A wordy overview of complex concepts that’s not for the casual reader.
A voluminous, detailed text on ayurvedic alternative medicine, astrology, yoga, and other related subjects.
In his latest book, herbalist and astrologer Bhattacharyya (Tepid Blue, 2016, etc.) asserts that “astrology, herbal wellness,” and other alternative practices “can narrow down [health] predictions accurately, confirm a diagnosis and offer supplements to a cure prescribed by a registered-practitioner on a multitude of mind and health problems.” The author bases his approach on the ideas of the “ancestors,” referring to those who studied and practiced astrology, ayurveda, and Chinese medicine in the past. He describes a holistic approach to wellness that takes into account not only physical well-being, but also emotional and mental health, diet, and even the seasons. Much of the book is devoted to astrology, which the author frames as “an extra pair of eyes” that can help one evaluate a malady and inform caregiving decisions. (The titular term “AquaPisces” refers to a “changeover” from the astrological Pisces era to the Aquarius era.) The book also includes many remedies, including massage, the consumption of herbs and other foods, and music therapy. Explanatory text makes use of colorful stories and occasional, useful metaphors (“Mantras mention the secret depths where medicines are found in the oceans. Metaphor of knowledge as ocean is a common occurrence in the [ancient Indian] Vedas”). Unfortunately, the presentation of information isn’t always reader-friendly. For example, the book is filled with terms that will likely be unfamiliar to most Western readers, including the various types of “dosha” (biological humors) and their numerous subtypes. At one point, the author notes in a story that “the intrigued students felt lost in the labyrinth of words and wellness verbiages”—a phrase that aptly describes the experience of readers of this book, as well, who may need to employ lengthy, intense study to fully comprehend and digest all of its information. There are quite a few tables and diagrams, but a glossary would have been helpful.
A wordy overview of complex concepts that’s not for the casual reader.Pub Date: July 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9978887-1-3
Page Count: 494
Publisher: Devb Inc
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
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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