing journey through this incomprehensible Universe and concludes that we're all part of the Creator's grand design that consistently beckons us toward perfection and eventual Oneness with Him. He exposes the historical legacy of fear generated by institutional religion and explains how the individual and society can transcend this encumbrance to uncover the magnificence of who we truly are and to function spontaneously from the pure and powerful level of Absolute Being.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Community College Week, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on March 17, 2003. The length of the article is 1358 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Chop wood, carry water and leave room for the rocks. (point of view).(a personal narrative of incorporating technology into teaching at community colleges)(Column)
Author: Ruby Evans
Publication:
Community College Week (Newspaper)
Date: March 17, 2003
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 15
Issue: 16
Page: 4(2)
Article Type: Column
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Books:
- Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter: A Novel
- Babyji
- Blacker the Berry. . .
- Blue Angel: A Novel (P.S.)
- Brazzaville Beach
- Cadillac Jack : A Novel
- Ciudad de las Bestias, La
- Clear Light of Day
- Cloudstreet : A Novel
- Collected Short Stories: Volume 3 (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Diana: An Extraordinary Life
- The Reality of God And the Problem of Evil
- Quiet As It's Kept: Shame, Trauma, and Race in the Novels of Toni Morrison
- Taylor's Guide to Roses: How to Select abd Grow 380 Roses, Including the New Hardy Ever-Blooming Var
- The Citadel
- Signal Processing First
- The Monster at the End of This Book
- Texas High School Hotshots: The Stars Before They Were Stars
- Ninety-Six and Too Busy to Die: A Life Beyond the Age of Dying
- Depression Proof Your Future
The Brooklyn Follies: A Novel
True Tales of American Life
Travels in the Scriptorium: A Novel
Collected Prose: Autobiographical Writings, True Stories, Critical Essays, Prefaces, and Collaborations with Artists
Oracle Night
