Average customer rating:
- With humor, wit and sadness
- Lost in Translation.
- Doesn't live up to a live performance.
- Amazing
- Not What I Expected
|
The Vagina Monologues: The V-Day Edition
Eve Ensler
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Dance
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Theater
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Playwriting
| Theater
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
United States
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Good Body
-
Insecure at Last: Losing It in Our Security-Obsessed World
-
M. Butterfly.
-
Wit : A Play
-
'Night Mother.
ASIN: 0375756981
Release Date: 2000-12-05 |
Amazon.com
"I say vagina because I want people to respond," says playwright Eve Ensler, creator of the hilarious, disturbing soliloquies in The Vagina Monologues, a book based on her one-woman play. And respond they do--with horror, anger, censure, and sparks of wonder and pleasure. Ensler is on a fervent mission to elevate and celebrate this much mumbled-about body part. She asked hundreds of women of all ages a series of questions about their vaginas (What do you call it? How would you dress it?) that prompt some wondrous answers. Standouts among the euphemisms are tamale, split knish, choochi snorcher, Gladys Siegelman--Gladys Siegelman?--and, of course, that old standby "down there." "Down there?" asks a composite character springing from several older women. "I haven't been down there since 1953. No, it had nothing to do with [American president] Eisenhower." Two of the most powerful pieces include a jagged poem stitched together from the memories of a Bosnian woman raped by soldiers and an American woman sexually abused as a child who reclaims her vagina as a place of wild joy.
Book Description
A poignant and hilarious tour of the last frontier, the ultimate forbidden zone, The Vagina Monologues is a celebration of female sexuality in all its complexity and mystery. Hailed as the bible for a new generation of women, it has been performed in cities all across America and at hundreds of college campuses, and has inspired a dynamic grassroots movement—V-Day—to stop violence against women. Witty and irreverent, compassionate and wise, Eve Ensler's Obie Award-winning masterpiece gives voice to real women's deepest fantasies and fears, guaranteeing that no one who reads it will ever look at a woman's body, or think of sex, in quite the same way again.
Download Description
Loved by everyone from Calista Flockhart to Joy Behar, the talk of tabloids and TV, performed at over two hundred colleges every year for V-Day -- a dynamic grass-roots movement to stop violence against women -- The Vagina Monologues is a national phenomenon. Witty, irreverent, and wise, it has become the bible for a new generation of women. "You don't just hook up with Eve", says Glenn Close. "You become a part of her crusade". Next February, the crusade takes us to Madison Square Garden for V-Day 2001, a huge, all-star, day-long extravaganza and call to action for which Jane Fonda will make a triumphant return to the stage. The V-Day edition of The Vagina Monologues includes three new monologues, a new preface by Eve, and heartbreaking testimonials from young women around the country. February will also see the opening of Necessary Targets, Eve Ensler's groundbreaking new play about women and war. Necessary Targets is the story of two American women, a Park Avenue psychiatrist and a human-rights worker, who go to Bosnia to help women refugees confront their memories of war and emerge deeply changed themselves. It has been read in New York by Meryl Streep, Anjelica Huston, and Calista Flockhart and was performed in Sarajevo with Glenn Close and Marisa Tomei. It will open its New York run with a similar all-star cast.
Customer Reviews:
With humor, wit and sadness.......2007-09-30
Our small town is in a dither because our local theater group is going to put on this play. So I decided to read this book to "be informed before I judged". I'm so glad I did, this book wasn't what I thought it would be. With humor, wit and sadness, Eve takes us on a journey of pain and pleasure through our "down there parts". I don't think I will ever wear my "I love my Vulva" t-shirt. But it's nice to know that others do.
Lost in Translation........2007-09-17
Despite years of buildup I found myself severely disappointed and slightly disgusted by The Vagina Monologues. I respect that the purpose is to (as the opening page read) empower women, make them feel equal, not to be ashamed of their sexuality and to make rape and violence against women to be known and for it to stop. That is a fantastic and admirable cause and one I support, but one I feel The Vagina Monologues does not.
I question how a work can claim to be against rape and then include a story endorsing statutory rape. The chapter entitled "The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could" explicitly details a 13 year old girl being raped repeatedly by an older woman and declares it a good experience. I don't care how the story is spun. Rape of any kind should never be endorsed.
One offensive chapter does not ruin a book for me. I was under whelmed by other material as well. Instead of the usual male copouts used against the book I blame my disappointment on a bad transition from stage to book. These stories are supposed to fill the reader with emotions. I felt nothing while reading the chapters. Worse still was chapters like "My Angry Vagina" and "The Flood" really do seem potent. I would enjoy seeing them performed at their full emotional capabilities. Unfortunately simply reading doesn't allow the reader to take away any emotion.
I'm not totally writing off The Vagina Monologues just yet. My value judgment on the book would be that it potentially has entertainment and informational value, but I just happened to encounter it in the wrong medium. A worthwhile stage production could change my view. As it now stands I find The Vagina Monologues to be an emotionless and contradicted work.
Doesn't live up to a live performance........2007-06-25
Eve Ensler's (1953) Vagina Monologues were written in 1996 in response to the guilt and embarrassment some women experience with their bodies and/or sexuality. This book is an adaptation of performance pieces based on Ensler's one-woman, Obie Award winning show, and includes monologues relating to the vagina as a symbol of female empowerment: "The Flood," I Was Twelve, My Mother Slapped Me," "Because He Liked to Look At It," "My Vagina Was My Village," "My Angry Vagina," "The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could," and "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy." Outrageous? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. Eye-opening? Yes. Not surprisingly, however, Ensler's Monologues have also sparked much criticism, including criticism from feminist critics, some of whom note that Ensler's monologues have a negative and restrictive view of sexuality and an anti-male bias (see Betty Dodson; Wendy McElroyn). As written monologues, unfortunately these pieces do not stand up to the intended delivery of a spoken performance. (Just as reading a play isn't the same as experiencing the performance, reading these monologues in a book doesn't quite offer the same experience as a live performance.) And as for theatrical monologues, Ensler's pieces lack the wit, revelation, hilarity and human truths of other monologists such as Spalding Gray, who transformed the form into art with Swimming to Cambodia, Monster in a Box, and Slippery Slope before his suicide.
G. Merritt
Amazing.......2007-05-02
After seeing a performance of the Vagina Monologues, I was inspired. As a dedicated feminist and a person who wants to see violence against women (and everyone) stopped I was impressed and grateful for the Vagina Monologues. That has been a few months now. I recently purchased a copy of the Vagina Monologues- The V-Day edition and am re-energized and inspired all over again. It's witty, senstive, sexy, saddening, aw inspiring, thought provoking, and so much more. Reading it makes me want to go out there and help and scream. I would reccomend this book to anyone and everyone!
Not What I Expected.......2007-01-15
When I discovered this book in a garage sale hosted by a friend of mine, I thought, finally! I would read something that I've heard so much about ~~ who hasn't heard of this book? So this past week, I finally had a chance to pluck it off the book shelf and started reading it. It is definitely not what I expected.
I think I need to see the performance. This book just contains the words that I've heard over and over again ~~ nothing really stood out that would "change my life." Maybe it's the prude in me ~~ none of my friends and I would sit down and discuss our sex lives with one another. We definitely would never talk about our vaginas. And I definitely don't feel isolated in this respect. It's just something that I just don't need to talk about. I am not ashamed of it nor am I embarrassed. It's just not something I "need" to talk about.
This book is interesting to read but not life-changing as it would lead you to believe. Without Eve performing, the words are just empty. It definitely needs emotion and action to back them up. Now, if you want to share stories of violence against women, I am all for it ~~ but this book barely even skimmed on that subject.
It is a disappointment to read this and find out that nothing has changed. There is a reason why books should not be made on the performances ~~ it just doesn't emote very well.
1-14-07
Book Description
This highly informative tour of the clitoris is written with the clarity, exuberance, and accessibility of a sexuality workshop. Growing out of the author's work as a member of the Federation of Feminist Women's Health Centers, the study begins by debunking myths and inaccuracies and replacing them with anatomically precise detail. Containing personal accounts, comprehensive illustrations, and a thorough appendix of female sexuality resources, the book will help women and their partners understand and expand their sexual interests and potential for pleasure.
Customer Reviews:
MUST READ!.......2007-08-26
Male or female, if you are the least bit sexual you must read this book. You will find everything you ever wanted to know about female genitalia and sexual response. Frankly, this information is available from many other sources. The true value of this book is the complete investigation of the G-spot and female ejaculation. In most straight books, mention of either is cursory and unconvincing. More amazingly, books by M.D.s published in the last few years still deny the existence of both. "The Clitoral Truth" blows that nonsense out of the water.
The author traces female ejaculation back to 500 BC, examines the anatomical research on the G-spot then thoroughly discusses the search for the mystical spurt. Once you read this chapter, you will no longer doubt the existence of the G-spot nor will you fear the prospect of dousing the sheets.
I was introduced to female ejaculation many years ago when a lover's orgasm drenched my bed in an unknown liquid. Since then, whenever I mention the phenomenon, I am greeted with derision and one word, "Pee." Now, I use this book to quietly convince my friends. Hooray for Ms Chalker!
I also recommend "The Good Vibrations Guide to the G-spot" which is more of a owner/user manual.
Go buy and read the book, but be warned.......2006-06-08
I'm a guy and I have always felt it important to know the functions and purpose for all the sexual organs for both sexes.
The data and the diagrams are very informative. She goes over a history of female anatomy and politics governing it's representation in anatomy books over the centuries.
The diagram's, names, functions and purposes of the myriad organs are very informative. I knew that I didn't know it all, but I didn't realize that there was so much more for me to learn.
This book is more like two 'books' combined than just one book. The first book is a self-defining discovery or reclassification of the female sexual anatomy. That 'book' is very detailed, and thought provoking.
The other book is full of social commentary and is trails the development of the clitoral presence in anatomy books and how politics and male insecurity just wiped it out of some books for a time. It's very informative. What I don't like about the ideological part is that it states many times that a woman can't be pleased fully unless it's with another woman.
The problem with "The Clitoral Truth" is that the technical data is intertwined with personal stories of different women and how they didn't receive pleasure from them selves or from men until they had sexual relations with other women or until they went to one of the women only sexual seminars.
I wouldn't suggest it for any woman who didn't have a strong sense of her sexual identity, because it could easily lead some to homosexual experimenting or converting. (I've seen similar campaigns and women who have succumbed to them.) It's a subtle undertone, but it's consistent. (While I don't have anything against homosexuality, I have seen enough conversion campaigns to last a lifetime.)
Having said all that, I'm giving a copy to my fiancée and suggesting it to a few educators and Ex-s.
It's a great book, Men should read it. Women should read it. Mothers should read it to their daughters. Educators could use it as a resource.
[...]
Waves of Pleasure.......2006-01-18
Needless to say I am always seeking new ways to enhance the pleasure when I make love to myself and when it comes to double clicking my mouse, I am no novice. The information here with in this book made it impossible to keep my hands away from the mystical fold let alone my love bean. Unfortunately wrist fatigue has prematurely ended my countless masturbation sessions, it's quite possible that I may have even acquired carpel tunnel from the hours upon hours of stimulation i've given myself from the techniques discussed in this book.
get past male insecurity.......2005-05-22
The men who bashed this book should get past their insecurities about female sexual assertion. This book is wonderful and filled with information that any heterosexual man for whom pleasure is mutual and for whom his partner's pleasure is a source of pleasure for him in its own right.
Essential Read for Women and Men.......2005-02-26
This book is packed full with empirical research and information that is rarely discussed or taught in general sex ed classes. Chalker's references are well documented and based in up-to-date sexology/human anatomy studies. The Clitoral Truth contains drawings of the massive internal structures of the clitoris, so that women and men can appreciate how this organ wraps around the vagina and urethra in various ways among women. Just as no two penises are exactly alike...no two clitorises are identical...And hence, women experience orgasm differently. Chalker's chapters highlight some of the history of the clitoris, the importance of this organ, and how to include it in your sexual play.
I would also recommend Rachel Maines' "The Technology of Orgasm" if you are wishing to better understand women's orgasm (or frequent lack thereof) and how ignorance about the clitoris and ignoring this vital organ relates to women's lives and sexual experience.
Average customer rating:
|
Monologos De La Vagina/ Monologue of the Vagina
Eve Ensler
Manufacturer: Planeta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Anatomy
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomía
| Ciencias Biológicas
| Ciencia
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 8495908891 |
Average customer rating:
|
The Vagina Monologues
Eve Ensler
Manufacturer: Random House Books On Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0736691561 |
Product Description
Single cassette, 1.5 hours. Comes in oversize clamshell case.
Average customer rating:
|
Break the silence.: An article from: New Moon
Carrie Rethlefsen
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Automotive
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Crime & Criminals
| Current Events
| Economics
| Education
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Government
| Holidays
| Law
| Philosophy
| Politics
| Social Sciences
| Transportation
| True Accounts
| Urban Planning & Development
| Women's Studies
General
| Nonfiction
| HTML
| Formats
| e-Docs
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: B000L431EC
Release Date: 2006-11-27 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from New Moon, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 733 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: Break the silence.
Author: Carrie Rethlefsen
Publication:
New Moon (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 14
Issue: 1
Page: 32(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on February 20, 2002. The length of the article is 566 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: Los monólogos de la vagina.(TT: The vagina monologues.)(Reseña)
Author: Ganzalo Valdés Medellín
Publication:
Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: February 20, 2002
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: 48
Issue: 2540
Page: 68
Article Type: Reseña
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Westchester County Business Journal, published by Westfair Communications, Inc. on February 24, 2003. The length of the article is 345 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: March 27th is V-Day presentation of 'Vagina Monologues' at the arts exchange to benefit victims of domestic abuse. (News).
Publication:
Westchester County Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 24, 2003
Publisher: Westfair Communications, Inc.
Volume: 42
Issue: 8
Page: A15(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Tanner Richardson, the volatile duke of Cambridge, sees his wife with another man. Misinterpreting the situation, he erupts into rage and throws her and their unborn baby out. Tanner’s anger smolders—until the night he is shot....
Customer Reviews:
You have to keep reading.......2006-08-30
I read the entire Kensington Chronicle Series. Once you start reading you have to keep going, you want to know more and more about the people! Lori Wick has a new fan!
Great characters!.......2006-06-18
As I said in my review of the first volume of this series, I didn't think I'd like this series, but I adored this book. Tanner and Stacy are great characters and you really get a lot of emotion in this book, both romantic and spiritual. I also like how the ending played out - a slightly different variant than normal! This is definitely a keeper! Plus you get to see the characters from book one again.
Lori Wick scores again!.......2006-06-06
I just finished this book and loved it completely! Stacy and Tanner's marriage is at stake when he sends her away because of mistrust and a former experience with a deceitful woman. When Tanner decides he wants her back, she returns with a child he has never seen. Will Tanner continue to condemn Stacy for something she didn't do or will he find the truth before its too late? I greatly admired Stacy's faith and devotion that she showed to the people around her. Her patience and loving manner in the way that she delt with her husband and son was inspiring. This book is definetely a keeper!
A romance worthy of praise.......2004-10-24
Though I thought this book to be very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Stacy and Tanner, I did, however, believe that there were places in this book that tended to drag a little. I felt that the separation between Stacy and Tanner was too long and a bit hard to swallow. However, I did appreciate the way Mrs. Wick developed the characters and their personalities. It was completely understandable why each acted and thought as they did.
I recommend this book to anyone who is a diehard romantic.
Mixed thoughts on this one..........2004-01-27
Lori Wick is a great writer. Her writing style turns this sad story into something worthy of reading.
Stacey is a country girl who is swept into marriage to a Duke. At first all is well, but the unforgiving Duke punishes Stacey for other's sins. The story is realistic in that things are not 'fixed' immediately. The story drags a bit in places, but all in all, it's worth reading to form your own opinion.
As book 3 of the Kensington Chronicles, the stand alone story is not on the caliber of the first two. We'll see what happens in book 4...
Product Description
Travel to a time of wild adventure and gentle romance---and meet courageous heroines who stand up for themselves and their beliefs. From the tapestried halls of Victorian England to the alabaster courts of Arabia, from the storm-tossed high seas to the courts of kings, follow their search for true love and peace. Collection includes 4 books: The Hawk and the Jewel, Kensington Chronicles #1 / Wings of the Morning, Kensington Chronicles #2 / Who Brings Forth the Wind, Kensington Chronicles #3 / The Knight and the Dove, Kensington Chronicles #4
Product Description
Travel to a time of wild adventure and gentle romance---and meet courageous heroines who stand up for themselves and their beliefs. From the tapestried halls of Victorian England to the alabaster courts of Arabia, from the storm-tossed high seas to the courts of kings, follow their search for true love and peace. 300 pages each, softcovers from Harvest.
Average customer rating:
- great nonfiction & fiction
|
Catastrophes, Chaos & Convolutions
James P. Hogan
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Hogan, James P.
| ( H )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Adventure
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Anthologies
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
High Tech
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Short Stories
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
( H )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Adventure
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Anthologies
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
High Tech
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Short Stories
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Kicking the Sacred Cow: Heresy and Impermissible Thoughts in Science
-
Kicking the Sacred Cow
-
The Two Moons (Giants)
-
Mission to Minerva (Giants)
-
Echoes of an Alien Sky
ASIN: 1416509216 |
Customer Reviews:
great nonfiction & fiction.......2006-02-11
This is the first book by James P. Hogan that I've read and I'll certainly read more. It contains a fascinating nonfiction article on plasma physics and the sun ("The Cosmic Power Grid") that builds upon the work of Hans Alfven, challenging the notion that the sun is powered by fusion. For sheer speculative thinking, this one's got to get an A+. The fiction and the nonfiction in the volume is inspired by the same imaginative scope.
Book Description
"If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."
The ninth-century sage Lin Chi gave this advice to one of his monks, admonishing him that this Buddha would only be a reflection of his unexamined beliefs and desires. Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet took Lin Chi's advice to heart and set out on a car trip around America, looking for Buddhas along the road and the people who meet them: prophets in G-strings dancing to pay the rent, storm chasers hunting for meaning in devastating tornados, gangbangers inking God on their bodies as protection from bullets, cross-dressing terrorist angels looking for a place to sing.
Along the way Manseau and Sharlet began to wonder what the traditional scripture they encountered everywhere -- in motels, on billboards, up and down the radio dial -- would look like remade for today's world. To find out, they called upon some of today's most intriguing writers to recast books of the Bible by taking them apart, blowing them up with ink and paper.
Rick Moody recasts Jonah as a modern-day gay Jewish man living in Queens. A.L. Kennedy meditates on the absurdity of Genesis. In Samuel, April Reynolds visits a man of tremendous vision in Harlem. Peter Trachtenberg unravels the Gordian logic of Job by way of the Borscht Belt. Haven Kimmel dives into Revelation and comes out in a swoon. Woven through these divine books are Manseau and Sharlet's dispatches from the road, their Psalms of the people.
What emerges from this work of calling is not an attack on any religion, but a many-colored, positively riveting look at the facets of true belief. Together these curious minds tell the strange, funny, sad, and true story of religion in America for the spiritual seeker in all of us: A Heretic's Bible.
Download Description
"""If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."" The ninth-century sage Lin Chi gave this advice to one of his monks, admonishing him that this Buddha would only be a reflection of his unexamined beliefs and desires. Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet took Lin Chi's advice to heart and set out on a car trip around America, looking for Buddhas along the road and the people who meet them: prophets in G-strings dancing to pay the rent, storm chasers hunting for meaning in devastating tornados, gangbangers inking God on their bodies as protection from bullets, cross-dressing terrorist angels looking for a place to sing. Along the way Manseau and Sharlet began to wonder what the traditional scripture they encountered everywhere -- in motels, on billboards, up and down the radio dial -- would look like remade for today's world. To find out, they called upon some of today's most intriguing writers to recast books of the Bible by taking them apart, blowing them up with ink and paper. Rick Moody recasts Jonah as a modern-day gay Jewish man living in Queens. A.L. Kennedy meditates on the absurdity of Genesis. In Samuel, April Reynolds visits a man of tremendous vision in Harlem. Peter Trachtenberg unravels the Gordian logic of Job by way of the Borscht Belt. Haven Kimmel dives into Revelation and comes out in a swoon. Woven through these divine books are Manseau and Sharlet's dispatches from the road, their Psalms of the people. What emerges from this work of calling is not an attack on any religion, but a many-colored, positively riveting look at the facets of true belief. Together these curious minds tell the strange, funny, sad, and true story of religion in America for the spiritual seeker in all of us: A Heretic's Bible."
Customer Reviews:
SO Good.......2006-04-27
I'm no book critic, but i thought this book was just lovely and enlightened. Strongly Recommended! A good read and no waste of time.
Especially for Seekers . . ........2006-01-22
Wonderful book, especially for spiritual seekers - the updated version of the Book of Job is phenominal. There is another very memorable updated Bible book which revolves around a church in NYC with a black pastor. I read this book over a year ago and now that it is out in paperback it is probably time to get my own copy.
A heretic's bible - created for heretics, by heretics........2004-12-30
In this revamp of the Bible, Manseau and Sharlet write psalms from their impressions of their road trip through the USA, and 13 "books" of the Bible are written by American writers from diverse persuasions. Each chapter provides a unique and individual discourse on the divine.
In psalm 36:1, Sharlet and Manseau encountered a young girl in Heartland, Kansas who explained to them, "Monotheism is a mirror that offers only one reflection; Paganism is a spinning disco ball, a thousand glittering possibilities". After reading this book it is apparent that even monotheism has thousands of glittering possibilities. For every shared concept of Divinity, there is a myriad of distinct cosmologies bubbling up through humanity, each a universe of it's own.
It seems we all have our own unique ways of coming to terms with God, our origins, the miraculous... often breaking out of one religious dogma only to fall for another kind of spiritualized mind-snare.
Tragic, chaotic, surreal, and often hilarious.
In celebration of heretics.......2004-07-19
This often times hilarious but always serious journal of a spiritual journey across America in search of Buddha is worth reading. The book is a collection of experiences, impressions, and encounters with reality as the authors travel across the American continent looking for the various incarnations of Buddha along the way.
The religious community has nothing to fear from the work of Manseau and Sharlet. They do not attack any religion, but rather they celebrate the spiritual venture many of us seem to be working toward. At the same time, they have an incredible collection of stories to keep us open minded about where we might encounter our own Buddha. If you don't have time to travel America, grab this book, sit back, and kill the Buddha vicariously.
Holy Roller Coaster.......2004-06-20
A wicked and wonderful blend of beliefs and doubts, accounts of freaks, saints, sinners, holy men (& ladies!) and con artists. The first chapter -- Genesis, of course -- is slow going, but don't skip it if you want some serious ideas about what religion IS, from the perspective of one who has fallen away. From there the book moves like a roller coaster, up and down between journalistic sections about a road trip Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlett took around to the far corners of faith, and stories by novelists. Not up and down in the sense of good and bad, but up and down in the sense of a ride with thrills and heights and scares. Killing the Buddha is a scary book, although don't let the title throw you -- it's Buddhist itself, in its way. It's scary because it cuts so close to the bone, because it leaves no belief unscorched. Not an innocent book, but a brilliant one.
Books:
- The Vision of Emma Blau : A Novel
- The Wasp Eater
- The Woman Chaser
- The Worst Journey in the World
- The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
- Three Weddings and a Giggle: Fine Print/Sweet Chariot/Bride on the Run (Palisades Pure Romance Anthology)
- Unless: A Novel
- Up the Down Staircase
- We Should Never Meet: Stories
- Who Does She Think She Is?: A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Working With Contracts: What Law School Doesn't Teach You
- The Business of Software: What Every Manager, Programmer, and Entrepreneur Must Know to Thrive and S
- Making Waves #4: Thrill
- Living Within Limits: ECOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND POPULATION TABOOS
- Peanuts: A Golden Celebration: The Art and the Story of the World's Best-Loved Comic Strip
- Probability and Computing: Randomized Algorithms and Probabilistic Analysis
- The Complete Corvette Restoration and Technical Guide, Vol. 1: 1953 Through 1962
- Matsushita Leadership
- Partnership Power: How to Profit and Reduce Taxes Investing in Real Estate Partnerships
- Writing with Precision: How to Write So That You Cannot Possibly Be Misunderstood
