A circumnavigation of Lake Superior by kayak becomes an occasion to get past some of life's knotty problems for nature writer and lecturer Linnea, an adventure retold here in the sometimes awkward but always frank language of self-empowerment. Paddling the coastline of the Gitchee Gumee was not just a neat idea for the 43-year-old Linnea, nor was it a test of strength and endurance. For her the journey signified ``the end of some kind of life cycle, and I was hoping the trip would teach me what that was and where I might be going.'' Others have called that a midlife crisis, but Linnea is an advocate of spirit-based change. Thus readers are hit with a goodly dosage of cramped New Age newspeak: Linnea gets advice from aspen trees for her stomach cramps (``Breathe. Slowly. Just like us''); wafts smudges of sage about her head ``to clear her heart and mind''; and in a vibrant revelatory moment her ``body resonated with a feeling of connectedness to everything around [her].'' But even if you find such sentiments a crock, push past them to what shines in this narrative: a frightening journey that took real courage, and Linnea's active appreciation of all the wildness around her. Her brushes with the Grim Reaper are vividly captured, and encounters with lakeside mysteries, such as an ancient stone construct Ö la Stonehenge, are often enjoyed for the simple, ineffable otherworldliness of it allfor the power of the placewithout letting us know how it spoke to her as a primitive creature of the dawn. And not long after her return, she gives her chilly, self- absorbed husband his walking papersa nice reality bite to end on. Empowerment aficionados will be happily sated; the rest of us can find pleasure snacking on the adventure. (one map, not seen) (Author tour)
Pub Date: Sept. 6, 1995
ISBN: 0-316-52683-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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