Book Description
Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.
In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.
The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.
Customer Reviews:
Not just the Power of Positive Thinking.......2007-10-05
I enjoyed and am still enjoying this book. I reread passages often. This is not just about the Power of Positive Thinking to get what you want specifically. It is a philosophy. Think good thoughts; review your daily events before you sleep; turn around negative events; give thanks for what you do have. People who abide by those ideas will automatically develop a more positive outlook which in turn makes people around them feel better. Like when you're on the road and someone wants to get in front of you, if you wave and let them go, you usually see someone behind you taking up the chain to do the same thing. It's contagious and right-thinking. An EXCELLENT book with great thoughts of many contemporary philosophers and motivational speakers.
Career Training Enhancer.......2007-10-04
Many lives by it. Millions are reading it. The latest self help book claims we can change our lives by thinking. But this 'new thought' may just be another new version of NLP and the power of the subconscious. No matter what, it doesn't hurt to read and apply since all of it is positive. Gave many of it as gifts and even recommending it for my meirc trainees in dubai.
The Only Self Help Book You Will Ever Need.......2007-10-03
I can see why some people wouldn't like this book. Rhonda Byrnes and the other contributers present the ideas so simply that its hard to swallow at first. You think it should be more complicated. But if you can get past that the ideas here are really true. Even more importantly, this is a self help book that really helps. Most books like this leave you feeling okay or hopeful after reading them but this is one you can actually test right after you read it. I did test it and I have already seen results. I know it sounds crazy but it works. Why fight it?
The Secret.......2007-10-03
This book is a sad, desperate philosophy of life- at best. At worst, it is a bizarre way of thinking about the world which leads to feelings of guilt and inadequacy for self and lack of compassion for others.
I know a woman, still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, who devotes herself to the Laws of Attraction and believes she attracted it into her life. How sad! And how arrogant! I am confident that not all victims of Katrina would agree that they "attracted" a natural disaster to themselves. And I don't believe the woman practicing 'the secret' is more powerful than the cumulative total of the other victims- who did NOT attract a hurricane into their lives!
Few people would dispute the idea that healthy attitudes are a classy and beneficial thing. But to say that we all attract that which we have is ridiculous. So the cancer patient and mother of a murdered child should have paid more attention to what they were attracting to themselves so that they wouldn't be dealing with their hardship now? Wow. Who wants to associate with these idiots? Forget The Secret. Don't make these hucksters any richer. Buy instead Barbara Sher's books on how to find success with supportive people. And if you have a good attitude and still got hit with some of life's hard curve balls, don't spend a moment feeling inadequate because you didn't do "the secret" right! Read instead When Good Things Happen to Bad People, by a very kind, much wiser person. Who, by the way is also wealthy and happy.
Old News to Many, but a Well-Packaged Piece. Has a Generous Following........2007-10-03
I remember watching this movie with my progressive university campus church and feeling almost bored out of my mind. This movie seemed to be telling me many things I've already heard. Or, DID I hear them? You, see, the only reason why the information came across as quite basic and trite to me is because I've already been living out its principles in my daily life, sometimes unknowingly. I don't remember exactly where I got them from. Maybe I knew them all along or had them as a part of my inner being. I have used "the secret" as revealed in this film (no, I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it) and it does indeed work, but I found that it was nothing to be amazed about.
What felt weirdest to me was that people were utterly crazed about this film. I could tell that they were be honest about it being eye-opening. I kind of found myself laughing inside, but then wiped the smirk off of my face when I realized that such just meant that I had been very fortunate in life to discover the tiny bits of wisdom talked about in this film and such may have not been so "obvious" to everyone.
My rating is not on the content of the "secret" contained in this film itself, as it would be unfair to judge this film in such light, considering that I already knew and had been introduced to much of what it had to offer. Rather, I give it three stars for the packaging and delivery of the message. The film is effective and certainly makes use of several notable experts. It's colorful and will keep people tuned in. It appeals to a broad audience and isn't too preachy.
The film could have been a little shorter, as the message is a bit redundant, but I'm sure if it had been then people would complain that it's "too short". I don't think it's fair to rate this film with one star, because it wasn't "horrible" and a "total waste" of minutes from my life. But, I also don't think this film is "ground-breaking" or worthy enough for a four- or five-star rating. Three stars sounds about right.
Book Description
You may not be aware of it, but a very powerful force is at work in your life.
It's called the Law of Attraction and right now it is attracting people, jobs, situations and relationships in your life - not all of them good!
If your life feels as if it has turned south and taken on the characteristics of a bad soap opera, it's time to pick up this book.
Customer Reviews:
the book was as described by the seller.......2007-10-03
I am very satisfied with this transaction. The book was as described and expected. Thanks
LoA - A Basic Understanding for Beginners.......2007-10-02
I enjoyed this book very much. If you are new to the Law of Attraction it is a great place to start. Especially if you want to teach it to children, the final chapter has some great ideas for sharing the LoA with children in an easy to understand manner. If you are already familiar with "The Secret" you probably won't learn anything new in this book. It is very basic.
Dragged down..........2007-09-28
I still can't believe that you dragged me all the way down there to give me that XXXXXXX! Of all the things that you could have done that was indeed the STUPIDEST thing! STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID...
Law of Attraction.......2007-09-27
For people new to the concept of the Law Of Attraction (they are probably getting fewer and fewer in these days of "The Secret"): The basic idea behind this concept is that human beings (unconsciously) attract more of the same that they think and talk about, whether good or bad. The Law ignores if you think of it in the negated form (e.g. even if you think "I don't want more debt", the Law filters out "debt", and you will get more debt).
Now, if you believe in this concept, this book will be a great assistant in helping you focussing on the positive things you want to attract, and offerering suggestions how to rephrase negative thoughts into positive. Michael first introduces a simple 3 step plan to get you going. For each of the steps he offers several different tools to put the ideas into practice. Different tools are good, since they may appeal differently to varying reader types. He includes many "work sheets" (not much more than simple tables) to help with the preparation and the process itself.
As a conclusion, Michael ends with a few special tips on attracting abundance, good relationships, and how to teach the concept to children.
This is a pretty short book about one concrete topic. I feel Michael did a good job in filtering out all the mumbo-jumbo behind a simple concept and present it in an easy to understand form with clear guidelines how to apply it effectively.
I am rating Michael's book, not the Law Of Attraction. Whether you want to believe in that you have to decide for yourself :-)
So helpful in teaching HOW to live the Law of Attraction.......2007-09-21
Wow, what a great book. Besides being a very easy read, it includes simple written exercises. Great concepts on tweaking just a few words to make it easier to attract what you want in your life by relieving the "doubt" factor! Highly recommend.
Average customer rating:
- Funny and profound
- Grace (Eventually) thoughts on Faith
- Not her best, but still brilliant
- No thank you, no good.
- She's the Best
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Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
Anne Lamott
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Similar Items:
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Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
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Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
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Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
ASIN: 1594489424
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.
In Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, Lamott examines the ways we're caught in life's most daunting predicaments: love, mothering, work, politics, and maybe toughest of all, evolving from who we are to who we were meant to be. This is a complicated process for most of us, and Lamott turns her wit and honesty inward to describe her own intimate, bumpy, and unconventional road to grace and faith.
"I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kinds of things," she writes in one of her essays, "that delicate silver bells would ring to announce grace's arrival. But no, it's clog and slog and scootch, on the floor, in silence, in the dark."
Whether she's writing about her unsuccessful efforts to get her money back from an obstinate carpet salesman, grappling with the tectonic shifts in her relationship with her son as he matures, trying to maintain her faith and humor during politically challenging times, or helping a close friend die with dignity, Lamott seeks out both the divinity and the humanity in herself and everything around her. Throughout these essays, she writes of her struggle to find the essence of her faith, which she uncovers in the unlikeliest places. By turns insightful and hilarious, pointed and poignant, Grace (Eventually) is Anne Lamott at her perceptive and irreverent best.
Customer Reviews:
Funny and profound.......2007-08-12
Anne Lamott is honest and engaging. This book is a beautiful testament to a real life lived in faith and hope in the midst of inevitable disappointments and hardships.
Grace (Eventually) thoughts on Faith.......2007-08-08
I bought this book thinking I would get an inspiritial read. Instead I found that the title totally misrepresented the book. This is nothing but a self-centered, self-indulgent, whiny bunch of writings from a drug user/alcoholic, over age hippy, feeling (what?). Certainaly not faith!
Title should read "Poor Me, I can't Think Straight"
Not her best, but still brilliant.......2007-08-01
One of the most popular voices in contemporary spirituality, Anne Lamott has a remarkable gift at handling serious and unfunny topics - religion, motherhood, eating disorders, death - in a witty and disarming way.
Lamott's new book, "Grace Eventually: Further Thoughts On Faith," is a collection of essays, many of which Lamott wrote as a columnist for Salon.com. If you haven't read anything by Lamott before, the best places to start would be "Traveling Mercies" (her bestselling memoir), and "Bird by Bird," (one of the best guide to writing anywhere, another bestseller). But the two things you should know before reading Anne Lamott is that 1) she is an incredible prose artist, quirky and profound, with a style that seems all her own. And 2) she is almost completely neurotic.
"Grace Eventually," is a special book in that Lamott's description of ordinary events make them feel sacred. She is a writer with an ability to make the reader pay attention, feel present, and tune in to the story taking place around them. Although she refers to Jesus consistently, there is little that seems orthodox about Lamott's spiritual journey, and perhaps that is one of the reasons she has such a wide readership.
You'd have to be made out of granite not to find something that moves you in this unique collection of essays. You would also need to adhere to Lamott's precise and strident political positions not to find at least one portion of this book infuriating. Either way, "Grace Eventually" is a provocative and unique read, and any avid reader owes it to themselves to become familiar with one of the country's top writers.
No thank you, no good........2007-07-25
I read another one of Anne's books. The first one I did not like much, and really did not want to read this one, but when you already own it, you feel you must with 16 dollars into the book. It was some repeating of stories I really did not like in the first place, there were a few highlights or good moments, but not enough. I still feel bad for her, but most times I was like "get over it." Now I loved Donald Miller's book, which was along the same mindset, but he seemed deep or maybe just a man. Sorry Anne, you are twice if not more the writer that I am, but I was just not into the book.
She's the Best.......2007-07-25
Her words are equivalent to the phrase "A sight for sore eyes." My copy now has so many underlines and dog ears that I just don't know where to start with quotable quotes--
"IT FEELS AS IF SOMEONE FINALLY CRACKED OPEN A WINDOW THAT HAD BEEN JAMMED."
"...taught me a willingness to help clean up the mess we've made is a crucial part of adult living; that our scary, selfish, damging behavior litters the planet."
"...we get mad at each other, over and over, then we apologize, become friends again: I see how each time this is redemption. How amazing it is to share that."
"Joy is the best makeup."
"Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine."
I use this like a Bible when I need to be called to a higher place. It soothes me, calms me down, and calls me to a (much) higher place. Buy this, Bird By Bird, and the other two from this series. They are GIFTS.
Amazon.com
Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses below. --Daphne Durham
20 Second Interview: A Few Words with Barack Obama
Q: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were?
A: In many ways, Dreams from My Father was harder to write. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing The Audacity of Hope paralleled the work that I do every day--trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.
Q: What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write?
A: I'm a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep--from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline--certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell--and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I'd edit while typing in what I'd written.
Q: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?
A: Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesn't matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.
Q: You're known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today's polarized Washington?
A: It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, "Politics." When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you'd be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you're willing to give other people credit--something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes.
Q: How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas?
A: I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren't amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don't think we need more moderation per se--I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won't be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That's not easy to do.
Q: What has surprised you most about the way Washington works?
A: How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.
Q: You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact?
A: Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child's life.
Q: Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now?
A: Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I've started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I've got a soft spot for John le Carre.
Q: What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
A: I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.
Book Description
“A government that truly represents these Americans–that truly serves these Americans–will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won’t be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we’ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.”
–from
The Audacity of Hope
In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called “the audacity of hope.”
Now, in
The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.
At the heart of this book is Senator Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats–from terrorism to pandemic–that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy–where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus.
A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes–“waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”
Customer Reviews:
Hope and Compromise.......2007-10-04
I am particularly struck by the contrast of Obama and George W. Bush. Obama stays in touch with the masses by talking in air terminals and wherever he finds them in public. Jim Wallis (author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It") comments from his meeting the President:
"And he (George W. Bush) really did listen, more than presidents often do. He also asked questions. One sounded lofty, yet it resonated with those of us seated around the room: 'How do I speak to the soul of America?' My answer to that was simple: Focus on the children. Their plight is our shame, I told him, and their promise is our future. Reach them and you reach our soul. Bush nodded in agreement. The conversation was rich and deep for more than an hour and a half.
When the discussion officially ended, Bush moved around the room, talking with us individually or in small groups for another hour. I could see that his staff was anxious to whisk him away (cabinet appointments were being made that week and there were key departments yet to fill). Yet he lingered and continued to ask questions. At one point, he turned to me and said, with what I could only read as complete sincerity, 'Jim, I don't understand poor people. I've never lived with poor people or been around poor people much. I don't understand what they think and feel about a lot of things. I'm just a white Republican guy who doesn't get it. How do I get it?'"
Here, in Obama's book, Obama is an ordinary American who has entered a lofty position in Washington, but he has not forgotten the people, not only the people of America, but of Indonesia and Kenya as well.
Obama's style is assertive, with a stunning line or two for each chapter.
Still, I believe Obama isn't spot on. When he speaks of hope, for example, the word opportunity would be more exacting and prospective. While Obama speaks of compromise, it would be appropriate to examine areas of agreement, but work towards independent solutions rather than compromise.
A New Kind of Politics.......2007-09-30
"They are out there, I think to myself, those ordinary citizens who have grown up in the midst of all the political and cultural battles.....They are out there, waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them".
That statement sets the tone for Senator Obama's refreshingly honest look at policy and politics. In this book, you'll find Obama as open to pointing out flaws in conventional liberal thinking as he is to criticizing his opponents on the right. Likewise, he praises certain aspects of Reagan's policy as openly as he criticizes other parts of it, or as openly as he applauds Bill Clinton's policies. Obama's ability to empathize with a differing point of view, yet maintaining a firm belief in his own position is very endearing.
The most interesting aspect of the book, perhaps, is its ability to see today's issues in a historical context. When examining U.S. foreign policy, Obama first walks the reader through the positions taken by Washington, Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Nixon, Reagan and others in trying to preserve America's national interests through interventions abroad. Likewise, when looking at the role of faith in American politics, Obama starts by giving the readers a glimpse of the how America's founding fathers thought about these issues, and how the cultural and social changes in the sixties eventually led the religious right to start playing a more active role in politics.
Obama also talks openly about his family, and his experiences while growing up, that have shaped him as a person. While talking about racial issues, he is comfortable talking about personal experiences that offer him hope. He's equally comfortable talking about his initiation into faith, having been brought up by a mother who wasn't religious.
If you're looking to understand the details of policy that Obama would champion if elected President, this book doesn't offer you a lot. However, what it gives you is the framework of beliefs which shape how Obama thinks about politics and policy. It lives true to its title, and offers hope for a new kind of politics, one that would help us all get closer to the American Dream. All in all, a very enjoyable read, and highly recommended.
Uplifting and inspirational.......2007-09-22
Regardless of their political affiliations, it's hard to find a person who doesn't think Barack Obama isn't a decent guy. He never tries to oversell himself and doesn't claim to know everything. He's also very down to Earth and isn't afraid to admit when he's made mistakes. All of these qualities have made Obama a successful politician who may be rewarded with the ultimate prize in November 2008.
However, in addition to being a good politician, Obama also happens to be an excellent writer. I was very impressed with his first book, "Dreams from My Father," which is more of an autobiography than this book is. In "The Audacity of Hope," Obama explores some of the major issues facing Americans today. He does devote a chapter to politics, but also focuses on foreign policy, education, the economy, and family values. Obama peppers his chapters with personal experiences, pieces of American history, and an examination of the current state of affairs. He doesn't offer detailed, step-by-step solutions to these problems, admitting that he doesn't have all the answers. Instead, Obama presents his ideas logically, passionately, and sincerely. He has a very laid-back writing style that is very similar to the way he presents himself when speaking in public. Most importantly, he's very realistic. Obama addresses both sides of each issue and explains his views in a way that's very easy to understand and also illustrates that the senator has a lot of good common sense: something that many of his Washington counterparts are severely lacking.
I'm sure Obama must have at least been considering the idea of a presidential bid when he wrote this book, but "Audacity" isn't just a political text. It's a book about all the things that make America great, and it generates a sense of hope that things have the potential to get a heck of a lot better around here. That alone is enough of a reason to read this inspirational book written by a passionate man who was born to be a leader.
Five starts on the title alone.......2007-09-21
This is a gift for my father so I have not read it. The title and my impression are very positive but I can't help you.
Boring but important.......2007-09-13
I read Obama's memoir "Dreams from My Father" first. Loved it; it read like a novel, or perhaps even a poem. "Audacity of Hope" reads like textbook non-fiction.
Obama is still an astute writer and the subject matter of Audacity of Hope is more important for our country than his personal journey into manhood. My rating unfortunately has been biased by an unreasonable expectation of more dessert than main course. If you're trying to choose one book in order to learn more about the candidate, I'd still recommend "Dreams From My Father" before "Audacity of Hope."
Book Description
With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck, a candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.
The woman who brought us When Harry Met Sally . . . , Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Bewitched, and the author of best sellers Heartburn, Scribble Scribble, and Crazy Salad, discusses everything—from how much she hates her purse to how much time she spends attempting to stop the clock: the hair dye, the treadmill, the lotions and creams that promise to slow the aging process but never do. Oh, and she can’t stand the way her neck looks. But her dermatologist tells her there’s no quick fix for that.
Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. She recounts her anything-but-glamorous days as a White House intern during the JFK years (“I am probably the only young woman who ever worked in the Kennedy White House that the President did not make a pass at”) and shares how she fell in and out of love with Bill Clinton—from a distance, of course. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age.
Utterly courageous, wickedly funny, and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling, I Feel Bad About My Neck is a book of wisdom, advice, and laugh-out-loud moments, a scrumptious, irresistible treat.
Customer Reviews:
Great read, slightly depressing ........2007-09-25
This book was funny and easy to read for anyone over 50 , if you're any younger you wont get half the jokes . It did get a little depressing towards the end , but some may just call it realistic ( about getting old and death ) .
Not the fun read I expected.......2007-09-25
Maybe it's just me, but I expected so much more from this book. I thought it would be wittier, more original, and use humor to inspire middle aged women like me. Instead I found it to be a negative read and it just brought me down. Sorry, no recommendation from me on this one.
Waste of Time.......2007-09-25
I really feel cheated out of several hours of time and the cost of the book. Instead of funny and insightful, it was whiny and shallow. I should have read the reviews at Amazon instead of seeing her on Oprah and thinking the bookI Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman would be worth my time and money.
I Feel Bad About My Neck..........2007-09-25
Quick and easy read. Entertaining and insightful of how we feel but haven't put our thoughts into book form. Nora did for us.
I Feel Bad About My Neck.......2007-09-24
Hilarious. I bought copies for my friends who are also "of a certain age." I love Nora Ephron's humor.
Book Description
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.
Customer Reviews:
Offensive to jazz fans!.......2007-09-30
Donald Miller, I'd like you to take out the sheet music of Mood Indigo, which I'm sure you've studied extensively, and show me where it doesn't resolve--I think that harmonically it's one of the perfect all time pieces of music, and it resolves better than a lot.
Maybe he's talking about free jazz or bop or post bop or modal jazz or something, but I'm not sure he actually knows what those terms mean. It sounds to me like he's heard a couple of jazz songs at some point and decided that this makes him an expert. Yeah, man, he was turned on to this stuff by Tony, his beat poet buddy, man. Oh, that is so hip!
But even if you're saying on a technical level that jazz music, in some of its more far-flung explorations, abandons established notions of harmony, melody, rhythm and tonality, it can always be explained. You can always notate it, analyze it, study it, and explain it. You can break it down to vibrations traveling through the air and you can know exactly what those vibrations are doing.
You can't do that with Christian spiritual notions, because they're based on assertions of faith that require you to abandon the desire for statements of fact to be proved. It's cute, Donald Miller, for you to say that you're just not interested anymore in the intellectual/theological aspects of Christianity, but it's stupid and ignorant for you to use jazz as a point of comparison. Jazz musicians know exactly what they're doing and they can explain it to you in minute detail, and yes, they could write it down if they wanted to. It's not just getting up in front of people and blowing some BS through your instrument. That's what YOU are doing in your spirituality. Jazz music requires training, education, rigorous practice and relentless creativity. What you do requires a huge capacity for BS and evasive, circular arguments. Guess which one I respect more.
Any jazz solo can be studied note for note, analyzed, and explained. And the person who performed that solo can you tell what choices they made at every point and why, and they can base that on established musical concepts. Once you get to that point, it isn't mysterious anymore, but it is beautiful and special in a way that your unfounded, frightened faith can never be.
Friendly conversation over coffee.......2007-09-25
I don't read a lot of "spirituality" themed books because after a few chapters I feel like the author is trying to convince the reader that his views are right and the reader's are all wrong. This was given to me as a gift and I really did enjoy it. The author didn't seem so much as if he was throwing up his thoughts on you as the reader, but more talking to you about them in a coffee shop conversation. I'm a decently fast reader, but I took some time with this one, reading and re-reading passages and often whole chapters so as to really chew on what the author had to say. The author has a lot to say but says it in a digestible form. Not once did I feel like he was talking over my head. I rarely purchase books for myself unless the book strikes a personal chord with me and I know I will want to read the book several times over; however, I'm glad to play hostess to this book on my shelf.
5th try........2007-09-13
I am on about my 5th try to finish this book. It is hard for me to make it past the first chapter.
I agree that in some ways his approach can be entertaining and "honest," but that does not make it edifying.
I think Miller is sadly confused with many of the vital doctrines of Christianity. Yes I know the word doctrine has come to have some rather poor connotations, yet there is truth Christianity is defined by. I'm not even talking doctrines that are usually debated.
Miller seems to make no importance of sin, and I am still hard pressed to know how serious he is when he says boys usually begin sinning when they are 10, and girls when they are 23. Has he ever even seen a child?
Miller tells of a time when he had a "slot machine god" where he would just screw up, pray, and hope for something good. Though he admits this was wrong, It seems like he is still playing the same slots. Now he is just taking his confusion and using culture he adapts it to the things that he says "make no sense."
Yes, Christians need to be relevant, but we are more importantly to live as new creations, people of a heavenly culture. We are not supposed to ascribe our culture to God, we are to ascribe ourselves to Him.
Anyone confused about this I recommend (lovingly) to read the book of Romans, and if you can't commit to the whole book chapters 6,7, and 8.
Very good, but not great.......2007-09-03
This book was highly recommended by several of my friends and I particularly liked the idea of reading up on "Christian Spirituality". This book had several funny stories in it, and also a few others that were really touching and made you think.
However, there were a few times where Miller decided to go on a tangent about Republicans and how heartless and selfish they were and how churches are puppets for the Republican party (i.e. Ch.12, titled "Churches"). It just really left a bad taste in my mouth which is why I didn't give this 5 stars. I wanted to read a book with anecdotes about Christian Spirituality and not get randomly bombarded by irrational and irrelevant political speech that was aimed at bashing Republicans.
I really hope this wasn't the main motivation for him becoming an advocate for Christian Spirituality or else this book will really lose a lot of credibility in my opinion. It's not because I am a Republican (because I'm actually a Libertarian), it's because political slamming is completely out of place in the book and is really in poor taste considering this meant to be about Christianity and not George W. Bush.
Blue Like Jazz.......2007-08-28
In the book, Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller seeks to address Christian spirituality in a nonreligious manner. He relies on experience rather than obscure religious doctrine to convey spiritual truths relating to life, God, community, friendship, love, and the like. In the way Miller relates stories and anecdotes the book is reminiscent of a memoir, but unlike many memoirs Miller's stories have a point and teach a lesson. He does not write simply to entertain, but also to teach and inform.
Miller was born in Houston, Texas, and left at the age of twenty-one to travel around the country until he ran out of money in Portland, Oregon, where he now lives. He published his first book, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance, in 2000. Two years later he published Blue Like Jazz. He continues to write books and also teaches a class at Summit College outside Toronto.
Miller's perspective is refreshing and convincing. Even when he writes about the importance of giving to charity or going to church he avoids coming across as preachy and condescending by backing up his beliefs with personal anecdotes and experience. Instead of relying on Bible verses or well-known evangelists and ministers, he quotes Christian friends and hometown ministers. He expresses the same truths Christianity and other religions present by drawing on rich personal experiences and memories to show the reader his views.
Miller opens the book by saying that in order to love and appreciate something you must sometimes first see someone else loving it. Miller attempts and succeeds at showing the reader how important the words he writes are to him. The philosophies he presents are ones that he has lived by. While Miller writes specifically to a Christian audience, this is a book that cuts across specific religions to appeal to anyone who believes in a higher power.
Book Description
This book presents the powerful basics of the original Teachings of Abraham. Within these pages, you’ll learn how all things, wanted and unwanted, are brought to you by this most powerful law of the universe, the Law of Attraction. (that which is like unto itself is drawn). You’ve most likely heard the saying âLike attracts like,â âBirds of a feather flock together,â or âIt is done unto you as you believeâ (a belief is only a thought you keep thinking); and although the Law of Attraction has been alluded to by some of the greatest teachers in history, it has never before been explained in as clear and practical terms as in this latest book by New York Times best-selling authors,
Esther and
Jerry Hicks.
Learn here about the omnipresent Laws that govern this Universe and how to make them work to your advantage. The understanding that you’ll achieve by reading this book will take all the guesswork out of daily living. You’ll finally understand just about everything that’s happening in your own life as well as in the lives of those you’re interacting with. This book will help you to joyously be, do, or have anything that you desire!
Customer Reviews:
Greatest book ever!.......2007-10-01
All I'm saying is this book should be taught in High School and College. The best book I've ever read. I read this as a follow up to "Seat of the Soul". It's a MUST read.
Simple universal truths lovingly shared..........2007-09-29
I love Abraham Hicks! Heartfelt gratitude to Jerry & Esther Hicks for sharing Abraham's messages with the world. This book is right up there in one of my all time favourites. This book has given me so much joy because it demystefies the universal laws or Attraction, Deliberate Creation and Allowing. I've referred to the book often for reminders whenever i'm facing a difficult situation and it never fails to uplift me to a higher vibration. I also live my life with more certainty and faith in God's loving kindness.
Their new book - The Power of your Emotions is FABULOUS too! I'm just half way through but loving every second of it!
Interesting Concepts.......2007-09-26
It's the idea that inspired "The Secret." Apparently just not marketed as well. Easy to read, but some concepts are prety far fetched.
Overall worth the read if you are interested in this subject - manifesting a positve life.
It is deceitful! Not Old Testament Abraham! Poor, poor, poor presentation!.......2007-09-24
I've not finished it completely but was fooled into thinking it was referring to Abraham in the Bible. It's generic wording in the discription leaves to reason they were banking on that deception.
The Law of Attraction.......2007-09-20
After reading this book, I feel as though I have some control over my future as well as my present and even in some ways my past in the way I perceive it. It's as though the teachings of Abraham have always been a part of me and I just needed someone to point them out. It all makes so much sense and feels so right. I am so greatful to Esther and Jerry Hicks for bringing this book to the public. I have just ordered another one of their books and can't wait to read it. One "small" thing I learned is to say "thank you" everyday for what I have. This very act has become so powerful to me and it is just one of many, many teachings that are so powerful in learning the laws of attraction. I highly recommend this book.
Amazon.com
For almost 20 years Jerry and Esther Hicks have been presenting workshops, producing tapes and writing books to help people create the life they desire. And desire is no small word in this agenda. According to the teachings of "Abraham"--a collective name for the spiritual entities that are channeled through Esther--desire is a good and natural force within us. In fact, we are all here to fulfill our desires, according to Abraham. Yet the reason so much of us feel frustrated, is that we have difficulty knowing how to ask and receive whatever we want to be, do or have.
Although Jerry and Esther are listed as the authors, Ask and It Is Given is actually a collection of channeled messages from Abraham. Fans of Abraham and the Hicks may not find new information, but will probably be delighted to have an inspiring, updated book that speaks to the familiar conversation of attracting the life we want. Newcomers may also be intrigued by this excellent, in-depth discussion on how to change one's life by matching the vibrational energy of one's desires--taking the power of positive thinking to a whole new level.
Because this material is channeled, it often reads like The Power of Now or A Course in Miracles--not a fast food book to be devoured in one sitting. Rather, this is a book to be read in passages, with a soothing gestation period in between. It includes much advice on working with energy and emotions as well as specific chapters on increasing prosperity, reclaiming health, working with meditation, and clearing clutter for clarity. For those who are onboard with the "Laws of Attraction" and the "Art of Receiving" that Abraham speaks of, this could be one of those deliciously mysterious books that you can open to any page and it seems to offer the exact advice or insight you need right now.--Gail Hudson
Book Description
Ask and It Is Given, by Esther and Jerry Hicks, which presents the teachings of the nonphysical entity Abraham, will help you learn how to manifest your desires so that you're living the joyous and fulfilling life you deserve.
As you read, you'll come to understand how your relationships, health issues, finances, career concerns, and more are influenced by the Universal laws that govern your time/space reality—and you'll discover powerful processes that will help you go with the positive flow of life.
It's your birthright to live a life filled with everything that is good—and this book will show you how to make it so in every way!
Customer Reviews:
Good Book.......2007-09-26
Good book overall. I don't know how much I believe in this "Abraham" character... but its a good book. It teaches the basics very well.
It is all up to us.......2007-09-25
Wish I had this book many years ago but I am so glad to have it today.
The information is invaluable and presented in a way that is easily understood to put into action and makes us responsible for what we have or do not have.
Best Book in the World!.......2007-09-24
I LOVE this book! I've read it three times and have given it as gift to many of my friends.
It's an amazing book. I think everyone can benefit from it, even skeptics. It makes you feel wonderful! It's uplifting. It's hopeful. It makes so much sense.
The exercises in part two are incredible. I've used almost all of them. My favorite is the 'Book of Positive Aspects'. Everytime I do this one, all of my energy shifts.
Buy this book! Read it more than once!
Simply Amazing.......2007-09-22
This is an amazing, life-changing book. I have read it several times, and each time I read it, I find something new that helps me lead a happier life and appreciate my life so much more. I highly recommend this book.
Wonderful Information that can change your life!.......2007-09-17
This book and the channeled information may be a stretch for your mind and beliefs, but if you apply the principles they will change your life. The information has you take responsibility for your thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Esther and Jerry Hicks were teaching the law of attraction long before the secret book or movie. Their work is clear and easy to implement and follow. A good self help guide for anyone wanting wake up and take responsibility for their life and create what they want. Annie Lawrence author of Love's Secret Live Your Life In Love.
Book Description
The book you hold in your hands is revolutionary, a groundbreaking exploration of the science of intention. It is also the first book to invite you, the reader, to take an active part in its original research. Drawing on the findings of leading scientists on human consciousness from around the world, The Intention Experiment demonstrates that thought is a thing that affects other things. Thought generates its own palpable energy that you can use to improve your life, to help others around you, and to change the world.
In The Intention Experiment, internationally bestselling author Lynne McTaggart, an award-winning science journalist and leading figure in the human consciousness studies community, presents a gripping scientific detective story and takes you on a mind-blowing journey to the farthest reaches of consciousness. She profiles the colorful pioneers in intention science and works with a team of renowned scientists from around the world, including physicist Fritz-Albert Popp of the International Institute of Biophysics and Dr. Gary Schwartz, professor of psychology, medicine, and neurology at the University of Arizona, to determine the effects of focused group intention on scientifically quantifiable targets -- animal, plant, and human.
The Intention Experiment builds on the discoveries of McTaggart's first book, international bestseller The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe, which documented discoveries that point to the existence of a quantum energy field. The Field created a picture of an interconnected universe and a scientific explanation for many of the most profound human mysteries, from alternative medicine and spiritual healing to extrasensory perception and the collective unconscious. The Intention Experiment shows you myriad ways that all this information can be incorporated into your life.
After narrating the exciting developments in the science of intention, McTaggart offers a practical program to get in touch with your own thoughts, to increase the activity and strength of your intentions, and to begin achieving real change in your life. After you've begun to realize the amazing potential of focused intention, and the times when it is most powerful, McTaggart invites you to participate in an unprecedented experiment: Using The Intention Experiment website to coordinate your involvement and track results, you and other participants around the world will focus your power of intention on specific targets, giving you the opportunity to become a part of scientific history.
The Intention Experiment redefines what a book does. It is the first "living" book in three dimensions. The book's text and website are inextricably linked, forming the hub of an entirely self-funded research program, the ultimate aim of which is philanthropic. An original piece of scientific investigation that involves the reader in its quest, The Intention Experiment explores human thought and intention as a tangible energy -- an inexhaustible but simple resource with an awesome potential to focus our lives, heal our illnesses, clean up our communities, and improve the planet.
The Intention Experiment also forces you to rethink what it is to be human. As it proves, we're connected to everyone and everything, and that discovery demands that we pay better attention to our thoughts, intentions, and actions. Here's how you can.
Customer Reviews:
FASCINATING..........2007-10-02
"The Intention Experiment" by Lynn Taggart provides fascinating insights on intentional living. This book shows you how thought can affect your life. In essence thought is an energy that has the potential to transform your own life as well as help others.
Focused group intention is also shown to be a highly powerful tool in affecting animals, plants and humans.
Also, the reader is invited to become involved in a rearch experiment about the power of human thought.
My most recent favorite New Age books that highlight self-empowerment and life transformation are:
The Secret
Nexus: A Neo Novel
Wow!.......2007-09-26
This book has a wonderful compilation of scientific studies about intention! It is very easy to read and understand. I was amazed at the
scientific research that has been completed in this area, and even more
surprised that so few of us are aware of this research.
Enjoy.
Fantastic.......2007-09-13
You may believe the reports in the book or you might just be a blind defender of the "offcial" science, but in both cases this is a book to read.
I will suggest it to all my friends.
Advancing the body of knowledge.......2007-09-10
This is a wonderful book, bringing forth highly complex knowledge in a digestible form. It helps if the reader is analytical by nature. Thank you to Lynne Taggart for her writing style and depth of coverage of the topic. I am learning from this book how and why prayer works.
Could You Imagine?.......2007-09-10
Picture this... A World with Peace, a World with Love, A World where EVERYONE has enough. If I am to understand what Lynne McTaggart is saying here, then I am to understand that a simple change in Our Collective thoughts 'could' change Our World. Peace, Love, Harmony. Groovy.
Book Description
In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, more is no longer synonymous with better -- indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value. McKibbens animating idea is that we need to move beyond growth as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isnt something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about ones life as an individual and as a member of a larger community. McKibben offers a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.
Customer Reviews:
If You Care for the Earth.......2007-09-29
This book is a must for anyone who wants to make a change to save the earth. The author has insight and experience about how our present course of living will lead to the destruction of the world as we know it. It's real, but there is hope and Mr McKibben shares that hope with the reader.
Useful Inefficiencies.......2007-08-29
McKibben is one of our best modern thinkers on environmentalism and conservation, ever since debuting with his classic "The End of Nature" in 1989. In this new book he has largely tackled mainstream economic theory and how it has inflicted worldwide damage on the environment and on human communities. Standard development economics suffers from an unyielding focus on efficiencies and consumption, but this more often than not leads to widespread damage and unhappiness. Planners and politicians focus obsessively on per capita utility and efficiency, and vehemently disdain anything that may reduce efficiency for some individuals but may very well improve communities and the planet. McKibben's great contribution here is his coverage of new studies of human happiness. Especially in America, we have passed the point of gaining any more happiness from increased consumption of things, and we have become largely unhappy over the ensuing loss of community and nature. A new worldwide understanding of how economics really works has become imperative - more is no longer better.
McKibben has located many useful examples around the world of communities practicing new sustainable development strategies with demonstrated benefits for all involved. Unfortunately, the areas in which such great things are happening have particular political and economic conditions that make such experiments beneficial (including the American location McKibben covers most often - politically distinctive rural Vermont). The underlying flaw in this book is that McKibben must resort to pretty wishful idealism when applying these local success stories to the world economic system. A related problem is that the second half of the book, where the rubber should be meeting the road in realistically applying the local to the global, largely degenerates into repetitive descriptions of benefits in lieu of real prescriptions for change. However, McKibben definitely deserves credit for explaining in an accessible way all the tragic flaws of mainstream economic theory (see the books and articles he cites for the real lowdown), and it's about time us regular folks resisted the power players - for the benefit of ourselves and our larger community. [~doomsdayer520~]
Turbines and Prayer Wheels.......2007-08-06
This is a wonderful book that swings your emotions from despair to joy and back. I marveled over the story of the village of Gorasin in Bangladesh where the people said no to pesticides after living with their devastating effects and the village has become an organic oases. That is the theme of the book, communities with members from near or far working together to make lives better.
McKibben mentions Heifer International, one of my favorite organizations, and their impact on one man in China with the donation of 48 rabbits and lots of technical advice and the wave of change in his community because of his successful rabbit enterprise.
A group called Future Generations trained some villagers in Tibet and the villagers devised and installed a system that carried water "through a series of split-bamboo pipes, and then through a turbine that used the dynamo from a junked car. A hydrology expert could have helped them build a more efficient system, but all the locals knew how to repair this setup."".....(Also, the hydrology expert might not have thought to use the water pouring out of the turbine to spin a prayer wheel.)"
World community - helping local people meld the old and the new.
But, McKibben asserts, it is time for the haves of the world to share more than knowledge, it is time to cut back on what we use. "Most obviously, if the rich world began making less extreme demands on the planet, poor countries would have more physical margin to work with - a little slack. ...If we Americans can use less coal and gas and oil, we'll in effect free some of the atmosphere to absorb the carbon that the poor world must emit to meet basic needs."
There is so much more in this book to ponder and act on, put it high on your reading list.
Quite a scary future.......2007-07-23
Wow, makes me want to move to Vermont and become an organic farmer. I found this book to bring up some very good points about our current unsustainable economic situation. Over the past 300 years we have created an economic "machine" based on efficiency and production that will be very hard to change intentionally. McKibben offers some ideas on what the new New Deal will need to be if we want to continue a sustainable economy, which includes taking everything back to a local scale. Food, work, consumer goods need to develop inside the community where one lives. Less efficiency, more community and "neighborliness". It's a great idea. I just wonder if people will choose this before the collapse of our current system or try to figure something out after it's too late. I pesimistically think the latter.
Growing Smaller.......2007-07-11
The main premise of this book is that the local economy is the deeper economy. Thus the healthier and wealthier community. Bill McKibben hardly ever deals in the abstract, rather he is constantly giving examples and providing illustrations of how this type of economy gets practiced locally. He describes the little experiments of living locally . . . such as one winter how he canned all of his food ahead of time and only ate things within a local radius. His goal is to make a connection between the local community and the economy. He spends a good portion of his time sharing about the relationships he has formed in his quest to shop and consume on a local scale. Consequently, the value of relationships in driving and sustaining a healthy economy are focused on a lot. It's not some over-romanticized look back into the past and the way things used to be. Rather it's an imaginative redreaming of how one can exist both in urban and suburban settings at a local level, valuing relationships and health over fast and easy. The book is extremely insightful and a moderately easy read. And well worth it.
Books:
- The Secret (Unabridged, 4-CD Set)
- The Technique of my Musical Language (Bibliotheque-Leduc)
- The Voices That are Gone: Themes in Nineteenth-Century American Popular Song
- The Voices That are Gone: Themes in Nineteenth-Century American Popular Song
- The Writings of Florence Scovel Shinn: The Game of Life and How to Play It, Your Word Is Your Wand,the Secret Door to Success, the Power of the Spok
- Thin
- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
- Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes (Tori Amos)
- When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost : My Life as A Hip Hop Feminist
- WICKED: THE GRIMMERIE, A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion
- The Gene Knockout Factsbook
- Agents still perplexed about UM/UIM coverages.
- Student Study Guide for Use with Intermediate Accounting
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The Secret (Extended Edition)
You: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management
The Science of Success: How to Attract Prosperity and Create Harmonic Wealth Through Proven Principles
Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't
The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham
