Book Description
On an evening like any other, nine-year-old Katie Mackey, daughter of the most affluent family in a small town on the plains of Indiana, sets out on her bicycle to return some library books.
This simple act is at the heart of The Bright Forever, a suspenseful, deeply affecting novel about the choices people make that change their lives forever. Keeping fact, speculation, and contradiction playing off one another as the details unfold, author Lee Martin creates a fast-paced story that is as gripping as it is richly human. His beautiful, clear-eyed prose builds to an extremely nuanced portrayal of the complicated give and take among people struggling to maintain their humanity in the shadow of a loss.
Reminiscent of books such as The Little Friend and The Lovely Bones, but most memorable for its own perceptions and power, The Bright Forever is a compelling and emotional tale about the human need to know even the hardest truth.
A Featured Alternate of the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, and Book-of-the-Month Club
Also available as a Books on Tape AudioBook and an eBook
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“With what consummate skill Lee Martin conjures up a small town in the grip of tragedy and how deftly he explores the way in which a casual remark, a brief kiss, a white lie can have the most terrible consequences. The Bright Forever is a remarkable and almost unbearably suspenseful novel.” —Margot Livesey, author of Banishing Verona and Eva Moves the Furniture
“Lee Martin’s The Bright Forever goes deep into the mystery of being alive on this earth. Written in the clearest prose, working back and forth over its complex story, and told in the dark, desperate, vivid voices of its various speakers, it holds you spellbound to the end, to its final, sad revelations.” —Kent Haruf, author of Eventide and Plainsong
“Like Winesburg, Ohio, The Bright Forever captures, in alternating voices, the individual acts of desperation that lead to a community’s sorrow. And, like Sherwood Anderson, Lee Martin is not happy to let guilt reside singularly or simply. This is a morally complex quilt, a page-turner that also insists on the reader’s participation in moral contemplation.” —Antonya Nelson, author of Female Trouble and Talking in Bed
“I read The Bright Forever in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. Part Mystic River, part Winesburg, Ohio, this harrowing and beautiful book is one of the most powerful novels I’ve read in years and heralds the breakout of a remarkable talent.” —Bret Lott, author of A Song I Knew by Heart and Jewel
“The Bright Forever will get under your skin with its exquisite psychology and fine-tuned suspense. Lee Martin has created a world of aching beauty and terrible loss.” —Jean Thompson, author of City Boy and Wide Blue Yonder
“The Bright Forever is ravishing. . . . Lee Martin’s characters, dear readers, are us—riven and bedeviled, our souls gone grainy and rank, our hearts busted and beating heavily for love. We have Martin to thank for having the moral courage—yes, an old-fashioned but rare virtue—to tell it to us plain.” —Lee K. Abbott, author of Living After Midnight
A Featured Alternate of the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, and Book-of-the-Month Club
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty good.....as a Whodunnit!.......2007-08-26
This book kept me compelled due to the mystery lover in me. Although the subject matter is tragic, you just wanted to know what happened to Katie! I have to say this book seemed more of a thriller than anything to me, I was constantly wondering who did it?? Who was lying?? Who was hiding something?? I actually got scared thinking there are peoeple like Mr. Dees and Ray in this world. I felt there were some loose ends at the end of the book, but, this book is good for a rainy day and it's a quick read. However, I do feel the author could have gone the extra length and really strengthened this book.
Great read!.......2007-08-14
Couldn't put it down! Multi-character voiced, in a who-done-it, is filled with suspense, drama, and a look at small town USA in the 70's. You will want to be part or Katie's disappearance!
Very similar to "The Lovely Bones".......2007-07-17
On an ordinary summer evening in the early 1970s, 9-year-old Katie Mackey disappears on the way to the library. In this small Indiana town where everyone knew everyone, and no one bothered to lock their doors, the possibility of not being safe rocked the entire community.
Thirty years later, a number of individuals related to the case take turns narrating the events that took place that summer. Henry Dees, the odd reclusive schoolteacher who tutored Katie in math; Raymond R. Wright, the friendly construction worker who earned the town's contempt and suspicion when he married a widow so soon after her husband's death; Katie's older brother Gilley, 17 at the time of her death; and others set the tone, giving readers a glimpse at their lives that particular summer, at the town's secrets, lying just beneath the veneers of seemingly dull and ordinary citizens, and the effects that the disappearance of one small girl can have upon an entire town.
This book is incredibly similar to Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones," except for the fact that Katie herself is never narrator, like Susie. Still, I wouldn't let that stop anyone from reading it -- this is a wonderfully written, poignant story that is bound to stay in a reader's mind for quite some time.
Well done.......2007-03-19
This is the story of a nine year old girl who goes missing after leaving home to return her library books one summer night.
Lee Martin tells this story in a very interesting way. Incorporated with the traditional narrative are four different perspectives from people who are connected to the story. We hear their experiences directly from them in their own distinct voices. One of the characters, Mr. Dees, speaks directly to the reader. Their experiences are overlapping, they do not fit together like the pieces of a puzzle, and each one colors our perception of the truth. One of the character makes us question their version of the truth.
I thought it was a very well written story, the characters were well developed the story was believable and the essence of the era was captured.
Transports you back to the 70's...........2007-03-11
Katie Mackey is one of those bright rainbow children; charismatic, brave and shiny at the age of 9, her disappearance shocks a small town in Indiana and reveals suspicions and social inequities in the foundation. Katie, on her bike, was returning library books and never came home. Her parents are the town's wealthiest couple, the objects of envy, and then of pity. In Martin's writing, you can capture how people felt the day of the disappearance; the smell, the feel, the taste of that day--in many ways the end of their innocence.
Told from five points of view, the tale is unique in that Martin speaks with a clear and recognizable voice from each of his narrators, not just one style disguised in 5 characters. Martin draws us in, leaving us to question the motivation of each of the narrators; Katie's older brother, her tutor, a misfit couple where the wife was a widow who remarried too soon and her husband is a grifter who strikes an inharmonious chord in the small town. A third person narrator helps to stir the pot.
Shame and sadness intermingle as each narrator asks the audience to have patience while the tale is drawn out. Finally, vengeance takes over, followed by emptiness. What the small town was becomes invisible and lost in what it has now become. Martin's elegant writing propels the tale, and first one, and then another conclusion is drawn.
A short, compelling read; you'll remember "The Bright Forever" for a long time after you put the book down.
..."wherever there's a circle of light, there's also someone standing outside it..."
Customer Reviews:
Historical = Very. Romance = Eh..........2007-09-23
Knight Triumphant gives the reader a story set in Scotland during the ascension of Robert the Bruce that rings true, with lots of satisfying detail. The turmoil, politics and mixed loyalties fo the time make for a solid background to the story of the Hero and Heroine. Unfortunately, although the antagonistic characters eventually come together, the process is not justified. We are not shown the chemistry between them, and indeed, there may not be any. Both are brave and admirable, but nothing of the process of their falling in love by the end of the book is mentioned. As a result, when it all came about in the end, I wasn't convinced.
The Author gave the Heroine an inordinate fondness for water; she demands a bath once a day, loves to get her feet wet and plunges into every stream she can manage to find. It became unintentionally humorous for me by the end, as if she was turning into a sponge, or some kind of frustrated mermaid. In a time when she was supposed to be a distressed captive, it made her seem self-indulgent. Indeed, this Heroine, for all of her constant, desperate attempts at escape, is certainly not motivated by suffering. The Hero and his cohorts seldom subject her to any worse abuse than locking the door to whatever room or cell she happens to be put in, and she's often put there because she herself insists on it, chafing at the reality that she's a "prisoner" of politics. She's often her own worst enemy, physically throwing herself forward into danger and conflict again and again without reason or thought, until she reminds the reader of a mindless moth, battering itself against a lightbulb.
All in all, this is a satisfying read, but the characters could have benefitted from a more carefully constructed relationship.
Terrific Story. Book 4 of a 5 part series. Read them all!.......2006-04-08
There are 5 books in this series. Reading them in order does make a difference. I've found them all to be "hard to put down." (Haven't had much sleep since I started these books! LOL.) Here is the order of the series:
Come the Morning
Conquer the Night
Seize the Dawn
Knight Triumphant
The Lion in Glory
It is definitely a must that you read "Seize the Dawn" before "Knight Triumphant." While reading "Seize," be sure to pay close attention to a loving couple by the names of "Eric" and "Margot." They make "Knight Triumphant" much more meaningful.
You will find that after reading the first few books in the series, you will want to skim through some parts of this book that repeat the history of the war and certain parts of the Graham family history. These parts are, of course, included in the stories for readers whom have not read the first books in the series. In "Knight Triumphant," these parts are short and easy to skip over. Also, the author has veered from the type of couple that she used in the first three books (a Scottish knight, and an English heiress) to make this story unique.
Knight Triumphant:
The war between Scotland and England has been a bloody battle for well over a decade. After years of fighting for their freedom, Scotland is at last feeling the triumph of winning back their country. King Edward I of England is old and his health is failing. Scotland has finally crowned their own king, Robert Bruce, and has united to fight as one people. In their new power, Scotland brings down many castles that have been taken over by the English. The one castle that they will not touch is "Castle Langley." It has been infected with a plague that has killed nearly everyone within it's walls. The English inhabitants blame the Scots who contracted the plague while at sea, then infected much of Scotland.
Eric Graham is desperate to get to his beloved wife, Margot, and their little girl, Aileen. They have been held prisoner in Castle Langley. Both have been stricken by the plague. The lady of Langley, Igrainia, is known to have knowledge of herbs for healing. Her people have cast her out of the castle, in fear that she may also become ill while nursing the countless victims. Eric finds her en-route to a safer territory. He seizes her and demands that she give him passage into Langley, as well as heal his wife and child. Igrainia has already lost her own husband to the plague, and knows that there is little she can do.
Upon entering Castle Langley, Eric and his men find that there are very few people left alive and well enough to guard it. He instantly claims the castle in the name of his king, Robert Bruce. He puts his wife in the master's chamber where he insists that Igrainia will save her. Eric sits at Margot's side as he prays for her life. While doing so, he also becomes infected. Now he is fighting for his own life. In his half- conscious state, he realizes that his wife has left this world. He is utterly devastated.
Igrainia knows how it feels to lose someone so dear. After losing her own husband, her compassion fuels her attempts to save Eric. She works tirelessly to see him through the plague that has taken hold of his body. Many people of Langley suggest that she should let the enemy invader die. But fear of retaliation by his men, and her own sense of honor, demand that she try to save him. When he revives, he is determined to find revenge against the people who took his wife prisoner. His greatest enemy is the man who imprisoned Margot, and is now trying to capture and marry Igrainia, Robert Neville. Neville wants all of the wealth that Igrainia has been left after her husband's death. He'll murder anyone who stands in his way.
Eric is angry and racked with grief. He is also afflicted with unbearable guilt as he finds himself growing to care for Igrainia. He learns that Igrainia is suffering the very same devastation. In their months together defending Langley, they progress from blaming one another for their lost loves, to giving one another a reason to hope for the future.
While reading "Knight Triumphant," you'll come to adore Eric's cousin Jamie. You'll look forward to reading his story in the 5th book, "The Lion in Glory."
Knight Triumphant.......2006-04-04
Knight Triumphant is such an amazing story. Heather Graham aka Shannon Drake never misses with her historicals. I absolutely devoured this entire series. There is only one left in the series that has yet to be published, "Queen's Lady" and I for one wish the publishers would get of their backsides and get it onto the store shelves. If you get a chance, I highly recommend reading this entire series. You won't be disappointed, a little tired from staying up late because you can't put the books down, but never disappointed.
Knight Triumphant.......2005-08-16
Shannon Drake is a marvel at what she does. She made me cry for the hero and heroine yet still want them to be together against all odds.
Brava Shannon Drake.......2005-03-05
Heather Graham, writing as shannon drake never fails to deliver her engrossing historical romances. This book was just like ever other book she has written but that is what makes her books all the more better. Knowing that when I go to buy a Shannon Drake book, I am sure to devour it from beginning to end, that's what makes an author top of the list.
Average customer rating:
- Please Stephen, write the other two Volumes
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The Knight Triumphant: The High Middle Ages, 1314-1485
Stephen Turnbull
Manufacturer: Cassell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0304359718 |
Book Description
This book gives the complete story of the knight in the 14th and 15th centuries - his education and upbringing, his training, his war and allegiances, his weapons, strategies and tactics. From Edward III and the Black Prince to the fall of Richard III on Bosworth Field, all the drama, chivalry, fury and fanaticism is captured in graphic text description, archive illustrations of contemporary scenes, people and equipment, and modern photos of the battlefield and castles as they are now.
Customer Reviews:
Please Stephen, write the other two Volumes.......2006-11-03
This book is outstanding. I am Scotch-English so I was very excited to find that the author had written this first of three volumes. I am hoping that my positive review of it will encourage him to return to this subject and bring us 'The Knight Ascendant'. I have been a fan of Stephen Turnbull for the past 25 years. I am a Sandan in Iaido for the All United States Kendo Federation. I would like to add that Stephen's many books on the Samurai and Japan in general are also superb. I own all of them.
Average customer rating:
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KNIGHT TRIUMPHANT
SHANNON DRAKE
Manufacturer: ZEBRA BOOKS/GT 206-8079
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KV8LOG |
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Knight Triumphant
Manufacturer: Zebra Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739424505 |
Product Description
Set in Scotland in the early 1300s during the war between Robert the Bruce and King Edward I, the fourth book in Drake's Graham family series (following Seize the Dawn) opens with a history lesson disguised as a fairytale, but quickly launches into an epic story of love, war and conviction. After escaping plague-ridden Langley castle shortly following her husband's death, Englishwoman Igrainia is captured by Scottish warrior Eric Graham, who seeks to free his wife and daughter from Langley's prison. Upon learning that his daughter is already dead and his wife is dying from the disease, the warrior threatens to kill Igrainia if she cannot save her. In short order, Eric's wife dies, the warrior himself falls ill, Igrainia nurses him back to health and then she tries to flee back to England. Once recovered, Eric recaptures Igrainia and eventually forces her to marry him, a political move that benefits Scotland but enrages both Igrainia and King Edward. This lengthy romance is loaded with period detail and brutal battles between Bruce and the Brits but, thankfully, Eric and Igrainia's fitful romance is always at the forefront. Although it takes a considerable amount of time and many obstacles for the two to realize they love one another, this is a well-researched and thoroughly entertaining read. (Mar.)Forecast: The author of more than 100 titles, Drake also writes contemporary romantic thrillers under the pseudonym Heather Graham (A Season of Miracles, etc.). Drake's popularity began with her historicals, however, and her long-time fans will grab this one as fast as the printer can roll them out. A 10-city author tour and national print advertising may also attract new readers.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Average customer rating:
- Still My Favourite.
- Disappointing finish
- A slightly disappointing conclusion-- three and 1/2 stars
- Final Book in a Very Good Trilogy
- It could have been great
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The Nano Flower (Mindstar)
Peter F. Hamilton
Manufacturer: Tor Science Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0812577698 |
Book Description
Peter F. Hamilton is one the rising stars of science fiction in the nineties. His epic space adventure, The Reality Dysfunction, was a major international bestseller, while his near future thrillers, Mindstar Rising and A Quantum Murder, introduced an intriguing new hero in the character of Greg Mandel, a freelance operative whose telepathic abilities give him a crucial edge in the high tech world of the twenty-first century.Now Mandel returns in a spectacular new adventure that blows open the possibilities of the next century.Julia Evans: billionairess, owner of Event Horizon, for fifteen years undisputed power behind the world's economic renaissance. And in trouble.With her computer-genius husband missing and rival companies suddenly claiming to have acquired a technology impossibly superior to anything on Earth, Julia has no time to notice an anonymously delivered flower. But this flower has genes millions of years in advance of terrestrial DNA.Is it a cryptic alien message or a poignant farewell from her husband?Only Greg Mandel can discover its origin, but he is not alone in his desperate search. A vicious mercenary killer, a jade merchant, and a high-priced courtesan all have a part to play.It was never going to be easy, but as Greg and Julia discover, simply being first in the race ins't nerly good enough as teh Nano Flower starts to bloom....
Customer Reviews:
Still My Favourite........2007-06-08
I wasn't going to write a review but I was so amazed at the previous reviewers comments about the poor quality of the ending to the book that I felt compelled to add my own comments.
It has, perhaps been superceded by the later, grander works, but not in terms of quality.
The major problem with this book, and indeed with the "Greg Mandel Series" as a whole, is that like so many SF authors, the author set the events a little too close to the present. Real history has over-taken the events described.
When reading the books today you have to suspend the natural inclination to see the book as predictive and view it instead, as a kind of parallel alternate history(like "Watchmen" or "The Man in the High Castle").If you can do that there is much to enjoy in the series.
A more minor difficulty is, that this is the third book in the series, and while it is possible to read it without reading the others first it is not advisable. In fact one of the best features of the books is the way that all the characters grow and change as the story progresses.
The first book in the series("Mindstar Rising") is good and introduces the chracters and world very well. The second is a decent enough read, but ultimately not of the standard of the others. This book, the third and final istallment, is the best by far and features some of the the most brilliantly realised SF I've ever read.
A criticsm sometimes directed at the later works is that the ride is great but the finish doesn't always match it. In this book he actually exceeds expectations.
Since all three books in the series are about as long as one instalment of the "Night's Dawn Trilogy" and are as readable as anything he has written since, I would recommend this, and them, to any fan of the author.
In truth it is a great place to start if you are knew to him; it worked for me.
Disappointing finish.......2007-02-22
Sorry, but I didn't care for it. The ending was a disappointment. I expected better after 480 pages. The book seems to be nothing more than a vehicle for Hamilton to dazzle us with his science and engineering knowledge. The truth is that his storytelling is just not that good here.
A slightly disappointing conclusion-- three and 1/2 stars.......2005-06-12
Hamilton is one of the best science fiction writers working today, and I found the first book in this series (Mindstar Rising) to be a very pleasant surprise. I immediately went back and bought A Quantum Murder and the Nano Flower on the strength of the first book.
Unfortunately, each subsequent book has disappointed me just a little bit more in comparison to the first. In Nano Flower, Hamilton is still working with a series of fascinating ideas, but the story and the ending feel far from complete. It almost felt as though Hamilton had lost interest in his own creation and just wanted the series to end.
In fairness I should say that even a bad book by Peter Hamilton is still a pretty darn good book by most standards (hence the 4 stars rating). I still recommend the series for its originality and the sheer strength of the writing.
As a side note, the TOR edition (1999) surely gets points for being the ugliest science fiction book cover in recent memory. It looks for all the world like a Ken doll in a purple satin jump suit holding a water pistol.
Final Book in a Very Good Trilogy.......2004-12-05
The three books in Peter F. Hamilton's Greg Mandel series were written before his "Night's Dawn" series. I'm not certain of this, but they seem to occur in the same universe as that series, just at a MUCH earlier time. Regardless, this series is excellent. What's especially nice, is that, for the most part, each of these books stands alone. You still need to read them in order, but none of them ends in a cliff-hanger requiring your reading of the next. Unfortunately, each of these books has a few fairly explicit sexual situations described in them. The amount of sex increases as you move from book to book. If it weren't for that, I'd recommend these books for everyone.
"Mindstar Rising" is the first book in the series. It's a very good, fast-paced sci-fi action thriller. The book introduces all the important characters and the "universe" used throughout the series. For the most part, the character development is good. I have a few qualms about a character or two suddenly being more capable than they are during the majority of the book, but that's mostly inconsequential. The plot, too, is very good. However, the transition between the first, introductory, situation in the book and the primary situation could have been worked better: it seems contrived. But, I might be seeing that solely because I've read the book four times now.
"A Quantum Murder" is the second book in the series. This book takes place about three years after "Mindstar Rising." Instead of being the science-fiction action thriller that the first book is, it's more of a science fiction mystery. It's a close call, but I think this book is slightly better than "Mindstar Rising." Once again, there's good character development, but this time, the plot is somewhat more tightly put together. I've only got a couple of quibbles: first, in one scene, Mandel's psi powers inexplicably include actual telepathy instead of just the empathy described in "Mindstar Rising." And, second, after the characters find out who the murderer is, instead of sending the police out immediately, they close up shop for the night and say they'll do it in the morning. Other than that, this is an excellent book which shows the origins of a lot of the technology in the "Night's Dawn" series.
"The Nano Flower" is the third, and final, book in the series. The various dates specified in the book don't quite agree, but, in general, it seems to takes place about 16 years after "A Quantum Murder." Like "Mindstar Rising," it's a sci-fi action thriller. Like "A Quantum Murder," it further develops technologies that Hamilton uses in his "Night's Dawn" series. Also, as in "A Quantum Murder," Mandel's psi-powers have once again expanded. Of the three books, this is probably the best. It's a hard comparison to make since the second book is more of a mystery and this book more of an action-thriller. But, in general, I'd say there's an incremental improvement in these books as you move through the series (all of them are very good, though).
It could have been great.......2002-09-26
Book 3 of this series, and I'm still reading. But, even if there were more, I'm fairly certain I would have stopped here.
The Nano Flower had great promise. Interesting, if somewhat far-fetched, plot, and several threads running through to hold it all together.
But by the end, I was shaking my head. What happened?
The end was disappointing, and not really worth waiting for. All the suspense about the alien, and when it finally arrived.... Well, it was just sad. So much could have been done with all of the different parts of the end of this book.... But nothing was, really.
As it went along, the story got thinner and thinner. The characters weren't bad, but more could have been done with them.
And the 14, 15 year gap between this one and the last... My question is, why? To show that the characters have grown, and evolved? What's the point if you don't have any idea what happened to them during that time?
And judging by what I read, a few important things happened then that I would have liked explained. I'll give one example. Royan. Last we saw of him, well, he was in bad shape. Suddenly in this book, he's married to Julia, and has children, and has been missing for 8 months. Granted, it's almost explained later, but not well. I don't know about most people, but I was very curious as to how exactly Royan ended up where he is now.
Basically, it was just disappointing to me all the way around.
It could have been great.....But it wasn't.
Average customer rating:
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Nano Flower
Peter F Hamilton
Manufacturer: ST MARTINS PRESS *
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000Q31ZXC |
Book Description
Millions of readers of Carlos Castaneda books have long enjoyed the fantastic teachings of don Juan Matus, the Yaqui shaman from northern Mexico. Now, thanks to the practical techniques based on Castaneda's writings offered here by author Victor Sanchez--the body as a field of energy, the not-doings of the personal self, stopping the internal dialogue, the magic of attention, setting up dreaming, the warrior's greatest love, and more--you can apply these teachings to your everyday life.
Customer Reviews:
The teachings of Don Carlos.......2007-06-19
I trully enjoyed reading this book. Victor Sanchez has helped me to understand Carlos Castaneda's books by describing in more detail what both Carlos Castaneda and Don Juan were trying to teach us. If you are trying to compare Carlos Castaneda's writing skills to Victor Sanchez's, then you are missing the point. This great book is a practical guide so that those of us interested in shamanism can improve our lives and take on the challenge of becoming a true warrior.
Great Disappointment .......2004-10-02
For one, who read Carlos Castaneda books couple of times and knows the contents pretty well, this book will be a great disappointment. Castaneda is (or at least, was) a cult writer in the Europe; one could not possibly live through the high school or university without running into this magic world - and Dr. Sanchez just repeat over and over again information you already know "by heart". I have originals - why do I need the poor copy?
Just for the sake of "impeccability" - two stars for pointing the Castaneda's books for somebody who did not read them yet.
There are no Toltecs! So how can this guy be one?.......2004-09-11
Self help books are nice. Right? They teach us how to cope with
stress, how to count to ten before we have a temper tantrum, all sorts of
good stuff we can learn from them. We can even sign up for a "workshop" and
go traipsing around the Pyramids outside of Mexico City for a week with some
New Age guru who can help our team from our corporation work more lovingly
and productively while we make smart bombs or toxic food additives or
whatever. But if we have to believe that our gurus here are Toltec Indians,
we need a reality check, I am afraid, because the Toltec Indians disappeared
from history some 700 years ago, I hate to break it to you, and it does not
matter how many times someone has been on Oprah claiming otherwise. It is
just a hard, historical fact that someone is going to have to face up to.
Well, if your accountant can get this junket written off of the company's
tax statement, I guess it is okay. But as far as buying a book like this -
well, CAVEAT LECTOR.
The Teachings of Don Sanchez.......2004-01-22
Victor Sanchez's book may not be for the Carlos Castaneda purist. However, anyone interested in learning some techniques that facilitate serious Self-growth will not be disappointed.
Before I go too much further, I must point out that I don't agree with everything Sanchez has to say or suggest, and likewise I'm not in total agreement with Carlos Castaneda or Don Juan.
An example in this book is Sanchez's beliefs about emotions being the product of thought: "feelings are a natural reaction to what we perceive, while emotions are the product, not of perception, but of thought, of reason. Feelings are not energy-consuming; emotions are to a high degree."
I believe feelings and emotions are both important and vital in our growth, and being more in touch with feelings and emotions is essential to attaining any real Self-growth or magical knowledge.
This is partly semantics on the part of Sanchez, as he lists joy and sorrow as natural feelings (whereas I believe they are emotions also) while lumping as unwanted emotions such things as "wrath, jealousy, and, self-destructive depression." However, from my own experiences and varied teachings from Transpersonal Psychology and Psychosynthesis, depression is brought about through the suppression of emotion. Likewise anger (wrath) is not something to be suppressed, due to its Self-destructive properties, while appropriate ways of expressing it must be found.
This aside, I was impressed with this book, from the introduction. Sanchez coins the term anti-anthropology, which he likes to anti-psychiatry. His approach to the study of the Indians was "not to transform them, but to transform" himself.
Chapter One really sets the scene for continued work throughout the book. Sanchez sets about defining the various concepts he will deal with, including references to Castaneda's books where appropriate. Such topics include: "The Eagle's Emanations", "The Assemblage Point", "The Forms of Attention", "The Internal Dialogue", and "Not-Doing".
The most important sections of this book, to me, are those dealing with "Erasing Personal History" and "Stopping Internal Dialogue". On the subject of "Erasing Personal History" the best words to sum it up are Don Juan's:
"It is best to erase all personal history... because that would make us free from the encumbering thoughts of other people." - Don Juan, "Journey to Ixtlan" by Carlos Castaneda.
To me, what is being discussed is various means of breaking down the belief structures we've inherited from our parents (primarily) and also society. This line of thought is heavily discussed in other fields such as Psychosynthesis (where the concepts of belief structures and the sub-personalities which emerge from them are of critical importance) and memes (mind viruses). By working our way through various stages, starting with recognition and awareness of our personal history (belief structures, memes) we start to be able to make choices based on better meeting our needs, rather than pleasing or rebelling against our parents or society.
"Stopping Internal Dialogue" is something which can assist in our process of "Erasing Personal History" because primarily our belief's "talk" to us (through our sub-personalities) and create the string of seemingly constant and consistent inner dialogue, when in fact it is discontinuous and the result of conflict between diametrically opposed beliefs (which inherently are "the encumbering thoughts of other people"). Richard Brodie's book "Virus of the Mind" also suggests that stopping the internal dialogue is possibly the best way to deal with memes and suggests some techniques similar to Victor Sanchez.
On the topic of "Stopping Internal Dialogue", Sanchez stresses "that thinking is not perceiving. Thinking is not perceiving. As human beings we can think and we can perceive. The problem is, even though our intimate natures as fields of energy mean we are natural perceivers, we are also tied to our thoughts that we do not perceive our possibilities as such. As average people, we perceive so little that we have since forgotten the distinction between thought and perception; we believe that what we think is what we perceive."
This to me is a very important insight, and something I believe deserves a reasonable about of thought (ironically!), and experience (through various exercises and techniques) for anyone involved in personal (Self) growth or magical training. Our ability to genuinely perceive is also tied to our connection with our feelings and emotions, as we perceive with more than one sense. If we are constantly lost in thought, at the mercy of the "encumbering thoughts of other people", and in a constant intellectualisation of reality we are reinforcing the illusion we choose for ourselves.
There is a lot more in this book than the concepts I have chosen to focus on here. It is up to the individual to decide what works for them and what doesn't. I'm sure for many, especially those focused on processes of intellectualising the world, the book will seem full of crazy, irrational ideas which make little or no sense. Such is the world of magic and sorcery, where things are not necessarily as they seem, with our minds being full of Self deception and illusion, and where the resourceful and aspiring sorcerer or magician must find increasingly clever ways to overcome his or her limitations.
Excellent applications of the Toltec system.......2003-11-10
Victor Sanchez has done a good job of presenting various practical ways to "get at" the concepts in Castaneda's books. The book is part exposition and part exercise, disseminated throughout the various chapters. It is really more of a reference manual or a workbook than a book to read straight through.
Some of the exercises seem more accessible to me than others. To start dealing with self-importance, he gives some cogent suggestions like telling yourself lies (to erase personal history) and making an inventory of energy expenditures by paying attention to what you are thinking and doing at various times throughout the day. Then there are other exercises that I never quite got, like his exercises on "awareness of the skeleton" which are supposed to help you access awareness of your own death, so that you can use death as an adviser. And personally, as someone who has worked with lucid dreams for a while, I feel that his section on dreaming is fairly weak and lacks flesh, compared to the rest of the book.
But those are minor quibbles. It's clear to me that he considers these exercises a beginning, and that any enterprising individual can take his ideas and run with them, or make up new techniques. Take some and leave some.
I had the opportunity to ask Sanchez during a workshop what parts of this book he would now revise, since it has been around a decade since the original printing, and he has had many additional experiences in that period of time, including his workshops (www.toltecas.com) and his work with indigenous tribes in Central America. He replied that he felt that it was still fairly solid, except for his revision of his ideas of recapitulation, which have since been updated in a new book, The Toltec Path of Recapitulation.
As for the accusations that Sanchez "has neither the eloquence nor the literary wit of Castaneda" and "has made a career from riding on Castaneda's coattails" ... Well, sure, Castaneda was a master storyteller, but this book ain't about telling stories, it's about what you can do with the lessons in the stories. And although I do not claim to know Sanchez in any depth, having tried many of his techniques and attended one of his short workshops, I would say that he is genuinely dedicated to practicing and teaching his knowledge -- knowledge that has been gained partially from studying Castaneda's works, yes, but by his own admission he has learned the most by far from his experiences with the various indigenous Toltec peoples living in Central America. That is not what I would call making a career from riding on Castaneda's coattails. Judge for yourself from his writings whether or not he is real or fake.
There is definitely plenty of controversy surrounding the figure of Castaneda himself, whether he himself succumbed to the lure of power and became a petty tyrant. The last thing I'll say about this is that Castaneda sued Sanchez and Bear & Co. for an earlier version of the cover of this book, claiming that it ripped off the cover of The Teachings of Don Juan. If you're interested you can read up about that and other Castaneda controversies at www.sustainedaction.org.
To sum up the book: Good workbook to complement Toltec ideas, YOU do the work.
Books:
- The Burning Times: A Novel
- The Cattle Killing
- The Complete Typographer
- The Cyclist: A Novel
- The Dragon Can't Dance (Karen and Michael Braziller Books)
- The Floating Opera and The End of the Road
- The Hearing Trumpet
- The Magic Life - A Novel Philosophy
- The Rock Orchard: A Novel
- The Rough Guide to Spain (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Walter: The Story of a Rat
- Nature Girl
- Honey in the Horn
- In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War
- I'm Not in the Mood: What Every Woman Should Know About Improving Her Libido
- Mirror Symmetry
- Practical Cardiology: Evaluation and Treatment of Common Cardiovascular Disorders
- Nicholas II: Twilight of the Empire
- International Co-Operation in Tax Matters: Report of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Co
- The Politics of Pension Reform: Institutions and Policy Change in Western Europe
Any Bitter Thing
March
The Myth of You and Me: A Novel
Abide with Me: A Novel
The Least You Need to Know: Stories
