One attempt to discover what modern science (from molecular biology to quantum mechanics) can tell us about death. Reanney, a New Zealand microbiologist who died in 1994, began writing this with the idea of presenting a strictly science-based description of the biological meaning of mortality and the psychology of human longings for immortality. We therefore get early chapters on DNA, the ``selfish gene,'' and the implications of relativity theory for consciousness. Reanney relates his ideas to everyday experience, taking a visit to a childhood hometown that had changed beyond recognition as the starting point for asking whether a scene so vivid in memory does not have some ``reality'' despite its physical passing away. This leads to a proposal that the enormous fecundity of living things is grounds for believing that life can effectively reverse entropy, the universal process by which order decays into chaos. The real trouble begins when the author turns to the psychological side of his agenda, arguing, for example, that the universal birth experience (coming from darkness into light) is enshrined in the teachings of all religion, based on selective quotes from a number of mythologies. The book also makes much of split-brain experiments, which are no longer taken seriously by psychologists. In short, from reasonably plausible (albeit controversial) deductions from biology and physics, the argument rapidly veers into sheer speculation based on questionable scienceor even science fiction (the author is fond of quoting from Arthur C. Clarke). While his conclusionthat our destiny is to merge with a sort of cosmic consciousnesswill undoubtedly reassure many readers grieving a loss or facing the imminent likelihood of their own deaths, there is nothing scientific about it once he leaves the familiar ground of molecular biology. Ultimately, this belongs more in the realm of feel-good New Age writing than of science.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-14420-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 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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