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As family members, we have John Holliday to thank. Moreover, I was thrilled with each page of Holliday's book. The 1849 Gold Rush extracted more from its participants, due to gold fever, than they got in return from the California mines. That's exactly what happened to William, who, in May of 1848, left his lovely wife, Sabrina, a newborn daughter, his brother George, and his farm residence in Youngstown, NY. William, in his heart, knew he would make it big in California country. At least he must try. And, Sabrina, not knowing the hardships and penniless outcome, gave her loving agreement. Along the way William witnessed death and deprivation, loneliness and hunger. He arrived hopeful in gold country, plied his efforts, and came away luckily with the skin on his back. He differed from most in one important way: William kept a journal. And, Sabrina and William wrote and saved their letters, from which Holliday made one of America's finest narratives. William, weighted with introspective highlight, wrote to George, "If you're thinking of coming out here, for [Gosh] sakes, do not!" William pleaded. Prospectors and miners everywhere, food scarce, prices high, California gold fields deluded nearly all. "And no one I know has gotten rich," William offered. William, beaten in his quest, longed to be with Sabrina and brother George. Ready to return, he had saved $400. He longed to bring it all home, to hand to Sabrina. But, think of it, did you ever try to get from Sacramento to Niagara Falls in 1850, while tired and broke? Yikes. No train. William would have to walk the same way home he came, over that horrible trail. He couldn't face that prospect. So, William scraped his pockets clean, and purchased passage on a ship, via Panama. Just one catch: There was no Panama Canal. That happened 60 years later. William made his way to San Francisco bay. He boarded ship. He endured sea sickness. He ate crummy food. He arrived at Panama, shaken. Next, he and all passengers traversed the 50 mile overland eastward trek with a guide. Threatened with abandonment in the jungle, he paid double. Weak, he arrived at the east side of the Isthmus, broke. William struggled on board ship. It traveled north, taking forever, to arrive at New York City. There, George, who knew to meet him from William's earlier letter, stood waiting at the gangplank. William, broke and sick, 25 pounds skinnier, staggered into his brother's arms. George helped William toward home, finally past beloved Niagara Falls, north to Youngstown. There, adoring, relieved, Sabrina faithfully nursed William back to health. Asked late in life if it was worth it, William avoided answering. He merely declared he loved his Youngstown. Can you read between the lines on that one? 'Nuff said.
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Gao Yuan was swept up in this insanity, and in the beginning of his narrative he enjoyed proving his revolutionary zeal by "outing" the teachers at his school who supposedly were not righteous or revolutionary enough, and participated in destroying many of their careers. But Gao stopped having so much fun when the lives of his friends, his family, and finally himself were destroyed. Instead of the unified force of revolutionary youth that Mao envisioned, the logical outcome was the disintegration of the youth movement into smaller and smaller factions, who merely used Mao's instructions as an excuse to bully each other and consolidate power. Gao is not afraid to admit to his own evil acts, such as when he participated in the beating of a teenage girl, pulled a meat cleaver on his own father, or when he helped destroy a hospital, all because he was lead to believe that his politics were more righteous than everyone else's. He then watches helplessly as the countryside descends into factionalism and anarchy. Some parts of this book are quite alarming, as the youths digress into torture and warfare, and many of Gao's friends are severely injured or killed in the factional fighting.
One interesting side effect of this book is Gao's descriptions of the personality cult Chairman Mao built around himself, and how he bullied the people into worshipping him as a supreme deity. This man succeeded in making a billion people think he was a god. That's an interesting study in politics and sociology.
Although their actions were encouraged, at the outset, by their teachers, the students quickly turned their attentions to their instructors and "found" counter-revolutionary, "bourgeouis" and other improper behavior. Nearly all the teachers were branded, even after the Communist party instructed the students that most teachers should be considered good or "relatively good." When the students ran out of teachers and local petty officials to attack, they turned on each other, forming alliances which accused their opponents of non-revolutionary behavior. The mounting violence and resulting chaos are, on a certain level, surreal. The author's "postscript," while brief, ties the account to the present with its description of the "where they are now" of his friends, and enemies, during this time.
As a fourteen year-old boy Gao Yuan attended a boarding school that became caught up in the wildness of the Cultural Revolution. He experienced the foolishness of the children and their terrible violence as they turned on each other. At the same time his father was being pilloried at home.
This is a great yarn about a surreal world, as well as an important historical document.
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Educators, lovers of theatre and great literature--take note! Late in the 1990s, Harper Row began to release on cassettes the Arkangel Complete Shakespeare, all of which I reviewed in one paper or another. Using some of the best of the young theatrical talent in Great Britain and some of the older established stars of stage and screen, the producers gave us readings of every single word of every single play by Shakespeare, including the seldom-performed "Two Noble Kinsmen" which is partially by Shakespeare.
Well, hold on! Audio Partners has been contracted to release the entire set on CDs. The trick is that you cannot purchase the individual sets but are required to purchase the entire package of 38 plays for $600. That is 98 CDs in all with a playing time of just over 101 hours! Libraries and school departments take note.
Hearing them as they were released on tape in batches of four or five, I was impressed mostly with the enormity of the project but found some things to quibble about. Casting Oberon and Titania with a pair whose voices were South African or Jamaican (no Henry Higgins, I) made some sense in that it emphasized their other-worldly-ness. So did assigning Malvolio in "Twelfth Night" to an actor with a distinct Scottish accent, but giving Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" to the same actor was absurd. Then too there is that sudden sound effect of a train pulling out of a station in the middle of "All's Well That Ends Well"! Granted there was a production current then that did place the play in more modern times, but when one is hearing a recording with no clue as to setting, the result was jarring and should have been omitted.
In the grander roles such as Hamlet, Othello and the like, the younger actors give modern readings which might strike some as slighting demands of the high poetry. And those who long for the grander readings can turn to the re-releases of the old Shakespeare Recording Society sets.
One great disadvantage to the cassettes is that you could locate a specific scene only with much fast forwarding. With CDs, of course, you can jump to any scene by pressing the Skip button on your player. When a scene continues onto another disc, the tracking list tells you at which line the scene picks up.
The price might be prohibitive to all but an institution--but I feel that every library should find its way to purchasing the complete set in much the same way that many purchased the complete set of BBC Shakespeare videos.
You can follow the play in text if you choose to -- they follow the readily available Complete Pelikan Shakespeare. But you don't need to -- if you aren't familiar with a play the brief four or five line summaries of each scene in the small fold-out accompanying each play are quite sufficient to know which characters are involved. It's possible to listen to these while driving, but you can't concentrate fully unless you're totally stuck in traffic. My number one recommendation is to take a Walkman and a pair of headphones to a hammock under a tree and indulge yourself. Second best is a comfy easy chair.
However you listen to these, do get them and listen to them. Or persuade your local library to get the set.
The price -- ...-- seems high until you figure that this is 38 complete plays -- less than the cost of the same play in paperback -- and there are a total of 83 disks, so you're paying just $5 per disk. Cheap! And these aren't some pop music you'll listen to once; these are a lifetime investment for yourself and your family.
Get it. Period.
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Many young people are attracted to the law as a way to achieve a more just world. Disillusionment sometimes sets in as students begin to appreciate that the law lags behind the development of community ideals. In this interesting volume, Harvard Law School professor Joseph William Singer uses a variety of references to make the case for amending the legal property rights in order to serve all better in the democratic community. Using sources as differing as the efforts to protect workers by the CEO of Malden Mills, the hit musical Rent, Jewish, Christian and Islamic sacred texts, and studies of the effects of new welfare legislation, Professor Singer argues persuasively for releasing many citizens from "duties" in the law that only serve to create harm in practice.
There is a comforting view of the potential to be humane in this book that will make any reader glad to think about the potential to be a noble person in serving all. Those who do not know about the legendary hospitality of Abraham will enjoy the part of the book that explains the impetus to serve others that is recounted in the Torah (and the Old Testament). The book's title refers to the Jewish law that fields should be cultivated to the edges, and that the gleanings from those edges be left for the poor (along with any grain that falls to the ground and any sheaves that are left behind). From this observance evolves the familiar and broader moral perspective that those who have, also have the need to share and assist others. We are all guardians for all.
At a time when individualism and materialism are strong, and community is becoming weaker, it is all the more important to consider the roots of what methods have always served the needs of humanity well. These analogies and our subjective reaction to them can help us understand where we need to rebalance our focus. If we can extend our vision to think about all the ramifications of our actions, we will take more meaningful actions that will bring us greater spiritual and material comfort. Done properly, the outcome will also be more prosperity for all, including those who give.
In what you do every day, how could what your organization does be changed to benefit more people and more kinds of people in more ways?
May you also find wonderful ways to expand health, happiness, peace, and prosperity for all!
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This book is history of the very best kind. It is extensively documented from primary sources, it is well written and draws the reader in and the text of the book is free from cumbersome and often distracting academic citation apparatus. It also has selected a topic of almost epic proportions.
The March to the Sea, coming on the heels of the devastating fall of Atlanta was the straw that broke the South's back. After years of war and the related hardships, the devastation that this march produced in the South dealt a death blow to the South's war effort.
In one of the great strategic decisions of the war, Sherman breaks his lines of communication and supply and, like a modern day nuclear sub, disappears only to resurface at Savannah. The freedom of movement that this decision allowed made this march even more effective.
Further, the productivity of the South, even after years of warfare is evidenced. The author presents data showing an increase in the weight of soldiers due to the richness of the diet they were able to secure from those unfortunate enough to be in the path of Sherman's army.
To quibble with a prior reviewer, this is not a novel. This is academic history of the best sort but written in a easy and accesible manner. A great book.
Mr. Glatthaar's efforts have resulted in this very informative and engaging book. I did not know a lot about Sherman's Army before reading this book, and feel that I now have a much better understanding of the men who filled the ranks and led the regiments in their famous march to the sea. In his text, Mr. Glatthaar presents many quotes directly from letters and diaries written by Sherman's men, which really enhances the story and his conclusions.
I recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn about Sherman's Army- why it was successful, why it adopted a policy of total war, destroying much of the South, and why it remains controversial to this day.
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Not only does this book have a delicious selection of recipes, but it is filled with North American facts, desriptions of herbs and where to find them, and the types of animals indigenous to the area. It also has an extensive wine list, so you know what to serve with some of the more exotic foods. Another nice touch is the list of places where you can buy and order the ingredients you need, no matter how uncommon.
Don't be afraid of the title, this is not a "hunter's cookbook". Instead it is an original, and well-written cookbook that can inspire the gourmet in all of us!
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I. America's religious panorama 9
II. basic differences between Catholicism and Protestantism 18
III. the Lutherans 25
IV. the Presbyterians 39
V. the Espiscopalians 49
VI. the Methodists 60
VII. the Baptists 72
VIII. the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ 81
IX. the United Churchmen 89
X. the Quakers 96
XI. the Perfectionists 104
XII. the Pentacostals 108
XIII. the Seventh-Day Adventists 117
XIV. other Protestants 125
the Moravians 125
the Mennonites 127
the Reformed 130
the Christian Reformed 131
the Brethren 131
the Salvationists 134
the Convenanters 136
XV. the Unitarian Universalists 138
XVI. the Eastern Orthodox 145
XVII. the Old Catholics 152
XVIII. the Cultists 167
the Swedenborgians 168
the Spiritualists 169
the Unity School of Christianity 171
the New Thoughters 173
the Worldwide Church of God 175
the Hare Krishnas 177
the Scientologists 178
the Moonies 179
XIX. the Mormons 184
XX. the Jehovah's Witnesses 198
XXI. the Christian Scientists 207
XXII. the Jews 218
XXIII. the Muslims 226
XXIV. the Baha'is 230
XXV. the Buddists 238
church membership statistics 241
general bibliography 247
index 249
252 pages total
Whalen's Separated Brethren is not apologetic in style, but it is apologetic in effect as it enumerates with certainty the post-apostolic origins of non-Catholic, Christian religions. Like Foxe's Book of Martyrs? Read this. You will be blown away when you see the other side of the coin. Are you a Christian who would like to see the early Church restored? Read this and find that She never died. She is, perhaps, unrecognizable, but only because She has grown more wise and beautiful.
Whalen also brings together in one volume the teachings of all the mainline Protestant traditions, as well as some cults and some non-Christian traditions. I would like this book to be in the hands of every Catholic who thinks that it doesn't matter which church you go to. They are NOT all the same.
A quote from "Critic" on the back cover calls this book "a masterpiece of synthesis." Well said.
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Holliday blends the information together wonderfully by arranging each chapter into three sections:
1. an overall historical account
2. Swain's diary
3. A Back Home section in which letters written to Swain from wife Sabrina and brother George are included.
The format works splendidly for the reader and keeps everything in a proper time frame. Holliday also includes scaled-down regional maps for every chapter which lets the reader follow along on a microcosm/macrocosm scope of the total journey. Holliday has also laboriously researched hundreds of other personal diaries and includes passages from them when Swain leaves gaps or when a quirky story can be added to intrigue the reader further. The World Rushed In is a fast read and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Western US history or is just looking for a great story.