Corey Anton's work is rich account of the unique and once occurent ways self and world emerge into meaningful existence. Springing forth from Charles Taylor's, The Ethics of Authenticity, Anton provides a compelling account of selfhood that furthers the modern quest for authenticity, that is, the sense that "many people today feel that it is their right to live personally meaningful lives." Keeping at bay two responses people might take in regard to this quest, as a license for moral laxity or as a moral calling for poetic license, Anton makes recourse to the dialogical nature of self and the requirements of horizons of significance.
With a critical eye towards overly atomistic accounts of self in social scientific research, Dr. Anton, taking up the voice of existential phenomenology, describes the ways the self is primordially out side of its fleshy boundaries thrown into a meaningful world with others. As a matter of emphasis on this insight, Anton provides lucid descriptions of essential features of self: embodiment, sociality, symbolicity, and temporality.

The following are some highlights of the work.

The opening section on embodiment represents an almost mythical account of the body. Here Anton writes of the ground meaning of embodiment as being "thrown-out-from-yet-indigenous-to-earth." And, following Sartre's account of Being-in-itself, he writes "Earth as Earth is a non-existing event...as so full of itself, it exists not." If Earth is to fall into existence it will require "events of existential decompression." As Anton continues, "an embodied self is earth's way of taking flight from its fullness and first coming to itself...humans are not simply things on the earth; we are something it is doing." This section dives further into the phenomenological notion of intentionality, ala Merleau-Ponty, and concludes with the observation: nothing separates my body from the world.

The subject of negativity, of nothing, runs through out the work as a reminder of the self's dialogical/inseparable relation to world and others. For instance, in the chapter on sociality, Anton not only acknowledges that "hortatory don'ts" and "tribal thou shall nots" (a nod to Kenneth Burke) provide social regulations of appropriateness and acceptability, but he also delineates the primordial negativity implicit in face-to-face encounters. Anton writes, "My face as it is for me, is an intentional absence, yet it is the absence by which others' faces come to seeable existence. I do not have a face; other people have mine and I have theirs. Ridged boundaries between others and self need to be loosened because part of me is manifest only through others. Said simply: nothing separates me from others."

Nothing separating world, self, and others means that all talk is talk about others and the world. Hence, in the chapter on symbolicity Anton's account of self turns towards sonorousness (i.e. speech and language). Anton writes, "Human beings are naturally sonorous entities, caring for more than the here and now of their own bodies by releasing and appropriating the sayableness of existence." Being critical of those who would conceive speech and language as inventions, tools, or an unnatural add on to the human being, Anton maintains that such conceptions that hold the belief "that language is alien or not natural (perhaps humanly created) must be carefully scrutinized."

Of the various features of the self temporality is perhaps the most under appreciated in contemporary social theory. "It is so easy to forget (or never even notice) that we are temporality," writes Anton. "The human is more than extant, is not simply a body resting 'in' time...World [and] self are happening through earth's internal negations and corresponding existential decompressions." In revealing the meaning of freedom in human beings relation to time, he sums up: "humans are time as temporality, which means that the past remains a future possibility; this is the past we are still moving toward. What we normally call the future is actually the past; it is the past that will-have-been."

The whole of Selfhood and Authenticity provides a compelling account of self that is indebted to others and world. The pursuit of authenticity with in the context of Anton's work, is struggle to meet fitting responses to and from the project of existence. "What could be less original, less authentic, than a job, any and every task, done with less than vital concern?" The inauthentic person is lacking a sense of duty, and harbors an indifference to the moments of existence. Authenticity, in Anton's last account, is a passionate responsibility, "a practice of openness by which we are called to fitting responses...a blissfully seduced obedience...a dutiful autonomy, one liberated by indebtedness."

This book has given me a great deal of insight into my personal life. It is very interesting and kept my interest throughout the entire book. And he is sooooooo cute!!!!!!!!

If given a choice of which sense one would least like to lose, smell would certainly rank last. Yet our sense of smell is our oldest and most basic connection to the world around us. We probably begin to smell our mother while floating in her womb, and may be attracted to our future mates by their odiferous-fingerprint. Vroon gives a readable survey of the anatomy and physiology of our olfactory organ, and explains the implications of its direct connection to the sites of the most basic impulses in our brains.

This is a fascinating insight into our most basic, but most overlooked sense. Lots of basic factual information, which is clearly written and easy to understand, and lots of interesting and thought provoking material about how important our noses are in our daily lives. Quick reading - will liven up your next conversation.

I was surprised by this book in a very good way. You know-order another Zen book, see what you get sort of thing. This is one of the rare ones, up there with Zen Master Seung Sahn's The Compass of Zen. Anyway, this book is so very, very simple in it's approach. In fact, almost every page gives you the feel of Taizan Maezumi speaking without any paper before you. The English at times is slightly off, which to me is what makes it all the more charming.

In this book he covers the following subjects quite well: koans, God, precepts, The Four Dharma Seals, some chapters devoted to Masters gone by, Joshu's "Mu", and the tree has no roots-to name a few. This book represents all our Zen traditions-just like my own school of Kwan Um Zen (Korean)-here, too-we see reverence of the bodhisattva of compassion Kwan Yin (*Kanzeon* in Japanese). Sometimes we call Kwan Yin Avalokitesvara-anyway, she is the bodhisattva that really sums up all of what it means to practice every day in Zen. 1000 arms, big ears, 1000 eyes, and ears. Why? To hear, and see the suffering of all beings. 1000 arms of bodhisattva help. That is Zen practice, helping all people. And this message rings home in this book. This is one reason I hold it now as a dear treasure.

Enjoy!;)

Taizan ("Great Mountain") Maezumi Roshi speaks directly to the heart and mind of the reader in this beautiful collection of dharma talks. Editor Tenkei Coppens Sensei has done a masterful job mirroring Maezumi Roshi's voice by setting his simple and direct words to poetic format. At times warm and playful, at other times sharp and cutting, Zen Master Maezumi Roshi's teisho bring the experience of Zen to life within the reader. This book is one that you don't want to miss!

The Undiscovered Chekhov is a compilation of superbly crafted short stories by the Russian literary master writer Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), drawn from his work in the 1880s when he was a young man in his twenties. These witty and original short stories are very ably translated for an American readership by Peter Constantine, who discovered these literary gems in the New York Public Library while browsing through old magazines in the Slavic and Baltic division. The Undiscovered Chekhov is a "must" for Chekhov enthusiasts and an essential, core addition to all academic and public library Russian literature collections.

The only elements holding these 43 pieces together are (a) they are short and (b) they are earlier works of Chekhov. They include character sketches, experimental literature, humor, groups of aphorisms ... all done with great wit and excellent writing. The translation is very readable; there is no sense of reading foreign syntax.

Examples of pieces in the book: "First Aid" is a short story in which the inepitude of the civil service/nobility kills a drunk "drowning" victim through folk medicine (tossing on a rug) and vague "CPR" instructions.

"From the Diary of an Assistant Bookkeeper" is a tale of perpetual hope of promotion based on the demise of the current bookkeeper given in the form of a diary.

"Questions Posed by a Mad Mathematician" presents the worst fears for a mathmatics test. Example: "I was chased by 30 dogs, 7 of which were white, 8 gray, and the rest black. Which of my legs was bitten, the right or the left?"

"Confession - or Olya, Zhenya, Zoya: A Letter" is a bachelor's explanation of why he has never married - the disasters (from hiccups up) that have foiled each proposal.

The remaining pieces are as diverse and entertaining. The pieces are the best of over 400 short pieces available from the early period. Even if you don't generally read Russian literature you will enjoy these pieces.

I picked up this book after seeing it and i first thought it was going to be a silly Harry Potter clone, but i was surprised!
This is a really good book covering alot of topics in a concese way. It is easy to read and understand and is just beutiful to look at also. It covers many of the topics of wizardy without going into the whole witchcraft thing too much. It also talks about like many of the anicent wise men also like Soloman. If u r looking for a book on WIZARDRY and not witchcraft then this is a good start.

This a a good begginers only guide covering many topics in the field of Witchcraft. Tells about famous wizards and secret societies and helps you on your way to mastery of the Art. A great glossary at the end is a big help. I recommend it.

This thunderbolt of a tape was once entitled the Jumping Jesus Syndrome, due to Wilson's clever coinage of a leap in human intellect equating to "1 Jesus". Others have called this everything from the "Quickening" to "the Omega Point" to Terence McKenna's "uploaded self into the multiplicitous realm of the Other". Bob, as ever, doesn't say much about what it is, but rather what it seems to him to be in all its facets, these "fast times" we live in, and how intelligence seems to be increasing and time with it. Is it really? He reports from the edge. Brilliant, hilarious and convention-shattering.

An outstanding review of Albanian history and political development.As a lay-man who was always interested in the Albanian obscure history, which was and still is, in a way, an enigma to most western people, the book is fascinating as it's title implies. It's only disadvantage that it is too brief in some of it's chapters.

This is a great book for general information concerning precolumbian peruvian textiles. Includes information about history, ideologies, and religion. Excellent

Having seen the original production at the Humana Festival at Actors' Theatre of Louisville several years ago, I got myself a copy of the script as soon as possible. A riot, a vicious satire of theatre in general, regional theatre in particular, as well as critics, actors, directors, "artistic interpretations," etc.

The play is set at a regional theatre in San Antonio, TX, as they put together a cockeyed production of Chekov's "Three Sisters," anchored by an ambitious blonde bombshell TV star known for her nude scenes who wants to go "legit." Throughout the show, the play is interrupted by a critic who's come to review "Anton in Show Business," and the metatheatrics take over from there, leading up to one of the best final moments I've seen in theatre, a surprisingly moving moment no less.

Brilliantly written, nicely staged at ATL, a fine play all around.

The 1977 (or 1978) Hyperion edition is a reprint of P. E. Mattheson's 1926 edition. There have been two recent translations, one by John R. Russell (1996) and the other by Ritchie Robertson (1997). I cannot speak authoritatively about either translation, having not examined them in detail, but I can tell you that Robertson's includes the 'Gedankenstriche' (long dashes) that Moritz used, rather than converting them into more modern punctuation. This and the price would lead me to order Robertson's paperback edition.