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Cien años de soledad: Edición conmemorativa (The 40th Anniversary Edition)

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One hundred years of pleasure
cien años de soledad
Wonderful book
The Best Autor in spanish language.

Cien años de soledad: Edición conmemorativa (The 40th Anniversary Edition)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Manufacturer: Santillana USA Publishing Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Don Quijote de la Mancha
Memoria de mis putas tristes
Cronica de una muerte anunciada
El laberinto de la soledad
Ines del Alma Mia: Una Novela

ASIN: 8420471836
Release Date: 2007-03-21

Product Description

The Real Academia Española celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Garcia Marquez s masterpiece in this beautiful commemorative edition. Prologues by Carlos Fuentes, Alvaro Mutis, Mario Vargas Llosa and other intellectuals. One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. -New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

One hundred years of pleasure.......2007-06-13

Esta nueva edicion conmemorativa a cargo de la Real Academia Espanola en conjuncion con la Asociacion de academias de la lengua espanola pone en manos del lector la novela de Garcia Marquez consagrada ya como un clasico de la literatura universal. Aunque esta edicion tiene el merito de compilar una serie de ensayos de escritores de la talla de Carlos Fuentes, Vargas Llosa, Alvaro Mutis, Claudio Guillen, entre otros; una extensa bibliografia y un utilisimo glosario, el lector que se inicia en esta obra deberia complementar su lectura con la insuperable edicion critica de Catedra que trae, ademas, notas a pie de paginas, ausente desgraciadamente en la presente edicion. De todas maneras esta es una edicion muy cuidada que limpia las asperezas, erratas y expresiones dudosas de previas ediciones.

cien años de soledad .......2007-05-14

Es un libro el cual después de 40 años de ser escrito ya pertenece a los clasicos de la literatura latiniamericana.Es magnifico!! lo super recomiendo!!

Wonderful book.......2007-05-10

Really great book. Great price, great paper, great bookbinding and most important great text.
Gabo must be happy with edition.
Libro muy bien encuadernado, papel de primera calidad. Compraré un par mas para mis hijos...

The Best Autor in spanish language........2007-03-31

This is the best book I have ever read from in spanish language. The Colombian Writer is my favorite autor.

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Thoughts on Grace (Eventually)
Lamott Just Gets Better
Where's the Grace and the Faith?
I always love her books but............
The best ever

Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
Anne Lamott
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
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ASIN: 0143142089
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

Through Anne Lamott's many books (including six novels, her bestselling parenting memoir, Operating Instructions, and her popular guide to writing, Bird by Bird) the subject she keeps returning to is her faith, her deeply personal--"erratic," she says--journey in Christianity. Her latest book, Grace (Eventually), is her third collection of her "thoughts on faith," and she took the time to answer a few of our questions.

Questions for Anne Lamott

Amazon.com: This is your third book on faith. How has your perspective changed since you wrote your first one?

Lamott: I wrote my first book on faith when Bill Clinton was president, and I was in a much better mood. I wrote Plan B during the run-up to war in Iraq, and the ensuing catastrophe, so I was very angry, but trying to reconcile that pain and hostility to Jesus's insistence that we are made of love, to love, and be loved, to forgive and be forgiven. Some days went better than others. Also, my son Sam was in his early teens, and that was a LOT easier than when he turned 16 and 17, his ages when I was writing the pieces in Grace (Eventually).

In general, I think Grace (Eventually) is a less angry book. I like how I'm aging, except that my back hurts more often, my knees crack like twigs when I squat, and my memory fails more frequently, in more public and therefore humiliating ways. But I think I complain less. As my best friend said when she was dying, and I was obsessing about my butt, "You just don't have that kind of time."

Amazon.com: What does grace mean for you? How can we better communicate it to each other?

Lamott: Grace is that extra bit of help when you think you are really doomed; also, not coincidentally, when you have finally run out of good ideas on how to proceed, and on how better to control the people or circumstances that are frustrating or defeating you. I experience Grace as a cool ribbon of fresh air when I feel spiritually claustrophobic. Sometimes I experience it as water-wings, something holding me up when I am afraid that I'm going down, or the tide is carrying me away. I know that Grace meets us whereever we are, but does not leave us where it found us. Sometimes it is so small--a couple of seconds relief here, several extra inches there. I wish it were big and obvious, like sky-writing. Oh, well. Grace is not something I DO, or can chase down; but it is something I can receive, when I stop trying to be in charge.

We communicate grace to one another by holding space for people when they are hurt or terrified, instead of trying to fix them, or manage their emotions for them. We offer ourselves as silent companionship, or gentle listening when someone feels very alone. We get people glasses of water when they are thirsty.

Amazon.com: Many of the essays in Grace (Eventually) first appeared in Salon, the online magazine, and that's the way that many readers first found you. How do you see the Internet changing the way people read and write?

Lamott: The Internet makes everything so immediate and spontaneous, which I totally love--UNLESS it has to do with the immediacy of people's negative response to me. Several of the Salon pieces in Grace--for instance, the story about the horrible fight with my son, and the piece about turning the other cheek while being ripped off by The Carpet Guy--generated a couple hundred letters, many of them extremely hostile. Perhaps "spewy" would be a better description. I also sometimes get knee-jerk responses to my mentions of Jesus in my Salon pieces that seem to lump me in the same tradition as Jerry Falwell. But for the most part, I love the populism and egalitarian nature of the Internet: everyone counts the same.

Amazon.com: What stories do people tell you, when they've read your books or know you are a writer?

Lamott: People tell me how relieved they are that I try to tell the truth about how hard it can be to be a mother, or a daughter, or an American in these times. They tell me stories about how awful their own teenagers can be, or how awful they themselves behaved towards their kids or parents; how hard it was to finally be able to adore their mothers, or to forgive their fathers. They tell me their sobriety dates. They whisper to me that they are Christians, too.

Also, they ask if I am able to read their manuscripts, and the name of my agent, and my e-mail address. They ask if we are going to survive the current political difficulties--and I promise them we are. They ask how old my son is now--17 and a half--and how he is doing, which is fantastically, after some of the hard months I wrote about in Grace.

Amazon.com:What lessons do you think you can pass on to others: to your readers, to your son? What lessons does it seem like people have to learn for themselves?

Lamott: All I have to offer is my own truth, my own experience, strength and hope. I can pass on the tool of a God Box, and how for 20 years I have been putting tiny notes in mine and promising God I will keep my sticky fingers off the controls until I hear God's wisdom: sometimes I get an answer because the phone rings, or the mail comes, but at any rate, during every single terrible problem and tragedy, I have been given enough guidance and stamina and even humor to bear up, and be transformed, for the good. I always tell Sam that if you want to make God laugh, tell Her your plans. I tell Sam that if he listens to his best thinking, he will suffer: and to listen to his heart instead, to listen in the silence, and to seek wise counsel.

Amazon.com: You've written nearly a dozen books (including an incredibly popular guide to writing): does writing get any easier? Does it get harder?

Lamott: In a very important way, writing gets easier, because I've been doing it full time now for thirty-plus years, and just as you would get better and better if you practiced your scales on a piano, I've gotten better, and can try harder and harder pieces. But writing is always hard. It does not come naturally to me at all. I sit down at the same time every day, which lets my subconscious realize it's time to get to work. I give myself very short assignments, and let myself write really terrible first drafts. But I grapple with the exact same problems every writer does, which is having equal proportions of self-loathing and grandiosity. I sort of live by the Nike ads: Just Do It. So I sit down. I show up. I do it by pre-arrangement with myself, because I know I'll feel sad and terrible if I shirk on that days writing. I do it as a debt of honor, to myself, and to whatever it is that has given me this gift of being able to tell stories, and to make people laugh. Laughter is carbonated holiness. Other people's good writing is medicine for me, and I hope mine is too, for my readers.

Book Description

The sharp, funny, and heartfelt follow-up to her bestselling Plan B, Anne Lamott's newest collection is a personal exploration of the faith and grace all around us.

Customer Reviews:

Thoughts on Grace (Eventually).......2007-06-27

This is the third book by Anne Lamott that I've read. She confesses parts of her life that most of us want to keep secret. She does this with frankness and humility. And as always, she makes me laugh. We can travel with her on her spiritual quest and appreciate her insights.
An enjoyable read.

Lamott Just Gets Better.......2007-06-27

I have read everything Anne Lamott has written. Grace (Eventually) is a splendid group of mature, thoughtful essays on life and faith. She is accessible and often perplexing. Yet she is nearly always delightful. Lamott just gets better and better.

Where's the Grace and the Faith?.......2007-06-26

I really don't understand Anne Lamott's appeal. I'll grant that she is a talented writer but clearly this, in an of itself, cannot explain it. I suppose a good bit of her appeal probably stems from her gut-honest authenticity, her willingness to say exactly what she's thinking all the time. She's profound, she's profane, she's shocking and people seem to love her for it.

Her latest nonfiction book (she has also authored several novels) is entitled Grace (Eventually) and it is a series of essays. As such it is somewhat disjointed with incomprehensible section names and odd chapter titles. There is little cohesion. If there are common themes they revolve around some kind of faith in Jesus, the trials of being a single parent, the difficulties that come with life, and an overwhelming hatred of George W. Bush (along with various members of his administration) and everything he has done as President. I haven't done a word count, but I suspect the name Bush appears significantly more times than the name God (unless, perhaps, we also count the times she uses God's name in a profane way; that would even things up some.). The essays recount episode after episode where Lamott was depressed or angry or belligerent or foul-mouthed or, in many cases, all of the above. It's exactly as depressing as it sounds.

This excerpt, drawn from the beginning of a chapter, is quite typical of the book's content:

I woke up in a bleak place on Sunday. It was not the place of ashes, like the morning after the 2004 Presidential election, but there was no comfort anywhere. It was miserably hot, and the news couldn't be worse--a new crop of mutilations in Iraq, with 2,500 U.S. soldiers now dead, and a North Korean ICBM apparently pointed at the West Coast. Two of my dearest friends had terrible diseases. There was a nasty separation going on in our family, and a small distraught child. Also, my son had not obeyed his curfew and we had had words at two a.m.

...

In the face of all this, I did the most astonishing thing a person can do: I got out of bed. At least I could still walk. A better person would think, Thank you, Jesus. But I thought, God do my feet hurt. God, am I getting old. Then I had some coffee, to level the playing field of me and my mind, as it had had several cups while I slept, and now if felt like talking.

Then I headed to church.

And it was not good.

Lamott has proven to have wide appeal, writing for Salon, the Los Angeles Times and a variety of other periodicals. It should be exciting to see a professed Christian writing for what is clearly a largely secular audience. Sadly, though, the spiritual insights shared by Lamott are more shocking or embarrassing than exciting and inspiring. Here is a smattering of what the reader will discover:

* On Jesus: "You've got to wonder what Jesus was live at seventeen. They don't even talk about it in the Bible, he was apparently so awful."
* On abortion: "I wanted to express calmly and eloquently, that people who are pro-choice understand that there are two lives involved in an abortion--one born (the pregnant woman) and one not (the fetus)--and that the born person must be allowed to decide what is right: whether or not to bring a pregnancy to term and launch another life into circulation." "Then I said that a woman's right to choose was nobody else's goddamn business. That got their attention." "We must not inflict life on children who will be resented; we must not inflict unwanted children on society."
* On euthanasia: "Mel was somewhat surprised that as a Christian I so staunchly agreed with him about assisted suicide: I believe that life is a kind of Earth School, so even though assisted suicide means you're getting out early, before the term ends, you're going to be leaving anyway, so who says it isn't okay to take an incomplete in the course?" In the chapter "At Death's Window" she eloquently describes assisting her friend in taking his own life by overdosing on barbiturates.

As we've come to expect from Lamott, there is a handful (or two) of uses of profanity spread throughout the book (using the name of God casually, several uses of language of the four-letter variety, and so on). Of course the book is not without its interesting insights. Readers will be able to identify with many of the difficulties Lamott has faced. They will laugh at some of her reactions to the situations she has encountered; they will roll their eyes at the same things that frustrate her. There are some notable quotes like this one: "A good marriage is supposed to be one where each spouse secretly thinks he or she got the better deal." But when it comes to spiritual content that is distinctly biblical and profoundly Christian, well, there is not much at all. Lamott seems to embrace a very wide faith that extends far beyond the bounds of Scripture. She celebrates things the Bible forbids and hates things the Bible commands us to love. Her self-loathing is so prominent it is easy to wonder if it isn't simply narcissism weakly disguised. In fact, with a fair bit of faith talk, but very little that is distinctly Christian, I suppose it is not difficult to understand why this book has wide appeal outside the church. I hope Christian readers are discerning enough to ensure it has little appeal within.

I always love her books but...................2007-06-21

I always enjoy reading Anne Lamott and this book was going along swell. She has an easy, casual manner that makes it feel like you're having a best-friend discussion sitting at the kitchen counter. But in this book I got SO tired of her blaming EVERYTHING that's wrong in the world on George Bush. It's like we were all basking around here on Heaven-On-Earth until Mr. Meanie screwed it all up. Her writing seems so smart and sensitive yet her political comments were so stupid. Not the most enjoyable read for me.

The best ever.......2007-06-11

This book is the best Anne has published since Traveling Mercies. She is so upfront and real I feel like I know her. Since I am also in a 12-step recovery program, I could identify with much of what she says but what really touched me was her wonderful way of approaching her son's adolescence. The chapters on becoming a mother and how the feelings change over the course of that child growing up - always loving even in the face of increasing emotional distance - reflected much of what I have experienced with my own children and grandchildren. If one hangs on, eventually grace arrives. I loved the book.

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My Spirit Soars
Dan George
Manufacturer: Big Country Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0888391544

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To Carlos, with gratitude
buy, buy, buy
Un-Reviewable
Ambiguous at Best
Read this again in 20 years !

Separate Reality
Carlos Castaneda
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
Journey To Ixtlan
Tales of Power
Power of Silence
Fire from Within

ASIN: 0671732498

Book Description

"A man of knowledge is free...he has no honor, no dignity, no family, no home, no country, but only life to be lived."

--don Juan

In 1961 a young anthropologist subjected himself to an extraordinary apprenticeship to bring back a fascinating glimpse of a Yaqui Indian's world of "non-ordinary reality" and the difficult and dangerous road a man must travel to become "a man of knowledge." Yet on the bring of that world, challenging to all that we believe, he drew back.

Then in 1968, Carlos Castaneda returned to Mexico, to don Juan and his hallucinogenic drugs, and to a world of experience no man from our Western civilization had ever entered before.

Customer Reviews:

To Carlos, with gratitude.......2007-06-22

Carlos Castaneda was one of the most controversial writers of the twentieth century. Some in academia branded him a fraud for claiming his stories were biographical rather than fiction, while lauding him as a great novelist for exposing a mass audience to otherwise inaccessible philosophical abstractions they claimed were largely plagiarized. Each of his works is a piece of a larger puzzle, which makes it impossible to critique any one book without addressing the larger context into which it fits.

His first two books, "Teachings of Don Juan" and "A Separate Reality" describe experiences induced by ingesting psychotropic hallucinogenics prepared by a Yaqui Indian shaman from Sonora, Mexico he called don Juan Matus, and accounted for his becoming a guru to a generation seeking short cuts to spiritual enlightenment, as well as his lifelong interest in the relationship between perception and reality, a theme now explored in many popular books on consciousness and quantum physics. Unfortunately, these books remain his best selling works, in spite of Castaneda refuting their importance in his later works. Readers would be best served to skip these and avoid the risk of being turned off to Castaneda and missing the more stimulating works that followed.

His third and fourth works were "Journey to Ixtlan" and "Tales of Power." In Ixtlan he admits to over-estimating the value of his drug experiences, which caused him to overlook the more profound teachings of don Juan which became the focus of future writings. What emerges is a spiritual discipline dating back to the Pre-Colombian Toltec sorcerers of Latin America, culminating with don Juan's departure from our world, effectively ending Castaneda's direct affiliation.

In his fifth and sixth works "Second Ring of Power" and "Eagles Gift" Castaneda suffers strange flashbacks of what seem to be memory fragments of events he is unable to fit into any logical time sequence. In his seventh and eighth works, "Fire From Within" and "Power of Silence," Castaneda succeeds in reconstructing his lost memories, which derive from teachings previously administered by don Juan while Castaneda was in a "heightened" state of awareness.

In books nine and ten, "Art of Dreaming" and "Active Side of Infinity," Castaneda focuses on what he describes as inorganic predators from another dimension, some having the power to imprison humanity in "ordinary reality" so they can feed on the dark emotional energies we produce when succumbing to the negative thoughts they insert into our minds.

In later years several seemingly substantiating works appeared by two of Castaneda's female apprentices, Taisha Abelar and Florinda Donner-Grau. In addition, two scathing exposés were also published by two of his ex-wives. The first, "Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda" by first wife, Margaret Runyon, offers little corroboration, since her marriage pre-dates the time when the bulk of Castaneda's adventures were claimed to have occurred. While steadfast that Castaneda was a sorcerer, she doubts the existence of don Juan, even claiming authorship of many of the concepts Castaneda ascribed to him.

The second, and more credible work, is "Sorcerer's Apprentice," by well-known writer Amy Wallace, daughter of the late best selling novelist Irving Wallace. Here again, we find little corroboration since the time of the events she describes is well after the period when Castaneda's relationship with don Juan is alleged to occur. What the book does provide is a troubling look inside Castaneda's final years, a picture of descent into what seems sexual addiction and possibly madness, leaving one to wonder if Castaneda was just one cup of cool-aid short of a Jonestown.

Many have asked why I put any stock whatsoever in Castaneda. A story from my autobiography, "The Vortex" may shed some light. A year before Castaneda published his first book I had an experience that would remain a mystery until Castaneda published "Power of Silence" twenty years later.

For a brief time, in my youth, I became a practicing Muslim, meticulously performing the complex prayer ritual five times a day. Then one night, sitting in my car, frustrated and complaining at not being able to find the address of my next sales appointment, something inside me snapped. It was as if some part of me had disconnected from my body and assumed control, lecturing me about my lack of discipline. A profound calm settled over me, rendering me simultaneously detached and engaged. For two days my sales figures soared. It was as if no one could say no to me. On the evening of the second day I decided to put my new state of being to the acid test by visiting my parents. Their behavior was so uncharacteristically supportive I hardly recognized them. It was enough to convince me that I was now living in an altered reality. But by the following morning I had returned to "normal." So distracting had this event been that I completely forgot to perform my Muslim prayers, and in fact, never did so again.

Twenty years later, in a chapter of "Power of Silence" entitled "Place of No Pity" Castaneda describes a very similar experience. In the aftermath of the event don Juan explains that humans are like televisions stuck on a channel called "self-preoccupation," lacking the energy to tune into any of the vast array of other channels available to us. To change channels, he explains, we first need to accumulate energy, by practicing rituals that are deliberate, precise and repetitious. Do this long enough and eventually our stored energy precipitates a shift to a channel where self-importance and self pity become impossible. Once this happens we connect with the force that controls the entire universe, a force don Juan called "intent," and everything can be bent to our will and even more channels can be opened, assuming we remember to keep practicing the rituals that save our energy.

This one realization alone was enough to inspire me to dedicate my autobiography "To Carlos, with gratitude."

Maxwell Austin van Lack, Author of The Vortex: A True Story of Passion and Karma

buy, buy, buy.......2007-06-11

Unless you are a die hard christian who could not ever consider any other possibilities for life except the one in the Bible then this is for you. I loved it you will too.

Un-Reviewable.......2007-05-28

To write a review for this book, positive or negative, is fruitless and futile. For the most part, readers will begin with some sort of inherent bias. Whether you have a predilection for psychedelic drugs or you think the entire premise is a sham, this is not a book that can be reviewed in the standard way.

Whatever you take from this book, regardless of whether that is nothing at all or a newly-inspired way of living, I do think one point must be made. Whether or not don Juan Matus was real or fictional, and whether or not any of Castaneda's experiences are credible, I think one must realize that this book is not a bible. There is present what one may construe as advice for living, but primarily this is a first-hand account of a set of experiences that most likely nobody else has or will come to undergo. I personally think it is beautifully and convincingly written, and I think it would take a truly rare person to replicate any of Castaneda's experiences, real or imagined. Impossible? Perhaps not. But I think that, unfortunately or not, this is brain candy for virtually all readers, and cannot be anything more.

Ambiguous at Best.......2007-01-08

Story of an American anthropologist's 1960s experiences with the possibly fictional Indian shaman "Don Juan Matus." Reads a little like a cross between a research log and ethnopoetry. In their conversations Don Juan constantly challenges Western ideas of knowledge and perception. Carlos can look but he really does not "see." "You don't see, you only look at the surface of things." He tells Carlos that when one "sees," one sees human beings as "fibers of light." When the two discuss accidents, Don Juan says, "No man can control everything around him, but not everything is an unavoidable accident. Life for a warrior is an exercise in strategy." The text is strewn with other examples of magical thinking. Now primitive people do frequently engage in magical thinking, but so do people who have ingested mind altering drugs. We don't know whether we are hearing the actual words and thoughts of a genuine shaman, or the ramblings of a 1960 UCLA anthropology student in a drug induced haze.

If you like 1960s counter-cultural philosophy, you'll love this book. For those more grounded in reality, you find reading it at least frustrating, if not repulsive. One thing, anthropologists, especially the 1960s variety, had a very distorted picture of pre state people. They thought that bands, tribes and chiefdoms were largely peaceful people. We now know the very opposite is true as they existed in an almost constant state of savage warfare. This whole story lacks credibility.

Read this again in 20 years !.......2007-01-05

Read this when it was first published and again last week.
It's the sort of book that challenges our way of looking at our universe.
Laugh, have fun and enjoy this now and put it away to re-read later as your own preception change.
Yeah, I liked it a bunch then and even more now.

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Cherished Conversations
A Book of Life
A book that draws you closer and closer into truth...
Comforting and wandering
Even the best start somewhere

A Circle of Quiet
Madeleine L'Engle
Manufacturer: HarperSanFrancisco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0062545035

Book Description

This journal shares fruitful reflections on life and career prompted by the author's visit to her personal place of retreat near her country home.

Customer Reviews:

Cherished Conversations.......2005-01-23

A long time fan of Madeleine L'Engle, I have only recently taken to reading her autobiographical works. "A Circle of Quiet" may have been written in the 1970s, but it is every bit as relevant today as it was when L'Engle first recorded her thoughts and questions. Reading her reminiscenses and insights is almost just as good as having a one-on-one conversation with the author.

In "A Circle of Quiet", L'Engle traverses vast territory including the inspiration and necessity of writing, to questions that have plagued her about faith and God. She is intelligent in her answers and able to recognize her own failings. For such a talented writer, it is amazing that L'Engle endured years of rejection. No one wanted to take a chance on stories that couldn't be categorized. While some may see L'Engle as only a children's author, she is dead-on in her insistence that there is no separation between what makes a book a good children's or adult's book. The fictional stories of imagination should appeal to all ages if they are open to discover the truths that they seek.

L'Engle smartly covers so-called taboo issues and the effect that the changing nature of education and language has played on America's youth. "A Circle of Quiet" is truly a wonderful conversation with a cherished friend. Peppered with analogies of her own life and those of her friends and community, she tries to find a light in the darkness that surrounds all of us. In the end, she succeeds.

A Book of Life.......2004-08-01

I bought A Circle of Quiet for $2 AUD at a local library and it's blessed me beyond all thinking. I agree with the reviewer below; what makes this book so tremblingly wonderful is what Madeleine L'Engle doesn't say as much as what she does. Written only a few years after the 'summer of love' COQ is both counter-cultural and counter-counter-cultural, which is to say old-fashioned. ML was about 50 when she wrote the book and the text sparkles with hard won wisdom and subversive insights but again, its what ML refuses to say that makes this work so powerful and ever-ripe. I can't believe COQ came into my hands so... providentially but it did. Beautifully written it's a work that covers a whole lot of territory: Domestic (un)bliss, raising children, being an agnostic Christian, food, sex, the counter-culture, art, education vs propaganda, creativity, friendship, the self, God, death, writing, solitude, listening, talking, reading, music, love (there's no mention of cricket, but that's OK), small town life, nature, big city life, when not to answer someone elses Big Question (always refuse) - you get the picture. Even if you have to steal a copy, get a hold of this tome and eat it!

A book that draws you closer and closer into truth..........2003-12-27

After the first 1/4 of the book, I was unsure of where it was going. Then, after entering into "kairos" (as Madeleine refers to it as..the Greek work for time which means time not being confined) with the book, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into it.

The first time Madeleine really goes off and tells a story of her small town and the new couple that came in and "changed" things up a bit, I started to smile. I could relate...ever so much and this made me play out my own story as I read hers. I became so involved that I forgot the time, forget what page I was on and almost forgot that I was reading. That is where I first experienced kairos with "A Circle of Quiet" and thankfully, it was a transcendent moment at that.

I still am thinking of the title and wondering if that is wholly appropriate for a book like this. I'm not sure. I think it means something a little different to me....but again, this is subjective stuff and extremely personal. Anyone with an imagination alive enough will experience something deep and profound and beautiful and wonderful from this book. Anyone who lacks this, I would suggest rediscovering your imaginiation before entering into this book: truth is overflowing here, but when you don't believe in imagination, mystery and myth, it will be very hard to read this book and get anything out of it. :)

Thanks again Madeleine for a wonderful read; although it took me for a loop, I'm glad where I ended up by the last page.

Comforting and wandering.......2003-07-03

This book is hard to pigeonhole. It's partly a journal of random thoughts, partly a retelling of some of the author's life experience. Much of the philosophy of life, ecology, relationships, and beliefs in God struck a chord with me. At times it dragged a bit, but overall it moved along at a comfortable pace. As previously described by others, it was like having a nice conversation with a friend (where you didn't have to talk, or interject a question or disagreement). One section in the end was annoying. She brought up a subject then decided to avoid letting the reader know what she was talking about (too painful to reveal). She hinted at an unpleasant life experience. Except for this, I'd give it 5 stars.

Even the best start somewhere.......2001-12-10

Perhaps because I'm a writer myself I particularly enjoyed this book. It came at a moment when I too, was struggling with manuscript rejection. It was a comfort to find that the grande dame of literature also struggled for the publishing world to accept her work. L'Engle's lucid language, her honesty, faith-doubts, glimpses into a fully-lived life I found refreshing. As far as Crosswicks, I felt like each time I sat down to read this book as though I was being invited into the L'Engle fold for a cup of tea, a walk alongside the property's creek or to sit down next to the nib of her fountain pen as Ms. L'Engle birthed her memoirs. For the writing community, this is a must-read book, for comfort, for encouragement, for the pure essence of seeing how the writing gets done around real-time life. For others, sit back and be swept into a lovely autobiographical account of a matriarch model for women.

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For hardcore fans only who like endless detail
A Vital Reference Guide to the Mayfair Trilogy
A Must-Have for the trilogy
The Mayfair Witches Chronicles
The Mayfair Witches Chronicles

The Witches' Companion
Katherine Ramsland , and Anne Rice
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Vampire Companion
The Witching Hour
Taltos
Lasher
Merrick (Vampire/Witches Chronicles)

ASIN: 0345406249
Release Date: 1996-08-27

Book Description

"The Mayfair family is a huge imaginative refuge for me; it is living and growing in my mind all the time."
--Anne Rice
In the spellbinding tradition of her bestselling The Vampire Chronicles, the prolific Anne Rice has created the sensuous saga of the Mayfair witches. Resonant with supernatural suspense, mesmerizing eroticism, and lush detail, The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos have bewitched the imaginations of readers everywhere. Now comes the definitive touchstone guide to the history and mystery of this magnificent dynasty of witches.
Just as she did with The Vampire Companion, biographer and Anne Rice authority Katherine Ramsland presents a fascinating A-to-Z encyclopedia of information, interpretation, and analysis--this time devoted to the characters and key events, places and symbols, historical and mythological themes of the Lives of the Mayfair Witches novels. Created with the full cooperation of Anne Rice, The Witches' Companion features detailed character breakdowns, from the present-day enchantress Rowan Mayfair to the lustful spirit Lasher; a complete genealogy of the Mayfair family; a chronology of events; a guide to geographical locations; the intriguing origins of the Mayfairs' extraordinary clan; revealing observations from Anne Rice herself; and much more.
Illustrated throughout with hundreds of photos, drawings, and maps, The Witches' Companion will be every Anne Rice fan's inseparable companion in traveling through the unforgettable world of the Mayfair witches and their legacy.

Customer Reviews:

For hardcore fans only who like endless detail.......2004-08-07

This struck me as a blatant attempt to make more money off Rice's previous novels. It gives no information that fans can't get from simply re-reading the novels and reads like an encyclopedia. I recommend Ramsland's excellent bio of Anne Rice, "Prism of the Night" instead.

A Vital Reference Guide to the Mayfair Trilogy.......2002-07-19

"The Witches' Companion" is a very exhaustive encyclopedia of all the terms, characters, locations, and events in the Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy (The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos). Everything's included in this mammoth 500+-paged book: maps, illustrations and photos, a Mayfair family tree, bits of Anne Rice information, a chronology of important dates, in-depth character biographies, European and American history--the list goes on.

If you're an Anne Rice fan--and especially if you enjoyed the Mayfair trilogy--, then I highly recommend this official reference guide to her popular witch series. It's definitely worth owning, since it answers every question you've ever had about this trilogy and then some.

Also recommended: Katherine Ramsland's "The Vampire Companion".

A Must-Have for the trilogy.......2000-03-16

Unless you have an excellent photographic memory, you need this book. It straightens out and clarifies all of the family lineage, and gives you more background information on locations, people, and objects. It also gives some much needed info on the Talamasca, which is ever-present in Rice's novels. Buy this if you like reading the Mayfair trilogy.

The Mayfair Witches Chronicles.......2000-02-10

These books are excellent.Anne Rice is a very believeable writer. The insight into the lives of Lasher and the other Mayfair Witches are spellbounding,I could not put the books down. If you would like to read a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat,and very hard to stop reading at bed time,read the Mayfair Witches chronicles. There needs to be more of them!

The Mayfair Witches Chronicles.......2000-02-10

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The House of the Spirits
Just beautiful and very exciting
Derivative Chick Lit Slop
An enduring favorite.

The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende
Manufacturer: Dial Press Trade Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Eva Luna
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Paula

ASIN: 0553383809
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Book Description

Here, in an astonishing debut by a gifted storyteller, is the magnificent saga of proud and passionate men and women and the turbulent times through which they suffer and triumph. They are the Truebas. And theirs is a world you will not want to leave, and one you will not forget.

Esteban -- The patriarch, a volatile and proud man whose lust for land is legendary and who is haunted by his tyrannical passion for the wife he can never completely possess.

Clara -- The matriarch, elusive and mysterious, who foretells family tragedy and shapes the fortunes of the house of the Truebas.

Blanca -- Their daughter, soft-spoken yet rebellious, whose shocking love for the son of her father's foreman fuels Esteban's everlasting contempt... even as it produces the grandchild he adores.

Alba -- The fruit of Blanca's forbidden love, a luminous bearty, a fiery and willful woman... the family's break with the past and link to the future.

From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

The House of the Spirits.......2007-06-19

Isabel Allende is definitely one of my favorite authors, her writing style is a wondrous blend of fantastical and true to life. I won't spoil this book by telling you what it's about, but be assured that it is a worthwhile read. I gave this to my mom and she actually did NOT like it, she just didn't like the fantasy notes in it, while I really loved that aspect of the book. So I guess it's not for everyone, but I loved it and recommend it.

Just beautiful and very exciting.......2007-02-18

I am very picky about books and won't just call any book good. This is one of the very rare books that I call exceptional. There are many aspects about the book that are top notch. Let me elaborate on different elements of the book :

storywise: The story is very exciting and drags you on. It actually spans about three generations. It has elements of mystery, romance, social relations, revenge, etc. I would say this book is something between Daphne DeMaurier's "rebecca" and Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights". Mystery and suspense goes on all through the story while a beastly and savage love is the driving force. In general, the story is very boldly written and defies all rules of religion and humanity. In that aspect I will vote it as the modern "Wuthering Heights".

Literature: The book is superbly written. First of all, the redundancy in the book is minimal. The author does not get into boring and unnecessary descriptions or philosophies. Actually author is not trying to force any ideas into you. The story runs continuously with flash backs and flash forth. The author suddently throws a little paragraph that warns you of something that is coming in the future. It does not spoil the story; on the contrary, it makes it even more exciting as you wait impatiently to see how that event will relate to the flow of story. My only dissatisfaction is about the next to last chapter, where it comes out of its mystic seal and becomes more like a history book. The book in general has the footprints of Latin American authors such as Garcia Marquez and Paulo Coelho. So if you enjoy them, then you should feel the same reading this book.

Authors signature: The book is the story of the the strugle between communists and capitalists in Chile that led to the coup by Pinoche. You feel some sort of sympathy from the author towards communists, though she is not attacking capitalists for their meanness, but for their ignorance. I even doubt that one of the little girls in the story is actually a representation of the author herself (the girl turns out as a writer in the end). So you can call this book some sort of autobiography, yet in a very ambivalent and mystic atmosphere.

I totally recommend this book to anybody who wants to read a good and exciting novel.

Derivative Chick Lit Slop.......2006-12-23

I judge this smarmy mash to be a stylistic rip off of about 75% Garcia Marquez and 25% Jorge Amado.

Summary-

Man bad. Man dumb. Man favorite profession- likable but stupid father, unlikable rapist fascist father, parasite, pedophile, one dimensional campasino, crazed priest....

Woman good. Woman smart. Woman nurturing. Woman magical, deep, loving, tolerant, ....ad nauseam.

Subplot-

Capitalism evil.

Socialism good.

The only thing more depressing than contemplating the popularity of this novel is thinking about all the money Allende made from this.

An enduring favorite........2006-11-07

"I write, she wrote, that memory is fragile and the space of a single life is brief, passing so quickly that we never get a chance to see the relationship between events; we cannot gauge the consequences of our acts, and we believe in the fiction of the past, present, and future, but it may also be true that everything happens simultaneously--as the three Mora sisters said, who could see the spirits of all eras mingled in space" (p. 432).

Since her 1982 debut novel, THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (La Casa de los Espíritus), Isabel Allende has been recognized as one most gifted novelists in the world today. Born in Lima, Peru, Allende is the daughter of Chilean ambassador Tomás Allende, and the niece of Salvador Allende, the President of Chile from 1970 to 1973. When she learned in 1981 that her 90-year-old grandfather was dying, Allende began writing him a letter that later became the manuscript of THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (www.isabelallende.com). Set in politically turbulant times, the novel tells the multi-generational story of family endurance through Esteban Trueba's writings and his wife Clara's diary entries, as compiled by their granddaughter, Alba. The narrative structure shifts frequently. The novel begins and ends with Clara's childhood diary entry on Holy Thursday, "Barrabas came to us by sea," and examines the lives of primarily four truly memorable characters in between: (1) Esteban Trueba, the volatile family patriarch and land tyrant driven by rage and violence; (2) Clara Trueba, the elusive, clara-voyant family matriarch and center of the Trueba family, who marries Esteban not for love, but for her own inexplicable reasons following many years of silence after the death of her sister, Rosa the Beautiful; (3) their soft-spoken yet rebellious first-born daughter, Blanca, whose passions fuel her father's lifelong contempt, even as it produces the one grandchild Esteban adores; and (4) Alba, Blanca's beautiful, forbidden love child who, like her great-aunt Rosa, has luminous green hair.

With its multi-generational themes, magical realism, and dreamlike quality, Allende's novel seems to borrow heavily from Gabriel García Márquez's ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE, and with its shifting narrative structure, THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS seems to borrow heavily from Faulkner. Allende's HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS ranks easily as one of my all-time favorite novels, right up there with Wallace Stegner's ANGLE OF REPOSE, and is highly recommended for those who want to experience a novel at the top of its form.

G. Merritt

Walking With Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders

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Fallen to the earth
Superb Story Teller
Another great Joseph Marshall book!
What a Peaceful Presence
Wisdom for Those Ready to Listen

Walking With Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders
Joseph M., III Marshall
Manufacturer: Sounds True
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living
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ASIN: 1591793521

Book Description

Since the tide of interest created by Black Elk Speaks over 70 years ago, Native American lineage holders have been cautious about sharing their spiritual truths to the reading public because the essence of this wisdom has been so often misunderstood. In Walking with Grandfather, authentic Lakota lineage holder and award-winning storyteller Joseph M. Marshall breaks this silence with the very best from a lifetime of lessons passed on to him by his grandfather. With him, readers gain access to the timeless teachings that until now remained largely unheard outside the culture of the Lakota people. Part of an unbroken series of narratives dating back countless centuries, this rare new transmission includes Marshall's rendition of legendary stories such as: • "The Way of Wolves"—important lessons about parenting • "The Shadow Man"—a story on war and the warrior within us all • "Follow Me"—reflections on leaders and leadership • "The Wisdom Within"—the passage of truly becoming an elder—plus many more stories found both in the book and in the author's own words on the accompanying audio CD.

"We believe that life's gift to us is wisdom," explains Joseph M. Marshall, "and that it is the one gift that must be given back." Join this master of traditional storytelling as he takes us through the rich oral history of the Lakota—and shows us how we can rediscover the invaluable wisdom of our elders.

Customer Reviews:

Fallen to the earth.......2007-06-27

Wisdom that permeates everyone who can hear the whispers of nature without letting the sofa. Don't try to go real on that, it comes naturally to you someday...

Superb Story Teller.......2007-06-07

I have now become a great fan of Joseph M. Marshall recently ordering other books as well as cd's. Even his written word, you can almost hear him speaking to you. A very easy way to learn about the Lakota traditions, its a pleasant journey.

Another great Joseph Marshall book!.......2007-05-15

In this book, Mr. Marshall takes the reader into a world of wisdom and insight, a world in which he passes along the lessons learned from Lakota elders, including his own grandparents. These stories and lessons are especially important in today's society, where "honor" and "respect" are becoming words with no meaning, and things are considered better just because they are new. Mr. Marshall writes in a way that makes you feel like he's talking to you, maybe around a campfire at the end of a summer day, and the stories he is telling should be taken to heart by every thinking person.

What a Peaceful Presence.......2007-01-14

Joseph Marshall speakes to a part of us that lies buried under the workings of modern society. I love his stories and wisdom teachings. They make me feel human.

Wisdom for Those Ready to Listen.......2007-01-10

Although I read almost everything that Joseph Marshall writes, I am always impressed by the ideas and stories that are presented in each new book. With a calm, confident, and loving voice, Mr. Marshall further discusses on CD many of the stories that are told in Walkin with Grandfather: The Wisdom of the Lakota Elders. The CD (included with the book) enhances the warmth of the narratation and lets the reader feel the genuine concern that the author feels for nature and humanity. Mr. Marshall discusses the idea of wisdom, how it is earned, and why it is important. He relates several Lakota stories that demonstrate these ideas. Like previous works by Mr. Marshall, this book focuses on balance: between nature and man, between pleasure and pain, between life and death. Although wisdom can't be taught, it can be discussed and appreciated. For those who understand the value of wisdom and respect it when they find it, this book will be a treasure. If you are ready to have an open mind, and ready to learn important lessons, this book is for you.

A Pleasant Place (Katia Andreeva Watercolors)

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A Pleasant Place (Katia Andreeva Watercolors)

Manufacturer: Multnomah Gifts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1588600068
Release Date: 2000-12-29

Book Description

Alice Gray's compilation of heartwarming stories of goodness and cheer inspire you to spread some sunshine, like ripples in a pond ... and be encouraged in the process. Elegantly illustrated in vivid watercolors by the gifted hand of Katia Andreeva.

The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

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"Some Books Make Us Free"- Ralph Waldo Emerson
From Emerson to Now
an american spiritual treasure
An excellent introduction to Emerson
Emerson Would Be Delighted

The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Richard Geldard
Manufacturer: Lindisfarne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Modern Library Classics)
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ASIN: 0970109733

Book Description

“Richard Geldard has written a magnificent book through which Emerson's teaching becomes again an instigator. Is Geldard the last of Emerson's great disciples—or the first of a new generation? This book deserves to be widely read; it contains our own best thoughts” (Roger Lipsey, editor and biographer of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, author of "An Art of Our Own: The Spiritual in Twentieth-Century Art").

“Through Geldard's book, Emerson shows a new generation of Americans that it is possible and necessary to bring to the spiritual search an open heart joined to a critical mind” (Jacob Needleman, author of "The Heart of Philosophy").

No one who has felt the life-changing pull of Emerson's enormous planetary mind has ever doubted his power or his greatness, though we are often puzzled to know whether he is primarily a poet, an essayist or a philosopher. Richard Geldard is not puzzled at all by this; he has written a book that plainly shows the essential Emerson to be a teacher, the Socrates of Concord, a man with a message that we need to hear today. Previous generations “beheld God and nature face to face,” Emerson says, and he adds, provocatively, that we moderns seem able only to see those things through the eyes of the earlier generations. “Why,” he asks — and the question is intended to shatter our complacency — “Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?”

Emerson's life was devoted to showing how one may still attain an original, that is to say, an authentic, relation to the universe, and Geldard's book aims to focus and distill the famously dispersed Emerson and put his central teachings into the modern reader's hand.

Customer Reviews:

"Some Books Make Us Free"- Ralph Waldo Emerson.......2007-02-14

I was first introduced to Ralph Waldo Emerson in High School. I was a bored and frustrated teenager who really had no idea what life was about...show me a teenager who does? But I had a really great English teacher who tossed a copy of RWE's essays on my desk. She said with a rather droll smile, "You might find something of interest in here..."

And when I first started reading these essays, I was bewildered why this woman thought I might enjoy this kind of stuff. It was awkward and difficult and my mind repeatedly got tripped up to what he was trying to get across. And then in the midst of all this confusion, something profound would stick out. He'd say something like:

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen." and I would have to stop and think about that. I would have no other choice but to come to the clear realization that all that I saw had to have come from all that I could not see.

With each and every essay, I could feel my heart and my mind coming together as One. I could feel my soul leaping with joy over the profound Truths that I would continually stumble across:

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

"Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff..."

"People only see what they are prepared to see..."

I never read anything like Emerson in my whole life. He was on a wavelength that I wanted so much to be on. At the end of the year, I placed that copy of Emerson's essays on my teacher's desk and she looked up at me and said, "No, John...it's for you."

I just remember thinking that I never received a greater gift and even though I had yet to make the leap from reading inspirational stuff, to embodying it, the foundation work was being laid down and when I finally became aware that I was truly on a Spiritual path and that I have always been on one, I thought of that morning in 1982 when Emerson's essays were tossed on my desk.

This is a great read for those who are familiar with Emerson and for those who are not. I have a friend that insists that Emerson is good for "cute one liners..." But he underestimates Emerson's power to literally take the reader on a journey of transcendence. Even though I didn't fully understand what I was reading when I was a teen, I knew that after I was through reading him I was in a better place if even if for a little while.

And that is how I exxplain Spiritual Growth to people. People want growth to come fully orbed and they don't want to engage in the seemingly mundane aspect of cultivating their spirituality. But I tell them that spiritual growth comes glimpse by glimpse by precious glimpse. And yes, there are breaks in between the glimpses, but even the breaks can contain glimpses of Light in them if you are willing to look at it right.

Emerson said that we become what we think about all day long. What are you thinking about right now because I've got news for you, you will manifest what you are predominantly thinking about so take a deep breath in...and take a deep breath out...affirm that you are a center of good and that only good can come to you and only good can come through you...feel this, affirm this throughout the day, be expectant of this good to rush in at your slightest invitation and good will come into your life because it has to. You've decreed it and so now it must be.

I don't know what I was thinking that day when I was blessed enough to meet Ralph waldo Emerson for the first time, but that dear, sweet teacher (who has long since made her passing) saw something in me and knew I was ready for a deeper understanding of life.

Here's knowing that you are, too.

Peace and Blessings,
john, "the Light Coach"

From Emerson to Now.......2004-09-23

For those not familiar with Emerson's spiritual teachings, this book is a useful guide into the crux of the message. Those who have thoroughly read Emerson might ponder the question of what he would say if he were living today? An answer is suggested in the section "The Nature of Consciousness," beginning on page 166. There is also a courteous but strong criticism of Sigmund Freud's limited view of consciousness.

an american spiritual treasure.......2002-08-23

yes, go ahead, hit your one-click order button now. for anyone interested in the life, thought, ideals and teachings of a GREAT american original, this is a book you want and need. brilliant, beautiful, eternal, this book will not go out of date. universal wisdom is timeless and Emerson was a master. he was an avid admirer of the wondrous Bhagavad Gita and his writings reflect that. he had an understanding of the need for each self to connect with the eternal Self or spirit, to use his americanized way of saying it. his teaching keeps pointing the reader right back to the very heart of himself or herself: the place divinity lives, the place where God is found. shortly after resigning as a minister of the unitarian church, he wrote, "i will not live out of me. i will not see with other's eyes. my good is good, my evil ill. i would be free---i cannot be, while i take things as others please to rate them. i dare attempt to lay out my own road, that which myself delights in shall be good. that which i do not want--indifferent. that which i hate is bad, that's flat. henceforth, please God, forever i forgo the yoke of men's opinions. i will be lighthearted as a bird and live with God". o k, hit that button a couple of times, this book makes a wonderful gift and you ain't gonna wanna give up your copy!!!

An excellent introduction to Emerson.......2002-01-26

Harold Bloom repeatedly names Ralph Waldo Emerson as the great theological architect of the "American religion" in his book of that title. However controversial some of Bloom's other theses may be, there is much truth in his characterization of the Sage of Concord. Probably most of us have been influenced by Emerson, at least indirectly, in far more ways than we realize.

But reading Emerson directly is at once an enlightening and maddening experience: "enlightening" because Emerson was a philosopher in the best sense of the word -- a lover of wisdom -- and "maddening" because he was _not_ a philosopher in any _other_ sense of the word. He was stubbornly disinclined to argumentation or even systematic exposition; his essays read more like sermons than like philosophical arguments; he preferred to deliver himself of his oracular insights without, it seems, subjecting them either to the criticism of other minds or even to the rigors of critical self-reflection, on the view that Reason was an all but infallible source of insight into truth and its objects are known with the same immediacy with which we know that we are awake. (It is a curious view of reason which makes no allowances for improvement of one's understanding.)

As a result of this take-it-or-leave it approach, his writings are all too easy to misunderstand, and for this he must bear much of the blame. For example, his remarks on charity in "Self-reliance" have led some readers to suppose that he was opposed to charity altogether, whereas in truth he believed that we are each of us suited by talent and temperament to be "charitable" to a special class of persons for whom we are therefore _truly_ responsible. Then, too, his remark in the same essay on "a foolish consistency" has been infamously and endlessly misquoted -- but even in its proper context it invites misunderstanding by failing to pay sufficient attention to the non-foolish variety of consistency (which Emerson supposed would take care of itself more or less automatically). Here again, Emerson's account of Reason, in giving so much weight to intuition, leaves strangely little room for reflection.

But in my own opinion, at least, Emerson's insights are genuine, sometimes brilliant, and essentially right, and it would be a shame if the readers who needed him most were unable to profit from his writings merely because he had been needlessly obscure. It would be nice, then, to have from another writer the guidance that Emerson himself was unwilling or unable to provide.

As you've probably guessed by now, that's where Richard Geldard comes in.

In this volume (which is a revised edition of _The Esoteric Emerson_, so don't buy them both!) Geldard does a marvelous job of exposition. He knows his Emerson backwards and forwards, and he sets out the essential features of Emerson's thought in clear and orderly fashion, chapter by chapter.

His essential "take" on Emerson, as you can tell from his title, is that Emerson is best approached as a spiritual teacher. I think this is not only correct but even obviously so; yet it is surprising how few available critical studies of Emerson are actually written from this point of view. At any rate, Geldard's exposition will provide the reader of Emerson with a much-needed "map" of the territory traversed in his writings.

I suspect that Geldard's "map" will make Emerson available to many readers who might otherwise have found him unpalatable. Some readers may, for example, be put off by what seems to be Emerson's extraordinarily cavalier attitude toward tradition in favor of present experience.

But according to Geldard, Emerson's actual meaning was as follows: "We have to break, lovingly, the vessels of our tradition in order to become one with the source of that tradition" [p. 176]. Now, certainly there is a difference in emphasis here with the religious tradition in which Emerson was brought up. But surely this is not far from, say, the Christian doctrine that the scriptures are a closed book unless read "in the Spirit." (Granted, Emerson had much more in common with the Quakers than with the Calvinists in what he made of this point. Nevertheless it is not alien to even the most theologically conservative Christianity.)

Not being a Christian myself, though, I am interested not primarily in reconciling Emerson with Christian theology but in simple exposition of his teaching. And Geldard excels in this regard: in ten straightforward chapters he sets out the essentials of Emerson's teaching and places it into the context of his life. Not bad for 177 pages of text.

There are one or two points on which I wish Geldard had done a _little_ bit more explaining (for example, on the difference between the meanings of "idealism" in its philosophical and its popular senses), since he does not seem to be presuming any prior acquaintance with philosophy on the part of his readers. But this is just nitpicking on my part. (Hey, I have my own favorite hobby horses too.) This is a fine book and it will be of immense value to anyone who wants to understand what in the world Emerson was on about.

Emerson Would Be Delighted.......2002-01-17

Emerson had a persona of being withdrawn, and rarely showed emotion. However, if he were here today, I believe that he would be very pleased with Geldard's interpretation of his work. Most of us have read Emerson's essays. They are thick and difficult, but the spirit of the work rings through and speaks very loudly to the authentic heart. Geldard has done the work of specific interpretation for us. If you feel a need for being yourself, which most of us do (healthy people do), then this book is a must read. Emerson turned away from the path that seemed to have been chosen for him, took a chance, and listened to his authentic self. The author points out that Emerson had some difficult years, and that rings true today for those of us that know, and chose to march to the beat of our own drum (Thoreau??). Emerson was inspired and was a great gift to us. Geldard makes his work understandable and relates it to our lives, today. Emerson was highly intellectual, and after reading Geldard's book, I'm preparing to read Emerson's essays once again, with the light that Geldard has placed upon it. It's pure, and it's spirit, and it is authentic. Of the five best books I've ever read, like my five friends out of the many, I can count this one on the top five. Read it, read it slowly, devour it, contemplate it. Let it permeate your being and at the very least have a place in your thought patterns during your day. This work is meant to teach and inspire and it has succeeded!

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