I am no expert on medieval England, I simply find it as a hobby to read about it now and again. That said, I must say that I found this book very well written. It tells not only the story of Richard, but a fairly good description of the War of the Roses. I found this book very informitive about his life, and it tells it in a very readable way, sometimes it is as if you are reading a novel, not history, such is Kendall's skill at telling stories. It brings a fresh new perspective to the life of Richard, discarding all the Tudor propaganda.
It makes Richard out to be a real person, not the monster that the Tudors made him out to be. It even contains an excellent essay about who murdered the Princes,it does not discard Richard as a suspect, but also explains how others could have done it.
My one complaint, however, is that at some points, particularly in the middle, it can get a bit boring, and it is sometimes hard to keep all the names strait. But over all I must give this book a very good rating for keeping my attention with the vivid battle discriptions, while still informing me about the world and life,of Richard III

I have read every biography and reference source about Richard III, and Kendall's biography still stands as the best introduction to a study of this monarch and his times, and to the controversy which still, despite all the recent scholarship, surrounds him. Kendall is often criticised for his romanticised approach to his subject and for his slightly purple prose, but his book is intensely readable, clear, and scholarly. Later research ahs produced evidence which outdates some of Kendall's points, but his overview of the era and characters continues to be the best. If you're new to the period/subject, or want to get someone else interested, kendall's "Richard III" is the best starting point. I find it an invaluable research tool. Kendall's "The Yorkist Age" is also the best book I have ever found for an understanding of the era. Sources like the Richard III Society website will guide any interested reader to many other reputable sources, but Kendall stands out as the place to start. (And, unlike many writers who claim to be historians, Kendall uses historical sources, not prejudices and second-hand information.) Highly recommended.

You have to forgive Mr. Kendall his dilligent and thorough exposition at times. Once you do, you'll be amazed by this story of Richard III. A complex era, to be sure, and Kendall's Richard seems at times ruthless, at other times an amazingly disciplined and loyal member of his society--a sort of Heracles figure on occassion. I read this book straight through, no stops. Only Shelby Foote has come as close for me in terms of readability.

By BARNIE HOSKYNS

Paul Zollo probes 52 pop-rock greats on the small miracles and larger torments of songwriting. As editor of the esteemed periodical SongTalk, Zollo has managed to bag some fairly big cats (Dylan, Young, R.E.M., Madonna) among an assortment of cult heroes and heroines (Webb and Wilson; Cohen and Nyro; Van Dyke Parks and Townes Van Zandt) and songwriters' songwriters (Sammy Cahn, Goffin & King, Bacharach & David). There's a wealth of entertaining, funny and surprising apercus in this 630-page whopper: "It's important to get rid of all them thoughts," opines Bob Dylan. "Don't let the critic become bigger than the creator," urges Randy Newman. "It's kind of disgusting that I'm not spending every single morning writing, come rain or come shine," admits the late Laura Nyro. For insight into what drives Paul Simon or Jackson Browne to strive for that perfectly modulated couplet, then Zollo's songtalk provides a feast. "What I get from these interviews is a sense of courage," says Van Dyke Parks. "This is infectious, and highly contagious... It's as helpful as belonging to some religious sect."

By LAHRI BOND

Paul Zollo has had the good fortune of talking shop with some of the best songwriters from the fields of folk, country, blues, and rock and roll. Collected in this volume are 52 interviews with such early originators as Joan Baez, Paul Simon, Carole King and Gerry Goffin. He also talks with seventies innovators such as Rickie Lee Jones, Van Dyke Parks, Walter Becker and Todd Rundgren as well as modern songsmiths like David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos and Jules Shear. As the title suggests, this book features songwriters exploring their influences, inspirations and craft.

SONGWRITERS ON SONGWRITING is an excellent new book that rips the lid off the composing process via candid and often revelatory interviews with some of Rock's finest tunesmiths. Written by Paul Zollo, the book provides a superb and compelling portrait of such 20th century heavyweights as Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and many more. Zollo is an outstanding interviewer and his pointed questions unravel the mysteries and magic behind these acclaimed artists' majestic body of work.

Paul Zindel strikes again with another literary marvel. This book is plain fun, and it's very easy to relate to the character of Edna Shinglebox (although, thank God, my parents are nothing like hers). Marsh is a very interesting character, and the book is typical Zindel fare. It's a lot of fun, and very, very interesting. It's a very good character study.

"Pardon Me, You're Stepping on My Eyeball!" was the third book I read by Paul Zindel. The story revolves around fifteen year-old Louis "Marsh" Mellow and Edna Shinglebox. Both have weird parents and have trouble fitting in at school. Marsh's mother, whom he nicknames Schizo Suzy, is a drunk who stays at home in her polka-dot nightgown drinking diet beer and eating cashew nuts while watching T.V. Edna's mother is a hysterical woman who shadowed her daughter for years and is upset that Edna has not dated yet and has no friends. Marsh and Edna meet in group-therapy, set up by the the school's pushy, three-hundred pound psychologist, Mr. Meizner. There Marsh asks Edna to help rescue his father, Paranoid Pete, from a nuthouse. While "My Darling, My Hamburger" and "The Girl Who Wanted a Boy" left me feeling depressed at the end, this book has a healthy dose of humour to lighten the mood. The story is basically about reaching out, overcoming fear and loneliness and finding someone to love, share and trust.

A wonderful story of a girl who never gives up on her friend no matter how crazy he seems. The stuff from which true friendship is made...
I read this book as a teenager, and have recently re-added it to my collection for my son to read when he is old enough.

I was actually assigned this book for an anthropology class, but I couldn't put it down. Boyer and Nissenbaum look at every possible contributing factor to the witch craze that took hold of Salem in the late 17th century. They are careful to present all of the data upon which they based their hypotheses, allowing the reader to judge the validity of their claims. Salem Possessed provides an enlightening look at the pressures (social, economic, religious) that affected all of the villagers, and manages not to vilify any particular person.

This book's strength is it's thoroughness, but it is also it's major drawback. It can be difficult to keep track of all the names, households and dates. However, it is well worth the effort, and I heartily recommend this book.

This has been a very popular book with many Salem Witch Trials researchers. This particular book focuses on the competition and jelousy over land in Salem Village. Some very excellent chats also depict the "Anti Parris" people of the time and how they were connected to those accused. Interesting points are also made in regards to taxation.

A definite book to check out if you are interested in all aspects and theories of this truly sad time.

Finally, someone to take the hocus pocus out of this period of history and actually try to make some sense out of a sociological phenomenon gone wildly awry. While others relied on the tabloid type accounts of events left behind in court depositions, Nissenbaum and Boyer get into the nitty gritty to show you what really happened. Accessing Parris's sermons, wills, seemingly unrelated civil conflict court records, tax records, censuses, and more, this book starts from the beginning - the founding of Salem Village and takes you step by step through the most likely scenario of what really happened in this conflict in terms of personal power struggles, family legacies, societal conflicts between agrarian and commercial lifestyles and so on. This book also changed my perspective on the Puritan way of life and stirred my interest in the Great Awakening of 1751 which had similar outbreaks as the "spectral evidence" of Salem but was interpreted in a wholly different way.

I am a true fan of the Princton Review series of books. But after reading 5 differnt books now, I can tell that some of my understanding comes from how the author lays out the book. Paul Foglino was an author that I had never read before, but after reading the introduction I felt like I could easily read Paul's explainations just like he was a teacher talking to me, not a book talking at me. I was able to read through the whole thing in 2 days before the test (not-recommended). And at the end I had a knowlage of Chemistry like I had never felt before. Good luck to everyone taking the test!

This book is great if you only have a week or so to prepare. If you have more time than that, you should buy both this book and Barron's. I bought several AP Chem books and the Princeton's review was the easiest to read; it also thoroughly reviewed the concepts. Suddenly everything clicked and I wasn't quite so lost. The practice problems in Princeton's were much easier than they were on the real AP test, so I recommend you study this book and look elsewhere for practice tests. You can even get real AP Chem tests from a few years ago.

The folks at Princeton Review did an excellent job at providing exactly what you need to know for the AP Chemistry exam. It lays out complex ideas in simple english, and is more comprehensive than other brands like REA or Barrons. This book may cost slightly more than other brands, but it gets you the 5!

This book gives the reader a great deal of information about Christianity, the early church, Christian history and theology that most churchgoers have never heard. It is certain to provoke serious consideration of what it means to be a Christian and how we can be certain of the things we believe. However, (and it's a major however), this book does not provide a broad cross-section of what scholars believe about Christianity. It is heavily slanted in favor of the more extreme fringes of liberal theology. He presents many assumptions of liberal theologians (i.e. the gospels were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; Paul's theology was radically different from what Jesus taught) as if they were accepted facts, and ignores the fact that many theologians, looking at the same historical facts, come to very different conclusions. Some of his contentions (e.g. miracles never happen, Jesus never referred to Himself as the son of God, the resurrection never occurred but that doesn't detract from Christianity) are rejected even by many liberal Christians. If he had been willing to give "equal time" to those who hold more traditional views this could have been an excellent book. But, while he lovingly details arguments against traditional Christian beliefs and in favor of non-traditional views, the many arguments that could be made in favor of traditional views or against non-traditional views are either ignored, brushed over, or caricatured. While this is an informative book, and both Christians and non-Christians can gain something from it, those seeking an unbiased and objective account of Christian theology and history should look elsewhere.

Remedial Christianity is the type of book thinking persons need to examine, challenge and strengthen their Christian belief system. It is a breath of fresh air in the fundamentalist atmosphere in which I live. I found Dr. Laughlin's writing interesting, informative, and entertaining-- putting words and applying research to concepts I have embraced for many years. I am using the book in a Bible Study group and it has stimulated rich and exciting discussion, both positive and negative, from women of varied backgrounds, forcing us to better define what we believe and why we believe it.

For those who have been looking for that book that helps delineate the differences between "progressive Christianity" and "traditional," "orthodox" or "creedal" Christianity, it has arrived. Paul Alan Laughlin's book Remedial Christianity is the best thing that I have come across in the nearly 20 years I have been teaching and preaching on this subject as a pastor, in classrooms and in workshops across the country. It is on my "must read" list for those who want to understand the differences in Christian perspectives. It is a well-written book that breaks nicely into eight chapters with discussion questions, exercises and lists of recommended readings after each chapter. The book is sufficiently scholarly and yet is highly readable, engaging and even entertaining. Maybe the best thing this book does is make a clear distinction between the teachings of the historical Jesus that encourages a direct, even intimate relationship with God and the "fall-sin-redemption" theology that was preached by Paul, expanded on by Augustine and ultimately adopted by the church.
"What is certain is that the teachings and the actions that constituted the ministry of the man of Nazareth played no appreciable role in Paul's writings or theology." (R.C. pg178) Only the latter, Laughlin points out required a Savior in order to have a relationship with God, and that Savior became the church.
Not everyone who reads this book will be swayed by all of Laughlin's arguments, but very few will come away with the same perspective on what Christianity is and how it came to be. More importantly, it can open up a real dialogue about what Christianity must become if the church is going to survive in the foreseeable future. This wonderful book has stimulated conversation throughout our congregation's life and has become a topic of discussion with friends and family of our members. I have therefore found this book not only to be one of the best educational resources we have ever used, but it has surprisingly become a tool for growth and vitality in our congregation as well.

Contrary to what many cultivation cognoscenti repeatedly say, this book is not the 'bible' of mushroom cultivation. Although the amount of information in this book is impressive, it is limited to a handful of species, and gives exact growth parameters for a few select mushrooms, principally those belonging to Agaricus, Pleurotus, Psilocybe/Panaeolus, and Stropharia. It should also be noted that while some species, such as Pleurotus and Agaricus are relatively easy to cultivate, others such as Stropharia and Psilocybe/Panaeolus may be difficult to cultivate even under the most favorable conditions. As many of the topics in the book are more appropriate for the small mushroom farm, the book is anything but practical for home-based cultivation. As a result, using this book as a basis for hobby cultivation will more than likely take the fun out of cultivation entirely.

That said, the book explains the science behind mushroom cultivation very well, but places considerable emphasis on composting and Agaricus/Psilocybe production. The emphasis on Agaricus is understandable, as it is a commercially cultivated mushroom with mass appeal, but Psilocybe species are covered in a bit too much detail for my taste. More lab techniques are presented in this book than in Stamet's Growing Gourmet Mushrooms, and the authors provide detailed info on starting cultures from scratch, spawn maintenance and propagation, as well as setting up your own lab. One very strong selling point of the book is the authors' elaboration on the importance of good environmental control and how to achieve it, although again, the information on this topic would be more appropriate for a farm than a home. The authors also include two very detailed chapters giving information on invertebrate (insect) and microbial pests/contaminants and provide an excellent chapter on trouble-shooting during cultivation, focusing in particular on microbial pests/contaminants. The book includes a fairly good run-down on cultivation using non-composted substrates, but it could be expanded to include more substrates, more cultivation strategies, and more mushroom species that grow well on non-composted substrates. However, Stamets and Chilton primarily refer to varieties of alder, which is readily available in riparian and montaine habitats in the Pacific Northwest, and while they do provide the reader with material properties on other suitable hardwood substrates such as oak, beech, and birch in an appendix, a future edition should endeavor to show the reader the same techniques using those substrates. The authors end the book with a chapter that briefly explains the fundamentals of genetics and reproduction of edible mushrooms. The book's appendices contain invaluable information such as the construction of air and environmental systems, the composition of various potential substrates, data collection records and conversion tables, all of which do much to enhance its appeal to mushroom farmers. Finally, the book also includes a comprehensive and understandable glossary of key terms, a detailed bibliography, and a comprehensive index.

Essentially, the book's emphasis is on those mushroom species that can be grown with ease on compost with a few commercial species, such as shiitake, enoki, and oyster thrown in to round out the mix. You really have to look elsewhere for more detailed information on the medicinal properties of mushrooms and mushroom growing resources. Additionally, I found the absence of good, reliable economic data on mushroom cultivation, especially from the small farm or business standpoint to be lacking in both of Stamet's texts. While this text in particular was very comprehensive when it came mushroom science, I found myself looking to Stamet's Growing Gourmet Mushrooms for historical, cultural, taxonomic and medicinal information on edibles. Additionally, Growing Gourmet Mushrooms emphasized the edibles more, while this book played up the hallucinogenic mushrooms. Finally, better quality pictures, especially those in color and high resolution, would add significant value to this book.

In sum, while the average hobby cultivator just embarking on mushroom growing may find the information a bit too complicated, those looking to turn their hobby into a small farm venture will find it to be invaluable. To fully employ the techniques and methods presented in this book, the aspiring cultivator would have to invest a considerable amount of time and money. As such, I believe that this book is an excellent complement to a small farm operation. Those individuals looking to embark on hobby mushroom growing should first read Hajo Hadeler's Medicinal Mushrooms You Can Grow, and Paul Stamet's Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. Once the hobbyist is thoroughly familiar with the topic and the ins and outs of micro-scale (home-based) cultivation, I would strongly recommend that he or she pick up this book. As such, I see this as being more for folks who are serious about running a small farm or mushroom business, as most hobby growers would not even take the trouble to set up their own lab, or even maintain starter cultures beyond grain spawn. Thus, I recommend that this book be bought only after more basic information on mushrooms and their cultivation has been fully acquired.

I have read this and several other mushroom cultivation books. This book, coupled with Stamet's Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, makes for the absolute best reference materials for growing your own mushrooms.

That said, I'll mention the only thing that may disappoint a reader. His treatment of agar techniques in either of his cultivation books leaves a little to be desired. If you feel uncomfortable working with petri dishes after reading his sections on it, you may wish to check out "Laboratory Excercises in Microbiology" (ISBN 0-697-35443-1) by Harley and Prescott. It is a little more than a fellow needs to know about microbiology, but it is an excellent reference for aquainting on with aseptic agar techniques.

Aside from this, Stamets has certainly beaten the competion with this book!

I often refer to this book at the "bible", also. And it's writen by the "Cultivation God" himself. I already knew how to cultivate before i bought this book, and had a fairly wide knowledge of the subject. The amount of information in this book is unbelievable. I was just shocked. And, in a sort of response to the person who said there's too much info - if you're going to cultivate mushrooms, the more information the better. You can get buy with just a step-by-step guide, but you won't be very successful, and if you run into problems, or want to do more, then you're not going to know what to do. If you really want to cultivate mushrooms, and you really want to enjoy it, then you've got to get this book. It's easy to understand, and gives some basic information on the life cycle and properties of mushrooms. Ask anyone that cultivates, and knows a lot about cultivating, and they'll tell you that this is a must have book. It's probably my favorite book i've ever bought. Get it!

I have been a born.again Christian my whole life.

I study and read out of the King James Version Bible.

I want to clairify some amazing truths about the author of these books, Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille.

He was a great man of God rightly dividing the word of truth and standing on the word with FIRE!

This man's desires to study God's will/word of truth to help others understand the full capacity of their maxium potential was simply amazing!

He is only a man like the rest of us (true) but it is just so rediculious as to how certain people(s) bash againes his name.

He was the founder of The Way Ministry which was a wonderful non.denominational Christian body of believers who all had the same passion to learn about the truth and after he passed away in the 1980's the advisory seeped into the path of believers and corrupted the Way.

Today I, as well as many others, am no longer a part of The Way Ministry.

I am not saying anything bad about it because I have no right to judge and I'm writing all of this because others have done just that against a man who no longer lives today. (I am also recommending a fantastic book) If and when in the future the book is available again, I strongly suggest that anyone who wants to learn more of what God and his son Jesus Christ have to say, then I recommend this book as well as studying the bible for yourselve's with love in your hearts.

Though I never met Dr. Wierwille in person, I believe his stand upon Gods word was genuine. He was a man who researched the word of God to learn it for himself and to better be able to teach other how to read the Bible on their own. Yes, on their own!! God could of never ment for just a select few people to understand His Word, for He deisres we all come to a knowledge of the truth, His Word. If you really want to get a good basis after reading this book for how to read and understand the Bible for yourself, I recommend buying E.W. Bullingers "How to Enjoy the Bible." This book is essentialy the Power for Abundant Living Class that Dr. Wierwille videotaped and made available for people to learn how to not only get born again but how to "manifest" the nine manifistations of Holy Spirit. If your really interested in more on christian fellowshiping or other books E Mail me anytime @ GRMICHIGAN@AOL.COM

I Know the Way international, I was a PFAL grad in 1981. And I know the awful things that "Organized Religion" has to say about Dr. Victor Paul Wierville's ministry. Yet nowhere, in any of his books did he ever propose his own interpretation of the Bible. His position was simply that God's word interprets itself, either in verse, context or previous usage. He didn't offer easy answers to his students, he merely showed them how to go about getting to the truth. And like just about

every great Christian throughout history, his reward was to be openly critized and denounced as a heretical cult leader. I Guess not much has changed in the twenty years since I sat through the PFAL class. The same People are still spouting the same holier than thou condemnation that sent me looking for something better in the first place. I'm sorry that Dr. Wierville wasn't good enough for them and I'm sorry I wasn't good enough for them. I just hope God thinks we're good enough because even Christ himself was reviled and condemned before Men. I learned a lot from this book, and the only people who would want it removed from publication are probably the same people who don't want your child to be allowed to pray in school. So when you pray, pray for the religious freedom that this country was founded on. Don't take it for granted or you might end up "BEING" the next heretic.

Paul Woodruff, a Professor of Humanities at the University of Texas, writes about what he maintains we have lost sight of, reverence. While he admits the word is difficult to define, Mr. Woodruff says it "begins in a deep understanding of human limitations; from this grows the capacity to be in awe of whatever we believe lies outside our control--God, truth, justice, nature, even death." If we have reverence, we respect people lower than ourselves; we are kind to children. Woodruff differentiates between religion and reverence. He says that some people the most fervent about their religion do not have reverence. There is reverence outside religion. Reverence moderates war in all times and cultures. Reverent people do not say they speak on the authority of God either. Mr. Woodruff describes how a group of young people without traditional religion can experiene reverence at a memorial service for a friend when they share both their sorrow and silence.

The author gives many other examples of reverence or the absence thereof, citing references in both ancient China and ancient Greece as well as calling up the Victorian poet Tennyson.

I bought this book after having seen Mr. Woodruff discussing reverence in an interview by Bill Moyers. I must say that while the book is both thought provoking and thoughtful, it is far too long. The author repeats himself over and over. I could have gotten the point from a chapter or two on the subject in a book of essays or in a long journal article.

Having said that, I was so taken by Mr. Woodruff's comments on The Iliad that I ordered the translation he cites to reread this work for the first time in many years.

This book is valuable if only for framing the problem of how the strong ought to interact with the weak. As we in the USA approach war with a weaker nation, flush with confidence and righteousness, dismissive of counsel from far and near -- reverence is exactly the virtue most needed, and Woodruff's book makes this plain, even if not directly.

This book is not a veiled argument about something current. The reviewer who claimed this is a self-help book apparently only skimmed it, or perhaps has only skimmed self-help books. No contemporary self-help book would, as this one does, ground its claims in the likes of Thucydides, Homer, Euripides, Sophocles, and Tennyson; no self-help book would, as this one does, fail to mention the internet; no self-help book would, as this one does, dare to omit a section on "[topic] in the business world."

Woodruff's book is what it claims to be -- a thoughtful account of what reverence is and why it matters. Since the book's subject is a feeling or a capacity for those feelings, it is inherently difficult to render in precise terms. I believe this accounts for what has been called its repetiveness, but I do not regard this as a flaw. A book characterizing love or courage would need to be similarly repetitive. Woodruff approaches and reapproaches an elusive topic from several perspectives and many literary sources, never pretending to exhaustiveness or rigor.

Readers may share my quibbles as to whether the book successfully distinguishes reverence from respect, modesty and humility; or to put the matter exactly, whether one virtue, reverence, should be considered distinct from and preferable to those values. But by whatever name we might call it -- and surely reverence will do -- the book achieves its aim, to elucidate reverence and call our attention to its rightful place among the virtues.

Christopher Lasch once raised what he called the "forbidden topic of limits" in our society. In his new book Reverence, Paul Woodruff explores in a fresh and compelling way the topic of implacable human limitations and what it means to acknowledge or fail to acknowledge them in the business of living. His work brings to light a much obscured dimension of human life and living, and ought to be of keen interest to philosophers, social theorists, social scientists, and seekers after wisdom generally.

In Woodruff's view, "reverence" has as much to do with politics and power as religion and often transpires outside the sphere of religion altogether. Reverence "begins in a deep understanding of human limitations" and from it "grows the capacity to be in awe of whatever we believe lies outside our control"--God, the gods (beneficent or evil), truth, nature, justice--in his words, "conceived as an ideal, dimly grasped and much disputed"--death, or, if that is how one sees it, nothing at all. This capacity and its exercise is a virtue, indeed a cardinal virtue, Woodruff claims, in just the sense that courage or fairmindedness are virtues. He argues that reckoning with this dimension of human life is a universal, inescapable task. Of course, it takes myriad forms in different times and cultures. But he points out that people from very different religions commonly much admire one another's outlook and practices, which can't be based on the content of their creeds. It appears that we can detect and admire this quality anywhere. I would add (I am sure he would agree) that the same sense of admiration and commonality often occurs among religious and nonreligious individuals.

Woodruff explores how the Greeks before Plato and Confucius and his immediate followers in China, such as Mencius, defend reverence as an indispensable bulwark of human society, the thing that alone keeps leaders from trying to act like gods (tyranny and hubris for the Greeks), and is necessary if ordinary people are to find a place of belonging in society, with its inevitable differences and hierarchies, one that avoids the extremes, we might say, of emotional isolation and domination. Woodruff points out that Western philosophers since Plato largely ignore reverence, perhaps because they have so often pursued utterly objective and timeless truth. But poets from Homer and the Greek tragedians to Tennyson and Philip Larkin , and others like Lasch, bring it to the fore again and again.

Reverence, in Woodruff's words, is "the virtuous capacity for awe, respect, and shame" in the face of what "cannot be changed or controlled by human means" ( p. 7). In our time, we mainly hear praise of irreverence. But reverence is not only compatible with but often calls for the mocking of pompous solemnity and arrogant hypocrisy. Of course, more than irreverence is needed, lest we fall into mere negativity or cynicism. In the civic republican tradition, any viable alternative to excessive independence or subservience to others must include shared or overlapping notions of the common good and mutual deliberation about them. Most of us are understandably leery about these ideas. But Woodruff contends that we have to be serious about them because we simply cannot cultivate or practice virtues like courage, compassion, or reverence apart from membership and participation in the life of a community, including its ceremonies that powerfully install a sense of limits and mutual respect. For example, you can't be a courageous soldier in a unit of cowards who are unwilling to take risks because to take them yourself would amount to throwing your life away, which is foolish, not courageous. Similarly, you can't practice altruism or compassion among cruel or narrowly self-seeking individuals because to do so would simply be to portray yourself as a sucker in their eyes, and to an extent be one! Without a community, Woodruff points out, such virtues "have no outlet."

Consider the interesting example of respect. Respect "helps us avoid treating others with contempt, partly because it reminds us of our limitations, and partly because it can be shared in a variety of practices" (p. 7). Respect can be too "thin" when it is accorded to everyone regardless of "whether they respond to it or not" or are accountable for their actions. Kant's concept of respect as a mutual recognition of autonomy falls largely in this category. Respect also can be too "thick," as when it is claimed on the basis of unquestioned authority or expertise. The enormous limitations of all our perspectives, capacities for moral insight, and knowledge make such thick respect a recipe for stultification and arrogance. Reverence for our enduring limitations and imperfections requires a sense of common humanity. Thus, skillful leaders and knowledgeable teachers must extend respect to and really listen to their followers and students, just as the latter would be foolish not to feel and show respect for those in their communities who seem to have greater knowledge, maturity, or wisdom than they do. If so, reverence and an abiding appreciation of our human limitations requires the sort of just dialogue I outlined earlier in the paper, and is an essential virtue for the practice of that dialogue. Woodruff argues that the exercise of such virtues is "dependent on the presence of virtue in the community," and that we are therefore more dependent upon one another in the pursuit of a good life than we commonly acknowledge.

This book succeeds very well in "renewing a forgotten virtue," as Woodruff puts it. As a result of reading it, I am currently exploring how contemporary psychology and psychotherapy are somewhat distorted because they tend to obscure the crucial dimension of human life named by "reverence." I feel sure many others will find the book illuminating and useful, as well.

A Search in Secret India - Paul Brunton This book is a curious report of an English journalist's contact with the "mysterious" India. Armed with the best intentions possible in that time, Paul Brunton reveals to us all the prejudices and deformed ideas that the Occident has of the East. And he played a role in the vulgarization of several erroneous ideas that nowadays are accepted with the largest naturalness. Of special interest is the chapter IX "The Hill of the Holy Fire", where P. Brunton tells us his encounter with Shri Ramana Maharshi, a true Illuminated (obs: the ones that surrounded him at the end of his life and that proclaimed themeselves as their heirs weren't of the master's height). The reading of that chapter is worth the book!

Dr.Paul Brunton visits India in the early part of this century in search of yogis and mystics. He was fortunate to meet some true saints and finally he reaches his master, Maharishi (The great sage) Ramana of Arunachala (The red mountain) and finds what he came for. This book is a sincere account of a rational and skeptical westerner who was very impartial, but had the guidance of light from God which apparently moved in in the right direction. This book can serve as a lighthouse for both westerners and even the young Indians of this age who can appreciate what they are gifted with than anybody else in the world

This is an excellent book based on the experiences of the author, Paul Brunton, an Englishman, who toured India in the first half of the 20th century. The author's narrative is in the first person and he takes us with him as he journeys through India seeking the answer to the meaning of life. In the end, he seems to have found what he was searching for.

The book "My Father's Guru", by J. M. Masson which attempts to belittle Paul Brunton, instead reveals the egotism of Masson, who, rather than treat Brunton's ideas objectively, only aims to find fault with Brunton for nothing other than being excessively kind.