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The Magic Life - A Novel Philosophy
Ace Starry Manufacturer: Rare Bird Pr ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0966528166 |
Book Description
Looking for a reason to discover or re-discover your dreams? This novel is for you. An ordinary young man meets a magician at a street fair and learns far more about his life, unconditional love and the illusion of death than he ever dreamed possible. An intriguing metaphysical mystery and love story filled with philosophy, a real page-turner teeming with insights revealing the path to happiness through taking risks and following dreams.Customer Reviews:
Do You Believe in Magic?.......2007-05-13
I've Waited Too Long To Read This.......2006-04-04
So what if others have written similar books?.......2002-03-23
Mr. Starry's book is a story of self-discovery. It does not promise that a life of magic is without pain. It DOES promise that a life of magic is richer.
So yes, go ahead and read Illusions and Seagull by Bach too. They too talk of self discovery and self-magery. But do not miss this book -- it is a hug for the soul.
Boring, uninteresting, slow.......2001-10-27
Magic is what we all need to keep in our lives.......2001-07-20
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The Magic Life: A Novel Philosophy (ISBN:0966528166)
Ace Starry Manufacturer: Rare Bird Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000NQIPNU |
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Apache Summer
Heather Graham Manufacturer: Harlequin ProductGroup: Book Binding: Mass Market Paperback Similar Items: Accessories: ASIN: 0373835418 |
Book Description
Jamie Slater had survived the Civil War, but he'd never outlive his reputation with a gun . . .THEY WERE WILDER THAN THE WEST . . .
Born and raised in frontier Texas, beautiful Tess Stuart needed a hired gun to avenge her uncle's murder. But the only one willing to help was the infuriating, irresistible Lieutenant Jamie Slater -- the man whose passion set her aflame.
Jamie knew no woman could match Tess's lust for life. But one man could -- and he would have her, even if he had to fight his way through a hundred crooked lawmen and Indian massacres. For Tess had a spirit that matched his own . . . as wild and strong as the land they both loved.
Customer Reviews:
#3 in the SLATER BROTHERS TRILOGY - JAMIE SLATER.......2007-08-23
Good History.......2007-01-10
A really good book!!.......2004-01-13
Slater Brothers Lasaga continues...Jamie & Tess's story.......2003-10-01
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Apache Summer (Historical Romance, No 33)
Heather Graham Pozzessere Manufacturer: harlequin ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0373286333 |
Customer Reviews:
A Great Story And A Great Way To End The Series.......1999-10-18
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Apache Summer
Pozzessere Graham Heather Manufacturer: Harlequin Historical Romance ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000O9YCBU |
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Apache Summer
Heather Graham Manufacturer: harlequin ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000OWJQG8 |
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Apache Summer (Harlequin Historical Romance #33)
Heather Graham Pozzessere Manufacturer: harlequin ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000OXO3E2 |
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The history of Geronimo's summer campaign in 1885: a drama,
G. D Cummings Manufacturer: G.D. Cummings ProductGroup: Book Binding: Unknown Binding ASIN: B00085W44C |
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Transformers: Earthforce (Transformers Digest Size (Titan) (Graphic Novels))
Simon Furman Manufacturer: Titan Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1845760611 Release Date: 2006-01-01 |
Book Description
The fourth title in a new series of black & white, digest-sized books featuring stories that have never been collected, Transformers is packed with action and adventure for all ages!With Grimlock in charge of the Autobot force on Earth, we find out exactly what he thinks of the Autobot Code... and the Autobots also get a lesson in how to treat the `fairer sex' from the only female Transformer, Arcee!
Featuring work from a stellar cast of creators including Staz Johnson (Batman/Aliens 2), Geoff Senior, Simon Coleby (Ultimate Nightmare) and the fan-favorite Transformers creative team of Simon Furman and Andy Wildman.
Customer Reviews:
Digest Transformers line for the serious Transformers collectors.......2006-03-11
Transformers Lite.......2006-03-09
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Belief or Nonbelief?
Umberto Eco , and Cardinal Martini Manufacturer: Arcade Publishing ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 1559704977 |
Customer Reviews:
How a Dialogue should be!.......2007-05-10
a beautiful book to comfort us all.......2004-01-30
The thorough Jesuit education these great minds received is as evident as their deep humanity. And, while a student of philosophy and ethics will no doubt be entranced by the clear and logical arguments Eco and Martini present, a less philosophically inclined mind may find comfort.
For in the end, Martini and Eco reassure us that, no matter whether you are secular or religious; no matter what your culture, there are universal values that are common to us all. It is a message well worth hearing in this relativistic and politically correct world.
A Confrontation Indeed.......2001-12-11
Well-reasoned, civil dialogue.......2001-05-30
What I liked most about the dialogue is that the two men clearly present their views and fully address the other's questions, without breaking down into the type of sensationalistic diatribe that passes for debate in the United States. Eco and Martini show respect for each other and each other's views, while clearly making a case for their own beliefs.
My sole complaint is that of several other reviewers - the book was too short. I would have enjoyed more Q&A from Eco and Martini. The reactions of other intellectuals that were apparently included in the Italian and Spanish versions would have also been interesting reading.
This book is well worth a purchase.
No Confrontation at all.......2001-05-10
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Belief or Nonbelief? : A Dialogue
Umberto Eco , and Carlo Maria Martini Manufacturer: Arcade Publishing ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1559705736 |
Amazon.com
Umberto Eco is a famous scholar-novelist, and Cardinal Martini is a famous scholar-bishop. Eco is an urbane ex-Catholic. Cardinal Martini is an urbane prince of the Church. Belief or Nonbelief?, a little book of eight chapters, is a dialogue between them, first published by an Italian newspaper. Each author writes four alternating chapters addressing the hopes of humanity at the dawn of a new millennium, the question of the beginning of human life, the role of the Church, and how we can know Truth.Belief or Non Belief? is a good idea, but it suffers from a couple of problems. The format and content are too obviously recycled newspaper articles. While the engaging, popular style is welcome, the necessary brevity of each chapter means arguments cannot be developed, and the reader is left vaguely dissatisfied. It would have been better if the authors had expanded the project. Both men write well in a sophisticated and polite Italian style that is entertaining at first, but it soon sounds artificial to the English reader. Finally, there are some difficulties in translation: for example, "illumination" is used instead of "enlightenment" and "layman" is consistently used where "non-Catholic" is probably intended. Despite these criticisms, Belief or Nonbelief? is a sharp little book giving a fresh perspective on age-old questions. --Dwight Longenecker
Book Description
Umberto Eco is a famous scholar-novelist, and Cardinal Martini is a famous scholar-bishop. Eco is an urbane ex-Catholic. Cardinal Martini is an urbane prince of the Church. Belief or Nonbelief?, a little book of eight chapters, is a dialogue between them, first published by an Italian newspaper. Each author writes four alternating chapters addressing the hopes of humanity at the dawn of a new millennium, the question of the beginning of human life, the role of the Church, and how we can know Truth. Belief or Non Belief? is a good idea, but it suffers from a couple of problems. The format and content are too obviously recycled newspaper articles. While the engaging, popular style is welcome, the necessary brevity of each chapter means arguments cannot be developed, and the reader is left vaguely dissatisfied. It would have been better if the authors had expanded the project. Both men write well in a sophisticated and polite Italian style that is entertaining at first, but it soon sounds artificial to the English reader. Finally, there are some difficulties in translation: for example, "illumination" is used instead of "enlightenment" and "layman" is consistently used where "non-Catholic" is probably intended. Despite these criticisms, Belief or Nonbelief? is a sharp little book giving a fresh perspective on age-old questions. --Dwight LongeneckerCustomer Reviews:
a beautiful book to comfort us all.......2004-01-29
The thorough Jesuit education these great minds received is as evident as their deep humanity. And, while a student of philosophy and ethics will no doubt be entranced by the clear and logical arguments Eco and Martini present, a less philosophically inclined mind may find comfort.
For in the end, Martini and Eco reassure us that, no matter whether you are secular or religious; no matter what your culture, there are universal values that are common to us all. It is a message well worth hearing in this relativistic and politically correct world.
Clear questions, not so clear answers........2002-05-26
Eco's first question is not really a question but rather a commentary on the secular and religious ideas about history and the end of history. Both agree that history has meaning and direction and that the fears about a disastrous end can be vanquished by hope.
The other three questions are ethical and are much more interesting. After a short and delightful investigation about what human life is, Eco asks about abortion, and specifically about when human life begins. Martini explains that there are different kinds of human life and that the kind that counts is not physical life but rather spiritual life which is part of God's life. Being a cardinal, he cannot but answer Eco's question with the Church's official position, which is that human life begins at inception. He reasons that this is so because at the inception a person's genetic identity is fixed. To me this argument sounds rather superficial. After all a seed fixes the identity of the tree that may grow out of it, but that does not mean that the seed is a living tree. Surely, if, while eating an apple, I inadvertently swallow a seed, nobody will claim that I have just eaten an apple tree. To be fair, Martini is only stating that human life starts at inception, not that a fertilized human egg is a human being. But in this case then we get the equally strange claim that human life is present in something that is not a human being.
The third of Eco's questions is about the ordination of women. He argues that there are not really any dogmatic impediments for women becoming priests and, also, that common sense dictates that half of humanity should not be excluded from serving God in any capacity. Martini's answer here is very problematic. He starts on a fine note stating that we should not impose our morality on others: "Any external imposition of principles or religious behavior on the nonconsenting violates freedom of conscience." Exactly two paragraphs later he contradicts himself writing that "religious bodies can try to democratically influence the tenor of laws they find do not correspond to an ethical standard that might indeed derive from religious practice". He concedes that ultimately there are no good arguments for denying the priesthood to women, but that nevertheless this must be denied them because it is God's will, according to the opinion of those "who by Episcopal succession have received the power of truth".
The fourth and final question is Martini's, and now I think it is Eco's answer that sounds strained. Martini asks what the foundation is for an atheist's moral principles, up to documented extremes where atheists gave up their lives trying to do what they thought right. Implicitly in this question one reads the presumption that the foundation of morality can only be a transcendent religious awareness. Eco starts, interestingly enough, explaining that there can be no true atheists because even though nobody has found a convincing proof for the existence of God, neither has anybody found a convincing proof for the nonexistence of God. He responds to Martini's question explaining that moral ideology is a result of the requirements of our cohabitation in close proximity. He recognizes that this standard explanation for morality does not explain the phenomenon of secular people offering a personal sacrifice comparable to that of Christ, so he ventures that the reason here is that people have a deep need to give a good example, to leave a message to others, sometimes even if it costs their life. He does not explain how this instinctive need to communicate good has evolved with human life and culture, so he is merely transforming the original question into a different one.
Ultimately, Eco and Martini do not really connect, and it would be too much to expect such a miracle. I think that the religious and secular world views can only touch and derive worth from each other if each side abandons beliefs that are deeply felt but not really central to the respective world views. Secular people should stop talking about "meaningful life", "universal harmony", a "higher power", or "the other" and simply give it a name and call it God. Religious people should recognize that the origin of truth is not in books of revelations or leaders who "have received the power of truth" but God alone with no intermediaries. When secular people accept that truth comes from somewhere, and religious people accept that where truth comes from we can go ourselves, then the foundations of a very meaningful dialectic will have been set.
One star less than the deserving five, because the English edition omits the commentaries by several other authors which were included in the original edition.
Too short!.......2001-07-14
interesante intercambio de ideas.......2001-07-14
UMBERTO ECO Y CARLO MARIA MARTINI
Este pequeño intercambio de ideas entre estas dos grandes figuras es un excelente ejercicio literario, filosófico e ideológico de carácter muy profundo y ha sido un libro de un gran impacto en mi vida. Tenia tiempo que no leía una obra que me pusiera a pensar y repensar en los valores de la sociedad moderna y el papel de la iglesia y los laicos. Debo decir que después de este libro veo las instituciones religiosas y sus creyentes con mucho mas respeto que antes. Los veo a la luz de los errores pasados, pero también los veo en su función de reformar y reformarse, en una constante búsqueda de la verdad que parece eludirnos pero veo que lentamente el germen de la tolerancia, la comprensión y el amor hacia ese otro que es un alter ego esta ganando terreno. Respecto a la pregunta de Martini en la que no se explica sobre que basa la certeza y la imperatividad de su actuar moral quien, para fundar la cualidad de absoluto de una ética, no pretende hacer un llamado a principios metafísicos, es decir no busca de Dios a la hora de hacer el bien, encuentra en Eco una respuesta contundente y posmodernista en que los individuos dependemos de la aceptación del otro para poder vivir y es esa cohesión de hechos la que nos hace no lastimar a los demás y es también la razón que lleva a los filósofos a filosofar, a los escritores a escribir; dejar un mensaje para los otros en un futuro para que sepan y vean lo que consideramos bello en nuestro tiempo y un poco de nosostos en esas cosas. Dios existe porque necesitamos que exista ese padre, esa figura que significa protección en un mundo donde hasta el momento estamos solos. Los no creyentes y los creyentes debemos respetarnos y aprender a encontrar puntos de consenso, para conservar nuestra raza y mantener viva a nuestra madre, Gea.
Luis Mendez
interesante intercambio de ideas.......2001-07-14
UMBERTO ECO Y CARLO MARIA MARTINI
Este pequeño intercambio de ideas entre estas dos grandes figuras es un excelente ejercicio literario, filosófico e ideológico de carácter muy profundo y ha sido un libro de un gran impacto en mi vida. Tenia tiempo que no leía una obra que me pusiera a pensar y repensar en los valores de la sociedad moderna y el papel de la iglesia y los laicos. Debo decir que después de este libro veo las instituciones religiosas y sus creyentes con mucho mas respeto que antes. Los veo a la luz de los errores pasados, pero también los veo en su función de reformar y reformarse, en una constante búsqueda de la verdad que parece eludirnos pero veo que lentamente el germen de la tolerancia, la comprensión y el amor hacia ese otro que es un alter ego esta ganando terreno. Respecto a la pregunta de Martini en la que no se explica sobre que basa la certeza y la imperatividad de su actuar moral quien, para fundar la cualidad de absoluto de una ética, no pretende hacer un llamado a principios metafísicos, es decir no busca de Dios a la hora de hacer el bien, encuentra en Eco una respuesta contundente y posmodernista en que los individuos dependemos de la aceptación del otro para poder vivir y es esa cohesión de hechos la que nos hace no lastimar a los demás y es también la razón que lleva a los filósofos a filosofar, a los escritores a escribir; dejar un mensaje para los otros en un futuro para que sepan y vean lo que consideramos bello en nuestro tiempo y un poco de nosostos en esas cosas. Dios existe porque necesitamos que exista ese padre, esa figura que significa protección en un mundo donde hasta el momento estamos solos. Los no creyentes y los creyentes debemos respetarnos y aprender a encontrar puntos de consenso, para conservar nuestra raza y mantener viva a nuestra madre, Gea.
Luis Mendez
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