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It is possible today, through Ron's writing and his public appearances, to meet an incarnation of Socrates living in the modern world. This is what Ron's new book, Socrates' Way does. It brings Socrates into the modern world, making his work approachable and relevant to our lives.
Socrates' Way sets the stage for you to examine your life. It was Socrates who said that the unexamined life is not worth living. If nothing else, this book at least sets the tone for you to examine your own life, to look at all things with a questioning eye, and to not take things for granted. In a world where we are overloaded with information, much of which is questionable, if not outright mythological, it is particularly important to be able to analyze what we hear and see and to sift between truth and artifice.
This is a highly readable book which I recommend for anyone who is on the path of self-improvement.
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Through his eyes and pen, Raymo draws breathtaking pictures of our universe and connects them to mythology, literature, religion, history and anthropology. He calls on Roethke, Rilke, Shelley, Thoreau, Buddha, the Bible and the Koran, among others, to inspire his instructive reveries. He compares the night sky to Moby Dick, a butterfly's chrysalis to stardust, and the Earth's cone-shaped shadow in outer space to a wizard's cap "8000 miles wide in diameter at the rim, where it fits snugly on the Earth's brow." And when the sun and moon come together in eclipse, he transforms the view into a gentle kiss between lovers.
Now THIS is the way to learn astronomy.
Raymo deserves to be savored slowly, by candlelight.
This is such a beautifully written and illustrated book. Each chapter gently reveals us through our science, religion, poetry, and history. Now I know why whisperings of Magic began in the night so long ago and continue to present times.
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The authors attended a conference to road-test their material in apologetics workshops for Christian leaders and laity. The care taken to make their collected material accessible means that this volume would make an ideal 'reader' for the intelligent non-specialist, or for philosophy undergraduates. The general tone of the papers might be described as the philosophical equivalent of 'smart-casual', and one or two of the authors try just a little too hard to 'let their hair down'. This is not to accuse these papers of flippancy or a failure to treat their subjects with due seriousness when they are being serious.
This is a well produced book, edited with an introduction and a couple of papers by Professor Michael J. Murray, who co-edited 'Philosophy of Religion: The Big Questions'. It also comes with a foreword by Alvin Plantinga.
The range of subjects covered in sixteen chapters is admirable: pro and anti- theistic arguments, the relationship between faith and reason, religious pluralism, providence, religion and science, the incarnation and the trinity, resurrection, heaven and hell, miracles, ethics and the authority of scripture. I would highlight the scrupulous but nevertheless refreshing contributions from Robin Collins (on 'The Fine Tuning Design Argument' and 'Eastern Religions') for particular praise. The papers on 'Religion and Science' (W. Christopher Stewart) and 'The Authority of Scripture' (Douglas Blount on a topic infrequently covered in similar books) are also particularly edifying.
My main criticism for this compendium is that it has a distinct lack of suggested further reading, an oversight that will leave more advanced readers straining at the leash for greater detail and less advanced readers with no-where to advance towards. However, this is a fine body of accessible work that deserves attention from believers and non-believers alike.
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How many film performers have done as much as well as Michael Caine? For more than forty years, the actor has delivered shining performances in dramas, thrillers and comedies. He's carried flicks as a leading man, shared the spotlight as a costar, contributed to emsemble casts and has even take small roles.
In WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT, Michael Caine vows this book is the only autobiography he will write. I hope he changes his mind. I am sure Mr. Caine had to leave a lot of good stories out of his first volume. And since its '92 publication, he has been knighted and won another Oscar. Why not another book?
The most noteworthy aspect of WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT is that Michael Caine, despite having done almost everything you could want to do, has had the same personal and professional ups and downs as you and me. He tells stories we've all been through, such as being nervous about meeting women and his strained relationships with friends. (Of course, you and I would not be pals with actor Terence Stamp.)
This Michael Caine fan wants more movie-making anecdotes. If Mr. Caine does publish a second autobiographical volume, I request a synopsis of the making of each of his ninety-something films. He barely mentions two of my favorites: WATER and especially the obscure comic gem WITHOUT A CLUE.
Bravo to Michael Caine for not kissing and telling. He alludes to the bedroom activity that made the 1960s what it was for the rich and famous but does not name names.
The night Michael Caine won the Best Supporting Actor for CIDER HOUSE RULES, ceremony host Billy Crystal had been making fun of Caine's role in a JAWS film. Yet Mr. Caine did not return the dig during his acceptance speech, despite notorious Crystal bombs such as MR. SATURDAY NIGHT, FORGET PARIS, and FATHER'S DAY.
Unless, of course, Michael Caine's saving those remarks for his next autobiography!
For now, read WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT.
This is the real thing. Caine starts at the beginning and tells it all without indiscreet name dropping. He mentions that he does not plan to write another autobiography and so does not want to leave anything out. That makes for a really great read.
But what's really special about this autobiography is how approachable Caine seems to be. He comes across as just a regular guy whom you could approach on the street and say hi. Considering that most of the other autobiographies I've read, however great they may be, still seem like stories told by a celebrity who has deigned to share his/her life story, that in itself is an amazing accomplishment.
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George G. Neville, Jr. Marine Recon Vet - Vietnam
For those who served in Vietnam or those with a interest in the history of the U.S. involvement there, "Where We Were" is an indispensable piece for your library. This book is a monumental compilation of firebases, landing zones, airfields and navel vessels with over 10,000 entries. Not only do most of these entries have grid coordinates but the author has taken the effort to triangulate many of their locations with other know sites such as towns, firebases, airfields, etc. This makes looking up specific sites on a map a very simple matter. No other book I own goes to this detail to make it so useful. This book is nothing short of outstanding. Its like having a piece of the National Archives right on your bookshelf.
And if that wasn't enough, there is a fairly comprehensive Internet guide and as well as a recommended reading list. These are real bonuses for those intent on doing further research. The writing of this book was, in this reader's opinion, a true labor of love. It is a must for those who were there and for the serious researcher. My hat goes off to Mr. Kelly for this painstaking piece of history.
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But this is the crux of the struggle that subsequently determined Russian history. Many authors tried to give a view of that turbulent period; Pasternak in "Doctor Zhivago", Solzhenitzen marginally in "Ivan Denisovitch" (Denisovitch was in a gulag because he was a returnee from the German front and thus viewed as a political traitor) and Ayn Rand "We the Living." Bulgakov's novel is one of the richest, most touching and well-written I have read on this historical time.
He takes the story from the personal standpoint of a single family affected by the German betrayal of Russia to the incomprehensible brutality of the Civil War. The use of "white" and "red" as symbols in describing everyday objects and landscape is novelistic, the action is pure stage drama as you'd find in a play or film.
This is a far better novel than "Doctor Zhivago", which dealt with essentially the same subject (families torn apart by the Civil War and their way of life forever altered.) If you are at all interested in Russian history, I can't recommend "The White Guard" enough to you. I just loved it.
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THIS IS A DEFINITE BUY FOR ANYONE WHO CALLS THEMSELVES A WRESTLING FAN.
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Alpine Circus is essentially a compendium of columns originally published in SKIING magazine. All are interesting. Most are funny. One -- the piece on Sarajevo -- is intensely moving.
Four stars out of five. While very enjoyable, the book doesn't fully display Finkel's remarkable talent as a writer. Hopefully, future collections will. You'll see a lot more of his work... he's still a mere sprat.