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THE FALL OF MAN

A REALITY OR AN ILLUSION?

While vague at times, this work offers some digestible thoughts on what constitutes reality.

A writer explores the true nature of human life.

Debut author Hester explains near the beginning of this brief but dense volume that it is “a book about perception and reality.” He argues that humans are currently “adrift in an illusion” and that it is necessary for everyone to return to reason. How exactly did things get like this? A hefty finger is pointed at myths. Take, for instance, the Garden of Eden. This famous story, the author argues, gives people false notions of good and evil. Ideas, like a lurking devil (represented by the serpent in the garden), have “helped suppress reality for thousands of years.” The reality is that humans have the ability to choose what they will do in life. It is not necessary to blame things on manifestations of evil. Nor is it essential to bow to figures who claim an elite access to God. Hester explains how he heard a pastor on the radio asking for donations, recalling “I could find no reason to choose to send money to another human believing he knew what my creator wanted or that he had more access to him than I already had.” In general, the author views religion as “the gateway to the loss of reason,” as it is so often used to create fear in believers while generating wealth and power for a few. What is the antidote to such a state of affairs? Hester’s advice is simple: Humans must take responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. Readers are even given some practical tips, including that people should not try to control others. There is also the reminder that the only descent for humans is “the fall from reason.” The text is presented in a series of short chapters, some more abstract than others. Certain statements seem open to argument. Hester contends that “the human desire for more than reality is designed to allow will always lead to frustrations and mental illnesses.” But what is the threshold for what “reality is designed to allow”? What mental illnesses does this desire cause? In one chapter, readers are told that “groups of two or more humans gathered together cannot be reasonable,” although this claim is itself somewhat unreasonable. Surely there must be one example of a group conducting itself sensibly. Portions in which concrete examples are given make for more potent passages. An analogy about a hypothetical person’s imagined need for a new car (when this individual already has a perfectly fine old car) helps to illustrate how readers can clutter their own lives. The example, though brief, is relatable. In the end, the book’s positive tone also creates some captivating sentiments. Although the author claims this work is not philosophical, Hester ultimately contends that individuals’ lives are theirs to create. Whether or not readers may agree with some of the arguments about illusions, it is still their choice to do what they will with the intriguing material.    

While vague at times, this work offers some digestible thoughts on what constitutes reality.

Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-73337-800-0

Page Count: 284

Publisher: Self

Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2020

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THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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