In studying the world, we find ourselves.
An academic study sets an anthropologist on a journey of spiritual exploration.
Travelling to Sierra de Puebla in 1978, Kodros sought to find examples of ancient folklore and mythology still in existence in Mexico. In the villages the author visited, he found vibrant communities that had maintained their traditional culture and language, hundreds of years after the Spanish colonized Mexico. Indeed, some who lived in these remote villages perceived “Mexico” as a different country. Kodros spent ten years recording the traditional stories that had been passed down for generations through oral storytelling. He found that these tales were about far more than the history of these particular peoples and bore similarities, embedded in their symbology, with ancient myths found in cultures around the world. His visit to Don Ignacio, a local curandero, or shamanistic healer, to hear the story of the Lightning Spirits proved to be a turning point not only in the author’s research but in his life. On his way home, Kodros was caught in a rainstorm and struck by lightning. Following his near-death experience, Ignacio not only helped heal the trauma the author suffered, but showed him how such an experience gave unusual insight into life and death, which Kodros could use to help heal others. The author spent the next several years seeking out and documenting the traditional cultural practices and folklore of the region. He also travelled to Bali, where he found many commonalities in the indigenous cultures there. His curiosity about the origins of these ancient spiritual practices finally led him to make a pilgrimage to his own ancestral land, Greece. The author’s journey is compelling, regardless of one’s perception of its mystical aspects, as it touches upon the vast history of humanity. Kodros presents his studies of the indigenous cultures and customs he observed in a highly accessible way, and his deep personal involvement makes the narrative all the more engaging.
In studying the world, we find ourselves.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4303-2759-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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