Book Description
A Captive Elven Princess . . .
In a time of war, a princess of Qualinost and an elite band of warriors sail forth to rescue their contrymen from the collapsing Ergoth Empire. Their journey goes awry when a strange mist engulfs Princess Vixa's ship and transports them to a phantom island.
Who are the mysterious masters who imprison them in their undersea city?
No soul has encountered the fabled Dargonesti or visited the city of pearl marble that rises from the sea floor -- and lived to tell the tale. Princess Vixa and her companions meet the race of sea elves, experience a fantastical underwater world, face a foe counted among the legends of Krynn, and accept an impossible mission that will bring them back to the land they call home.
The Dargonesti
The Lost Histories Series probes the historical roots and epic struggles of the heretofore little-known peoples of Krynn.
Customer Reviews:
No Relation, But Still Good.......2006-09-10
To begin, I agree with all those who say it was not a history. It's just not. The story couldn't have influenced the Dargonesti in any way, because it says in the book that Uriona and her followers broke off from the Dargonesti. Still this was a great book. I liked Vixa and Speaker Elendar. I also enjoyed the fact that Vixa was the daughter of Kemian Ambrodel and Verhanna Kanan. This confirmed my suspicions from The Qualinesti that they married.
Overall, great book, good characters and great ending.
Disappointing story is not a history at all!.......2003-12-31
In a series of books titled "Lost Histories," one might expect to learn about how various races and peoples originated and how they changed through time. In "The Dargonesti" you instead get a story that focuses on a Qualinesti woman who encounters and interacts with some Dargonesti in her travels.
This book could only appeal to Dragonlance fans who want to read every book out there. The story is not that well written and jumps around quite a bit. Characters are introduced and killed off, sometimes rather quickly, and in general are pretty inconsistant. The action is choppy, and the ending is mildly contrived.
For Dragonlance fans, this book presents further problems. Again, it is hardly a history of the Dargonesti, it only deals with one sect of the sea elves over a span of a few weeks. And it doesn't seem that this war-mongering group is representative of the rest, as they are portrayed in Chronicles. Questions like What are the origins of the sea elves, how did they evolve over time, what are their feelings toward the rest of Krynn are either hinted at or ignored altogether. This story should have been modeled after the first book in the series, the Kagonesti, which was excellent.
This was not an enjoyable read at all and I would only recommend it for hard-core Dragonlance fans.
WOW!! Outstanding achievement in literary fiction..........2002-10-03
I was deeply impressed with this work. I was literally riveted to each and every word. Not once in this book did I see the next bend in the road. Every time you think you have a good bead on what is gonna happen next, BAM!. You become dead wrong. This work was more than fascinating!
A fantastic work. This book deal with a lost race of elves called the "Dargonesti". This race lives at the bottom of a great sea. In this book you'll see..
(1) Qualenesti Elves
(2)Silvanesti Elves
(3)Dargonesti Elves
(4)A Kracken
(5)Humans
(6)Dwarves
(7)A gryphon
This is a absolutely fabulous read. If you are a veteran of this series, you'll love this book! If you are a newbie to the world of Krynn...you'll adore this book!
-Jon
It was Monumentally Exelent.......2001-12-01
The book The Dargonesti, by Tonya Cook and Paul B. Thompson, is a book about an ancient race of elves that started living at the bottom of the ocean a few thousand years ago. A Queen that knows a little bit of magic and is bent on ruling the world rules this ancient race, the Dargonesti. They capture other intelligent land creatures to be their slaves and build a wall for them to protect them from a race of semi intelligent crustaceans that are in a constant war with them.
I liked this book a lot because when I read it, it was reminded of humans and the lost world of Atlantis. Also, the fact that the book is one exiting adventure with magic and mystical creatures won me over.
WOW.......2000-06-07
I read this book and this is exactly what I thought! It isn't the most fast paced book I ever read, but it kept me hooked with its details and the characters. It did seem that whenever you got to know one of the minor characters that they die, but for me it added onto the story, always making me wonder what happened next. If you like very fast paced books, I don't think this is the book for you, but if you like twisting plots, great characters, and a book that really seems to take you there, read it!
Average customer rating:
- Wild elves flesh out further history of Krynn
- Great book, but only half of it is outstanding.
- Well Done
- Interesting history of origins of the Wild Elves
- a great read.
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THE LOST HISTORIES: Book (1) One: The Kagonesti; Book (2) Two: The Irda; Book (3) Three: The Dargonesti; Book (4) Four: Land of the Minortaurs; Book (5) Five: The Gully Dwarves; Book (6) Six: The Dragons
Douglas; Baker, Linda P.; Thompson, Paul B.; Cook, Tonya; Knaak, Richard A.; Parkinson, Dan Niles
Manufacturer: TSR Dragonlance
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Alternate History
| Anthologies
| Arthurian
| Contemporary
| Epic
| General
| Historical
| History & Criticism
| Magic & Wizards
| Series
Similar Items:
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The Dargonesti (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 3)
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The Irda (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 2)
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The Dragons (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 6)
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Land of the Minotaurs (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 4)
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The Gully Dwarves (Dragonlance Lost Histories, Vol. 5)
ASIN: 0099540010 |
Customer Reviews:
Wild elves flesh out further history of Krynn.......2007-02-19
A solid and pleasurable read for those experienced in the Dragonlance world. This novel is divided into three parts, each telling a climatic event within the history of the Elderwild elves.
The first story touches upon events in the life of Kagonos, the first Pathfinder of the "wild" elves. Through his pact with a dragon, to his timely defeat of an orge horde, to his final separation from the "house" elves, Kagonos remains a fairly wooden character and extremely difficult to like. While there are some brief flashes of reverance and grief, this "founder" of the Kagonesti tribes only potrays stoicism and a bordering on rage-like anger. Through out his tale, Kagonos never encounters fear or doubt, he is never asked to change or develop. He is presented as an unfeeling machine and continues that feel to the end.
The second story arc is the best tale of the three and focuses on a young brave named Ashtaway, the nephew of the tribes current Pathfinder. What Ashtaway accomplishes in the history of Krynn is not as profound as what Kagonos did, but what he changed within himself and the mindset of his tribe is the better story. Battling through worry and revenge, Ashtaway confronts his own people to protect the life of a human. He has the opportunity to mend mistakes and couragously defend what is correct rather than what is easy. Compounded on the growth of the main character is the appeal of the foreigners that Ashtaway meets. Sir Kamford, Highbulp Toofer and Hammana have a life of there own, there own fear, doubts and goals. Add onto that a very well written battle sequence and this story trumps its counterparts.
The third story is a chronicle of survival, then revenge and then right back into survival. Here the story tells of our young protagonist, a Kagonesti elf named Iydahoe and his bouts with the empire of Istar. These events range from fourteen years before to the day of the Cataclysm. While our main character has some epiphanies about life and the right path to take, this story is actually driven by the events that are taking place around him. While the world is falling down about his shoulders, Iydahoe goes nearly insane and loses all hope. While this is a good place for drastic character development, Iydahoe is spared that inconvenience by an apparition that leads them to safety. With that considered this third tale had the ability to be just as powerful as the second but the transitions were rushed and the true weight of what the character was dealing with was only realized in a few aspects of his journey. The most intriguing aspect of Iydahoe's story in found in what actually took place during the infamous Cataclysm and the nightmarish days preceeding it.
All in all this is a fun supplemental book to the Dragonlance realm. The history of the Kagonesti separating from the Silvanesti elves, the role a single elf played in the war during the time of Huma and how the Kagonesti fought back from the brink of extinction during the time of the Cataclysm gives more life to the living, breathing world of Krynn.
Great book, but only half of it is outstanding........2005-01-06
I wished this book was not broken up in 3 different sections.
I wish it just dealt only with the start and the beginning of the wild elves and just left it with that, instead of jumping in time in Parts 2 and 3 over to Huma and the Land of Istar.
The introduction and the first Part is awesome reading. I loved every second of it. The first wild elf meets palandine (who is called by a different name in this book)/the good dragon god in the mountains where the ancient Ogres inhabit.
The Introduction and Part 1 of the book happens many thousands of years before The Land of Istar is torn down/The Cataclyism. This book is one of the first events of the entire Dragonlance storyline/timeline/Saga.
The 2nd and 3rd Parts of the book was pointless, and a total waste of time to read.
The 2nd Part of the book talks about some backstory to Huma and the 3rd Part of the book talks about some knights of Istar, which really has nothing to do with anything, and is not important at all to the overall storyline/timeline/saga.
Just read this book for the Introduction and Part 1, and forget about Parts 2 and 3.
So actually, this book is only about 100 or 150 pages long if you take out and completely ignore Parts 2 and 3.
Well Done.......2004-07-30
Niles has completed a huge story in a few pages with this novel. The time covered is amazing in itself, but the great thing about it is that it is like getting three short novels in one book. A very fun read! The only thing I would like to have seen is three books instead of one. The individual "Pathfinder" stories were good but a longer more in depth story would have been even better. Still, a great, easy, read.
Interesting history of origins of the Wild Elves.......2003-12-12
This is a very well-written book that gives the history of the Kagonesti, or Wild Elves, by following the story of three separate characters who lived in three different ages. This book should be of interest to Dragonlance fans, but might seem a little esoteric to people with little or no knowledge of the world of Krynn and its inhabitants.
This book does a great job of giving the story of the origins of the Kagonesti and how they broke off from the other elves on Krynn. This first part was the best in the book.
The second and third parts, while still interesting, are not quite as good. They tell of the first positive interaction with humans and the days leading up to the Cataclysm. I would really have liked to see another part that leads closer to the War of the Lance and shows how the Kagonesti came to be servants among the other elven nations. This book leaves that question unanswered.
All that being said, Niles is a wonderful author and writes a good book.
a great read........2003-03-20
along with DL's CHRONICLES this ranks among the best DL books i've read. with lots of action, magic and even drama, this book's collection of stories about the wild elves always holds your attention and you never get to skip pages out of boredom. an essential DL book. trust me i have about 30 of them.
Average customer rating:
- Rawn misses out
- I'd give it zero stars if I could
- When will she ever finish this?
- More than a bit disappointing
- Exiles trilogy
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The Mageborn Traitor (Exiles, Vol. 2)
Melanie Rawn
Manufacturer: DAW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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The Ruins of Ambrai (Exiles, Vol. 1)
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Skybowl (Dragon Star, Book 3)
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The Dragon Token (Dragon Star, Book 2)
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Stronghold (Dragon Star, Book 1)
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Sunrunner's Fire (Dragon Prince)
ASIN: 0886777313 |
Book Description
The Mage Guardians have survived the war-barely. Now Mage Captal Cailet and her sister Sarra are struggling to rebuild their society- politically, economically, and magically. Yet though defeated, their ancient enemies, the Malerissi, have not been destroyed, and under the leadership of Cailet's and Sarra's sister Glenin, these masters of a darker magic are once again weaving a web with which to entangle the entire world. And even as Cailet's dreams of a restored Mage Hall become a reality, Glenin prepares to strike at the very heart of both her sisters' power...
** The second novel in the Exiles trilogy!
** 1.8 million copies of Melanie Rawn's DAW books in print!
** All of Melanie Rawn's books have been national bestsellers
** Stunning cover art by Michael Whelan
Customer Reviews:
Rawn misses out.......2007-03-16
I have to admit, Rawn is one of my all time favorite authors but like so many other fans, I'm sick of waiting for the end of the trilogy. She has written other stories since book two of Exiles but I haven't bought any of them. She's a great writer,no doubt but Exiles has been left hanging far too long. Robert Jordan has put out numerous additional titles in his series while we have all been waiting for the last of the Exiles trilogy. To be honest, I've lost interest in Rawn as a writer. I have all of the Dragon Prince books in hardcover and will enjoy reading them over and over again but I'm sorely tempted to just toss the Exiles books as there seems to be no conclusion to the storyline. I'm giving the "duology" a rating of one star due to the lack of interest from the author in completing the story. I wouldn't recommend purchasing this "trilogy" until after the third book, if ever, is published.
I'd give it zero stars if I could.......2007-02-19
I think I enjoyed this book nine years ago when it was published. However, after waiting NINE YEARS for the final book in this trilogy, I not only lost interest, I've forgotten everything about the story. I'll never read anything by Rawn again, except if I choose to re-read the Dragon trilogies from the days when Rawn actually finished what she started. Don't waste your time getting into this series - it will never be completed (the third book was postponed so many times that I lost track!)!
When will she ever finish this?.......2007-02-17
I have just finished reading the Exiles books after 10 years, and think they are even better than the first time I read them.
That being said, I have to admit I am wondering if any author has the sheer talent and skill needed to patch up this convoluted
tale. And have it make any kind of sense.
I also wonder if it's possible to write the sequel and have it mesh after such a long hiatus.
After reading these two books, I have come to realize that Ms. Rawn will have a hard time finishing this story. She has
effectively painted herself into a creative corner. Bear with me a moment.
First and foremost, the story is getting too complicated. Where one or two major groups of families would have sufficed,
there are literally hundreds of names the beleaguered reader has to try to remember. Added to that, layers upon layers of shadings
and meanings behind every word ever uttered by one Gorynel Desse. And with all the names in the two books, I'm not exactly
sure he's the only one. Also, there are tales within tales that boggle the mind. You have the 3 sisters' history and the question of Auvry Feiran's
true reasons for going evil. There was some kind of cover up there. The divorce and all was some kind of fake maneuver to hide some other events.
Also, you have the Ganfallin revolt over 200 years ago that is tied into the current events, plus
the Malerrisi lord and the ancestor of Leninor Garvedian who were in love and tried to revolutionize the magical hierarchy. Or was
it the ancestor of Lusira, Alira Gavennos, Tragan Maifirran - huh? You see what I mean here. Not to even get started on who
actually colonized the planet of Lenfell, who started the Mage wars over a thousand years ago . . . Spaceships, anyone? There is
just too much stuff.
Second, too many characters are aged too rapidly. Cailet is just a young woman at the beginning of book 2 and in 100 or so pages
becomes middle aged, empty hearted and bitter. There is almost no fleshing out of her character. After all the time spent on her
thoughts and feelings in the first book, to be suddenly cheated of her real growth into a woman is astounding. The reader just has
to make the leap and read between her grim faced silences and acid comments to Gorsha. The same goes for Glenin, her doings are
only hinted at,and it would have been nice to get a clearer idea of what made her tick other than rigid adherence to the Malerissi
Code. Why does power mean so much to her? There are issues left unresolved with her at the end of book 1 that are not continued
in book 2, but glossed over. Certainly her relationship with her son would have fleshed out her personality more and made her
eventual choices that much more frustrating and heartbreaking. And the last sister, Sarra, becomes a robot in the service of the
government, missing out on her children's lives and feeling just about as cheated as the reader at having seen it whirl on by so
quickly. It all feels so rushed.
And worst of all is what is done with Collan. Without going into major spoilers here, all I can say is that what we are left with at
the end of book 2 is not enough. Not even close. One page of teasing phrases and almost finished sentences. Just two more words
in the right place would have given so much! Now, the explanations will need to come by way of flashbacks, or visions- if the third
book actually ever gets written. The whole mystery of his true identity is almost given, then tauntingly jerked away.
At last we are left with Ms. Rawn's 10 year and counting hiatus.
Has anyone thought of just writing the darn thing themselves? Anyone? Not even fanfic? Thought not. The truth is that it will take
a lot of talent and brain drain to get the next book to be even halfway coherent and not the total anti-climax mess it probably will be.
In fact, at one point Ms. Rawn called on her readers to help her with it. No joke, the request by her was made on her website and has
since been removed. But I remember my jaw dropping to my shoes when I read it last year. She emphatically stated that a book takes
anywhere between 1 and 5 years for her to write, not to get too exited and please not to tell her our own ideas about who Collan really
is. She just needs some help with, you know, the story and stuff like that.
Doesn't that just say it all? Even she can't keep it all straight and in fact said she needed the help to remember what happened. Having
just finished this, I can see why. Too many names, too much time gone by for both the characters and for the author.
My advice is: Don't read these books until the last book is out. The books are good enough that it is maddening wondering if and when the author
will ever finish it.
More than a bit disappointing.......2006-11-22
Melanie Rawn leaves too much undone in this novel, and makes the long wait we've endured for "The Captal's Tower" all the more aggravating.
Too much is left open....what about the defective babies that are born and spirited away (which would expose the system of Tiers as ineffective), the true history of most of the characters, and why is Cailet, of all people, the new Captal? She seems a bit inept, and frankly, I don't like her all that much. I won't go on because I don't want to use too many more spoilers.
This book was disappointing in too many ways to list, and the mages aren't as interesting as the Sunrunners. Only three stars
Exiles trilogy.......2006-08-16
#1. was good. It was fast, exciting, had unique characters and plot. I liked the fact that females had the power in the family, males had to cover their heads, the different house colours, wards etc ! I can still remember all these dtls although it has been 10 yrs since I last read the Ruins of Ambrai ! Could not put down the book...read thru the night.
#2. no surprises in terms of who the good/bad guys are. Most of it already established in the 1st book. A bit draggy specially the last part of the book. Still I needed to know what happened to the characters.
#3. where is the sequel, Melanie ? we have waited for years. Pls don't keep us waiting. We need closure on the story of the 3 sisters
Product Description
This is the second volume of Melanie Rawn's enthralling fanatsy epic about three magically gifted sisters and their desparate contest for control of their world.
Average customer rating:
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The Mageborn Traitor: Vol. Two
Melanie Rawn
Manufacturer: DAW Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books | Alternate History | Anthologies | Arthurian | Contemporary | Epic | General | Historical | History & Criticism | Magic & Wizards | Series
ASIN: 0333650328 |
Average customer rating:
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SABRETOOTH UNLEASHED (X-Men Marvel Comics)
Vicki Forman
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
X-Men
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
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General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
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ASIN: 0679876618
Release Date: 1995-10-24 |
Customer Reviews:
Good........2000-05-19
I like this book due to the fact that X-Men are one of my favorite shows/comics in the world. In this book, Sabretooth gets betrayed by his psychic friend (only later to be reunited), he gets kidnapped by his son who is known as the Tribunal, gets sent on a mission to kill a woman who we later find out is his old girlfriend, and takes on the X-Men themselves. Bad day for the big fellow ain't it? This is a great plot but the author uses phrases such as "Creed shot back" and "said Birdy" way too many times. It gets repetitive, and hinders the book. I still gotta give it to him for making such a complex book, with multiple plotlines. It must be hard to do this.
Customer Reviews:
Very important.......2007-04-10
This is an incredibly important book for Catholics to read. For some reason I cannot explain, many Catholics, including my parents when I was growing up, were and are deeply interested in the occult and new age spirituality. It is VERY dangerous stuff.
My parents bought me my first set of runes, and my first Ouija board. I do not think they were being willfully evil. They were just VERY ignorant regarding Catholic truth, and also regarding the dangers of the New Age.
Luckily, when I was in my late 20s, I met a wonderful and faithful priest who also went though a period of experimentation with "crystals" and "runes" and other garbage when he was a teenager. He walked me through the dangers and pitfalls such approaches to "spirituality" present. The interesting thing was, in my heart of hearts, I always knew that my parents and I were offending Jesus with the actions we were taking. I just KNEW I was doing something wrong, despite my parents' tacit approval and even encouragement. All Father had to do was bring out of me the answers I already had on my heart. He gently led me to repentance, and then forgiveness in Christ Jesus.
Still, until recently, I had never known anyone whose life was ruined because the New Age. However, I can now say that the New Age is destroying people in my family. I have several family members hopelessly fascinated with this stuff. Some have had tragedies in their lives and are unable to really heal and deal with the ramifications of such deep personal loss because they are holding on to their loved ones with seances and other inappropriate forms of spiritualism and communication with the dead. Rather than find comfort in faith and prayer (the Catholic Church is a wonderful place to be, for we teach we can still pray for people, even though they are gone) they turned to psychics and the New Age. I see pain linger and grow in them. By contrast, faithfully Catholic and Christian friends who have experienced similar tragedies have fared much better.
If I were not a person of faith, I would conclude from my experience that the New Age is psychologically unhealthy and dangerous for mental health. As a person of faith I believe that this is certainly true, but, more importantly, I believe that dabbling in the New Age can cause real and spiritual trauma to the soul of the individual involved. It opens the door to the Devil and his minions.
This book is SO important. If it convinces one Catholic to flee sin, flee the New Age, flee Satan and his army of Demons and seek the rock of Jesus Christ, then it has had positive effects that will echo in eternity.
Thank God for faithful Catholics like Father Mitch Pacwa.
Educational.......2006-05-19
This is very educational for me. A great read on heresies in these modern times.
What Every Catholic Should Know.......2005-09-29
Because of our "accept anything society" today, most Catholics are unaware of the insidious influence of the New Age culture. Fr.Pacwa writes from experience and with great clarity, the traps that things like ouija boards, yoga and eastern meditation can be for us and our children.
Don't expect too much.......2003-09-14
This is a run-of-the-mill book on the tirade of Christians (or Churchians?) who abhor the New Age for attracting the Western Population. Much like other authors who have attempted to "disprove and discredit other religions with insufficient evidence", Pacwa also falls into the same pitfall.
OTOH, if you're a Churchian who loves to rant and rave against the New Age, this is a must-read book!
Fr. Pawca Is An Expert.......2003-09-10
I happen to know Father Pawca and have heard him speak on this subject. He is, contrary to those detractors who added their opinions, a world renown expert on the subject of this book. This so-called valid and "cutting edge" psychology mentioned by these pseudo-intellectuals is nothing more than unproven designer science that offers no hope of actually helping people.
Book Description
An unbiased, comprehensive introduction to the psychology of religion. This book integrates clinical, theoretical, and empirical literature, as well as biographical information of the lives of significant psychologists and their works. It contains new research on meditation, the correlational study of religion, religion and mental health, object relations theory, pluralism and social constructionism.
Customer Reviews:
a nearly ideal introduction to the field.......2006-10-15
"Disguised as a textbook, this magnificent handbook encompasses the field in twelve chapters of forty to sixty pages. Exposition and insight flourish at every turn. Chapter 1 outlines history of the field; chapter 2 examines biological approaches to bodily states (G. Stanley Hall); chapter 3 presents behavioral theory and comparative studies of ritual behavior (in dogs and apes). Chapter 4 outlines laboratory experimentation, while chapter 5 probes statistical studies. Chapter 6 on Freud leads to chapter 7 on object-relations theory and narcissism (Suttie, Pruyser, Kohut) and thence to chapter 8 on Erikson. All are gems of synthesis and discernment. Chapter 9 on Jung and chapter 10 on James offer masterpieces of exposition and critique. Chapter 11 on the German descriptive tradition explores authors neglected in North America (Otto, Spranger, Girgensohn). Chapter 12 on the American humanistic synthesis expounds Allport, Fromm and Maslow, as well as transpersonal psychology. Case studies from major religions (particularly Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu) dot the text. An epilogue assesses the field in light of both the humanities and the social sciences....Indexes of persons and concepts are superb.
"David Wulff has written the closest thing to a German-style handbook that North Americans are likely to see. Exhaustiveness, clarity in both organization and explication, and common sense combine to produce a nearly ideal introduction to the field. History of the discipline shines.... [The] bravura pieces on Freud, Erikson, Jung and James are among the best anyone has written on the masters. The same can be said of the chapter on "Object Relations Theory and Religion." Nearly every chapter climaxes with several pages of "Evaluation," in which the author weighs pros and cons. The style is lucid and nuanced but never boring. Until this volume appeared, few would have thought such a handbook to lie within the capacity of a single author. For a single scholar to synthesize literature of the past 125 years while exuding poise, common sense and uncommon insight exceeds all expectations. This work set a standard for handbooks in the social sciences....
"This masterpiece accomplishes something that cries out to be done for sociology of religion and anthropology of religion. Dispensing exposition, critique and hints for further research, Wulff makes the field accessible and attractive. Mastery resounds."
--comments on the first edition of this book, by William M. Johnston, Recent Reference Books in Religion: A Guide for Students, Scholars, Researchers, Buyers & Readers (rev. ed., 1998), pp. 275-276.
May the Generic Transcendent save us.......2005-09-23
No help supposedly from science, especially not those "rational fundamentalists" who are "absolutizing the scientific method". Wulff says "the behaviorist paradigm has proven inadequate even for the prediction of the behavior of rats and pigeons". Yet behaviorists have worked with severely impaired autistic youths and enabled some to return to public school.
No help supposedly from religious fundamentalism: the "correlational studies" Wulff cites question the relative mental health of religious fundamentalists. Who created the correlation studies? And is it, after all, just a correlation, which could be due to many factors including favorable ones. For example, people who take responsibility may have more anxiety than those who slack off.
No help supposedly from atheism, other "correlational studies" Wulff cite (one with a whopping seven participants) indicate atheists often ended up that way after the loss or parent or an unhappy youth. Missed Sunday school maybe?
Instead seek out the mystics. They wil transcend this world. And in this time of crisis, it's up to psychologists of religion to "give the experience of transcendence the prominance it deserves".
I read the entire book (although much of it seems material a general reader in psychology may well have encountered elsewhere) but the epilogue seemed to make sense of Wulff's way of presenting the earlier survey. In the epilogue, Wulff presents a "summary schema" of 4 fundamental attitudes in the psychology of religion. Conveniently, 3 of them he's able to essentially dismiss due to their expressing literal and/or reductive views. The remaining view is the one conducive to sensitivity to others' transcendent experiences and also the one Wulff cites only positive "correlational study" results for.
Wulff's glossary definitions seem consistent with his evaluations in the main text. Behaviorism is an "ideology". Evolutionism is just a "view", not a scientific theory. Creationism similarly is a "view", not a belief. This levelling may be a result of Wulff's application of postmodernism (which seems not to be applied to itself or to Wulff's special place for transcendence). Wulff favors Transcendence as "the crucial, ultimate dimension toward which all religious expression is directed...". At this point it may not be clear whether one is studying the psychology of religion or Wulff's religion within psycholgy. Is it important whether the Good Samaritan who saves a stranger had a transcendental experience? When that atheist or Fundamentalist or scientist reaches out a helping hand, you may want to take it.
It seems unlikely that those with vested interests about religion will stay away from working within the psychology of religion. The student of the psychology of religion will have to be especially on guard for bias. After all, how likely is it that anyone could be unbiased in this area?
A thorough review of psychology of religion.......2005-09-02
This is a great resource for anyone looking for a thorough overview of the psychology of religion literature. Although it's a bit expensive (what textbook isn't these days?), it will pay dividends to both researchers beginning a review of the relevant research in this field and to the casual reader who's interested in the subject, but wants more than the typically trite, overly-simplistic pop-psychology they'll find in most large-chain book stores.
This is the best book on the subject.......2004-05-20
I have looked at all the textbooks on psychology of religion because I teach the subject at the University of Redlands. This is by far the best textbook on the topic. The depth and scope of Wulff's writing is phenomenal. He takes a historical and biographical approach that is very intriguing. My students love the book too.
Comprehensive yet Digestable.......2001-05-15
I picked up this book as an amateur both in psychology and in religion, but with a desire to learn more about both. It really hit the spot. It's comprehensive - covering eveything from classic Freudian analysis to the newest brain scan results - and at the same time totally digestable. It was nice to see Wulff extensively quoted in a recent Newsweek article about "neurotheology". I give it five stars for both form and content.
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Sympathetic Review of James' Varieties with updates on his insights.......2005-12-14
Contemporary Varieties of Religious Experience: James's Classic Study in Light of Resiliency, Temperament and Trauma by Lynn Bridgers (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) (Paperback) both celebrates the distinctive analytical phenomenology of James varieties while at the same time extending his views by applying insights from contemporary cognitive and clinical psychology. Useful Text for students and scholars. "Lynn Bridgers's expose on conversion is exquisite-a thoroughly researched and beautifully written contribution to the psychology of religious experience and practical theology. I n these pages, readers will discover the rich textures of diverse religious forms-especially the prophetic, monastic, and mystical. Her book will surely be as influential as it is impressive." -Mary Elizabeth Moore,
First published in 1902, William James's Varieties of Religious Experience is considered a classic in religious studies and the psychology of religion. But how has James's classic study weathered decades of development in psychology and the behavioral sciences? Do the assertions about religious experience in Varieties still ring true in light of neuro-cognitive and neuro-hormonal research, resiliency studies, studies of temperament, and traumatic studies? By extending William James's own research in the century since its publication, this volume seeks to answer those questions. In doing so, it revolutionizes our understanding of James's own view of psychology and reveals the extraordinary value of his perspective for religion, psychology, and spirituality today.
The Varieties of Religious Experience is a strikingly unique phenomenology of religion. and remains unsurpassed. James sees the human animal, as well as the religious person, as moving toward selected goals and eager to find legitimate explanations for that which we wish to do regardless. As my grand-mother used to say. with full respect to her listeners, -Do what you damn well please, you will anyway." James suggests believers seek similar approval but ultimately follow the same course. Or, as James observes in a more complex fashion. "The truth is that in the metaphysical and religious spheres, articulate reasons are cogent for us only when our inarticulate feelings of reality have al-ready been impressed in favor of the same conclusion."
But James's "teleological" conception of the mind will direct his attention to the practical results of belief, the -fruits," and not simply their professed justification. Neither could his conception of the self be simple, unified, or static. It will distinguish between all the selves we have been in the past and the self that is experiencing the flow of today, of this moment. even the self we are be-fore the world is divided into realms of subject and object. James's perspective is a very physiological view in that regard, reflecting his medical training.
Given these perspectives, it was natural for James to focus on conversion-to the changing conception of one's religious self-and to develop not a monistic, normative framework, but a conversion typology, a framework for presentation of varieties. But perhaps most impressive is the sheer breadth of information collected that informs his views, and his refusal to pigeonhole religious experience, to limit it down to even the most attractive of corners.
In The Varieties, James does, admittedly and self-consciously, focus more on the world of the individual than the collective, and on Christian more than other belief systems, but his exploration of individual religious experience is strikingly broad. He looks at conversion, at the psychological dimensions of individual temperament, at saintliness, at mysticism, and at the philosophy of religion. He states, almost from the start, that he will look at extremes in religious experience in terms of positive and negative, of healthy and unhealthy, of Protestant and Catholic, of active and contemplative. He explores the authority of mystical experience for experiencer and for others, and has a particular fascination for the lives of founders.
But for James the authority, the actual evidence of the profound interior experience will always be tied to its expression. We cannot observe, or share, the profound interior experience that drives the individual -who lives in his religious centre of personal energy, and is actuated by spiritual enthusiasms." But we can observe the activities that they evoke, and James will place considerable evaluative weight on that expression.
As we find upon closer examination, James still has quite a hit to teach us a century after he penned his works. Today, we find James read by a surprisingly diverse group of scholars and researchers. He is read and commented on by those in neurology, in the behavioral sciences, and in neurocognitive and neurohormonal studies. He is read by psychologists as a unique "founder" of the discipline. He continues to be read by theologians and scholars of religion and by those working at the intersection of psychology and religion. And he is read by philosophers working on his uniquely American stream of philosophical thought, as well as by those whose interest moves toward his European progeny that have descended through Husserl.
In part this reflects James's own shifting identity through his life-from artist to medical doctor, from medical doctor to psychologist. from psychologist to scholar of religion, and from a scholar of religion to philosopher. But is it simply the historical identification that brings readers from such diverse areas to study William James today, or is it that in a striking way James anticipated streams of development only recognized in the next century in these disparate fields?
Antonio Damasio. a neurologist who studies the links between emotion and cognition, believes James's theory of emotion-long discounted as incorrect-is actually closer to our understanding of feeling and emotion to-day. As will be addressed at greater length in chapter 3, Damasio believes the mechanisms he identifies to bring about emotion "are compatible with William James's original formulation on this theme.... None of the features I have added undermines or violates the basic idea that feelings are largely a reflection of body-state changes, which is William James's seminal contribution to this subject. Damasio's work is sparking renewed interest in James's theory on the origins of emotion and its relationship to cognition and moral thinking.
Psychology has taken a broad turn toward the biological in the past two decades of the twentieth century. This has brought renewed interest in James's more biologically based psychological approach. The development of studies in dissociation, along with studies of resiliency and traumatic studies, also have focused attention on alterations in consciousness and brought renewed interest to the "polypsychic' psychological model that James used and shared with such early notables as Pierre Janet and Théodule Ribot. Work by historians of psychology such as Eugene Taylor have unearthed James's previously unrecognized research in exceptional mental states, giving greater depth and understanding of the continuity of James's research interests throughout his life but also helping us to better understand the complexity and sophistication of the model James's employed.'
The significant wake James left in philosophical thought continues to have its effects. Given his influence on Husserl, it is relatively easy to track indirect influence on the students of Husserl, as noted above. These include Maurice Merleau-Ponty's psychological phenomenology. Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophical existentialism, Emmanuel Levinas's continental philosophy and Levinas's influence on Jacques Derrida, and the recently canonized Edith Stein. As Eugene Taylor observes, through William James's break-through perception of conscious and object as the same functional complex "we have the germ of phenomenology, contextualism. and modern hermeneutic analysis, all of which can trace their origin through various routes back and then across James's path."
So perhaps it is time, after a long romance with ethnography and anthropology, for religious studies to turn back to William James with a fresh eye and give him serious consideration. Perhaps it is time to see what an extension of James's landmark study, The Varieties of Religious Experience, might yield in the century since its original publication. James often employs terms that were common in his day but that have since become obscure-the mind-cure movement. for example. When these arc translated into terms more in keeping with popular usage today and put into dialogue with new information from the behavioral sciences. we might find that William James's thought still speaks to us, still has the power to teach us a thing or two. We might find that James's Varieties of Religious Experience has lessons we have forgotten at our peril, that we need to be reminded of for our collective spiritual health. James has certainly taught me a thing or two over the past several years. Having come full circle with James. I'm ready and willing to begin the journey again.
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