Enthusiastic but lackluster travel writing.
An English journalist’s account of his three-month summer walking tour of Great Britain.
For Hayden (You Kant Make It Up!: Strange Ideas from History's Great Philosophers, 2011), walking had always been “a rather dull affair.” But when his wife, Wendy, proposed that they do the “End-to-End,” a walkabout that extended from the northeastern tip of Scotland to the southwestern tip of England, he could not resist the physical challenge. The two set off from John o’Groats, which had won an award in 2010 as “Scotland’s most dismal town.” The journey got off to a difficult start, with Hayden and Wendy forced to use the tarmacked roads they had wanted to avoid. Suffering from frequent foot and body soreness, the author soon found his thoughts turning to philosophy. During the boring, rainy days on the trek to Inverness, for example, a brooding Hayden recalled Bertrand Russell’s observations that “external interests are key to happiness.” As the footpaths of the beautiful Scottish Highlands opened to them, the mood lightened. Hayden’s thoughts turned to Epicurus, who believed that the simple things—such as biscuits and coffee after a hard day’s walk—often brought the most intense pleasures. The “pitfalls and privations” of the magnificent Pennine Way followed, which led Hayden to contemplate Viktor Frankl’s idea that it was struggle for a worthy cause that made life meaningful. Through wind and fog, sun and rain, the pair traveled such celebrated routes as the Heart of England and Cotswold Ways, where they encountered “woodland and pasture…ploughed fields…and ancient town[s] with enchanting Tudor cottages.” Unfortunately, the author’s descriptions of these and other treasures he encountered on the way are pedestrian and perfunctory. Observing Hayden relearning how to delight in “simply being” may offer satisfaction for some readers, but the overall narrative comes across as trite and unoriginal.
Enthusiastic but lackluster travel writing.Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78074-656-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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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