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Customer Reviews (1)

Fasinating study of Anderson's pseudo-Marxism
This is a fascinating account of the intellectual career of Perry Anderson, long-time editor of the New Left Review and cofounder of New Left Books. But in giving such a full survey, Elliott, probably unintentionally, exposes Anderson as arrogant, dogmatic and, practically, useless.

For a Marxist, an understanding of class is basic. What is Anderson's idea of the working class? He assumes it is just the manual workers, not seeing that as capitalism has developed, it has needed growing numbers of white-collar workers to keep it going. Elliott explains, "Given that the proletariat was a social minority in most capitalist countries ... ."

This wrong premise, never argued, made room for the notion that this small weak working class needed a separate `socialist intelligentsia'. Its members were, according to Anderson, the `sources of consciousness in society' - workers are not even conscious! He concluded that the "party ... must include intellectuals and petit bourgeois who alone can provide the essential theory of socialism." Workers need the `petit bourgeois' to teach them socialism!

How do we turn a minority revolutionary movement into a mass revolutionary movement? Anderson claims that only the development of revolutionary theory can move the class towards revolution, but that the absence of a mass movement prevents the emergence of this theory - an impasse. He adheres to Trotskyism, writing smugly in 1976, "the tradition descended from Trotsky ... filled no chairs in universities" - ironic now that he is Professor of History at the University of California.

Anderson believes that progress for Britain can only come from abroad - earlier, from Euro-Marxism, more recently, from the European Union. As he wrote in 1992, "a major task of the Left will be to press towards the completion of a genuine federal state in the Community, with a sovereign authority over its constituent parts."

Anderson's ideas are the polar opposite of what Marxism should be: he is unrooted in, and hostile to, our trade union movement and to the British nation. We need workers' nationalism, not abstract internationalism. ... Read more

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Catharine Beecher (1800-78) did a great deal to change assumptions about the place of women in American society. Best known as the foremother of home economics or "domestic science", she sought to give homemaking the status of a career - one as worthy and honourable as any of the well-paid professions then held exclusively by men. Outside the home, so Beecher argued, women should have access to higher education to prepare them for the teaching profession (Beecher herself founded Hartford Female Seminary and other leading women's colleges.) As teachers, women could bring to the nation the same benefits as they brought to their families as mothers. But Beecher was also a traditionalist. She objected to women entering the workforce in fields that she considered masculine, and she stoutly opposed women's suffrage. Besides her more public life as educator and campaigner, Beecher was a very considerable philosopher and social theorist, and her writings are now the subject of increasing attention. This six-volume collection includes Beecher's main philosophical works.Her "Elements of Mental and Moral Philosophy" (1831) is one of the earliest books on philosophy of mind in the American canon. In "Common Sense Applied to Religion" (1857) Beecher sets out an ethical system of self-sacrifice, using a methodology borrowed from the Scottish School. Also included in the set is her anonymous "Essay on Cause and Effect" where she argues that a proper definition of cause makes clear the differentiation of mind and matter. Among three volumes of writings on the role and rights of women is "True Remedy", in which Beecher denounces factory work as unsuitable for women, her "Anti-Suffrage Petition", and "Woman's Profession as Mother and Educator" (1872). In these works she argues, among much else, that "the evils it is hoped to cure by the ballot would continue" so long as women's labour in the home was denied the respect given to men's paid work in the outside world. Most of these books are missing even from the largest research libraries, and this collection of Thoemmes Press facsimiles should be welcomed by scholars of American philososphy, history of education and women's studies. ... Read more

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This book presents an absorbing account of the bizarre relationship between the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the composer Richard Wagner, and Wagner's mistresslater wifeCosima. It sheds intriguing light on Nietzsche's early writings, showing how they were subverted by the Wagners' pre-fascist ideology.Amazon.com Review
When Friedrich Nietzsche first met Richard Wagner in 1869, themagisterial composer was more than twice the age of the fledglingphilologist. Wagner had also just been banished from the royal courtof Bavaria for his adulterous affair with Cosima von Bülow. Althoughthe friendship between the two men began rather well, it wouldfamously degenerate into a bitter intellectual and emotional feud,over which Nietzsche would continue to obsess even after Wagner'sdeath in 1883 (but then, Cosima--who'd married Wagner as soon aspossible after her divorce--was more than happy to keep up her latehusband's end of the battle, and Nietzsche's own death in 1900 didnothing to change that).

Joachim Köhler's densely compact Nietzsche and Wagner drawsheavily upon available correspondence from all parties--andNietzsche's early writings--to examine this turbulentrelationship. The point is not so much that Wagner was a manipulativejerk (although he certainly was that) or that Nietzsche and Cosima,who both suffered miserably in youth, were psychologically vulnerableto Wagner's seductive but emotionally abusive behavior; rather, theidea seems to be an examination of the effects of the relationship onthe philosopher's thinking, both before and after their breakup. It'san academically rigorous account, so while it is fraught with tracesof melodrama, they are buried under careful analytic prose, makingthis book far more suitable for scholars than general readersinterested in biographical data on any of the principalsinvolved. --Ron Hogan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

inaccurate and utterly tedious
I very much regret having read this work. I did it before I knew better; before I knew who Joachim Köhler was; and before I knew enough about either Nietzsche or Wagner to realize that I should have put the book down immediately. The friendship between Wagner and Nietzsche has received a great deal of attention, and there is absolutely no reason why anyone should have to turn to the incompetent Köhler to learn about it. There isn't all that much that I could add to what Laon has already said in his review. In essence, this is a work of fiction, entirely unreliable, slanted, poorly written, betraying a laughable ineptitude in psychological insight. It is rather disturbing that some reviewers have given this work *more* than one star. Yet I suppose that Amazon works according to democratic principles in this regard, as anyone can have his or her say on the matter. It should be absolutely clear, however, that the scholarly community is in perfect agreement on the utter incompetence of this hack. No Nietzsche scholar would ever back up a statement about the philosopher by a reference to Köhler. No Wagner scholar would either. The man cannot be taken seriously, and the man is not taken seriously. That he can still find some gullible readers from a non-academic audience is unfortunate, but probably not to be helped.

Awful logic, tendentious manipulation of facts
This hatchet job is truly a scandal. The author has an ax to grind. Skip it.

Ecce Homo(cough, you know what).
A great sage once said, "All history's a lie" and this book only further enhances that point. Which is why I am recommending it.

Kohler not only contends that Nietzsche was a homosexual, but an uber-sissy who was lowered to menial tasks of propaganda and undershorts buying for the heavy-handed Master Wagner. Drawing largely from the diaries and personal correspondence of three megalomaniacs, which we know are highly accurate accounts of objective reality and history, Kohler paints a picture of a menage a trois of ascetic bondage: Nietzsche to Cosima and the Maestro, Cosima to the Master, and Wagner himself to the libidinous gods of hedonism. To top this off, the Dionysian Nietzsche in his final stages of dementia and mustachio maximus, calls out to Cosima, his spiritual Ariadne and soul-bride to come save his tottering soul from the labryrinth of the Wagnerian oppression that continued even after their reknowned split. Thus proclaiming, "C-o-s-i-m-a, you are the only MAN for me." Well Kohler didn't say that, but in saying that Wagner was "a woman" in Nietzsche's eyes and that Nietzsche himself, the constant companion of man-worshippers and man-worship was feminine in affection and mannerisms towards his friendths[sic], we can deduce from Nietzsche's admiration for her as an intellectual equal(remember his MISOGYNY!), that she was the only masculine personality in the triumvirate and thus Nietzsche's love and his homosexuality are validated. Not to mention that Herr Wagner is a dead ringer for Redd Foxx!

All facts and fictions aside, the book made me laugh quite a few times. Maybe the truth was lost somewhere in the translation from German to English but it didn't stop my enjoyment. Why let history and truth get in the way of that? I mean, Nietzschean lore has purported that the young man, while serving in the German calvary during a riding exercise had fallen from his saddle and was dangling upside down under the belly of the horse(Perhaps it was the same horse that he witnessed being flogged and this was what sparked his madness!) and said, "Oh Schopenhauer, where are you now?" Who's buying that but the ghost of Schopenhauer and me?

Esthetic monstrosities
The author of _Zarathustra's secret_ takes us through the period encounter between Nietzsche and Wagner in a quite graphic tale of one of the first of the modern celebrity farces, that of Wagnerian ego and its hangers on. Although the account is well done, I should wonder if a clever cutpurse like Nietzsche was ever really subjugated and whether he didn't, despite an series of emotional shocks, achieve the net equivalent of going undercover as a Wagner disciple, to his profit or loss in unclear. For all the background music of the philosophic, more than musical, leitmotiv (Schopenhauer gave it away with fake hint, the 'will') this account of artistic overdrive twice over is a remarkable tale of psychological helplessness, in Wagner and Nietzsche. Anyway, worth reading.

if your interested in these two, buy it.
NW is not the most academic of books in form,but readability and lack of footnotes do not make a book worthless.Köhler may not have enough evidence to convince the critical, but the material provided is well worththe read. Homosexuality/onanism/anti-semitism:these elements aresimply not central to either individual (Wagner's anti-semitism may be theexception).Some of Köhler's conclusions may be questionable, but hisobservations are not what make the book.The content itself is veryinteresting, and the intelligent and familiar (with RW/FN) will come awaywith a great degree of insight.To anyone sincerely interested in either,it is requisite.Perhaps you will not agree with Köhler, so what?Thebook is simply worth the read.My opinions didn't change from the book,but I have a much richer picture of both men. (I am honesty surprised thatanyone could find this book upsetting [see review below].It's a funlittle book, if you hate it, you really ought to relax a bit.Not fortyros:if you've only read a bit of FN or seen an opera, and you want akey to understanding either, forget it.But if you are deep into either,you skip it at your peril. ... Read more

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Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was one of the most important philosophers of all time; he was also arguably the most radical and controversial. This is the first complete biography of Spinoza in any language and is based on detailed archival research. More than simply recounting the story of Spinoza's life, the book takes the reader right into the heart of Jewish Amsterdam in the seventeenth century and, with Spinoza's exile from Judaism, right into the midst of the tumultuous political, social, intellectual and religious world of the young Dutch Republic. Though the book will be an invaluable resource for philosophers, historians, and scholars of Jewish thought, it has been written for any member of the general reading public with a serious interest in philosophy, Jewish history, seventeenth-century European history, and the culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Spinoza:A Life has recently been awarded the Koret Jewish Book Award.Amazon.com Review
Remarkably, given his importance in Western philosophy, therehas never been a substantial English-language biography of Baruch (or,as he was later known, Benedictus) Spinoza (1632-1677) untilnow. Spinoza: A Life makes up for the lack, delving into thearchival records of 17th-century Amsterdam to flesh out Spinoza'sworld in rich detail. The subject himself doesn't even appear untilthe third chapter; Nadler first provides historical background on thetreatment of Jews during the Spanish Inquisition and their eventualresettlement in the Dutch Republic. Later chapters explore Spinoza'srelationship to the Jewish community and the possible reasons for hisexcommunication in 1656, as well as the emergence of his philosophicalsystem. Academically rigorous without becoming ponderous, Spinoza:A Life is splendid both as biography and history, and a worthyintroduction to Spinoza's philosophy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Great Biography -- But Not For Everyone
"Spinoza" is an excellent biography of Baruch Spinoza, the great rationalist philosopher.Since extant biographical material on Spinoza is limited, the book gives a lot of attention to his times, not just his life.I loved the long digressions on Iberian Jewish culture, the Jewish community in Amsterdam, 17th century Dutch politics, and the rise of the Cartesian movement.However, other readers might feel overwhelmed by the arguably irrelevant details.Readers interested in philosophy might also be disappointed:"Spinoza" has great summaries of Spinoza's books, but it does not engage in real exegesis.Bottomline:I liked the book.Others might be unpleasantly surprised.

A fine introduction to Spinoza and his age
Despite the paucity of source material, Steven Nadler's biography captures the essence of one of western philosophy's brightest minds.With almost nothing surviving to document his early life, the first third of the book on Spinoza's formative years is largely a history of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, and the Jewish immigrant community of Amsterdam to which Spinoza's family fled. I hadn't expected to read so much about these topics, but Nadler's presentation proved engaging, as it did throughout the book, including accessible summaries of Spinoza's thought and his major works.This is no intellectual history, so ideas are presented in their most general outline, but for someone new to Spinoza this might be just what you need to decide whether you'd like to explore further.This was my introduction to Spinoza. It was a good place to start.

What stays with me from Nadler's work is an image of the philosopher, a young man- he died still in his 40's - content with life and his place in it.He ate enough to survive, wore enough to stay warm, and kept only a few boxes of books and the lens grinding equipment with which he earned enough money to support his low-impact life.He never married and never traveled outside the Netherlands. He was offered prestigious academic positions, but turned them down. When confronted with the disputatious, he tried to find ways to avoid confrontation.He lived a quiet, interior life of reflection.If he was hungry for anything, it was ideas, what he called the search for truth.In all other ways, he seemed at ease in the world.And why not?For Spinoza the world is the sum of the long chain of cause and effect, a world that can't be otherwise, a world of perfect imperfections.In such a world, what is there with which to contend except oneself?And this Spinoza did, cleaving true to his vision of reality, a man of admirable honesty and simplicity.

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Rationalist, existialist...or Vulcan?
Emotions are to be avoided, religion is inherently illogical, only rational philosophy can bring you contentment, free-will is a myth; these are the tenants of Spinoza and, yes, the credo of all Vulcans.All these years of trying to get a sense of Spinoza and 3/4 through the book the image of Mr. Spock came floating through the text. Think about it, if Spinoza was successful in changing the metaphysical paradigm of western civilization, we'd all be Vulcans today.Seriously, this is a good book for any serious Spinozists, and puts into context the genius and guts that was Spionza as well as the remarkable period of tollerance which was the golden age of the Dutch Republic.I would suggest reading Yirmiyahu Yovel's, "Spinoza and Other Heretics" for anyone interested in getting a sense of the Pre-converso environment of the Marranos.

Spinoza: A life
The book give a great details about the life during the inquisition time in Spain Portugal & Holland..
Is has a very good view about the terrible consequences of fanatics in the Catholic religion, and show why the world was intellectually almost paralyzed during the dark ages of the religion terror.

However, the book only give small inside about the wonderful philosophical thinking of Spinoza, is more a historic book than a philosophical one..

The most enlightened of Philosophers
Steven Nadler skillfully guides the reader not only through Spinoza's life but also through the turbulent times of the 17th century Holland. All the more useful ride to enable us to see the courage of an outstanding man, citizen, a brilliant philosopher who taught us that GOD isNature and us. Great reading! ... Read more

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Drag queen, junkie, alcoholic, commune leader-and,finally, Buddhist teacher: these words describe the unlikely personaof Issan Dorsey, whose story dramatically illustrates William Blake'sessential insight, "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."From his days as a gorgeous female impersonator in San Francisco inthe 1950s, through the LSD experiences that set him on the Zen pathfor the next two decades, Issan Dorsey's life was neverconventional. In 1989, after twenty years of Zen practice, he becameAbbot of San Francisco's Hartford Street Zen Center, where he foundedthe Maitri Hospice for AIDS patients. Street Zen draws on adozen interviews David Schneider conducted with Dorsey before hisdeath in 1990, and the nearly 20-year friendship between them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

An incredible life, a remarkable man.
I read this book because I heard about a renowned Buddhist named IssanDorsey at a dharma talk. I'm gay myself, and hearing that Issan Dorsey was also a gay man made me interested in finding out about his life. So, I popped his name into a search engine, and ordered this book from amazon.
Up until recently, my relationship with religion in general has been a bad one. The tendency of Western religions to preach hate toward my kind has made it all but impossible for me to participate in any of them. Legislators on both sides of the political aisle have used religion as a vehicle for either passing laws to restrict my freedom or turn a blind eye to these efforts, for fear that any support for my community would render one 'unelectable'. None of this has made for a very good advertisement of religion for my community.
Buddhism struck me as being fundamentally different, and when I read this book, I realized just how different it was. Issan Dorsey was from my side of the tracks, and instead of preaching self-loathing to him, Buddhism taught him how he could make a major difference in the lives of those who needed him the most.
I'm pretty inspired to give this Buddhism thing a try now. I've never heard of a religion that doesn't judge people before. Maybe this is the one for me.

The story of a true Bodhisattva
I enjoyed this book, and nearly gave it four stars, but I felt that it was missing something.

There was a little too much of the dark history.I know it was setting the stage, but I found that it went from depressing to numbing.Perhaps that's my own baggage:Having known drag queens, drug addicts, drug dealers, and hustlers, I guess I could have skipped over most of the first half of the book.

The intimate details of death towards the end of the book were powerful, and appreciated.Again, perhaps it's just me, but it was refreshing to hear such honest detail without the author becoming gruesome or patronizing.Death, without the facade we in America often use to hide from it.

Two things I would have enjoyed:(1) More details about the author's relationship with Issan, e.g., more conversations they had had simply as friends; (2) Samples of Issan's talks and teachings.

Still, a good book about a great man.

Bodhisattva
My impression from this book was it was a story of a present day Bodhisattva.
A story of a man whom lived life fearlessly. Who lived as a Herman Hesse's Narcissi but in reality not between book covers. In this book I felt was a true betrayal of the concepts of the Bodhisattva. Issan seems to have had spontaneously.


Earlier statements of cheapness is sad.Value statements betray a judgment and lack of Bodhisattva sentiment.Was Milarepa's story a cheap story? The fact that murderer he was? Or is it part of the story of that Bodhisattva's life? I find Issan Dorsey's life neither cheap or over blown. I have known others with similar lives so the fellow whom judges this book as " straight " has a "bent" view. Again cheapness ...well it saddens me to hear a student of Dharma make such a statement.

A deep sense of gratitude
I read the reviews of this book before purchasing it.As a queer writer in Spirituality and Religion I have a great deal of sensitivity about heterosexist bent towards gay characters and history.So, David Sunseri's review of the book sat perched on my shoulder as I read this book.

Having finished this book I have to say that I am left seriously questioning Sunseri's criticism of the book.It is a wonderful story and a tender account of a remarkable person.Having read this book and appreciating the care given to speak to the myriad parts of Issan Dorsey's (full) life story, I have to wonder if Sunseri isn't speaking from a place of internalized homophobia.Nowhere did I find the "sensationalizing" of homosexuality that Sunseri and Harper Leah (?) mention.

In fact, I am now left to believe that Sunseri and Leah would prefer a completely sex-free, queer-free reading of Dorsey's life.
If the book had sensational parts, that's because parts of Issan Dorsey's life were sensational and outrageous.That's not heterosexist bias dear ones.Heterosexist bias would be to "clean up" those stories and de-queer Dorsey. Fortunately Schneider doesn't suffer from any such prudery.

A closer reading of Sunseri's reviews show what is clearly a bitter bias towards anything involving the entire Soto Zen community.Sunseri states that quite vividly in his review of Robert Winson's "Dirty Laundry."

Fortunately, I don't suffer from that bias.I approached this book wanting to know more about this intriguing person, Issan Dorsey, who, by all accounts, wasn't afraid to embrace the totality of his life's existence and who has left a legacy of caring for others in need.

Do not miss this book if you're interested in a truly remarkable story of a Gay pioneer and spiritual elder.It is not the complete story.But it is one of the stories and it deserves to be read.Perhaps members of the Hartford Zen Center complaining about the lack of Issan's "teachings" in the book could get off their zazen pillows and publish them.I'm sure they have more access to it than anyone.

Great book!
I found this book extremely inspiring.The life of Issan Dorsey is a must read for anyone who has ever felt dragged down, left out, and mentally or physically ill.That should include everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
In an era when the relationship between Islam and the West seems mainly defined by mistrust and misunderstanding, it is important to remember that for centuries Muslim civilization was the envy of the world. Lost History fills a significant void and is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the major the early Muslims played in influencing modern society.

Morgan reveals how early Muslim advancements in science and culture laid the cornerstones of the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and modern Western society. As he chronicles the Golden Ages of Islam, beginning in A.D. 570 with the birth of Muhammad, and resonating today, he introduces scholars like Ibn Al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, Al-Tusi, Al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam, towering figures who revolutionized the mathematics, astronomy, and medicine of their time and paved the way for Newton, Copernicus, and many others. And he reminds us that inspired leaders from Muhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent and beyond championed religious tolerance, encouraged intellectual inquiry, and sponsored artistic, architectural, and literary works that still dazzle us with their brilliance. Lost History finally affords pioneering leaders with the proper credit and respect they so richly deserve. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

A good introduction to the influence of the Muslim civilization on today's world
Michael Morgan has definitely done an extensive research when he wrote this book. Indeed, in today's turbulent world this book has more imporatance than ever. The notion that Muslims were and are a backward civilization who had not contributed anything good is a false and dangerous belief. When history is lost, so do our understanding of each other. As stated in this book, the Muslim civilization had translated thousands of previous civilizations work, innovated countless technological innovations and contributed to fields of science, starting from math and physics to ethics and economy. Cordoba, Cairo and Baghdad were considered "the intellectual center of the world" that attracted scientists from all over the globe. Universities, libraries and observatories were established in the Islamic world to contribute to its advancement in science and technology.

The only criticism I have is that the book has focused around two thirds of it on the expansion of the Muslim conquest. Only a third of the book talks about the scientists, artists and thinkers of that civilization. Regardless, it is still a very valuable book that I will probably read again.

Much Needed
I came across this book by chance, but read it with much interest. It's not academic and might not be suitable for people who are well-read in history or trying to accumulate facts.

It offers history lessons in a nice and attractive way. Showing at any point in time, the debates that took place, different parties involved, the location where this took place (great description of Baghdad for example as the most sophisticated city on earth at that time). Hence giving a comprehensive picture of the civilization at that time. Something rarely done with students even in the region where much of this history originates.

The book also demonstrates that the age under study was not only about some scientific and technical achievements with some literature that was all unrelated. It demonstrates that this was a true civilization with the full sophistication expected from people who played their role with great responsibility in leading the human civilization for hundreds of years.

It is great also to see that in many occasions the achievement was not only in science, literature or art. The great victory was philosophical! .. the debate between rationalist and traditionalists. That contradiction between science and religion was not to be avioded, needed, and understood considering the lack of complete understanding of either, and that it not only should be allowed, but it's a basis for continuous debate which was needed. An interesting example was Al-Khwarizmi's mathematics work presented as a great human philosophical achievement that is taken now for granted and went largely un-challenged for hundreds of years.

Again, even if this is not an academic reference, it does a great job education people who have interest in that period or the region. It works well as a list of the people who you would like to read about, or read their work.

It's extremely needed for general education. Even in an area where this history originates, students are not offered a multi-angle view of how politics, religion, culture, science, wars, geography and other aspects intertwined to create something great. It's equally needed at this time to answer those who promote that some cultures are inferior, and some religions are just uncivilized.

Finally, the book doesn't answer 'what went wrong?' and why did it end?'.. but who can provide a short answer?! .. many things went wrong and clearly the book offers a narrow explanation. It would be great to follow the thread of these thoughts; study all the things that were the critical ingredients of success and see what happened ot them along the way. A debate largely abscent in a serious shape.

All in all, a book badly needed at this time, presented in a light approach and offers a very interesting picture making it easier for us to teach the new generation to read the good and bad about their history. Also, to ask more questions and try to go and find answers elsewhere ... exactly what people at that age have done. 4 stars.

Good Facts but Poorly Embellished and Interpreted
This author was at his best when he trusted the reader and allowed the facts to speak for themselves, as in the earlier parts of the book where he describes the many achievements of the Moslem golden age.Only there did we also learn what contributed to the demise of that golden era: the hubris of the ruling classes and a veering away from democratic freedoms of expression and thought, suppressed by a rigidity of religious orthodoxy, and thus the eventual ascendancy of the West and Christianity, which, as rigid as it too was, nevertheless, proved to be much more flexible.

His attempt to bring this all alive as a didactic exercise for his own kids and a teachable experience for school children more generally, left me cold, because not only was the author forced to stray away from the facts but also had to add in his own post hoc interpretations. Perhaps it is as he suggested, but during these times when Christians and Moslems have so little trust of each other, better to stick to the facts and leave the interpretations for later. Plus there are some adults in his audience, who resent being "talked down to."

All in all we got his larger point without the foray into his self-styled history lesson: that cultures are always the result of cross-fertilization and inbreeding, and never due to some imagined notion of cultural superiority or inferiority. It is indeed a multi millennial (and always an ongoing) exchange of ideas. Three stars

Overblown and fanciful
I don't mind history light and there's a refreshing approach to the writijng of history and science these days that makes it more accessible to non-scholars. Morgan, however, has gone so over the top in a blend of fantasy and fact, it's no longer history. His writing is also overblown and fanciful to the point of irritation. I can't finish it. Frankly, I think he'd be better off writing travel books.

Excellent treatise of Muslim scientist, thinkers, and artists
I was captivated by reading this book, as if I'm taken back to times and living those moments. The book not only outlined the Muslim accomplishments but provided insight into the conspiracies and politics of the times. ... Read more

Product Description
Alexander Altmann's acclaimed, wide-ranging biography of Moses Mendelssohn (1729-96) was first published in 1973, but its stature as the definitive biography remains unquestioned. In fact, there has been no subsequent attempt at an intellectual biography of this towering and unusual figure: no other Jew so deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition was at the same time so much a part of the intellectual life of the German Enlightenment in the second half of the eighteenth century. As such, Moses Mendelssohn came to be recognized as the inaugurator of a new phase in Jewish history; all modern Jews today are in his debt.Altmann presents Moses Mendelssohn in strictly biographical terms. He does not attempt to assess his significance with the hindsight of historical perspective nor to trace his image in subsequent generations, but rather to observe his life from the period within which it was set. Altmann has written an absorbing and compelling narrative that makes a whole epoch come alive with great drama, for Mendelssohn's life was a kaleidoscope of the European intellectual scene, Jewish and non-Jewish.As both a prominent philosopher and a believing Jew, Mendelssohn became a spokesman for the Jews and Judaism; he was one of the rare figures who become the symbol of an era. Through Altmann's skilful use of hitherto unpublished archival material, the reader is introduced to the vast array of people-men of letters, artists, politicians, scientists, philosophers, and theologians-with whom Mendelssohn was in contact, and sometimes in conflict.What was Mendelssohn's Judaism like? To what extent did the disparate worlds of Judaism and modern Enlightenment jostle each other in his mind and to what degree could he harmonize them? These questions are not easily answered, and it is only in the aggregate of a multitude of accounts of experiences, reaction, and statements on his part that the answer is to be found. Alexander Altmann's analysis of this wealth of material is extraordinary in its discernment, subtlety, and clarity of expression.This masterly work will be of interest not only to those who are concerned with Jewish intellectual history but also to those interested in eighteenth-century cultural and social history, philosophy and theology, literary criticism, aesthetics, and the other areas of intellectual activity in ferment at that time. The general reader will also find much of contemporary relevance in Mendelssohn's life, not only because of his exemplary devotion to reason and tolerance, but also because of his lifelong struggle with the basic dilemma of the Jew in the modern world: the attraction of assimilation versus the singularity of Jewish life, and the preservation of Jewish identity versus integration in the wider society. ... Read more

Product Description
An illustrated summary of the lives and the philosophiesof twelve teachers who possessed in fullest measure those intellectualvirtues which sustain civilization. Prophets in their own time, theirinspiration led others to more enlightened codes of living. The twelveare:AkhenatenLao-tseHermes Trismegistus

PlatoOrpheusJesusZoroasterMohammedBuddhaPadmasambhavaConfuciusQuetzalcoatl ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Excellent concise research!
Written by one of the most brilliant souls, you would not expect anything less from this man. Fantastic to say the least an important book for understanding the magical cultures that make up this world and the spirituality that resides in them. Everybody should read this book as a basic basis for understanding what these enlightened souls were here to teach. Understanding this book will give peace to the world.

Book:Twelve World Teachers
Another excellent bok from Amazon.A must-read for metaphysical students in their search for Truth.This book helps dispel the notion that one religion is superior to another, for they are all contributing to an enlightened understanding of God and spirituality. Highly recommended for the sincere and open-minded reader.

Great book!
This book was a great read.It was short and concise, but each chapter gave great information about the personality of the teacher as we know them today, a bit about their life, and an overview of their teachings.It really showed me how at the core all these great teachers were preaching the same ideas and concepts.For me, this encouraged my viewpoint that all ancient religions actually stem from ancient Egypt, from the great teacher (who is included in here) Hermes Trismegistus. I think this after reading this book, Serpent in the Sky: High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt by John Anthony West, and the Kybalion (plus other reading that I've been doing here on the web).It just seems to make sense to me.Regardless, this book is a great way to show someone that religious intolerance really is stupid (except when directed at scientology! haha).

Brilliant, concise, historical facts.
This book is brilliantly written in concise language to give the reader insight into the historical figures that influence our heritage and world.So much information is given on so few pages, it should be listed as a must-read for spititual seekers.
Dr. Agnes Thomas

One of the Finest Books ever Written.
Manly P. Hall exquisitely explores and explains the lives and legends of Twelve World Teachers whose immortal influences place them amongst the 'Giants' of Moral/Spiritual/and Social Philosophy.

Recommended for All who desire a greater Appreciation and Understanding of the Icons and Inspirations that have brought Personal Illumination to the Family of Mankind.

A Masterpiece written to be enjoyed by persons of All Faiths.

Please read it,and, recommend it, to all True Seekers of Knowledge and Perennial Wisdom. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the story of a man whose discovery and vision have changed the lives of millions of people throughout the world. Robert Thomsen's biography takes readers through the events of Bill W.'s life, all the while detailing Bill's growing dependence on alcohol. Thomsen writes of the collapse that brought Bill to the verge of death and of the luminous instant of insight that saved him. This turning point led Bill to the encounter in 1935 with Dr. Bob and the start of what was to be a new beginning for countless others who despaired of finding rescue and redemption.

Every night at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings around the world, a speaker says, "Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now." This describes the story of Bill W., a stirring spiritual odyssey through triumph, failure, and rebirth, with vital meaning for men and women everywhere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Inspiration for the Newcomer!
If you're having doubts about your chances of success with sobriety, just read Bill's story!His ups and downs, trials and tribulations, surely prove that if he can do it, anyone can!
Shipping was speedy & pricing was awesome!

Great book about a great pioneer
This is a great story about a great pioneer that changed modern day American and has even influenced the world with what he's done.

LSD advocate "carry the message?"

Wilson was serially unfaithful to his wife Lois. Wilson 's affairs with women caused controversy and concern within AA and it was common knowledge in New York AA circles. His interest in younger women increased with his age, and caused Barry Leach and other friends of Wilson to form a "Founders Watch". People were assigned to keep an eye on Wilson during the socializing that followed AA functions and to separate and steer away those young women who caught Wilson's interest. Wilson, like many in his generation, could be sexist, but he was also "capable of treating the women who worked with him with dignity and respect". In the mid 1950s he began an affair with Helen Wyn, a woman 22 years his junior, "in duration, intensity and scope" this was different from his other affairs. Wilson at one point discussed divorcing Lois to marry Helen. Wilson with determined perseverance was able to overcome the AA trustees objections, and renegotiated his royalty agreements with them in 1963, which allowed him to include Helen Wynn in his estate. He left 10% of his book royalties to Helen and the other 90% to his wife Lois. In 1968 with Wilson's illness making it harder for them to spend time together, Helen bought a house in Ireland.

In the 1950s Wilson experimented with LSD in medically supervised experiments with Gerard Heard and Aldous Huxley. With Wilson's invitation his wife Lois, Father Dowling, and Nell Wing also participated in experimentation of this drug. Later Wilson wrote to Carl Jung, praising the results and recommending it as validation of Jung's spiritual experience. (The letter was not in fact sent as Jung had died.)

At a parapsychology meeting in the 1960s, Wilson met Abram Hoffer and learned about the potential mood-stabilizing effects of niacin. Wilson was impressed with experiments indicating that alcoholics who were given niacin had a better sobriety rate, and he began to see niacin "as completing the third leg in the stool, the physical to complement the spiritual and emotional." Wilson also believed that niacin had given him relief from depression, and he promoted the vitamin within the AA community and with the National Institute of Mental Health as a treatment for schizophrenia. However, Wilson created a major furor in AA because he used the AA office and letterhead in his promotion.

For Wilson, spiritualism (communicating with the spirits of the dead) was a life-long interest. One of his letters to his spiritual adviser Father Ed Dowling suggests that while Wilson was working on his book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions he felt that spirits were helping him, in particular a 15th century monk named Boniface.[18] Wilson believed that the living could communicate with the dead and kept a "Spook Room" in his basement, where he along and others would conduct seances with a Ouijiboard, as well as experiment with automatic writing. Despite his conviction that he had evidence for the reality of the spiritual world, Wilson chose not to share this with AA.
One problem that any Christian will have with Alcoholics Anonymous is the organization's abandoning of the Bible. The Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, is their new Bible. Some members claim to still use the Bible; I sometimes hear a bit of lip service to the Bible like, "Keep the Big Book next to the Good Book," but you won't see a Bible at a meeting, and you won't hear it quoted. Everybody is carrying the Big Book, and all readings come from it, or from a similar book of daily meditations, also written by Bill Wilson and other members of A.A..

In fact, reading aloud from the Bible at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings is usually forbidden. The Bible is considered "outside literature". Reading aloud at meetings from anything but A.A. "Council Approved" (and A.A.-published) literature is forbidden.

In addition, A.A. has essentially abandoned Jesus Christ. The A.A. faithful believe that Bill Wilson is superior to Jesus Christ when it comes to dealing with alcoholism, and you will hear Bill Wilson quoted a hundred times more often than Jesus Christ. (As a matter of fact, I can't really remember the last time I heard Jesus Christ quoted in an A.A. or N.A. meeting...)

The third edition of the A.A. Big Book does not contain the word "Jesus" anywhere, not even once. Bill Wilson raved constantly about "God", but didn't talk about Jesus Christ at all. There is one and only one mention of "Christ" in the entire book, and it is Bill Wilson's statement that before his hallucinatory experience on belladonna, his so-called "spiritual experience," he didn't have much use for Christ:


With ministers, and the world's religions, I parted right there. When they talked of a God personal to me, who was love, superhuman strength and direction, I became irritated and my mind snapped shut against such a theory. To Christ I conceded the certainty of a great man, not too closely followed by those who claimed Him. His moral teaching -- most excellent. For myself, I had adopted those parts which seemed convenient and not too difficult; the rest I disregarded.
The Big Book, 3rd Edition, William G. Wilson, chapter 1, Bill's Story, pages 10-11.
Apparently, Bill continued to disregard a lot of that stuff even after he "saw the light," or saw "the God of the preachers", because Bill never mentioned Jesus or Christ again, not anywhere in the Big Book, not ever.

The first edition of the Big Book contained one story, "My Wife and I," that contained a line mentioning Jesus Christ:


Here were these men who visited me and they, like myself, had tried everything else and although it was plain to be seen none of them were perfect, they were living proof that the sincere attempt to follow the cardinal teaching of Jesus Christ was keeping them sober.
That story was dropped from the second, third, and fourth editions.


The word "God" appears in the first 164 pages of the Big Book (which William G. Wilson either wrote, co-authored, or edited) 106 times,
the word "Power", as in "Higher Power" or "that Power, which is God" appears 22 times,
the divine "Him" appears 26 times,
and the divine "His" is used 15 times,
but there is no mention of "Jesus Christ", not one single mention.
Alcoholics Anonymous is not a Christian religion, no matter what some members like to say. It is a religion all right, in spite of the denials of the members who claim that it is only a "spiritual program." Alcoholics Anonymous is a Buchmanite religion. Alcoholics Anonymous is just Frank Buchman's crazy "Oxford Group / Moral Re-Armament" religion, only slightly edited by William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert H. Smith.
Basically, Alcoholics Anonymous believes in and practices the teachings of Dr. Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman, another man who had little use for Jesus Christ, because he preferred his own beliefs and teachings to those of Jesus. Bill Wilson did not invent the theology of A.A. -- he merely copied it from Frank Buchman.

In spite of that fact that Bill Wilson tried to hide the strong connections between Frank Buchman and A.A., Buchman's Oxford Group got three mentions in the third edition of the Big Book, while Christ got only one. (The first two mentions of the Oxford Group are in the Forward to the Second Edition, and the third is on page 218 of the third edition, in the story "He Thought He Could Drink Like A Gentleman".)

For that matter, when you consider the fact that Jesus' first miracle was changing water into wine at a wedding party, there might be a real problem with Jesus being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous... (John 2:1 to 2:11.)

I am reminded of a contemporary critic of Frank Buchman's Oxford Group, Pastor H. A. Ironside, who criticized Buchmanism by saying that it was not a Christian religion, in spite of Buchman's claims that it was, because everything in Buchmanism would still be possible even if Jesus Christ had never been born. The same thing is true of Alcoholics Anonymous. A.A. would not have to change one word of the official church dogma even if Jesus Christ had never been born. The sacred Twelve Steps of Bill Wilson do not mention Jesus Christ, and do not require Jesus Christ in order to work, and the Twelve Steps don't even require Jesus Christ to have ever existed.

Neither are the Twelve Steps based on any of the teachings of Jesus Christ. (They are based on the teachings of Dr. Frank Buchman.)

Alcoholics Anonymous simply has no need for, and no use for, Jesus Christ. A.A. worships Bill Wilson and Doctor Bob, not Jesus Christ.

A very good, but incomplete biography
I've been a "friend" of Bill and Dr. Bob since Christmas 1990, and have read a lot of material, both "conference approved" and other, and this biography of Bill W. ranks among the best, but it definitely gives the impression of being written from Bill's perspective.

Fully half the book is devoted to Bill's childhood and early adulthood, through his marriage to Lois and up to the fateful encounter with Dr. Bob, and so this fleshes out that portion of his life.I was disappointed, however, in that the impact and devastation of Bill's many (and prolonged) drinking binges seemed somewhat minimized with regard to their impact on the lives of Bill and Lois as a young married couple.Perhaps Bill simply had a poor recollection of these episodes, as he was not in great condition to remember these things, and so these are not fully reflected in Thomsen's work.

The latter half of Thomsen's book deals with better known AA history, but as a biography of Bill's life, my impression is this book glosses over the other human frailties of Bill, and so does not present as complete a picture as it could of this remarkable man. I think the reader would be more impressed with Bill's life accomplishments if more of his human "character defects" were revealed in this book.

I strongly suggest also reading Francis Hartigan's "Bill W.: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson" to help fill in the deficiencies and areas not covered by Robert Thomsen.Hartigan's book better presents Lois Wilson's perspective, and more completely covers topics such as the terrible impact of Bill's binges on his business ventures and marriage, Bill's infidelities, his long periods of depression, Bill's exploration of the potential therapeutic uses of LSD and Niacin for the treatment of alcoholism, and does a better job, in my opinion, painting a more full picture of Bill Wilson.

DD...GTM... RTBB

Very well written Bio of Bill Wilson
I am a long time member of AA, and knew quite a bit about Bill Wilson prior to reading this book. But I have found out so much more than I expected to from the book, and it is very well written.I can recommend this highly to anyone wanting to know more about the man who founded one of the most important organizations of the 20th Century.

- John T, San Francisco, CA ... Read more

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Interesting read of forgotten Chinese reformer
Interesting book of a man who attempted to build a socialist Chinese state instead of a despotic one.Caught in the middle of warlords and would-be emperors, however, his project never really had a chance of success, but serves as a sad illustration of what could have been.

Also, Guy Alitto, the author, looks like some kind of cross between the Pringles guy and the Monopoly guy. ... Read more

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This work is an introduction to the life of philosophy in the United States, as Emerson once lived it, in all its topographical ambiguity. ... Read more

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On the inheritance of philosophy
Stanley Cavell stands as one of the most acute interpreters of the human condition that America has ever produced._A Pitch of Philosophy_ is part autobiography, part exegesis, and part philosophical reflection on selfhood and identity. Combining reflection on the course of his own life with philosophical work of the highest order, Cavell weaves a compelling tale of what it means to come to know oneself, and to come to know oneself as a philosopher.Against what can be seen as the existential sterility of modern Anglo-American analytic philosophy, Cavell awakens the reader to the intimate connection between philosophy and autobiography.Along the way he candidly reveals to the reader the ways in which his own life has been a gradual acceptance of the inheritance of American philosophy.Cavell's may be the most distinctive American voice in the chorus of modern philosophy to have yet been heard, and _A Pitch of Philosophy_ stands as the crown jewel of his life's work. ... Read more

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Some innovations create new strategic property and new conflicts. Demarest argues that we have not reached the end of history and modern man will continue to fight over property as before, but the property will be of a post-modern character, such as electronic wavelengths and genetic codes. ... Read more

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A melodious, affecting tribute to one of the greatest writers of her time--now stricken with Alzheimer's disease--by her devoted husband of over forty years

"I was living in a fairy story--the kind with sinister overtones and not always a happy ending--in which a young man loves a beautiful maiden who returns his love but is always disappearing into some unknown and mysterious world, about which she will reveal nothing."

So writes John Bayley about his wife, Iris Murdoch, considered by many to be one of the greatest living writers in the English-speaking world.In dreamlike passages, he recalls both his youthful love for an entrancing philosopher who stole his heart at Oxford's St. Antony's Dance in 1954, as well as their marriage, a union of two great minds, which resulted two years later.

In examining this extraordinary relationship, which he describes in a language that resurrects the classical mythology of love, Bayley attempts to discover the real Iris, always so mysterious, who became beloved of readers with her incandescent novels like Unlike the Net, The Green Knight, and The Bell.But the harder he tries to know Iris, the more ineffable and protean she becomes, even more so after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1994.

Elegy for Iris is a remarkable memoir of our time, an ironically joyous story about the ephemeral beauty of youth and the sobering reality of what it means to grow old.Tolstoyan in its compassionate grasp of life's frailty, and mesmerizing inn its portrayal of one of the great literary romances of this century, Elegy for Iris is a consummate work of art. Amazon.com Review
In one of literary history's ghastlier ironies, Iris Murdoch,the author of such highly intellectual and philosophical novels as A Severed Head andUnder the Net, was diagnosed in 1994 with Alzheimer's disease,which slowly destroys reasoning powers, memory, even the ability tospeak coherently. Her husband, English literary critic John Bayley,unsparingly depicts his wife's affliction in prose as elegant andaccessible as hers always was. Readers may wince at the spectacle ofMurdoch glued to the TV watching the Teletubbies program,unable to perform tasks as simple as dressing herself and prey todevastating anxiety as the world becomes less and less comprehensibleto her. We understand Bayley's occasional fits of rage when hiscaretaking chores overwhelm him. Yet in the end his memoir istouching, even inspiring. As he recalls their first meetings andmarriage in the 1950s, it becomes clear that theirs was always anunconventional union, in which solitude was as important to each ofthem as togetherness and Bayley was content to let Murdoch keep herinner life to herself. He loves Iris, the woman, not the intellect,and he conveys an essential sweetness about his wife that endures evenas her mental faculties deteriorate. This totally unsentimentalaccount of their life and her illness is nonetheless aheartbreaker. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

Tolstoy and Teletubbies
My guess is that readers will take from this book what they need. It is sweet, gentle, and kind to Iris in her illness, and Bayley is very hard on himself for the times when he simply can't stand the repetition and mulishness of her dementia. I was affected, reading this, because the loss of a mind like hers is a tragic thing, but what engaged me more was the study of how the marriage between John Bayley and Iris Murdoch worked. How does a mind like hers claim and hold the intellectual privacy needed to write what and how she did while being married? And how does a thinking man deal with being married to a woman who is his intellectual superior? These are the real questions explored in this book, and while writing it, Bayley offer up a portrait of himself that fascinated me almost as much as his portrait of his wife.

He was drawn to her seriousness, her earnestness, but she was drawn to the childish play he offered. He is baffled by this in the beginning, but as the years go on, the private, personal nature of this bond delights him. Their shared language, the private terms that arise from their years of intimately shared observation, their friends and travels; all this is echoed by the absolute chaos of their domestic arrangements. The accretion and accumulation of their life together is matched by piles of domestic clutter that turn into garbage as it sits, their homes falling down around their ears, their gardens in disarray. I'm not sure why this satisfied me as much as it repelled me. Something about the accumulated chaos of it all fed her work.

It is heartbreaking to read his descriptions of her watching Teletubbies, and amusing in a very bleak way. But along the way, he shares with the reader that Iris Murdoch lacked the capacity for introspection, she was the least narcissistic person he ever knew, and nearly vacant of a sense of "self." This is perhaps the greatest tribute he pays his wife in this book. Despite her decades of writing complicated, important fiction, and her contributions to philosophy, she didn't care all all if she "mattered." She thought, she wrote, she lived, she died. In a world overrun by egoism, self-promotion and the cult of the self, I find this absolutely breathtaking.

thoughtful and enjoyable though sad
Clearly this is the best book of the three JB has written on Iris and her "friends and memories". The meaning of both are ambiguous since the books describe both people the two knew as well as abstract friends that are part of Alzheimer's. The memories are more certainly those of JB of course. He is the author. Most puzzling is his question concerning what memories Iris still had while her ability to communicate seemed to have gone. When a person has Alzheimer's is the internal world gone as well as the ability to express one's thoughts to others? This is tragic in the sense that Iris was always living in two worlds and in the end only lived in her own world so that the bridge was no longer there - or a worse tragedy, that she had already reached the precipice and gone over. Only her body was left perhaps. But this book, the first of the three JB wrote in this mode does focus more than the others and gives us more insights into Iris then the others. There are still plenty of his own memories that only include Iris as an end piece, though often the memory nicely elucidates some characteristic of the relationship JB has with Iris or a characteristic of Iris herself so they are nice. In general the book is thoughtful and enjoyable though sad.

Detached and disappointing
I found it to be extremely slow and failed to feel a familiarity with Bayley, his wife and her Alzheimer's. If you are reading this book as a first-hand account with Alzheimer's, do not bother. The last 50 pages or so focus on the caregiver's difficulty with the disease but the rest depicts the monotonous every day life of a writer's married life.

Alzheimer's Takes A Hand in The Game
An elegant book which seems to drift along, sometimes idly, through the lives of Iris Murdoch and John Bayley. In fact, Bayley has structured his memoir with great care and is completely in control.

I originally picked the book up because of my interest in Alzheimer's. There is little on this through the first section of the book, labeled "Then," but Bayley's prose is nimble and hisobservations about his courtship with Iris and their long marriage are both fresh and tender. The title of the book is exact: this is an elegy for Iris Murdoch, and a lovely portrait of England's much-beloved writer.

Still, once Bayley enters the "Now" section my interest in the book doubles, as we hear how anxious Iris has grown, how uncommunicative and fearful. The last fifty pages of the book, presented as dated journal entries, are genius. Here are Iris and John, at ten every morning, watching Teletubbies on the BBC. "There are the rabbits!" Bayley says. The author, it's worth noting, is one of England's best-known literary critics--but one of his charms is how completely he yields to what has happened to Iris's mind, and to the demands of her care.

Not inevitably, of course, for there are times he grows frantic. "Iris's fear of other people if I'm not there is so piteous that I cannot bring myself to arrange for care-givers to `keep her company,' or to take her to the age therapy unit." As a result: "Wild wish to shout in her ear, `It's worse for me. It's much worse!'"

Day by day they grow physically closer, more tightly bound. Their old independence is gone, and Bayley must live with that. After forty years of taking their marriage for granted, he says, "marriage has decided it is tired of this, and is taking a hand in the game. Purposefully, persistently, involuntarily, our marriage is now getting somewhere. It is giving us no choice--and I am glad of that."

Bayley never pontificates. He has no helpful tricks, no suggestions on how to make things better. Instead, he gives us agile descriptions of how he and Iris swim together, lie in bed together, take trips together, go to parties and talk to strangers--as month by month it all grows more impossible. Like marriage, Alzheimer's has taken a hand in the game, which they will play out to the end.

John Bayley's Elegy for Iris

A very good read.

There is still, as should be, much curiosity about the Platonist philosopher and writer of many novels, Iris Murdoch. In this memoir, John Bailey relates tales of his relationship with Iris, his wife. He talks of their initial meetings, their marriage, their dwelling spaces, and those special little affinities and gestures that only exist in a long-term congenial marriage.He speaks of his own minor conceits and foibles in a very honest and telling way. And he describe's his wife's behavior as Altzheimer's sufferer.

I got the feeling (perhaps wrongly) that Bailey started this record up during her illness to deal with it, as one deals with other aspects of life through use of a diary or journal. As evidence, toward the end of the book, he does shift outright to journal entries. It appeared to me that he might have started the journaling, then swung back to the beginning to take a longer view of their relationship. These sections o fthe book are appropriately labeled "Then" and "Now."

The book is very descriptive of their life together. Even though they were different, their differences complemented each other. And they did have common interests--in nature, swimming, travel, their living spaces, their friends and acquaintances.

From Bailey's description, you get the feeling someone truly important is now missing from the world.

Nicely done.


... Read more

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Outcasts and Heretics is a series of profiles focusing on leaders of independent thought and courage. Spanning from middle age religious heretics to modern whistle blowers, this volume maps common threads between independent thought and proven courage. ... Read more

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The Courage to Think
This is a brilliantly conceived and executed book, one so needed in our times. Sharpes details the lives of those rare courageous individuals who dared to oppose the pressures to conform in their era and to think the thoughts that shaped the world. The book is uplifting and sobering at the same time. It demonstrates the power of individuals, while it reminds us how rare those courageous individuals are. From Gandhi to Biko, from Roger Williams to Red Cloud, "Outcasts and Heretics" is an encyclopedia of the great lives that have truly changed the world for the better. This is a book to keep close at hand and sample every day. ... Read more

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Edith Stein is a very significant woman of ourcentury. She was German Jewess who at first plunged herself into vileabyss of Atheism. Converted to Roman Catholicism she ascended to thehighest peak of Mount Carmel and thus achieved the mystical union ofher soul with God. For the Church she is a martyr and reveredsaint. In the philosophical circle she is a significant exponent ofPhenomenology. A heroic woman, Edith Stein is a feminist of truewomanhood. The philosophical insights of Edmund Husserl and theMystical Theology of St. John of the Cross helped her in thedevelopment of the Science of the Cross. The relevance of Edith Steinis seen not merely in the scientific exposition of the Theology of theCross but specially in the living witness of that doctrine in her ownlife. ... Read more

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Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623) is remembered as the defender of Venice against the Papal Interdict of 1606 and as the first, and greatest, historian of the Counter-Reformation. The sources of his undoubted hostility to clerical authority have always been a matter of controversy; many contemporaries claimed that Sarpi was an 'atheist', while to others his anticlericalism suggested that he was in secret a Protestant. In the present book David Wootton argues that Sarpi's public opinions must be assessed in the light of the views expressed in his private papers. Starting from the Pensiere, in which Sarpi formulated a series of philosophical and historical arguments against Christianity, Mr Wootton seeks to reinterpret Sarpi's life work as being the expression, not of a love of intellectual liberty, nor of a commitment to Protestantism, but of a carefully thought out hostility to doctrinal religion. This interpretation of Sarpi serves to cast new light on the man and his work. But it also throws new light on the intellectual history of his age. Historians such as Lucien Febvre and R. H. Popkin have sought to deny the existence of systematic unbelief in Sarpi's day. Others, such as Christopher Hill and Carlo Ginzburg, have found evidence of a radical, popular tradition of unbelief. This book seeks, through its account of Sarpi's beliefs, to penetrate the hypocrisy which contemporaries agreed characterised the age, and to lay the foundations for a new understanding of the intellectual origins of unbelief. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Paolo Sarpi: No Renaissance or Enlightenment
David Wootton's book, Paolo Sarpi: Between Renaissance and Enlightenment, barely does justice to the great man and intellectual known as Paolo Sarpi.Throughout the book, Wootton contradicts his primary argument (that Sarpi is an athiest or a Gnostic) and doesn't use solid arguments to back his claim.His argument is based his view of Sarpi's arguments in his Pensiero filosofico.This being said, the book does include some good information on Sarpi and his arguments.I used the book as a source for a twenty-page research paper on Sarpi and his role during the Papal Interdict of 1606 and I found it useful for this paper. Overall, though containing some good information, the book was rather disappointing.Wootton's lack of evidence for his argument and his blatant contradiction of this argument later in the book outweigh any good information the book contains.
(Disclaimer: In the spirit of full disclosure, I was skeptical about Wootton's argument upon first hearing it, since every other source I had read seemed to prove otherwise. No other source that I used backed Wootton's argument.) ... Read more

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Inside of Time is a book for everyone eager to read about the personal and human side of our stirring times. The vivid recollections of a trailblazing eyewitness to history, combined with stories of Gruber’s intimate friendships with luminaries of the century, has created a book to cherish. In the Roosevelt administration and as a foreign correspondent with the New York Herald Tribune, Gruber worked with, wrote about, and was mentored by a cast that included Harold Ickes, FDR’s Secretary of the Interior, who in 1941 appointed Gruber as his personal representative to Alaska; Helen Rogers Reid, Herald Tribune publisher and Gruber’s boss, who scheduled her to speak at lecture forums where Gruber shared the podium with Churchill and DeGaulle; Golda Meir, with whom she swapped kitchen table confidences about their families; David Ben-Gurion, whose prophetic voice made him the most inspiring leader Gruber ever knew; and Eleanor Roosevelt, whom Gruber shepherded to Israel in the early 1950s. Spanning 1941–1955, Gruber also recalls the fierce anti-Semitism she overcame in Congress, the DP camps she saw in Germany after WWII, and traveling with the Israeli army during the War for Independence. Sixteen pages of photographs add to this enthralling autobiography by one of America's best journalists. ... Read more

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going along with ruth gruber to alaska and israel
this book takes one to alaska -to the people who work hardand take pride of their state. we meet the people who are proud of their state.
ruth gruber went to israel as a correspondent during a difficult time in their history.we learn a lot ofthe country and the places that she lived in and visited.

compelling
A role model because of her age, sex, and faith.I didn't find out much about Alaska but was captured by her involvement in her world.It was a different time.Could her experiences be repeated today?

What A Wonderful Life!
What an amazing woman.Ruther Gruber is interviewed on BookTV.org.Don't miss the book or the interview! ... Read more