I've read Wordsworth my whole life, and my hunched posture, bland disposition, and general resentment of other people's successes are testament to what happens when one gives oneself- like a prom queen- to the WORDSWORTHer. Johnstone does admirable work here, giving us the dirt on the man and the truth about his years in Hollywood. Who knew that Wordsworth was a spy, or that he was the basis of the famous spy vrs spy strip? Johnson's fine research helped me appreciate that strip much more than i had.

Excellent book! I liked the textual innuendo here, that our most bucolic and turgid of romantic poets was indeed a spy, mostly in the house of love, macking on Dorothea, his sister later of Oz fame, as well as many French Aristocrats and poetesses. This book displays brilliant research and impressive critical girth. The tale of Johnson provides a rich and yeasty reading of Wordsworth's "Prelude" as a love poem to Coleridge, what Johnson calls the foreplay to romanticism itself. Read this book for the rich critical ideas and the saucy details about how, where, and how often the poet hides himself.

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I have wanted to carve wood for some time, but had no idea how to go about learning. Most of the books I've looked at were either too technical or too advanced for me. Finally, this book has given me the confidence to begin. The discussions are well written at a level that's good for a beginner like me. I read the entire book in about 3 hours and am now going back and starting my first project. The projects look doable and I know what I'm supposed to be learning in each one. Unlike most books, this one doesn't assume a progression from project to project so that you have to do them all--whether they interest you or not. I like being able to focus on whittling or chip work and being able to put off other types until I have a reason to do them.

Just as the title says this is a good introductory text for the person interested in starting woodcarving. There is not a lot of in-depth information about each type of carving, but there is enough to get you started in the right direction.

Types of carving included are line, relief, in the round, bird, and carved gifts, with a few patterns of each type. If you already know the basics of your type of woodcarving, a more detailed book would be a better investment. If you are curious about what tools you might need, some basics of types of wood, a few patterns for your first project, how to get your tools really sharp, basic techniques of making cuts, and how to finish your projects this book will serve you well. Also included in this book are sections on starting a woodcarving club and lists of publications, tool and wood suppliers, books, and sources of glass eyes and bird feet.

If you do decide to continue with woodcarving I strongly urge you to find a woodcarving club in your area. The help the members can give you is invaluable.

Johnston's Book "Mystical Theology" explains in a succinct and readable way the history of Western Christian mysticism and correlates it with Eastern mysticism and modern Western psychological understandings. It is well-written and answers questions that the average student of mysticism would understand in a coherent way. It is good for spiritual directors and pastoral leaders who are trying to understand the spiritual life of those entrusted to their care. It is NOT a book for beginners. It will be best understood by those who have some working knowledge of Christian, but especially Catholic Western or Eastern Mysticism. A knowledge of the works of St. John of the Cross or Teresa of Avila is most helpful.

Johnston's primary contribution to this field is his updating the understandings of centuries and placing them in a modern context. For example, he takes the three traditional ways of spiritual growth, purgative, illuminative and unitive ways and correlates his experience of Eastern mysticism, the call to non-violence, and modern psychology with them. The language is clear, the meanings precise, and the index is thorough. You can use this book as a basic research tool for mysticism or contemplation. I wished I had had this book before I wrote a published article last year. It would have formed a backbone to my article that other resources do not have.

Johnston's book is broad-based and has great depth. It could easily become the "Bible" and the "dictionary, if not encyclopedia" in its field. Its only weakness (and probably because it would have made it overly long)is that it does not trace the history of Western or Eastern Christian mysticism in great depth. However, its theological underpinnings are very strong. I highly reccommend this book not only to scholars but to all those seeking a greater understanding of mystical theology as well as those guiding our contemporary mystics.

I studied Pascal's Pensees at Notre Dame in 1989, and my life changed. A few years later I discovered Simone Weil's works at Emory University. A few years ago I was given Johnston's book, and am still working thru it. I'm a layman, not a genius, and for me the things in this book, tied to Pascal, Weil, and the Gospel of John, surely make a lot of sense. I'd like nothing more than to study this book at a seminar taught by William Johnston. For the layman who is seeking to make sense of this world, while developing a deeper relationship with God, this is the book to read.

This is a book by a Christian for other Christians and non-Christians may cringe at some of the content. Whilst I applaud the author's general intention and his broad approach, the arrogance of traditional Christianity still shines through. Johnston spends much of the book trying to convince us of the need for the 'inculturation' of Christianity, to make it more acceptable to the East so that it may grow and become better established there. What he does not state explicitly (but is clearly implied) is why Asia will benefit from this when it already has its own rich religious traditions, the very things that Johnston praises and says Christianity must learn from! Perhaps the East is better of with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Shintoism, etc. and the Christian churches would be better employed putting their own houses in order in the West.

That said, Johnston is courageously critical of many aspects of the Catholic Church's activities and he emphasises the importance of mysticism, noting that it is only at the level of the heart that real religious union can occur. This needs to be stated but is of course 'old hat', having been repeated by every saint and sage worth his/her salt for thousands of years: Johnston refers to Ramakrishna and Vivekananda in particular but does not develop their essential teachings despite the fact that the harmony of religions was the centre-piece of Ramakrishna's extraordinary life. Johnston is clearly very knowledgeable about Buddhism but I felt that more attention to Vedanta and Yoga would have produced a better argued book.

However, Johnston does make wonderfully clear the importance of meditation and prayer compared with theology and ritual. Indeed, having read the book, I am left with the strong impression that the major cause of the divisions that Johnston seeks to overcome is the nature of traditional religion itself and that only by transcending it can true love, peace and harmony be found in this world. Religions are just the pathways, spirituality is the goal: perhaps this is what Johnston really wants to tell us - but does not dare......... and anyone who has read the Vatican's declaration "Dominus Jesus " of four months ago will understand why!

This is my first encounter with William Johnston, and I am not a Catholic--those readers more familiar with Johnston's views and more Catholic in persuasion will want to keep that in mind when reading my review. This book does an excellent job in tracing the decline of the Western church and envisioning its rebirth through dialogue with Eastern religions. I agree with much that Johnston has to say. He is obviously a loving and courageous spiritual leader with a prophetic message for the future of Christianity. In spite of his bold criticisms of the Catholic church, however, I was somewhat put off by his constant need to qualify his statements, apparently to avoid sounding too "unorthodox." Johnston seems oblivious to the condescension of the Pope's statement that "members of other religions...receive salvation through Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their Savior." While this point of view is certainly more inclusive than that of the past, it still arrogantly insists on the superiority of Christianity. A more objective observer would be quick to point out that members of other religions do not receive "salvation" through Jesus Christ at all--they receive "salvation" through their own religious systems. As long as Christianity insists on the "uniqueness" of the "Christ event," it will never achieve the harmony with world religions that Johnston longs for and the survival of the planet depends on. It is time for Christians to recognize that, like all religions, Christianity is just one path among many paths of equal value. In spite of Johnston's bias, this is a valuable book; and I recommend it highly to all those interested in Christian mysticism and the survival of Christianity in the third millennium.

Each new book by the Belfast-born Jesuit, William Johnston, manages somehow to be different from his others. The latest, his eleventh, looks into the future and proclaims the glories that will be...as soon as the West opens itself to Eastern spirituality. But this time no instruction on techniques is offered, no mention made of his earlier ubiquitous exhortations about sitting and breathing and the grass growing green. He simply, and urgently, summons the whole human race to enter The Void...and aim for divinization!

If other works drew heavily on Carl Jung or Bernard Lonergan, this one's stock-in-trade is the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Yet, far from mellowing with time, the author is scathing, outlandish even, in his criticism of the church establishment: he cites suggestions elsewhere that the Pope move out of the Vatican and live at the gates of Rome; he echoes calls for an end to the system of papal nunciatures, and he argues for complete Church decentralisation.

"Arise, My Love..." is served in neat slices: the 17 chapters sub-divide under headings and the entire work comes in three parts:The New Consciousness:The New Mysticism and the Great Conversion. The style is amiable, lucid, companionable. Its meat amounts to food for intriguing thought.

Johnston announces the collapse of the old European church and the birth of a new global Christianity. Intensely mystical, ushering in a new springtime of the human spirit, this will look to Asia for guidance - borrowing breathing, posture, and mind control techniques as well as the chakras in its quest for enlightenment. It will learn from the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Tao Te Ching, the I Ching, the Buddhist Sutras and the Islamic teachings. Christianity is about to unwrap the paradigm created 2000 years ago, when three wise men crossed the desert bearing gifts from the east.

Involving married people in factories, businesses, classrooms or kitchens, concerned with peace, justice, ecology, violence and racism, this dialogue between Asian thought and the Christian tradition will have "incalculable repercussions" for the world. For, guided by spiritual giants of the east, people will learn how to transform themselves, how to go beyond rational consciousness and enter "the cloud of unknowing".

This silent place in the human psyche has no truck with reasoning, thinking, words and signs. It cannot be reached by scholarship. It exacts a price, viz. the dark night of the soul. This ends eventually, when a very powerful energy surges into consciousness from the void, turning sorrow into a joy nothing can take away. "The true self that lay sleeping at the centre of one's being is born with great joy. A new life begins. Now one sees God in all things and all things in God. Whereas previously one saw God through creatures, now one sees creatures through God".

For all that, the consciousness of the West remains valid and not to be traded away. The author firmly inveighs against "conversion". Each faith must stick with its own scriptures, commitment and path. However much all religions, have in common, they are yet "the same but different". Enlightenments too are "the same but different". Authentic Buddhist experience needs the dharma, authentic Jewish experience the Torah, authentic Islamic experience the Qur'an and authentic Christian experience the gospels. "Teilhard de Chardin found in the Christian tradition the wisdom he sought....We human beings cannot reject our past...Dialogue, yes; imitation, no".

Accepting this - that there are many religions and religious experiences but only one goal - is a major challenge for the third millennium. "Now we realise that no one religion has all the answers. Each religion has its unique message. The same spirit is at work in the heart of all men and women and in the scriptures and traditions of all authentic religions. We learn from one another. Indeed we at last realise that we need one another".

The other huge challenge will be church unity - between Christians east and west. The author forthrightly warns that a highly centralised, institutionalised, legalistic, political church that tries to control Asia from outside will surely fail. Likewise, an approach to the scriptures that "tells about the rind without helping them savor the sweet and delicious fruit" will not wash with religious Asians. Nor will they be impressed by "a wordy philosophy and theology" that indulges in extensive reasoning.

Instead, as Asian Christians get in touch with their traditional religions, they will create their own theology, liturgy, monasticism, and spirituality. "It is a question of seeing more deeply into the New Testament and the Christian tradition, finding therein aspects of the Jesus that the West has failed to see". In the process, Johnston asserts, the universal church will be enormously enriched. The book ends on a note of huge optimism, a confident prediction: "The marriage between East and West may well be stormy. But the marriage will be consummated, and it will bear much fruit".

A stimulating read!

This is an excellent resource for those who have an interest in learning more about contemplative prayer. A caveat - some other books would be a better introduction to the subject. Richard Foster has a good chapter on "Centering Prayer" in "Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home" and Thomas Keating's "Open Mind, Open Heart" is a better staring place for a novice. Having said that, however, Johnston's focus on love is what is most interesting about this book. He states that "Christian contemplation is a path of love" and I couldn't agree more. If you have begun to study and practice contemplative or centering prayer, then you will definitely want to read this book. I would give it 5 stars except it is not for all readers. One of my favorite quotes from this book is a simple declaration that I try to live every day: "Devote time to study each day". Make each day a day of learning and you will make life worthwhile.

A study of the theory and practice of anniversary celebrations of famous people or events in Europe and America could be a very interesting subject if it is written well. I thought it would be one of those anthropological works which illuminates previously dark corners, places in the vast Tent of Life that nobody really takes notice of. I was not mistaken. For 125 pages, Johnston weaves a fascinating argument, eminently readable, as to how a rising proliferation of cultural/historical anniversaries reinforces the concerns of postmodernism. We commemorate, he says, what we no longer wish to emulate. Leaving aside the author's rather weak definitions and treatment of "postmodernism" as a concept, the book more exactly treats the different ways in which cultural anniversaries are celebrated in the USA and various European countries and why. His discussion of such topics as the historical foundations of anniversary celebrations, the rise of state-supported cultural managers in Europe vis-a-vis local, academic sponsors of such celebrations in America, the role of individual intellectual giants in each culture, and the role of commercial interests and the media in celebrations is excellent. There is such potential depth here that nobody could present the FULL explanation. I particularly found his explanation of cultural differences in Europe and America throught the lens of anniversary celebrations useful. An anthropology student looking for an interesting paper topic could find many stimuli here. Similarly, an anthropology teacher could find material for several lectures within these pages, so many ideas do they bring up. For example, Johnston claims that anniversary celebrations are more important when one class has overthrown another, as happened in Europe in the period 1789-1900. In the UK, the change was gradual, and thus, the anniversary celebrations are muted. "Anniveraries appeal to new owners, not ancestral ones." (p.81) In America, the same institutions we had in 1787 are still in place. The country, except for parts of the South, was founded by the middle class. Celebrating anniversaries of individuals to stress our national identity is unnecessary. The courtly tradition too lies behind celebratory style in Europe, not in the USA. The author talks about "cultural religion" in Europe as opposed to the "civil religion" of the USA. All these comparisons I found very thought provoking.

But what happened to this book ? If a few rather grandiose statements are thrown out in the first part, the arguments are useful, and certainly make sense. The second part of the book, the last 50 pages, is irrelevant to everyone now, in 2002, because it makes a confused series of predictions and recommendations about the bimillennium celebrations that now, in retrospect, are particularly bizarre. Johnston expresses his concern about the 'emotional upset' of the bimillennium to come. He links Rome, Greece, and Christianity to a kind of strange, proposed runup to the years 2000 and 2001. Off the wall suggestions come flying across the pages, perhaps tongue in cheek. It is a very self-indulgent performance that an editor should not have allowed because it takes the shine off an otherwise useful book.

Christian Zen is a good place to start for someone who is interested in Christian applications of Zen, but doesn't want to spend years researching it. It also has a lot of insights that are not apparent on a first read that make the book worth coming back to over and over again.

If you're JUST looking for info on Zen, don't bother with this book,(it's about Christian applications of Zen). Try 3 Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau instead.

This one is an official history and as such makes for fairly dry reading. It is indispensible for academics but the reader seeking aviation adventure should look elsewhere. It rates a 10 as a reference source (how could it miss?) However on any other level, it rates a 5. So split the difference and give it a 7. See the "WWII Aviation Booklist" for more reviews: http://www.ampsc.com/~prophet/booklist.html

This is a great historical accounting of the life of an American aviation pioneer. Tex Johnston's life was a colorful mix of barnstorming through the flight testing and air racing of WWII fighters, and finally the experimental flight testing of the Bell X-1 (prior to Chuck Yeager) and the Boeing aircraft when the jet age was underway. The book is a little scant in his accounting of the famous (infamous?) barrell rolls of the 707 prototype over Lake Washington, which is disappointing. Overall, a great book and must reading for any fan of the early years of experimental flight testing.

Susan Johnston Graf has done something quite rare in Yeats criticism. She has examined the poets occult beliefs without prejudice, accepted them for what they were, and examined exactly what they might mean to his writing, without any snide disclaimers or protestations of disbelief which usually accompanies such studies.

In the first fourth of the book Ms Graf gives a clear summary of W. B. Yeats's occult background in Theosophy, his long association with the Order of the Golden Dawn and its successors, his formation of several Celtic magical orders, and his later interests in spiritualism. The real core of the work is the detailed examination of Per Amica Silentia Luna (1916) perhaps Yeats's most understudied and most underrated book. Squeezing meaning from this work is rather like deciphering a coded document, because it is written in Yeats's most carefully crafted, measured, and completely deceptive prose. Many turns of phrases heretofore interpreted as poetic figures of speech by literary academics are revealed by Graf to be Yeats's own private esoteric terms with specific, concrete meanings. Most Yeats scholars have considered Per Amica to be an obscure prelude to A Vision (1925 and 1934), but Graf reveals it to be a unique and revealing work, in many ways expressing ideas much different and different from its better known cousin.

The final chapters deals with the series of mediumistic experienced by Yeats bride Georgie (known as George) Hyde-Lees which began to occur four days after their wedding in October 1917. These mediumistic experiences, became the basics of Yeats's new "philosophy" published the two versions of A Vision, and became the underpinning of almost everything he wrote during the later period of his life.

Graf's book forms a powerful antithesis to Brenda Maddox's recent odorous book Yeats's Ghosts (1999), which suggested that the entire visionary experience of Yeates was driven by the ticking of Mrs Yeats' biological time-clock, and that she faked the entire mediumistic experience to keep her husband's interest and to deliver instructions about their sex lives designed to produce pregnancy in the most efficient manner. Instead Graf advances a more reasonable thesis: that the Yeats were engaged in a form of sex magic, guided the supernal intelligences toward the creation of "children of a higher order," perhaps an Irish Avatar for the new age. This does not negate the ticking of George's time-clock, or her desire to have children as a motive, but recognizes and accepts the deeply held occult convictions of both of the Yeates.

Graf's book may signal a new "middle ground" approach the Yeats's occult interests such as been recently applied to the history of Theosophy by K Paul Johnson and Joscelyn Godwin. If so, she has performed an invaluable service to the study of Yeats.