An informative, well-presented application of traditional activities and philosophies to modern-day life.
Ripley (Primal Energy, 2014, etc.) offers a path back to nature in this philosophical work.
Humans are farther from the natural world than at any point in history, according to this book; the environment is in a state of imbalance, and the culture is obsessed with ever more complex technologies. Ripley’s text, which is rooted in the Taoist quest to return to man’s original state, seeks to provide “pathways toward reconnecting with nature...for the health and wellness of each of us as individuals, and for the health and well-being of the planet as a whole.” For the author, this includes embracing traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and other practices that concentrate on the qi (energy) cycle. He also extends the idea to diet: “Some foods help relax the Liver and move qi in the body. They include asparagus, cabbage, lemon, and coconut.” Ripley’s approach is holistic, covering not only medicinal and dietary topics, but also the ways in which a person interacts with the world, physically and mentally. He introduces readers to nature-inspired body/mind practices, such as qi gong and taiji, as well as the Bagua—symbols representing nature categories that one may use to inform and augment the aforementioned practices. Ripley’s influences are rooted in ancient China, but they also include input from the Stoics and modern, ecologically conscious lifestyles and thinkers. He writes in an easy, instructive prose, explaining the underlying reasoning for each of the aspects of his regimen and how they fit together harmoniously. His prescription to return his readers to a simpler, more natural life sounds quite appealing, and the photographs of natural landscapes here do much to sell readers on the shortcomings of cheeseburgers and land subdivisions. However, Ripley’s glorification of man’s natural state ignores, to a certain extent, how scientific developments have made people healthier. The attraction of his recommendations will likely depend on how much skepticism readers hold toward ancient philosophies. That said, his call to slow down, seek balance, and be conscious of one’s role within the larger ecological system is good advice for readers of all belief systems.
An informative, well-presented application of traditional activities and philosophies to modern-day life.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-931483-31-5
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Three Pines Press
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should...
Greene (The 33 Strategies of War, 2007, etc.) believes that genius can be learned if we pay attention and reject social conformity.
The author suggests that our emergence as a species with stereoscopic, frontal vision and sophisticated hand-eye coordination gave us an advantage over earlier humans and primates because it allowed us to contemplate a situation and ponder alternatives for action. This, along with the advantages conferred by mirror neurons, which allow us to intuit what others may be thinking, contributed to our ability to learn, pass on inventions to future generations and improve our problem-solving ability. Throughout most of human history, we were hunter-gatherers, and our brains are engineered accordingly. The author has a jaundiced view of our modern technological society, which, he writes, encourages quick, rash judgments. We fail to spend the time needed to develop thorough mastery of a subject. Greene writes that every human is “born unique,” with specific potential that we can develop if we listen to our inner voice. He offers many interesting but tendentious examples to illustrate his theory, including Einstein, Darwin, Mozart and Temple Grandin. In the case of Darwin, Greene ignores the formative intellectual influences that shaped his thought, including the discovery of geological evolution with which he was familiar before his famous voyage. The author uses Grandin's struggle to overcome autistic social handicaps as a model for the necessity for everyone to create a deceptive social mask.
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should beware of the author's quirky, sometimes misleading brush-stroke characterizations.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-670-02496-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.
A lightweight collection of self-help snippets from the bestselling author.
What makes a quote a quote? Does it have to be quoted by someone other than the original author? Apparently not, if we take Strayed’s collection of truisms as an example. The well-known memoirist (Wild), novelist (Torch), and radio-show host (“Dear Sugar”) pulls lines from her previous pages and delivers them one at a time in this small, gift-sized book. No excerpt exceeds one page in length, and some are only one line long. Strayed doesn’t reference the books she’s drawing from, so the quotes stand without context and are strung together without apparent attention to structure or narrative flow. Thus, we move back and forth from first-person tales from the Pacific Crest Trail to conversational tidbits to meditations on grief. Some are astoundingly simple, such as Strayed’s declaration that “Love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard.” Others call on the author’s unique observations—people who regret what they haven’t done, she writes, end up “mingy, addled, shrink-wrapped versions” of themselves—and offer a reward for wading through obvious advice like “Trust your gut.” Other quotes sound familiar—not necessarily because you’ve read Strayed’s other work, but likely due to the influence of other authors on her writing. When she writes about blooming into your own authenticity, for instance, one is immediately reminded of Anaïs Nin: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Strayed’s true blossoming happens in her longer works; while this collection might brighten someone’s day—and is sure to sell plenty of copies during the holidays—it’s no substitute for the real thing.
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-101-946909
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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